Make A Resolution To Be More Wildlife Friendly
January 1, 2012
The tradition of the New Year’s Resolutions dates back to 153 B.C. Janus, a mythical king of early Rome was said to have two faces which allowed him to look back on past events and forward to the future.
The beginning of a new year is a great time to reflect on the issues of the past and resolve to do better in the upcoming year. The 2010 Gulf oil spill had a devastating impact on local wildlife. Florida is a state renowned for its diverse and unique ecosystems. But rapid development and environmental disasters, particularly in coastal areas, is continuing to destroy wildlife habitat. Resolve to be more wildlife-friendly in 2012 by following these easy tips from the Florida Yards and Neighborhoods Program.
Provide food
Select plants with seeds, fruit, foliage, or flowers that butterflies, birds, and other wildlife like to eat. Berries, fleshy fruits, nuts, and acorns are all treats for many animals.
Supply water
Any water you provide will attract wildlife. You could have running water in the form of a natural feature, such as a pond, creek, or other body of fresh water, but a fountain or birdbath will also beckon wildlife. Empty and clean your birdbath every few days. Do not clean it with soap or bleach—just physically scrub all surfaces with a brush or scouring-type sponge. Change the water regularly to prevent mosquito breeding and bacterial contamination.
Leave snags
Leave snags, which are the trunks of dead trees, in place if they do not create a hazard. Many birds use snags for perching, nesting, and feeding. Snags are often removed from yards or land mistakenly thought of as no longer having value. Nothing could be farther from the truth. A tree’s full life cycle at this point, is far from over.
Manage pets
If you permit pets to harass or kill wildlife, you will only hinder any efforts you make toward attracting wildlife. This is especially true for cats allowed outdoors.
Reduce insecticide use
Each time you apply an insecticide to your landscape, you reduce insect populations, which form an important food source for birds. Some chemicals can also poison birds and other animals that feed on affected insects.
Reduce the amount of mowed lawn area
Unmowed areas can contain more plant species than mowed areas, providing more potential food sources and habitat for wildlife. Reduce the mowed area around your house, especially in low-traffic areas, such as corners of the yard.
Increase vertical layering
Plant a variety of plants in different sizes and heights to provide more cover and feeding opportunities for diverse species of wildlife.
By following the simple tips in this chapter, your Florida-Friendly lawn and garden can become a sanctuary for wildlife, as well as part of a migratory passage between one wild space and another. Animals need to move from place to place, just like people. They have trouble traveling in heavily urban and suburban landscapes, but you can help them by joining your Florida-Friendly yard with others in the neighborhood to create a “natural corridor”—a safe, traversable route between woodlands, wetlands, or other wild areas.
For more specific information, visit the University of Florida/IFAS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/topic_landscaping_for_wildlife or call your local Extension Office.
Theresa Friday is the Residential Horticulture Extension Agent for Santa Rosa County.
2012 Brings Minimum Wage Increase, Unemployment And Worker’s Comp Changes
January 1, 2012
The new year brought changes in Florida for both unemployment compensation and the worker’s comp rate paid by employers.
Florida’s 26-week maximum unemployment benefit period changed Sunday to a sliding scale that ranges from 12 weeks to 23-weeks, depending on the unemployment rate. The duration will be calculated based on the average unemployment rate in Florida for July, August and September 2011. The Department of Economic Opportunity says the change is projected to save the state’s Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund an estimated $103 million annually.
The new year also means businesses are now facing an 8.9 percent increase in workers compensation insurance rates that was approved by state regulators earlier this year.
And, the Florida minimum wage went up to $7.67 per hour, effective January 1. Florida law requires the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity to calculate a minimum wage rate each year based on the percentage increase in the federal Consumer Price Index. That’s 36 cents higher than the current rate of $7.31 and above the national minimum wage of $7.25.
Damaged Guardrail Replacement Almost Complete On Molino Road
January 1, 2012
Escambia County has almost completed guardrail replacements on Molino Road.
The county’s drainage crew is replacing damaged sections of guardrail along Molino Road east of Highway 95A. The project is about 90 percent complete.
No Injuries In Hwy 97 Crash
January 1, 2012
There were no injuries in a single vehicle crash Saturday afternoon on Highway 97 north of Molino. The accident happened about 4:30 p.m. just north of Gibson Road. The driver of a northbound car left the roadway and struck a culvert.
The crash is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. The Molino Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and Escambia County EMS also responded to the accident.
Pictured above: There were no injuries in this single vehicle crash Saturday afternoon near Molino. Pictured below: The driver apparently lost control and struck a culvert. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
2011 Persons Of The Year: Health And Hope Clinic Volunteers
December 31, 2011
NorthEscambia.com is naming Persons of the Year for 2011 over the next several days. The recipients were nominated by our readers as individuals that have a made a difference in North Escambia during the past year — people that have given of themselves to help others and the communities of North Escambia during 2011. Additional Persons of the Year will be named on Sunday and Monday.
The volunteers and supporters of the new Health and Hope Clinic in Century have collectively been named North Escambia.com Persons of the Year for 2011.
The Health and Hope Clinic opened in October in the old health department building at 501 Church Street in Century. It is the second location for the clinic, which was first established in Pensacola back in 2003 by the Pensacola Bay Baptist Association to meet the needs of uninsured and medically underserved in Escambia County. The clinic is entirely volunteer and donor supported.
“It’s a real blessing,” Tammy Lewis of Bratt said on a recent visit to the new Century Health and Hope Clinic. “I found out about it from the church. It’s great to see doctors and people that will see you anyway without insurance.”
Since 2003, the Pensacola Health and Hope Clinic has provided over $8.5 million in healthcare services and 12,000 patient-provider visits as it carries out its mission of “providing health and hope to the hurting”.
Through the primary Pensacola location, the new Health and Hope Clinic offers primary medical care, preventative care, specialty care – including rheumatology, neurology, women’s health, chiropractic services and minor office surgery, full laboratory services, prescription assistance and pharmacy services and referrals to community social services.
The new Health and Hope Clinic in Century is open on Tuesdays from 5-8 p.m. For appointments, call (850) 256-6200 or (850) 479-4456. For more information on the Health and Hope Clinic and services, visit www.healthandhopeclinic.org.
Pictured top: The new Health and Hope Clinic is located in the former Escambia County Health Department building in Century. Pictured top inset: Nurse Michelle Benauer checks the blood pressure of Tammy Lewis of Bratt on a recent visit to the new Health and Hope Clinic in Century. Pictured bottom inset: An exam room at the clinic. Pictured below: Executive Director Rick Hollis discusses clinic details with volunteer Billy R. Ward of Bogia. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Tuff Times: Burglars Hit Thrift Store
December 31, 2011
The second burglary in recent months at a Cantonment thrift store is under investigation.
The owner of the Tuff Times Thrift Store on Neal Road, just off Highway 29, reported that she found the door of the business open when she arrived Friday morning and video games were scattered outside.
According to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, the burglar made off with video games, jewelry and even dog food that the business owner uses to feed stray animals.
Anyone with information on the burglary is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Yearly Roundup: The 11 Most Important State Stories Of 2011
December 31, 2011
On this last day of 2011, we take a look back at the whole year with a roundup of the stories our state news service in Tallahassee thinks were the most important of the year in terms of their impact, and how much attention they got from those who closely watch Florida state government and politics
11. TAJ MAHAL COSTS HAWKES JOB: The new First District Court of Appeal building was so nice that controversy erupted over how it got built at a time when the down economy meant other courts were trying to figure out how to fix leaky pipes and whether they’d be able to even stay open amid budget shortfalls. This story started before 2011, but the ramifications played out this year. Eventually, questions about the courthouse led to a judicial qualifications case for the chief judge, Paul Hawkes, who, late this year announced he was stepping down.
10. THE NATIONAL INFATUATION WITH MARCO RUBIO: In Tallahassee, Marco Rubio is a known quantity, having been here as a young speaker of the House and as a rising star in the Legislature even before that. But if the novelty of an Hispanic, super-telegenic, super-articulate, conservative has worn off in Florida, he’s still a hot commodity nationally. Few discussions of possible GOP vice presidential aspirations have failed to include Rubio, who has also even been mentioned as presidential material.
9. PRIMARY DEBATE: One of the first big news stories of 2012 will be the Jan. 31 presidential primary. One of the most closely watched stories of 2011 was the decision to hold it then. Florida moved up its primary to make sure its Republican voters get a say in the GOP primary before all the candidates are swept away by early results. It will cost Florida delegates at next year’s GOP convention, but Florida will play an early role in deciding the GOP nominee.
8. GAMBLING? YOU BETCHA: The debate over helping Florida get over its economic woes by opening it up to more gambling came back into the picture like a guy drawing a third ace with his second throw-back card in a game of five card draw. Lawmakers began discussing “destination resorts” in the spring, and while the idea didn’t immediately gain a lot of traction, it quickly caught a hot streak. This fall, it has been, after the budget, the most discussed item at the Capitol.
7. PUTTING BRAKES ON HIGH SPEED RAIL: Something that didn’t happen was one of the biggest stories of the year. Gov. Rick Scott cancelled the state’s plans to create a high speed rail between Tampa and Orlando and eventually Miami. The federal government had offered a moneytrain full of cash to build it, but Scott said he thought the train would be a boondoggle, and the state would eventually be on the hook to pay for it. It was an interesting, and bold, move during Scott’s first year, because he bucked the business community establishment – a key Republican constituency – in making the call. He even got sued by a member of the Legislature in his own party. But he was in line with another big player of 2011, the so-called tea party movement, which was against the train.
6. MAJOR HEALTH CARE CHANGES IN STORE: In terms of long term reach, the state’s effort to overhaul how it provides health care to the poor would be one of the biggest stories of a decade. But we don’t know what the health care system will look like in 2014 because of another big Florida health care story – the state’s challenge of the federal health care law, derisively called Obamacare – which is going to the U.S. Supreme Court. So it’s hard to say what the long term impact of Florida’s Medicaid changes will be.
5. MASSIVE BUDGET CUTS: No tourists spending money, no people buying houses adds up to no tax dollars to put into government programs. While tied to the larger over-riding story of the national and statewide economic downturn, the extent of the cuts, and the impact – while hard to gauge just yet – are a story unto themselves. The budget is now several billion dollars smaller than just a couple years ago, and those cuts will have long lasting effects. Schools have less money, health care programs have less money, lawmakers have looked to privatize prisons, juvenile justice facilities have been closed, state workers have been laid off.
4. MERIT PAY FOR TEACHERS: Gov. Rick Scott signed into law a merit pay bill that will fundamentally change how public schools evaluate and compensate teachers. For years, teachers have been paid largely based on tenure – how long they’ve been in the system. Now, they’ll be paid based on how well their students do on certain benchmarks. It’s a monumental shift, and one that was entirely possible because of Scott’s win in the governor’s race. The same bill passed a year earlier, but was vetoed by previous Gov. Charlie Crist.
3. DIVIDED GOVERNMENT: Gov. Rick Scott is a lawyer, and he’s been in some court rooms. But it’s not clear how much he expected that the judicial branch of government would keep checking his work. Nearly every major item on his agenda – from a freeze on state rulemaking, to requirements for drug testing state employees and welfare recipients, to privatizing much of the prison system, to requiring state workers to contribute to their pensions, to changing how teachers are paid, has been challenged in court. Most of those cases are still in the courts, but Scott has lost in preliminary rounds on several of them. Scott has called it frustrating, saying some judges are making law instead of interpreting it.
2. IT’S THE ECONOMY: By now, lawmakers had hoped to be well on the upswing of the graph that measures the health of the economy. While there have been promising signs, overall, the slump continues, now going past three years since it began. Housing starts are still slow, and though home sales have picked up, the reason is prices are still well below 2008 levels. The jobless rate, consequently, remains high, with 10 percent out of work, and many more underemployed. Economists say we’ve seen the worst, and while things will come back slowly, they’ll come back some next year.
And, the biggest story for state government and politics watchers this year:
1. RICK SCOTT, YOU SPENT $73 MILLION TO GET HERE. WELCOME TO A TOUGH JOB: Gov. Rick Scott takes office, a new governor coming into one of the worst economic downturns in a century. He comes in with a plan to get the state moving again – but isn’t particularly successful right away and isn’t very warmly received. He comes in promising jobs, jobs, jobs, and while unemployment does drop about two full percentage points in his first year – among the biggest drops in the nation over the year – it remains stubbornly above 10 percent right up until December, and never drops below 10 percent. He announces a number of companies moving jobs here, or expanding, but most of them are pretty underwhelming in their numbers. A couple of chain restaurants opening new outlets announce they’re hiring more wait staff – with no help from the state – than some of the companies touted by the state and getting government kickbacks to create jobs. Scott can’t get lawmakers to go along with all the tax cuts he wants, and he can’t get them to pass an immigration bill he campaigned on. He feuds with the press over access issues at first, and his approval ratings plummet into the 30s. Scott is undaunted, trumpeting the success in creating jobs. “This was a state that was losing jobs for four straight years and this year we’ve generated 134,800 private sector jobs,” Scott said. “…So we’re heading in the right direction.”
By The News Service of Florida
First Candidate Prefiles For ECUA District 5 Seat
December 31, 2011
Friday, a Cantonment resident became the first candidate to prefile for the District 5 seat on the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority.
Charlou Williams of Brightview Place in Cantonment prefiled for the District 5 ECUA seat currently held by Dr. Larry Walker.
Two Charged In Drag Racing Death Of 77-Year Old Santa Rosa Woman
December 31, 2011
Two people have been charged with homicide in connection with a drag racing crash November 26 that killed an elderly Santa Rosa County woman.
Dennis George Collier (pictured), 30, was released Friday from the Santa Rosa County Jail on $220,000 bond on charges of negligent homicide, negligent homicide with a vehicle and drag racing. About 9 p.m. Friday night, 21-year old Logan Brooks Drinkard turned himself into the Santa Rosa County Jail on the same charges. He is being held without bond.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, several witnesses said Drinkard was racing another vehicle at a high rate of speed in his 1997 Ford Mustang when he hit a 2006 Toyota Camry driven by 73-year old Victor P. Bindi of Gulf Breeze. The accident sent Bindi’s passenger, 77-year old Germaine L. Bindi, to Baptist Hospital where she later died.
The FHP said Collier was also involved in the drag race in his burnt orange Pontiac GTO.
DUI Crackdown Underway
December 31, 2011
Law enforcement officers will be out in force as 2011 comes to a close, cracking down on drunk and impaired driving.
The Florida Highway Patrol has joined thousands of other law enforcement and highway safety agencies across the nation in Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, a nationwide campaign targeting impaired driving through January 2, 2012.
Impaired driving is one of the deadliest crimes, especially during the holiday period. During the 2010 Christmas and New Year’s holiday travel period, approximately 35 percent of the traffic fatalities in Florida were alcohol related.
Motorists, bicyclists and pedestrians who comply with Flroida’s traffic laws and use sound judgment can help make the holiday period safer and less stressful for everyone, according to the FHP.
“Impaired driving continues to be a priority for law enforcement in the state, and the Florida Highway Patrol will be intensifying enforcement during the holidays,” said FHP Director, Col. David Brierton. “Our goal is to create the safest possible driving environment by modifying driver behavior – and helping drivers make better decisions.”
FHP Auxiliary and Reserve troopers are also out during the heightened travel periods.
The FHP offers these tips for a safer holiday:
- Plan ahead
- Use a designated driver
- If you are impaired, call a taxi, use mass transit or call a friend or family member to get you home safely.
- Call *FHP (*347) to report intoxicated or aggressive drivers, or if your vehicle breaks down and you need assistance. To request immediate emergency services, dial 911.
Pictured above: FHP Trooper Rafael Streeter issues a traffic citation at the corner of Highway 29 and Hecker Road in Century. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.