Man Arrested In Connection With Bratt Burglary
October 1, 2013
A Century man is facing multiple charges as an alleged accessory in a Bratt burglary.
Gregory Lee Martin, age 53 of Highway 168, was charged with felony unarmed burglary of an unoccupied structure, felony larceny and and obstructing an officer without violence. After being arrested Friday night, he was released from the Escambia County Jail on a $2,500 bond.
An Escambia County Sheriff’s Office investigator made contact with Martin on September 3 in reference to a burglary that occurred a month earlier near his home. According to an arrest report, Martin said that a suspect in the burglary brought property to his home in a storage box and discussed with Martin the possibility of using Martin’s four-wheeler to get rid of property in his storage shed.
Martin told the investigator that he was aware the night the burglary had occurred, and he allowed the suspect to store the stolen property in his shed. Martin also admitted to allowing the suspect to get dressed in camouflage on his property prior to the shed burglary, the report states.
The name of the burglary suspect was not released by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office pending his arrest.
WKRG TV 5 Goes Dark For Dish Network Customers
October 1, 2013
WKRG channel 5 has gone dark for Dish Network customers after its parent company Media General and Dish failed to reach a retransmission agreement by midnight Monday.
“We’ve attempted to reach a fair agreement via many avenues, but Media General remains immovable in its demands,” said Sruta Vootukuru, Dish director of programming. “They declined a contract extension, an offer from Dish to pay our competitors’ rates, and have now refused our willingness to match rates paid to other area broadcasters. Media General is overreaching by trying to force Dish customers to pay more than their neighbors.”
“WKRG has been an integral part of the Mobile/Pensacola communities for over 58 years and that is our number one priority,” said General Manager Mark P. Bunting. “We understand that having a blank screen instead of their favorite programming is frustrating for DISH customers and it’s frustrating for us as well.”
Media General’s original contract with Dish expired in June, and in a statement Dish said Media General rejected its offer of a short-term contract extension until Media General is acquired by Young Broadcasting, a broadcaster with which Dish Network has a long-term agreement in place.
In a prepared statement, WKRG said Media General is doing everything it can to reach a fair resolution with DISH and have ourprogramming restored to the DISH satellite system.
In addition to WKRG and its CBS programming, the Media General blackout on Dish Network includes 17 other stations in 10 states.
“We’ve attempted to reach a fair agreement via many avenues, but Media General remains immovable in its demands,” said Sruta Vootukuru, Dish director of programming in a statement. “They declined a contract extension, an offer from Dish to pay our competitors’ rates, and have now refused our willingness to match rates paid to other area broadcasters. Media General is overreaching by trying to force Dish customers to pay more than their neighbors.”
On its website, WKRG says Dish customers can still watch the station for free over the air or by switching pay TV providers. According to the station, local news and other content is available on the station’s website.
New Laws: Texting Ban, EBT Limits, Funeral Protests, Late Night Massages
October 1, 2013
An attempt to curb motorists from texting while driving went into effect Tuesday, along with laws that put limits on funeral protests, late-night massages and the use of tax dollars at strip joints and liquor stores.
Texting While Driving
The new law getting the most attention is the long-sought texting-while-driving ban.
The law makes texting while driving a secondary offense, which means motorists could only be ticketed if they are pulled over for other infractions. Also, the measure provides exemptions for use of GPS devices, talk-to-text technology and for reporting criminal behavior. It also allows texting while stopped, such as at red lights.
While the measure has faced criticism for being too weak, lawmakers and the Florida Highway Patrol say the important thing is to simply have such a rule on the books.
“Over half of all teens self report they have used a cell phone while driving,” FHP spokesman Lt. Jeff Frost said. “Eleven percent of fatal crashes, where the driver was under 20, were the result of distracted driving.”
The FHP has been conducting educational outreach at high schools across the state about the new law. The aim is to reduce the use of cell phones and other electronic devices while driving, as one in five of those distracted teens involved in fatal crashes were using cell phones or texting, Frost said.
For lawmakers, the law, which was more than five years in the making, is just the first step to reduce texting while driving.
Sen. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, is expected to announce Tuesday she will file a bill for the 2014 session that seeks to strengthen the texting-while-driving ban.
EBT Limits, Late Night Massages
A new law (HB 701) prohibits state-issued Electronic Benefits Transfer “EBT” Cards, formerly known as food stamps, from being used at strip clubs, liquor stores and gambling establishments.
During the 2013 session, several Democrats called the Republican-backed proposal political posturing, noting that the state Department of Children and Families already had the ability to shut off state “EBT” cards from being used at such facilities.
Another new law (HB 7005) is the latest effort to crack down on human trafficking by targeting shady massage businesses that are fronts for prostitution.
The law prevents the operations of massage establishments between midnight and 5 a.m. and in most cases prohibits people from living in the businesses. The law has exception for businesses such as health spas and hotels that offer massage services.
Funeral Protests
Also, the never-popular field of funeral protesting will now have some state backed guidelines.
A law (HB 15) makes it a first-degree misdemeanor to protest within 500 feet of a funeral. Besides being a first-degree misdemeanor to protest within 500 feet of a funeral, protests must halt during the period one hour before the services to one hour after the funeral or burial is completed.
The measure is a direct response to protests that have been held for several years at military funerals and other events to draw attention to the beliefs of the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church.
Free speech
SB 50: Public speaking time at meetings. The law guarantees members of the public the right to speak at public meetings. While most government meetings in Florida must be open to the public, courts have found that, under current law, there is no guarantee that citizens get to speak at those meetings. The measure exempts emergency meetings from the requirement and allows for time and decorum limits.
Transportation
HB 487: Freemasonry license plates. The law creates a Freemasonry license plate, with most of the proceeds from the $25 annual fee going to the Masonic Home Endowment Fund, Inc. Presale of the plates starts Tuesday.
Brands for boxes
HB 1393: Branding boxes. Due to the increased costs of plastic, along with reports of increased thefts of plastic pallets and merchandise containers, the law allows those who own containers for storage and transportation of agricultural and commercial goods to adopt a mark or brand to signify ownership.
Criminal Justice
SB 112: False documents. Strengthens penalties against filing false documents that are intended to defraud or harass others.
SB 338: Utility theft. The law imposes tougher penalties for electricity thieves. Rather than a first-degree misdemeanor, the penalty would vary depending on the value and services stolen, along with the criminal history of the accused.
HB 407: Gang prevention. The law makes it a second-degree felony to recruit or encourage anyone under 13 years of age into a criminal gang. The law also increases from second-degree misdemeanor to first-degree misdemeanor trespassing charges for individuals previously convicted of gang related crimes in school safety zones. The law also allows judges, rather than juries, to factor gang membership into criminal sentencing.
HB 611: False information to law enforcement. Anyone who has previously been convicted of giving false information to a law enforcement officer will face a third-degree felony for repeating the offense verbally or in writing.
HB 691: Identification theft. The law makes it a first-degree misdemeanor to possess the personal identification information — such as Social Security numbers, driver licenses, passport information and credit card numbers — of four or fewer people, and a third-degree felony to possess five or more. There are exemptions for parents, guardians and certain government employees.
HB 1173: Florida Communications Fraud Act. The law increases penalties for communications fraud, while setting a 5-year statute of limitations for the pursuit of civil and criminal actions against those who commit communications fraud.
Schools
HB 113: Harmful material to minors. The law tightens rules and makes it a third-degree felony for adults to post certain types of obscene or otherwise harmful materials to minors on school property. The material could be a picture, photograph, drawing, sculpture, motion picture film, videocassette, or similar visual representation that depicts nudity or sexual conduct, sexual excitement, sexual battery, bestiality, or sadomasochistic abuse that could be considered harmful to minors.
Finances, real estate and insurance
SB 166: Annuities. Requires an insurance agent recommending the purchase or exchange of an annuity that involves an insurance transaction to reasonably believe the recommendation is suitable for the consumer.
HB 665: Mortgage broker licenses. The law ends a requirement that the Office of Financial Regulation automatically reject an application for a mortgage broker or mortgage lender license simply because the applicant had a similar license revoked in another state. Also, it requires securities and mortgage license applicants to submit electronic or live-scan fingerprints for required background checks by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the FBI. Currently, the applicants are required to submit paper fingerprint cards for the checks.
Contractors
HB 973: Low-voltage electric work. The law allows an alarm contractor to start work on a low-voltage alarm system project without first having to notify the local government. Instead, the contractor must notify the local enforcement agency within 21 days of the item being installed.
Public record exemptions
SB 452: Creates a public-records exemption for the Joshua Abbott Organ and Tissue Registry, which involves lung transplants.
HB 731: Creates a public-records exemption for spouses and children of law enforcement personnel.
HB 7079: Keeps a public-record exemption alive for select information contained in records documenting acts of domestic violence or sexual violence.
HB 7143: Keeps a public-records exemption alive tied to identifying certain donors to the direct-support organization for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
HB 7145: Keeps a public-records exemption alive for all complaints in the custody of a state agency involving employment discrimination.
Local Church Gives New Pastor A Good Pounding
October 1, 2013
The members of one local church gave their new pastor and his family pounding Sunday night, and then they celebrated his arrival with a picnic.
It was the First Baptist Baptist Church of Bratt’s way of welcoming Pastor Delbert Redditt.
A pounding is an old fashioned tradition celebrated in many churches where a new pastor is welcomed to the church with gifts of food. Traditionally, a pounding would provide a pastor and his family with a pound of staples, such as a pound of flour, a pound of sugar, a pound of butter and a pound of other basic items.
The FBC Bratt’s pounding for Redditt was a bit more modern, as church members filled the back of a Nissan Pathfinder with lots of food, canned goods, paper items and even a basket of fresh apples.
Redditt comes to Bratt from Faith Baptist Church in Madison, FL. He has been married to his wife Traci for 24 years. They have two children – Terra Leigh, 19, who attends Valencia College, and Cheynne Dawn, 16, who now attends Northview High School.
Redditt hold a Masters of Ministry from Temple Baptist Seminary, a Masters of Agricultural Education from the University of Florida, and a Bachelor of Arts in sociology from the University of Central Florida.
Pictured top and inset: New First Baptist Church of Bratt pastor Delbert Redditt and his wife Traci. Pictured below: Church members held a picnic to welcome Redditt Sunday evening at the Travis M. Nelson Memorial Park in Bratt. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia County Takes Control Of Jail From Sheriff
October 1, 2013
The Escambia County Commission took direct control of the Escambia County Jail at midnight last night from Sheriff David Morgan.
The commission is now in charge of the facility, its employees and its $31 million budget. There will be some cosmetic changes at first…new uniforms, badges and logos are on the way. And all 400 detention employees now work for the county rather than the sheriff.
Escambia County already had a Corrections Department, which is in charge of the Escambia County Road Prison, only county-operated work camp in Florida that provides a manual labor force for the Public Works Department.
Escambia County will now be directly responsible for responding to a U.S. Department of Justice Investigation into the jail that found several problems, including inadequate staffing. The county and the DOJ are expected to create a draft settlement in the coming months.
Pictured top: As of midnight Monday, Escambia County Jail employees now work for the county commission rather than the Sheriff. File photos, click to enlarge.
New Fiscal Year: Pay Raises For County And School Employees, 50% Budget Increase In Century
October 1, 2013
Fiscal year 2013-2014 begins today as a new budget year for Escambia County and the Town of Century. That mean’s county employees received a pay raise effective today, and Century has upped their bottom line by about 50 percent.
Escambia County: Pay Raises
The Escambia County Commission has a new balanced $364.5 million budget for fiscal year 2013-14.
The new budget includes a three percent cost of living raise for all county employees, including constitutional offices and the Sheriff’s Office. The raises are the first for all county employees since 2007 and will cost about $2.6 million.
The $364,520,055 budget is 2.36 percent more than last fiscal year’s budget of $356,102,136.
The tax millage rates approved are 6.6165 for the County-wide millage rate, .3590 for the Library Municipal Services Taxing Unit (MSTU) and .6850 for the Sheriff’s Law Enforcement Municipal Services Taxing Unit (MSTU).
The total millage rate proposed for Fiscal Year 2013-14 is 0.12 percent below the “Rolled Back Rate” certified by the property appraiser. This represents the percentage decrease in property taxes tentatively adopted by the county commission.
Escambia Schools: No Tax Increase, Teacher Pay Raises
The Escambia County School district has a $612.7 million budget for the new fiscal year. There will be increase in ad valorem taxes to meet the budget; the final millage rate was set at 7.557, just under last year’s 7.758.
About $7 million of the budget will go toward teacher and support personnel pay raises. The Escambia Education Association and the district agreed to a possible 4.92 percent raise for teachers, depending on how the teacher scored on their performance evaluation during the 2012-2013 school year. All teachers will receive a minimum salary increase of two percent.
Salaries for educational support personnel will increase by 4.2 percent. In addition, the parties agreed to a new evaluation system that is evidence-based for educational support personnel.
Century: An Extra $1.6 Million
The Town of Century is in a new budget year that is up about 50 percent over last year.
Century’s 2013-2014 budget is$4,384,791, up about $1.6 million over the last fiscal year. The operating budget increase is due to grant income and associated expenditures of $1,595,000 — including a $650,000 housing grant and a $944,000 drainage project grant for North Century Boulevard.
There will be no net increase in ad valorem taxes to meet the budget for fiscal year 2013-2014. The recomputed millage rate of .9006 is equal to and does not exceed the rolled-back rate.
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Man Injured In Bar Fight
October 1, 2013
One person was transported to an area hospital after an early morning fight at a Highway 97 bar.
About 12:15 a.m. Sunday, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to the Grey Goose on Highway 97 at the Alabama state line where they found a man bleeding from the head.
According to witnesses, the incident began with a fight inside the bar with beer bottles being broken in the brawl. A man then allegedly tried to enter the bar with a hammer as a weapon, but he was fought off by other patrons. He then left and retrieved a knife from his vehicle but was locked outside by bar employees.
The victim was apparently cut on the leg outside the bar. He was transported to Atmore Community Hospital with injuries that were not considered severe. The victim, according to the sheriff’s office, did not wish to press any charges against his alleged assailant.
Gulf Power Economic Symposium Looks Toward Future Of Entire Region
October 1, 2013
Gov. Rick Scott kicked off the annual Gulf Power Economic Symposium Monday.
Nearly 600 leaders from throughout Northwest Florida are in attendance at the week-long event that is addressing the future of the region.
This year’s theme, “Building the Future”, brings together speakers who will discuss a wide range of topics from “Creating a Culture of Innovation” to reviewing “Northwest Florida Demographic Shifts”. Panel discussions also have been included to help move the region to action as it builds Northwest Florida’s future today.
Pictured top: Gov. Rick Scott kicked off the annual Gulf Power Economic Symposium Monday. Pictured below: Florida Speaker of the House Will Weatherford listens to Senate President Don Gaetz during the event on Monday. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Cantonment Man Busted For DUI, Meth On I-110
September 30, 2013
A Cantonment man was arrested after a Florida Highway Patrol trooper found him stopped on I-110 with meth and a meth how-to book.
William John Hubner, Jr. age 56, was charged with DUI, possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell, manufacture and distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of controlled substances without prescriptions. Hubner was booked into the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $259,500.
About 2:04 a.m. Saturday, the Florida High Patrol received a call of a suspicious vehicle stopped on I-110 at the 4.5 mile marker. The trooper discovered Hubner was “impaired on several different controlled substances”, according to a FHP report.
As the vehicle was being searched, the trooper discovered several bags of methamphetamine, drug equipment, several plastic bags, as well as a book on different meth weights and manufacturing percentages.
The FHP said Hubner was manufacturing and selling meth out of his vehicle.
Dishpan Hands, Homespun Bedsheets In Prison Cost Cutting Plan
September 30, 2013
Florida inmates are sewing their own clothes and will soon start washing dishes by hand in sinks they’ve built themselves.
It’s all part of Department of Corrections Secretary Mike Crews’ attempt to whittle a nearly $50 million deficit in this year’s $2.1 billion budget.
Crews told the Senate Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Subcommittee on Wednesday that he’s on a cost-cutting mission to reduce the deficit, which stems from issues such as health care costs.
Thus far, Crews said he’s saved nearly $900,000 by re-bidding the agency’s contract for paper towels and toilet paper, about $254,000 by de-privatizing pest control services and more than $500,000 by buying used cars for probation officers, thus doing away with mileage reimbursements. The agency also saved about $600,000 through consolidating office leases.
DOC also saved $18 million by getting federal assistance for HIV-AIDS medications, $3.5 million with a new drug formulary for some medications and $1.4 million by changing inhaler protocols, Crews said.
Mothballing kitchen equipment in the state’s aging prisons won’t just give inmates dishpan hands — it’s another way Crews plans to scrimp.
Crews said dishwashers “are starting to tear up” and are expensive to repair. Instead of purchasing three-sink combos required for safe scrubbing, Crews said his staff suggested that they could build the sinks themselves, possibly with inmate assistance.
Meanwhile, the prisoners have also started to sew their own uniforms as well as their bedclothes, Crews said.
“Sometimes when you ride by it looks like Fred Sanford’s house. We actually hang the clothes out to dry,” Crews, who in December became the sixth secretary in six years at the agency.
What seems like small-change savings given the size of the red ink “may seem miniscule, but I do want the committee to understand we’re doing everything we can to help and get us out of this deficit,” Crews said.
Crews expects an update on the projected deficit, now estimated at $45.4 million, in two weeks. That’s less than half of November’s projected $119 million deficit, thanks to about $43 million from the Legislature, a hiring freeze and a high vacancy rate due to turnover.
Crews said the agency was responsible for at least part of the deficit by failing to control health-care costs. DOC has contracted with two private firms, Corizon and Wexford, to provide health care and, the agency hopes, keep in check spending on services for an aging prison population as well as ailing inmates. The outsourcing is supposed to be completed Oct. 13 and is expected to save between $40 million and $50 million annually, Crews said.
But Crews blamed some of the deficit on factors beyond his control, including bid protests, a nine-month legal challenge to the health care privatization and a dispute over the broader privatization of more than half of the state’s prisons approved by lawmakers two years ago but later overturned by the courts.
The department achieved some savings by shuttering 10 prisons in recent years but held off on closing Glades Correctional Institution in 2012 for more than six months because of lawmakers’ and local community leaders’ concerns about the impact on an already blighted economy. The delay added more than $6.7 million to the deficit, Crews explained.
Extra overtime costs caused by switching to 12-hour daily shift and bid protests also contributed to the deficit, Crews said.
Subcommittee Chairman Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, said the agency’s budget has been slashed by more than $484 million over the last five years, even though the inmate population has gone up.
“We didn’t get here overnight and we’re not going to cure it overnight,” Bradley said of the deficit.
Sen. Thad Altman, R-Viera, suggested saving money by again considering the controversial privatization plan pushed by Gov. Rick Scott.
“I’m not disparaging those that are there working. We need them. But when NASA wants to service the international space station they turn to the private sector. When we landed a man on the moon that was a private company. I think our governor’s right on target,” Altman said.
But Democratic Sen. Jeff Clemens of Lake Worth suggested lawmakers could generate bigger savings by sending fewer inmates to prison in the first place, especially those with addiction problems.
Bradley agreed, saying the majority of inmates convicted of drug-related crimes spend less than two years behind bars.
“They’re not getting treatment. They’re being housed. And I don’t know how smart that is,” Bradley said.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.