Headed To The Beach? Work Begins On Pensacola Bay Bridge
April 3, 2011
Work will begin Monday and continue for over a year on the Pensacola Bay Bridge — which connects downtown Pensacola to Gulf Breeze and eventually Pensacola Beach.
The Florida Department of Transportation has awarded a $3 million contract to Pneumatic Concrete Company, Inc. of Birmingham. Work will begin Monday, April 4 and will continue for up to 437 days.
The contract calls for repairing areas and cracks on the concrete beams and piles , replacing expansion joints, repairing or replacing anchor bolts at select locations and painting the steel girders over the channel. To decrease traffic congestion, work which will require lane closures will take place at night. There will be no eastbound lane closures between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. and westbound between 6:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. The channel will remain open to marine traffic.
Molino Homemakers Learn About Guardian Ad Litem Program
April 3, 2011
Guardian Ad Litem was the topic at a recent Molino Homemaker Meeting. Speaker Laura Knisbell has been a Guardian Ad Litem in the area for over seven years and has thoroughly enjoyed being a spokesperson for children. Laura is certified by the Florida Supreme Court to represent the best interest of children.
When the need arises for a child to have a spokesperson, such as an abusive or negligent parent or even drugs in the home, the guardian will gather information, put it into a report that will help a judge make the decision as to what will happen in the best interest of the child. The Guardian Ad Litem monitors the child through the court process until jurisdiction is terminated by the court. They are considered the “eyes and ears” of the court.
If you are interested in more information or would like to become a Guardian Ad Litem you may contact (866) 341-1425 or visit their website www.beaguardian.org.
The next Molino Homemaker’s meeting will be on Wednesday April 6, 2011 at Aldersgate United Methodist Church at 10 a.m. Dues are $5 per year. Visitors are welcome.
Pictured: Laura Knisbell receiving a homemade gift of jams from Becky Dorch. Submitted photo by Terri Brown for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
18th Annual 4-H and FFA Youth Livestock Show And Farm Expo Scheduled
April 3, 2011
The Gulf Coast Agriculture & Natural Resources Association will host the 18th Annual 4-H and FFA Youth Livestock Show and Farm Expo at the Langley Bell 4-H Center on Saturday, April 9.
The schedule of events is as follows:
- Swine Show: 9:00-11:00 a.m.
- Poultry & Rabbit Show: 9:30-11:00 a.m.
- Goat & Lamb Show: 11:00-11:30 a.m.
- Lunch
- Market Steer Show: 12:00-1:30 p.m.
- Preview Steer Show: 1:30-2:00 p.m.
- Beef Breeding Show: 2:30-5:00 p.m.
- Livestock Sale: 5:30 p.m.
The Langley Bell 4-h Center is located at 4810 West 9 Mile Road, one mile west of I-10. The public is invited to attend.
Featured Recipe: Chicken Enchilada Ring
April 3, 2011
This weekend’s featured recipe is a Chicken Enchilada Ring. It’s a full-flavored blend of ingredients. Adjust the chiles for milder taste.
To print today’s recipe column, you can click the image below to load a printable pdf with a recipe card.
Florida Weekly Government Roundup
April 3, 2011
Every year as the Senate and House finish up work on their respective budgets someone utters the cliché: now the real work begins as the two sides of the Capitol prepare for the horse trading of conference.
But if what’s to come is the hard work, don’t tell that the people who spent the last week – or for that matter much of the last month – sweating over the individual Senate and House budgets.
It’s already been one of the toughest weeks of one of the toughest years in the last decade for lawmakers, who have had to face crowds of people who will be affected by painful budget cuts, state workers who will lose their jobs, and fellow lawmakers who have pleaded, there must be another way.
“I wish the decisions were simpler and easier,” a tired Senate Budget Chairman J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales, lamented this week.
“It’s a tough year,” said House Appropriations Chairwoman Denise Grimsley, R-Sebring. “We’ve been forced to make some very tough decisions.”
It’s already been serious work, so to think that it’s going to get even more difficult is a bit hard to imagine.
But at the end of this week, as the Senate passed its budget out of its final committee and sent it to the floor with significant differences from the smaller House budget, Grimsley acknowledged that the conference indeed may even be harder.
“It’s just going to be tough to try to reconcile our differences,” said Grimsley. The chambers are nearly $3 billion apart just in their bottom line, not to mention vast differences in approaches to spending.
The House’s $66.5 billion budget passed its Appropriations Committee on Wednesday and the Senate’s $70 billion plan was made ready on Thursday for the full chamber. Both chambers plan to bring their respective plans to a vote this week on the floor. One of the main differences in the bottom line amount is what is included. The Senate puts more on the books, folding in, for example, water management district spending, while the House keeps that money separate.
There are big differences – such as the Senate relying heavily on significant prison privatization – putting almost 1 in 4 prisoners in a private prison, while the House has a more limited privatization plan. In some areas, they’re already in synch: both cut about 5,000 state jobs.
MEDICAID
Five years after it started with a pilot in two counties, the Florida House on Thursday voted to take the state’s Medicaid privatization experiment statewide, moving a step closer to a dramatically different way or providing health care to the poor by shifting Medicaid patients into managed-care plans.
The Republican-dominated House voted 80-38 along almost straight party lines to approve a bill that sets out a five-year process for overhauling the Medicaid program. Lawmakers for years have desperately tried to find ways to save in the now $20 billion program. Backers said not only would this plan do that, it would be better for patients.
“This bill is about taking a look at where we are today and asking a very simple question: Are you satisfied with the status quo?” said Health Appropriations Chairman Matt Hudson, R-Naples.
PENSION REFORM
Another sacred cow was tipped this week as the Senate Budget Committee voted in favor of a sweeping pension bill that would ask current employees to pay more and lock future employees out of the defined-benefit plan. Backers of the plan – the outline of which was initially pushed by a Democrat – lost two Republicans in the final vote. All session, police, teachers and firefighters have been at the Capitol to lament that they are scapegoats for the state’s fiscal woes and won’t happily bear its burden.
DESTINATION UNKNOWN
Meanwhile, the Senate threw in its cards in an effort to provide a new way for gambling interests to get people’s money – and send some of it on to the state – when backers of “destination resort” casinos ended their effort to pass a bill to allow five big new attractions based on betting.
STORY OF THE WEEK: The House and Senate budget committees this week bled, sweated and cried out budget plans that now head to the floor. Both have drastic cuts aimed at closing a $3.75 billion shortfall.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
“This was one of those decisions that had to be made.” Rep. Matt Hudson, R-Naples, echoing himself, and several others in shrugging off various deep cuts in a year when the budget is out of balance.
Two Injured In Hwy 29, Barrineau Park Road Crash
April 2, 2011
Two people were injured in a traffic crash on Highway 29 at Barrineau Park Road about noon Saturday.
None of the injuries were believed to be life threatening.
The Molino Station of Escambia Fire Rescue, Escambia County EMS and the Florida Highway Patrol responded to the crash. LifeFlight also responded but was later canceled without transporting a patient.
The accident remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.
Chiefs Bite The Baker Gators
April 2, 2011
Northview picked up two wins over Baker Friday night.
Northview 6 Baker 2
The Northview Chiefs defeated the Baker Gators 6-2 in varsity baseball action Friday night. The Chiefs picked up one run in the first inning, one in the fourth, and four in the fifth.
The winning pitcher was Colton Sims. He worked seven innings, giving up two runs on five hits. He walked no batters, and struck out six.
The leading hitters for Northview were Zach Barrow, who was 3-3, and scored two runs. Austin Arrington had a single, and scored a run. Tyler Brooks had a single, and scored two runs. The win improves the Chiefs record in district play to 6-2 on the season.
Northview 15 Baker 7 (JV)
Northview JV beat Baker 15-7 Friday. Daulton Daniel picked up the win on the mound for the chiefs. Northview’s junior varsity has 10 wins against only three losses this season.
U.S. Marshals Bust Century Child Sex Offender In New York City
April 2, 2011
A convicted sex offender who had been living with his mother in Century has been arrested by federal agents in New York City after he skipped out on court in Escambia County.
Billy Ray Square, 55, of Century, is in a New York jail awaiting extradition to Escambia County after his arrest this week by U.S. Marshals.
It was the second time in year that U.S. Marshals have arrested Square. He was arrested in Pensacola by the U.S. Marshal’s Service Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force in May, 2010, on a felony charge of sex offender violation/failing to register as required.
Square was convicted in 1993 of indecent liberty with a minor in Wilson County, North Carolina, according to court records. He was later incarcerated in Florida and released in October, 2009, at which time he moved to New York. In early 2010, he moved back to Century to live with his mother, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, but failed to register his addresses as required of convicted sex offenders.
His 2010 arrest for failure to register came after federal agents tracked him down after he used a New York state benefits card at a West Cervantes Street store. While he was being interrogated by federal agents, Square admitted that had been living with his mother at 8815 Blackmon Street in Century for at least three months in early 2010, according to the ECSO report.
After his May, 2010 arrest, he was released from the Escambia County Jail on $5,000 bond. He failed to appear for an August 18, 2010, court hearing, at which time another warrant was issued for his arrest.
No More Saturday Service At Walnut Hill Post Office
April 2, 2011
Saturday lobby service at the U.S. Post Office in Walnut Hill is no more.
The post office retail lobby will now be closed on Saturday. However, mail will still be placed in post office boxes by no later than 9:30 each Saturday. The retail lobby will continue to be open from 7:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., Monday-Friday.
The U.S. Post Office in Walnut Hill is a contract facility operated by Escambia River Electric Cooperative.
Pictured: The U.S. Post Office in Walnut Hill. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Found By TV’s America’s Most Wanted, Man Gets Life For Molesting Child
April 2, 2011
Joseph Christian Fontana, a registered sex offender, was found guilty Friday by a Santa Rosa County Jury of sexually molesting a child and sentenced to life in prison.
The 55-year old Fontana was charged with committing various sexual acts on the 11-year old son of a woman he met at church around 2001. After befriending the family, Fontana became a father figure to the child and later began to molest the boy, according to State Attorney Bill Eddins.
The crimes occurred during 2005 at a residence where Fontana was doing work as a handyman. Fontana would take the boy along with him under the guise of assisting Fontana with the work. In 2006 the victim and his older brother disclosed that Fontana had molested them.
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation; however, Fontana fled from the country before being arrested. He was located after being featured on the television show America’s Most Wanted. After receiving a tip that Fontana was in the Dominican Republic, federal marshals located and arrested him there in June, 2009.
Friday, Judge David Rimmer sentenced Fontana to life imprisonment for sexual battery on a child and for lewd or lascivious molestation. He also received 30 years in prison for sexual battery by a person in familial or custodial authority and five years for soliciting a child for sexual battery. All sentences were ordered to run consecutively.
Fontana was also designated as a sexual predator. Fontana was previously convicted in 1988 of three counts of committing a lewd act upon a child in California. In 1995 he was convicted in Pasco County, Florida, of handling and fondling a child and of lewd and lascivious act in the presence of a child. He was designated a sex offender at that time.