Early Morning Beulah Store Burglary Under Investigation
September 12, 2013
Deputies are looking for a suspect in an early morning store burglary in Beulah.
Shortly before 1 a.m. Thursday, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded to an alarm at the Quick Fill at 6500 West Nine Mile Road, near the intersection of Bridlewood Road. A large double paned window in the front of the store had been smashed. Store property had been damaged and an undisclosed amount of money had been removed from the register.
Investigators are looking for a white male suspect wearing a green to grayish shirt with a white t-shirt and blue jeans as well as a black male who was wearing a green t-shirt and black pants.
Anyone with information about this incident isasked to call Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Seven Area Students Named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists
September 12, 2013
Seven local high school students have been named semifinalists in the 59th annual National Merit Scholarship Program.
The students are Eion M. Blanchard (pictured) from Tate High School; Nathan B. Deng, Caroline M. Fleischhauer, Preston E. Jones, Garrett P. Robinson and Richard J. Sliva, of Pensacola High School; and Andrew D. Royappa, a homeschooled student.
About 16,000 national semifinalists were announced Wednesday. These academically talented high school seniors have an opportunity to continue in the competition for some 8,000 National Merit Scholarships worth about $35 million that will be offered next spring. To be considered for a Merit Scholarship award, semifinalists must fulfill several requirements to advance to the finalist level of the competition. About 90 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and more than half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship, earning the Merit Scholar title.
To become a finalist, the semifinalist and their high school must submit a detailed scholarship application, in which they provide information about the semifinalist’s academic record, participation in school and community activities, demonstrated leadership abilities, employment, and honors and awards received. A semifinalist must have an outstanding academic record through-out high school, be endorsed and recommended by a high school official, write an essay, and earn SAT scores that confirm the student’s earlier performance on the qualifying test.
Century Set To Approve Budget With 50 Percent Increase
September 12, 2013
The Town of Century will hold a public hearing next Monday afternoon before adopting a budget up about 50 percent over last year and setting the tax rate for the upcoming fiscal year.
The proposed 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 this year to meet the budget for fiscal year 2013-2014, which begins October 1. The recomputed millage rate of .9006 is equal to and does not exceed the rolled-back rate.
The budget hearing will be held at 6:50 p.m. Monday at the Century Town Hall, 7995 North Century Boulevard. The budget hearing is just prior to a regular meeting of the Century Town Council.
To view a summary of the budget in pdf format, click here or the image below.
Woman Bitten By Snake Inside Her Home
September 12, 2013
A Bogia woman reported that she was bitten by a snake inside her home late Wednesday afternoon.
The 43-year old woman told dispatchers that she was inside her mobile home in the 200 block of East Bogia Road about 4:50 p.m. when a black or gray snake bit her foot. She waited outside for first responders to arrive.
Officials said she suffered a couple of scrape marks on her foot from the snake but no puncture wound. She was in no distress and not transported to the hospital. The snake had slithered away by the time first responders arrived, and they were unable to locate it.
The McDavid Station of Escambia Fire Rescue, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and Escambia County EMS responded to the call.
Pictured: A 43-year old woman was bitten by a snake inside her Bogia home Wednesday afternoon. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
New ‘Florida Farm Weather’ App Aimed At Farmers
September 12, 2013
Agricultural producers across Florida can now use their smartphones or computers to get real-time local weather data starting this week through the “My Florida Farm Weather” program. The program, developed by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in partnership with University of Florida’s Automated Weather Network (FAWN), provides up-to-the-minute information on key weather variables, including rainfall, temperature, humidity, dew point, wind speed and wind direction.
The information is available online, where a map of the state of Florida aggregates data collected from weather stations on private agricultural lands throughout Florida. Visit http://fawn.ifas.ufl.edu/mffw/ and check the box next to “Grower” to view the data. The information is also available on Android smartphone platforms. An iPhone platform will be available in coming months. In addition, more enhancements, including historical data, will be added to the site.
“This technology will help Florida agricultural producers more efficiently manage irrigation and the application of nutrients on their lands,” said Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam. “Real-time weather data will also help producers save costs and mitigate their impact on the environment.”
Over the past year, the department has partnered with agricultural producers to install the weather stations and input data into a test site. So far, 79 operations are participating in the pilot program, with more applications pending. Producers enrolled in Florida’s agricultural Best Management Practices are eligible to participate.
Using the weather stations helps producers:
- Determine when to delay irrigation after rainfall and when to irrigate during frost/freeze events, which can reduce water use and costs.
- Determine when to use fungicide or pesticide sprays or fertilizer applications, which can reduce waste and costs.
- Optimize water use and minimize runoff of fertilizers and other farm chemicals into water.
Producers are eligible to receive funding for one weather station for each 300 acres of the operation. The department provides 75 percent of the cost of each device up to $5,000, with a total cap of $25,000 per producer. The technology was developed through a partnership with the University of Florida’s Automated Weather Network (FAWN).
Pictured: Work on a FAWN weather station. File photo.
First Responders Honored On 9/11
September 12, 2013
A variety of events honored first responders on Wednesday.
The Little Escambia Baptist Church in Flomaton provide breakfast during a special service Wednesday morning for first responders, including the crew of Century’s Engine 519 and the Escambia County EMS unit stationed in Century (pictured top).
Breaking Bread, a new barbecue, sandwich and hamburger restaurant at 6020 West Nine Mile Road, provided half price meals for first responders Wednesday, including Vicky and Stan Pagonis (picture left). Vicky is a dispatcher, and Stan is a police officer.
Georgio’s Pizza on East Cervantes Street fed first responders for free Wednesday and held their annual First Responders Pizza Eating Competition. The winner was Escambia County Deputy Scott Mashburn (pictured on the right below with restaurant owner Carl Hixon). He won $1,500 which be used to benefit law enforcement and the community.
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Elections Supervisors Skeptical Of Renewed Purge Efforts
September 12, 2013
Secretary of State Ken Detzner will take his pitch for a revived voter scrub on the road next month, but supervisors of elections, caught in the crosshairs of last year’s problematic purge, and voting-rights advocates remain skeptical.
Detzner’s office announced Wednesday he would meet with supervisors in five cities to get their input into another attempt to identify and remove non-citizens from the voting rolls.
“Through transparency and the statutory due-process protection afforded to every voter, we can ensure the continued integrity of our voter rolls while protecting the voting rights of eligible voters from those who may cast an illegal vote,” Detzner said in a press release Wednesday announcing the “Project Integrity Roundtable Tour” of five cities beginning Oct. 3.
But despite the spin put on “Project Integrity” by Detzner’s office, his announcement immediately drew fire from Pasco County Supervisor of Elections Brian Corley, who tweeted: “There is no greater ‘voter advocate’ or ‘voter roll integrity advocate’ than a Supervisor of Elections!”
Nearly all supervisors scrapped last year’s purge — the brainchild of Gov. Rick Scott — after they discovered that the majority of more than 2,600 voters, many of whom had Hispanic-sounding last names, flagged by Detzner’s office were eligible to vote. The problematic lists included the names of naturalized citizens and even some who were born in the U.S.
A coalition of voting groups representing minorities sued the state over the purge, but the lawsuit was dismissed after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling this summer that tossed out part of the federal Voting Rights Act.
Unlike last time, Detzner’s office is seeking supervisors’ input into the process. But initial reaction showed the supervisors remain dubious.
Orange County Supervisor of Elections Bill Cowles said he was contacted by Detzner’s office Tuesday and asked to provide space for a meeting, scheduled in Orlando on Oct. 7.
“All the supervisors are going to be concerned about why we’re doing it now and what has changed since the last time,” Cowles said.
Polk County elections supervisor Lori Edwards, president of the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections, said local officials’ willingness to participate will depend on the integrity of the data provided by the state.
Local supervisors — who have the sole authority to scrub the voter rolls — rely on the state to provide data related to felony convictions and deaths before removing voters. Those processes involve paperwork documenting when someone becomes ineligible or dies, Edwards said.
“We’re going to repeatedly request from the Division of Elections that before they send us the information, they carefully scrutinize the data and make sure it’s reliable. Providing documentation is the key. If you can show me that they’re here on a green card, fine. Then I’ll say hey, you might not be a citizen. But if you just say they’re on some list somewhere, that’s not enough,” she said.
Like Edwards, Corley said the supervisors agree that anyone who is ineligible to vote should be removed from the rolls. The non-citizen “audit” should be a part of routine voter-list maintenance like removing dead voters or convicted felons, Corley said.
“The problem is when you go through this process of doing an audit, it’s got to be done right and devoid of the perceptions of politics. I think sadly what we saw take place last year didn’t meet that litmus test,” Corley said.
In an email to the state’s 67 supervisors sent Wednesday, Division of Elections Director Maria Matthews asked the county officials to attend the meetings in Panama City, Jacksonville, Orlando, Sarasota and Fort Lauderdale.
“These meetings are expressly to discuss this issue with you, but for the sake of transparency, the press will be notified,” Matthews wrote.
Corley gave Detzner credit for reaching out to the supervisors but said it’s too early to say whether the new process will be better.
“I hope round two is a whole lot more accurate and professional than round one because that was amateur hour. That was embarrassing,” he said.
Some critics accused Scott, who is running for another term in 2014, of pushing the non-citizen voter purge because it resonates with tea party activists and conservatives who make up his base.
But Edwards said that, if the purge is a campaign strategy, it is also flawed.
“Why would you draw attention to something that you botched so badly the last time? If this is politically motivated, it seems silly because all it’s doing is rehashing the mess they caused prior to the presidential election,” she said.
Scott blamed last year’s faulty data on President Barack Obama’s administration because the Department of Homeland Security had refused to grant Detzner access to the “System Alien Verification for Entitlements Program,” or SAVE, database. Federal officials and the state entered an agreement allowing Detzner to use the database last summer.
On Monday, representatives from five civil-rights groups — Advancement Project, Florida New Majority, Florida Immigrant Coalition, Haitian-American Grassroots Coalition, and LatinoJustice PRLDEF — sent a policy statement to the 67 supervisors urging them not to rely on the SAVE database to remove voters.
Advancement Project led the lawsuit last year to stop a similar action by Detzner’s office. The state’s agreement with the Department of Homeland Security about the SAVE database also requires the state to create an appeals process for voters who are removed. But the groups noted that the appeals process has yet to be spelled out.
More than 80 percent of the individuals on last year’s list were minorities, the groups wrote on Monday.
“Based on this past experience, we are concerned that again this year, eligible voters of color will be wrongfully made to ’show their papers’ or otherwise reprove their citizenship before they can vote,” the statement reads.
The groups continued to question the veracity of the SAVE database used to cross-reference names on Florida’s lists of registered voters, as the federal database cannot verify U.S.-born citizens or those born overseas to U.S. citizens.
“The SAVE database is not a complete or accurate list of United States citizens; therefore it is not a definitive check for whether a person is a non-citizen,” the groups stated.
League of Women Voters President Deirdre Macnab said her group “will be paying attention” to the new plan.
“The secretary will need to pack a lot of shoe polish given the track record that previous voter purges have had in Florida,” said Macnab, noting the fears that Scott’s original plan could have caused eligible voters to be disenfranchised.
by The News Service of Florida
New Florida Gambling Rules At Odds With Poarch Creeks, Others In Industry
September 12, 2013
“Jockeys” — including those at Poarch Creek operated facility — would have to hang up their jeans and cowboy hats, and all race tracks would be required to have oval shapes under a set of new rules proposed by gambling regulators.
The proposed rules, released by the state Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering last week and up for discussion for the first time at a workshop Oct. 16, are an attempt to rein in the proliferation of questionable practices at race tracks and jai alai frontons throughout the state, ranging from “flag-drop” horse races to a fronton without a full roster of players.
But insiders say the draft rules, while a good starting place, are riddled with problems and demonstrate a lack of knowledge of Florida’s gambling industry, a cash cow for the state and for operators.
“Some of them make sense. Some of them haven’t been thought out very well,” said Kent Stirling, executive director of the Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association. “One or two are pretty silly.”
Regulators’ decisions about permits and practices over the past few years have spawned 21 active lawsuits and deepened the animosity between the highly competitive operators. Lawmakers also are preparing to tackle the contentious gambling issues during the 2014 legislative session.
After getting beat up in the media and in courtrooms, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation is holding workshops on the proposed gambling rules crafted around laws the agency described in a news release as “unclear” and lacking “many standards necessary to ensure the continued integrity of pari-mutuel wagering.” The Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering is part of the department.
The draft rules as written “gut the horse industry in Florida,” said Marc Dunbar, a gambling lawyer and part-owner of a Gretna facility where regulators granted the first-ever rodeo-style “barrel racing” permit. An administrative law judge later ruled the agency erred in granting the permit, and a consent order between Dunbar and DBPR allowed Creek Entertainment Gretna — operated by the Alabama-based Poarch Band of Creek Indians — to instead hold “flag-drop” horse races and thereby keep its lucrative card room at the facility west of Tallahassee.
“I’m surprised they came out with something where they clearly didn’t understand the ramifications of the words that they put on the page,” Dunbar said.
The rules appear intended to stamp out future attempts at barrel racing or other non-traditional horse races in a variety of ways, including barring “the racing animal to change course in response to any obstacles on the racing surface” and setting up new requirements for jockeys, including that they “wear racing silks consisting of white pants and racing colors registered with the racing secretary” and weigh less than 130 pounds.
But the draft rules also would impose restrictions on current horse races that would devastate the industry if left unchanged, said Stirling, whose organization represents horse breeders and trainers.
Races that don’t comply with the eight new proposed race regulations would not count toward performances, which means they could affect tracks’ ability to simulcast other races but would have no impact on card rooms and, in Broward and Miami-Dade counties, slot machine operations.
The troubling changes would do away with races less than six furlongs in length and require at least six horses in every race.
Stirling said horses are often scratched from races after rain leaves tracks muddy. Operators would have to kill the entire race, creating problems for trainers and owners who’ve traveled to compete, Stirling said.
“We can’t live with that rule,” Stirling said.
The proposal that “no race must be shorter than 330 feet in length” — or six furlongs – “is a killer,” Stirling said. Two-year-olds that race in the summer can’t compete in such long races, he said.
“That’s silly. We run baby races at 4.5 furlongs and we’ve been doing it for a hundred years. I know they’re in Tallahassee but we have these things called phones,” he said.
Stirling also objected to a proposal that would require all horses to have at least 10 prior published races or workouts before entering a competition. That’s too many, he said.
The proposed jai alai regulations would require all permitholders to have a rotational system of at least eight different players certified by a “recognized national or international” jai alai association. The draft rule is apparently aimed at quelling a fight over jai alai games at Ocala Poker and Jai Alai, which began its 2012 season with just two players, drawing complaints from professional jai alai players.
Another proposal dealing with permits reverts to an old, unwritten requirement that applicants have zoning in place before permits are granted. The proposal would require a letter from local governments promising that zoning for pari-mutuel activities “would be viewed favorably.” Regulators, who once required only a letter from a land-use attorney saying zoning was available, later interpreted the statutes to mean that prior zoning is required before a permit is issued.
The workshops will give industry insiders the chance “to distill down some of these concerns of questions or confusion,” said Division of Pari-Mutuel Wagering Director Leon Biegalski.
“They’re draft rules. They’re a starting point. We want to make sure that all the permit holders and all the stake holders are on the same page in terms of what the regulation is that’s out there and what should be out there,” he said.
Some question why DBPR, an executive agency run by Gov. Rick Scott’s office, is dealing with the rules now as the Legislature prepares for its own debate. Others say the proposals go far beyond the agency’s authority to craft rules. The agency is relying on a broad statute that gives it the power to establish “reasonable rules for the control, supervision, and direction of all applicants, permittees, and licensees and for the holding, conducting, and operating of all racetracks, race meets, and races held in this state.”
In the past, the agency has dragged its feet on promulgating regulations and has been criticized, including by judges, for making some decisions about gambling without going through the formal rule-making process.
For example, the agency’s rules about poker games are 5 years old and don’t reflect a 2010 change in state laws that did away with a $100 limit on poker games. DBPR held a workshop on the card room rules in February, the first since a July 2010 workshop that went nowhere. The agency has yet to release any formal proposed rules since this year’s card room workshop. For three years, there have been no limits on poker games, yet the rules still require dealers not to allow players to enter a game if they have more than $100 worth of chips.
The rule-making process can be lengthy. Rules require a fiscal analysis before they can become finalized. New rules can also be challenged, opening the door for expensive and drawn-out legal battles. Lawyers who successfully invalidate the rules in court can win up to $50,000 in legal fees.
There is little chance that the rules will be finalized before the Legislature convenes in March or even by the end of the session in May. Still, some industry players say they welcome the opportunity to bring Florida’s gambling more in line with traditional practices.
“Some of the issues that are there, such as what kind of races can you run, are the kinds of things that need to actually be discussed. Whether or not they pass it before the Legislature passes it or not, frankly the division should be applauded for addressing the issues,” said Wilbur Brewton, a lobbyist whose clients include Calder Race Course.
by Dara Kim, The News Service of Florida
FHP: Woman Falls Asleep, Causes Quintette Wreck
September 11, 2013
Three people received minor injuries in a Wednesday morning accident on Quintette Road in Escambia County.
The Florida Highway Patrol sayd 43-year old Pamela I. Harris of Pace was eastbound on Quintette near Rocky Branch Road when she fell asleep and crossed the center line. Her 2004 Mercedes struck a westbound Ford pickup driven by 39-year old Kimberly Sargent of Jay. Her vehicle continued until it hit 1999 Chevrolet pickup driven by 42-year old Alan L. Cook of Pace.
All injuries were minor; no one was transported to the hospital.
Harris was cited for driving on the wrong side of the roadway, according to the FHP.
Blog: Where Were You That September Morning?
September 11, 2013
September 11, 2001. It’s been 12 years.
Life, at least when that morning began, seemed good. I’ve always been a work at home dad, so I was home with my two girls. The youngest was almost four months old, and the oldest was approaching her fourth birthday. It was a normal morning. The little one was asleep, “fat and happy” as we used to say, after a morning bottle. The oldest was in the living room just a few feet from my office watching PBS Kids on the TV as I worked on a project for a client.
Then this arrived in my inbox:
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 08:52am– World trade center damaged; unconfirmed reports say a plane has
crashed into tower. Details to come.
I got up, walked to the living room and flipped the TV to CNN. They were talking about how a pilot could make such an error, hitting such a large building. They were speculating that it was just a small plane. But then as the TV news helicopters zoomed their cameras in closer, the anchors were beginning to notice what I had already thought….those holes the tower were to big to have been a small plane.
I called my wife at work in Atmore. She had seen the breaking news email, and had tried to visit the CNN website to see the story. If you remember trying to use the internet that morning, it was near impossible to get a news website to load; they were all overloaded. She was unable to see the pictures. I was describing what I saw on the TV to her.
I managed to grab a picture from CNN via my web server and then download and email it to her. We were speculating about how it could happen when the second one hit.
I remember saying “wait, hold on, wait…”. I told her what I just watched on the TV. The second plane had hit the other tower. We quickly decided that we were at war as the anchors on TV speculated again that perhaps there was a problem with some navigational system, causing jetliners on a beautiful, clear morning in New York to fly into some of the tallest structures in the world.
Another breaking news email arrived:
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 09:21am– Second plane crashes into World Trade Center.
She and I began to speculate ourselves that we were at war. What would we do? What should we do? What about the kids? It was not panic, understand, but just that protective momma and daddy instinct, I suppose. Prayer. That was a good idea. Maybe go to the bank and get out a little cash. That seemed like a good idea. How would you prep for a war on American soil? We were not sure.
I continued to relay information about what I was seeing on TV to my wife at work, who, in turn, would relay the information to her coworkers. They had a TV, but no cable service or antenna. They ended up fashioning a homemade antenna to see a fuzzy picture.
Meanwhile, the breaking news emails kept arriving…
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 09:32am– Sources tell CNN one of two planes that crashed into World Trade
Center was an American Airlines 767.
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 09:42am– President Bush calls plane crashes at World Trade Center a
terrorist act.
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 09:45am– Significant fire at the Pentagon. Details to come.
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 09:46am– White House evactuated. Details to come.
The Pentagon on fire? The White House evacuated? Notice that in CNN’s email they were in such a hurry that they misspelled “evacuated”. One sentence at a time, the situation became more grave.
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 09:55am– CNN confirms a plane hit the Pentagon
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 10:03am– One of World Trade Center towers collapses; fire forces
evacuation of State Department
Subject: CNN Breaking News
From: BreakingNews@CNN.COM
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 10:30am– Second World Trade Center tower collapses in Manhattan
Over and over, we watched those towers collapse on TV, and we watched our Pentagon burn.
Our almost four year old asked a lot of questions. “Were people hurt? Did they need a Band-aid?” The magnitude of the event was lost on a four year old. Looking back at those first few hours, I think the magnitude of the event was lost on all of us.
Like many Americans, I sat glued to the TV that day, continuing to watch the video of the towers falling. Our almost four year old asked if another building fell down or if it was the same one. It was time to change the channel on the TV.
You might remember that many of the entertainment TV stations ran network news feeds. Others just simply ran screens about the day’s events. There was no USA network, no ESPN, no MTV. But on PBS, we found children’s programming at a time it was not normally on. For a little while, sitting in the living room floor holding my kids, the world stopped turning that September day, as we watched Big Bird and the Cookie Monster.
Country artist Alan Jackson later wrote a song “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?”.
Some of those lyrics:
Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day
Out in the yard with your wife and children
Working on some stage in LA
Did you stand there in shock at the site of
That black smoke rising against that blue sky
Did you shout out in anger
In fear for your neighbor
Or did you just sit down and cryDid you weep for the children
Who lost their dear loved ones
And pray for the ones who don’t know
Did you rejoice for the people who walked from the rubble
And sob for the ones left belowBut I know Jesus and I talk to God
And I remember this from when I was young
Faith hope and love are some good things He gave us
And the greatest is love
Where where you when the world stopped turning that September day? Your comments are welcome below.