Photos: Century Care Center Babes And Beaus
July 28, 2010
Century Care Center recently held a “Babes and Beaus” photo shoot for their residents.
For a gallery of photos, click here.
Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
New Oil Leak In The Gulf After Boat Hits Oil Platform
July 27, 2010
Fox News is reporting that there is a new oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico after a boat hit an oil well platform early this morning. A valve was sheared off, allowing pressurized gas and light leak.
The oil is reportedly spewing about 20 feet into the air. The Coast Guard and other officials are responded to the scene and attempting to set up booming operations.
The incident was near Bayou St. Dennis, Lousiana.
Florida House Candidate Perritt Arrested On Drug Trafficking Charges
July 27, 2010
Florida House District 1 candidate Ricky Perritt was arrested on drug trafficking charges Monday night by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office.
For an update on this story, click here.
Perritt, 43, is being held without bond on felony charges of withholding information from a practitioner to obtain a controlled substance, obtaining a prescription by fraud, and trafficking in hydrocodone.
On June 30, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office received a complaint from a local physician’s office alleging that Perritt had fraudulently obtained hydrocodone through his wife, a former employee of the office, who called in several prescriptions for hydrocodone for herself and Perritt.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents allege that between December 2009 and July 2010, Perritt visited several physicians within the Santa Rosa county area for the purposes of obtaining hydrocodone. Agents say Perritt did not disclose to any of the physicians that he had already been prescribed hydrocodone by another physician. More than 1,200 hydrocodone pills were fraudulently obtained during this time period.
According to Perritt’s campaign website, he worked for the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, achieving the rank of sergeant.
His arrest came after his wife Jennifer Perritt, 38, was arrested last week on the same charges. A statement issued after her arrest by Perritt’s campaign said Jennifer Perritt has suffered from a degenerative spinal condition for the past seven years, and that she became addicted to her prescribed pain medications.
In that statement, Ricky Perritt said he was “consulting with the appropriate professionals to evaluate the situation” with his wife, and he asked for prayers for her.
Perritt announced Friday that despite his wife’s arrest, he would continue his bid for the Florida House. “I am running to give the common citizens a voice in Tallahassee,” Perritt said on Friday. “We must remember that leadership is earned, not inherited.”
Perritt’s campaign had not released any statement concerning his arrest as of early Tuesday morning.
Jeniffer Perritt was released from jail last week on $31,000 bond.
Florida House District 1 includes the northern two-thirds of Escambia County, most of Santa Rosa County and a portion of Okaloosa County. The seat is being vacated by Greg Evers who is running for Florida Senate District 2.
Hawkins First Candidate To Qualify For Century Elections
July 27, 2010
Monday, Henry Hawkins became the first candidate to qualify for the upcoming Century elections.
Hawkins filed his qualification papers late Monday afternoon for the Century Town Council Seat 3 position he has held since 2006.
Council seats three, four and five are on the ballot in Century this year — the positions are currently held by Hawkins, Gary Riley and Sharon Scott. This is the official qualifying week for Century’s elections with qualifying papers due by noon Friday.
The primary election for Century’s council is scheduled for October 5. The charter states that the primary election should be 30 days prior to the November election, but that date falls on Sunday, October 10. As a result, the date was moved to October 5. Per Florida statute, registration books will close on September 7 because September 6th is Labor Day.
The general election/runoff is scheduled for November 9, the second Tuesday in November. Registration books will close on October 11.
There will be one change for candidates this year for Century’s council. The Council has approved an ordinance that will require candidates to file their campaign finance disclosure statements electronically on the Internet as is done in other races in the county — as opposed to filling out a paper form.
Pictured: Incumbent Henry Hawkins at a recent Century Town Council meeting. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Video Allegedly Shows Candidate Stealing Opponent’s Signs
July 27, 2010
Accusations are flying between two local candidates over a video that shows one stealing his opponent’s campaign signs, and the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office is investigating.
Saturday night, Republic State Congressional District 1 candidate Greg Brown, Jr.and his wife Jennifer were videotaped as they removed campaign signs belonging to opponent Doug Broxson. The signs were removed from property near Milton belonging to Okaloosa County attorney Don Dewrell. (The complete video is at the bottom of this story.)
Brown does not deny removing his opponent’s signs, but he says he had permission from the property owner.
“The video in question was deliberately taken and distributed to appear as if I had participated in some type of juvenile campaign trick.” Brown said. “After witnessing me removing the signs, as I had permission to do, rather than call the property owner or myself, Doug Broxson’s campaign anonymously dropped off the video with press, email lists, and the Sheriff’s department to discredit me.”
The video was taken using a night-vision camera from behind a bush or tree about 8:45 Saturday night by Broxson’s son Jason Broxson. Brown and his wife are seen moving around several campaign signs, eventually removing several. Each time a car passes, the couple pauses.
The video has sound, with Brown and his wife caught speaking. The volume of the conversation is very low; however, text superimposed on the video suggest what is being said.
“Is that good?” the video alleges that Jennifer Brown said after removing signs.
“Wait…your fingerprints are still on the ones laying down,” the video claims Brown responded.
A statement released by Brown’s campaign Monday afternoon claims the signs were not stolen, and provides the following statement from Dewrell, the property owner: “Greg Brown called me several months ago for permission to place his sign on my property at State Road 87 and State Road 89 and I gave him exclusive permission to place his campaign signs there…Within that exclusive permission he had the authority to remove any of his opponents’ signs that appeared on my property. None of his opponents asked for permission.”
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office is reviewing the claims and the video to determine if any laws were broken.
“The worse part of it all is Doug Broxson is wasting the law enforcement’s time and using the media for political cheap shots instead of campaigning on real issues. Just this past weekend I hand delivered a letter to Mr. Broxson demanding that he stop a “push” poll by his campaign or his supporters that falsely claimed I had been arrested for drunk driving,” Brown said. “Doug Broxson will use whatever trick he can to win an election.”
Florida House District 1 includes the northern two-thirds of Escambia County, most of Santa Rosa County and a portion of Okaloosa County. The seat is being vacated by Greg Evers who is running for Florida Senate District 2.
In addition to Broxson and Brown, Republicans Ricky Perritt and Ferd Salomon and independent Mathias Venditto are seeking the House seat. Perritt was arrested Monday night; click here for that story.
Escambia Sheriff’s Office Investigates 13th Murder Of The Year
July 27, 2010
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the 13th murder of the year in the county.
A man was found dead at the Mayfair Motel on Mobile Highway about 11 a.m. The man’s identity has not been released.
The Sheriff’s Office has released few details, other than to say the death has been ruled a homicide.
Florida’s Citizens Insurance Rate Increase Approved
July 27, 2010
Hoping to gain ground on what critics say are actuarially unsound rates, the board of governors of the state-created property insurance pool on Monday approved rate increase requests of up to 10.2 percent for homeowners while proposing to drop rates for thousands of others in less vulnerable parts of the state.
Meeting via phone, the Citizens Property Insurance Corp. board voted unanimously to seek new rates for most of their nearly 1.2 million policyholders who get their insurance from what is now the largest property insurer in the state.
Among other large groups, the board approved rate increase requests of 7.4 percent for mobile homeowners and 2.2 percent for condominium owners. Renters would get a break, with average rates dropping 2.2 percent.
All rates must still be approved by the Office of Insurance Regulation and would begin going into effect for policies renewed early next year.
“Right now this is only a request,” said Citizens spokeswoman Christine Ashburn.
Homeowners would see a maximum increase of 10.2 percent, thanks in large part to a 10-percent cap placed on rate hikes by lawmakers in 2008. If unregulated, Citizens estimates that rates would have to rise nearly 56 percent to make the rates commensurate with the risk.
Commercial property owners will see rates going up an average of 11.6 percent, which includes a 1.6 percent increase to help build up the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. Lawmakers are trying to shore up the fund, which is used to offset losses after private companies pay out in the event of a storm.
Some policyholders in Lee County will see rates drop by 10 percent, while others in the county will see rates climb by 10.7 percent, the highest rate allowable.
Citizens now insures most coastal residents by providing wind and multi-peril insurance to homeowners, businesses and other commercial property owners. Lawmakers have spent the past several sessions trying to bolster the private insurance market by making Citizens rates more in line with what private companies would charge to cover coastal risk.
Free Today: New Orleans Saints Tour Comes To Escambia
July 27, 2010
The New Orleans Saints “Championship Tour” is coming to the Pensacola Civic Center on Tuesday.
The tour will feature extensive displays celebrating the Saints’ 31-17 Super Bowl XLIV victory over the Indianapolis Colts on February 7, 2010 — including the Lombardi Trophy.
The Championship Tour will be at the Pensacola Civic Center Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free.
“Our fans are the inspiration and foundation of our success, it is important to me and our organization to share these symbols of our Championship with as many of our fans throughout the Gulf South as possible,” said Saints Owner Tom Benson.
“We are excited to share the Vince Lombardi Trophy and our World Championship with the most deserving fans in all of sports,” said Saints Owner/Executive Vice-President Rita Benson LeBlanc. “Nowhere is the bond between a team and its fans stronger than with the Saints and our fans in the entire Gulf South region. We are very proud of the positive attention this Championship has brought our city, state and region and encourage all of our fans to come celebrate their Championship with us.”
Among the notable displays that will be included on the tour will be: The Vince Lombardi Trophy, a Super Bowl display featuring Saints’ MVP QB Drew Brees’ Super Bowl helmet and jersey as well as other memorabilia from Super Bowl XLIV, a highlight video, the Halas Trophy (won in the team’s 31-28 NFC Championship against the Minnesota Vikings) and photos taken by official team photographer Michael C. Hebert.
There will also be displays featuring the official Super Bowl ring, and an area to view memorabilia celebrating the playing career of Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee LB Rickey Jackson. In addition there will be exhibition areas including the presence of the official cheerleading squad of the Saints, the Saintsations, and an interactive element featuring Saints Experience games, as well as displays by the Marines and officially licensed Saints memorabilia and ticket information.
Bratt Man Celebrates 100th Birthday
July 27, 2010
John B. Gilman of Bratt celebrated his 100th birthday Saturday, surrounded by family and friends at the First Baptist Church of Bratt.
Gilman said his secret of a long life was “always getting along well with others”. He still lives at home, and family members said he is doing quite well, has a remarkable memory and enjoys spending time with his family.
Gilman has nine children, 19 grandchildren, 35 great-grandchildren and 10 great-great-grandchildren.
Hot, Humid, PM Rain
July 27, 2010
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 72. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a high near 94. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph.
- Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Thursday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a high near 94. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph.
- Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
- Friday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11am. Partly cloudy, with a high near 95. North wind around 5 mph.
- Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 77. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Saturday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a high near 95. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph.
- Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 76.
- Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 94.
- Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 76.
- Monday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a high near 95.