Local Man Juggles His Way Onto Good Morning America (With Video)
May 21, 2012
A local man juggled his way onto national TV over the weekend, appearing Saturday on ABC’s Good Morning America.
Joe Salter, 31, has made the national news for completing a recent triathlon — while juggling (video below). Salter juggled three balls while swimming a quarter mile, juggled two balls in one hand while biking 17 and ran another four miles still juggling. And he did it all in the respectable time of 1 hour and 57 minutes for a world record.
Salter, the son of Rita and Mickey Salter of Flomaton, started juggling at age eight. He trained about 10 months for “joggling” (jogging and juggling tossed together) through a complete triathlon.
He finished the entire running and biking portion of the triathlon without dropping a ball. Swimming was not so smooth, as he dropped the balls three times. But they float, so no time lost in the retrieval.
Salter’s world record attempt came during the recent Flora-Bama Mullet Man Triathlon to benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Northwest Florida.
Pictured top: Joe Salter joggles his way toward the finish line of a triathlon and a world record. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Highway 97 Traffic Shifted For Hwy 29 Turn Lane
May 21, 2012
Traffic has been shifted on Highway 97 at Highway 29 as a construction project gets underway to add a new turn lane at the intersection.
Anderson Columbia will construct a right turn lane from southbound Highway 97 to southbound Highway 29. For the next three months, drivers can expect delays, intermittent lane shifts and closures, according to the Florida Department of Transportation. However, no lane closures will be permitted between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m.
“Drivers are reminded to pay attention to the speed limit when traveling through the construction area, and to use caution, especially at night when driving in work zones,” according to Tanya Sanders Branton, public information specialist for FDOT.
Pictured: Lanes have been shifted as part of the construction of a turn lane from Highway 97 to south Highway 29 in Molino. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Jacksonville Comes Back, Downs Pensacola Wahoos 4-3
May 21, 2012
The Jacksonville Suns overcame a 3-0 deficit to beat the Pensacola Blue Wahoos 4-3 and even the series at two games apiece at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville on Sunday afternoon.
Joel Guzman continued his hot hitting at his former stomping grounds with an RBI double in the top of the second to put Pensacola ahead 1-0. The Wahoos added to it when Ryan LaMarre singled home Mark Fleury in the seventh to make it 2-0. In the sixth, the fish added another insurance run on a suicide squeeze by Stephen Hunt scoring Brodie Greene from third.
Daniel Corcino had retired 11 straight batters heading into the bottom of the sixth before Danny Black singled to open the inning. His hit was quickly followed by two-run homer by Donnie Webb, his first of the season.
Corcino was finished after six. He allowed just the two runs on only four hits. He struck out a season-high nine batters.
A pinch-hit double from Shawn Bowman drove home the tying run in the bottom of the seventh. The Suns plated the winning run the next inning when Kyle Jensen doubled to deep left field scoring Kyle Skipworth from first base. Clayton Tanner (0-3) gave up the game-winning hit and was saddled with the loss after working 1.1 innings. Evan Reed (3-1) held the Wahoos scoreless over the game’s final two innings to earn the win. Pensacola threatened with runners at the corners and only one out in the top of the ninth, but pinch hitter Yordanys Perez grounded into a game-ending double play.
The two teams will wrap up the series on Monday morning when the Blue Wahoos send right-hander Tim Crabbe (1-2, 4.24) to the mound against Suns righty Omar Poveda (3-1, 5.05). First pitch is set for 10:05 a.m. central time.
By Tommy Thrall
Pictured: Daniel Corcino struck out a season-high nine batters over six innings Sunday for the Blue Wahoos in Jacksonville. Photo by Chris Nelson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
2-Week Click It Or Ticket Seat Belt Campaign Begins Today
May 21, 2012
The Florida Highway Patrol, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and other law enforcement agencies have began a two-week “Click It or Ticket” crackdown designed to increase seat belt use and decrease motor vehicle fatalities across the county. The campaign will run day and night.
“While Florida reached a record high last year for safety belt use, we still see many drivers and passengers who fail to buckle up. All too often it ends in tragedy,” said FHP Director, Col. David Brierton. “One of our goals is to save lives through education and enforcement campaigns such as Click it or Ticket.”
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2010 nationally, 61 percent of the 10,647 passenger vehicle occupants who were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes overnight (6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m.) were not wearing their seat belts at the time of the fatal crash, compared to 42 percent during the daytime hours.
“While Florida reached a record high last year for safety belt use, we still see many drivers and passengers who fail to buckle up. All too often it ends in tragedy,” said FHP Director, Col. David Brierton. “One of our goals is to save lives through education and enforcement campaigns such as Click it or Ticket.”
Democratic Leader: Battered Women Not Protected By ‘Stand Your Ground’
May 21, 2012
Incoming Senate Democratic Leader Chris Smith has ratcheted up criticism of Florida’s “stand your ground” law, pointing to a loophole that could endanger some women, rather than protect them.
Smith’s remarks came in response to a recent case in which a Jacksonville woman was sentenced in a domestic assault case.
Smith said the law – which allows people to shoot back when threatened without a duty to retreat – could actually end up making domestic violence victims more vulnerable.
Smith, an attorney, said the “stand your ground” law affords domestic violence victims fewer rights than they had before it was passed in 2005 – unless they have an injunction for protection.
“An invited guest is considered a ‘resident’ under the law,” he wrote in a recent analysis. “This means that as soon as a woman invites her ex-husband to pick up their children at her home, she is powerless to defend herself, even if she holds sole title to the property. Given that most attacks happen at home, by relatives or individuals known to the victim, this loophole in the law is unconscionable.”
While the Trayvon Martin killing that has brought the stand your ground self defense law into new focus in Florida involved two young men, Martin and shooter George Zimmerman, some of the focus on the need for a lenient self defense law has begun to focus on the needs of women.
Incoming Senate President Don Gaetz and his son, Rep. Matt Gaetz, both Republicans, made that claim in a recent editorial headlined: “Calls to repeal Stand Your Ground are anti-woman.:
“Consider an elderly woman in a dimly lit parking lot or a college girl walking to her dorm at night,” they wrote in the May 2 Northwest Florida Daily News in Fort Walton Beach. “If either was attacked, her duty was to turn her back and try to flee, probably be overcome and raped or killed. Prior to Stand Your Ground, that victim didn’t have the choice to defend herself, to meet force with force.”
Both Gaetz senior, R-Niceville, and Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala and House sponsor of the measure, dismissed concerns by Smith that for other women, the law makes things worse.
“Sen. Smith’s been working too hard,” said Baxley. “He needs to let the Citizen Safety and Protection Task Force, which has a lot of smart people on it, complete their work before he starts proposing changes to statute.”
The Citizen Safety and Protection Task Force was appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to review the “stand your ground” law following Martin’s death Feb. 26 in Sanford in a case that has drawn international attention.
Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, entered a not-guilty plea after remaining free for five weeks – until the case had become a national controversy.
Now, after an organizational meeting earlier this month, the Scott task force is slated to hold its first public hearing in Sanford on June 12. Baxley is a member of the panel, which has been criticized for including him and two other lawmakers who voted for the “stand your ground” law – plus a fourth, Jason Brodeur, who was elected in 2010 and sponsored last year’s law banning doctors from asking patients about guns in their homes.
The panel’s chair, Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, also voted for “stand your ground” while a House member. There are no known gun-control advocates on the panel.
Smith did not wait for Scott to name his panelists before creating a separate, South Florida-based task force that recommended changes to “stand your ground” last month. These included grand jury involvement, public education, and a self-defense claims tracking system.
On Friday, Smith also said a domestic violence exemption should be part of the overhaul.
He said he was “very surprised” to discover the domestic violence provision last week after 31-year-old Marissa Alexander of Jacksonville was sentenced in an assault case for firing a shot at her husband during a dispute in their home when she said she was under attack.
Using a “stand your ground” defense, Alexander rejected a plea bargain, lost her case and received a 20-year sentence under a mandatory minimum law for gun crimes.
“I immediately thought how Gaetz and others are talking about poor, helpless women defending themselves,” said Smith. “More women are attacked in their homes than in the Publix parking lot.”
The Gaetzes wrote that “[i]mposing a duty-to-flee (puts) the safety of the rapist above a woman’s own life. In fact, until Stand Your Ground was passed, criminals were suing victims because victims, in protecting themselves, were allegedly using excessive force against the criminals.”
Gaetz senior called Smith a good friend and a good lawyer.
“If he believes that there’s a way that we can strengthen Second Amendment protections for battered women, I’m all ears, and I can’t wait for him to introduce the legislation,” Gaetz said.
The discussion comes as Republicans and Democrats are locked in a national debate about which party better supports women.
In the case of Marissa Alexander, Jacksonville Congresswoman Corrine Brown, a Democrat, called on the U.S. Department of Justice to study whether “stand your ground” is applied fairly.
Meanwhile, the Gaetzes also saw a role for stand your ground in the national debate.
“Riding the extreme rhetoric of Al Sharpton and encouraged by the ‘concerns’ of U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, anti-gun groups have already declared ['stand your ground'] guilty of murder and sentenced it for repeal by the Florida Legislature,” wrote the Gaetzes in their op-ed.
Baxley said other laws might be more applicable to domestic violence cases than “stand your ground.”
“I think what we’re figuring out is – case by case – sometimes it applies and sometimes it doesn’t.
“I am going to continue to be very cautious about doing anything to ["stand your ground"] that would diminish law-abiding citizens from defending themselves,” he said.
By The News Service of Florida
Today Is Spring 2011 Drought Disaster Loan Deadline
May 21, 2012
Today is the deadline for small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private non-profit organizations of all sizes to file for federal economic injury disaster loans available in Florida as a result of drought that began on April 1, 2011.
These loans are available in the counties of Escambia, Holmes, Jackson, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa and Walton in Florida.
“These counties are eligible because they are contiguous to one or more primary counties in Alabama. The Small Business Administration recognizes that disasters do not usually stop at county or state lines. For that reason, counties adjacent to primary counties named in the declaration are included,” said Frank Skaggs, director of SBA’s Field Operations Center East in Atlanta.
“When the Secretary of Agriculture issues a disaster declaration to help farmers recover from damages and losses to crops, the Small Business Administration issues a declaration to eligible entities affected by the same disaster,” Skaggs added.
Under this declaration, the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program is available to eligible farm-related and nonfarm-related entities that suffered financial losses as a direct result of this disaster. With the exception of aquaculture enterprises, SBA cannot provide disaster loans to agricultural producers, farmers, or ranchers, but nurseries are eligible to apply for economic injury disaster loans for losses caused by drought conditions.
The loan amount can be up to $2 million with a 4 percent interest rate for eligible small businesses and 3 percent for non-profit organizations with terms up to 30 years. The SBA determines eligibility based on the size of the applicant, type of activity and its financial resources. Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition. These working capital loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that could have been paid had the disaster not occurred. The loans are not intended to replace lost sales or profits.
Disaster loan information and application forms may be obtained by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing) or by sending an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Loan applications can be downloaded from the SBA’s website at www.sba.gov . Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.
Those affected by the disaster may also apply for loans electronically from SBA’s website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/ .
New 5-Year Plan For Century To Be Unveiled
May 20, 2012
A new direction for the Town of Century is set to be unveiled Monday night in the form of a marketing plan covering the next half decade.
Century hired the Pensacola marketing firm Ideawörks to create the new five-year comprehensive marketing strategy to include “grant identification, development, PR plan, five-year marketing plan and budget”.
The plan was part of an $11,450 package purchased late last year that included $4,200 for a “basic website design”, $1,750 for a content management system (CMS) to allow town employees to update the website, and $5,500 for the marketing plan.
The website was unveiled early this month with the slogan “Century. Traditional Values. Today’s Technology”. The goal of the site is to offer information “about local government, services the municipality offers, news, events, business information and more. The site includes Century’s history, photographs from around the town, city and council news, staff directory, information regarding economic development, resource links and a handful of other items”.
The site does not currently include town council agendas or minutes from previous meetings. It does provide a searchable municipal code database provided by an outside company.
The new site is located at centuryflorida.com.
Monday night at 6:00 during a special council workshop, Ideawörks is set to present the five-year marketing plan for Century.
Caron Sjöberg, president of Ideawörks, has previously said one of the primary goals of the website and plan is economic development for Century.
Pictured: Screenshots of Century’s new website.
Clear Night, Sunny Monday
May 20, 2012
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 61. East wind between 5 and 10 mph becoming calm.
- Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 90. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph.
- Monday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 64. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 89. Calm wind becoming northwest between 5 and 10 mph.
- Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 62. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph.
- Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 66. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. Calm wind becoming south between 5 and 10 mph.
- Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 67. South wind between 5 and 10 mph becoming calm.
- Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 92.
- Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 67.
- Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 95.
- Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 68.
- Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 94.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: A Numbers Game For Jobs, Schools, Lobbyists
May 20, 2012
Gov. Rick Scott has spent the past several months talking about two big issues: adding jobs and bolstering the public-education system.
So Scott could preen a little Friday when new figures showed the state’s unemployment rate had dropped to 8.7 percent in April, down 0.3 percentage points from March and 1.9 points from April 2011.
But the picture in the education system wasn’t so upbeat. The state Board of Education called an emergency meeting Tuesday to lower the passing score on statewide writing tests after results showed that most students wouldn’t meet more-rigorous standards.
After more than a decade of Republican leaders emphasizing the need for higher standards and accountability, some state board members reluctantly approved the change. At the same time, the move added fuel to the arguments of Democrats and the Florida Education Association that the state’s focus on standardized tests has run amok.
CLAWING BACK THE FCAT
The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test has been the backbone of the state’s controversial efforts to measure the performances of students, teachers and schools.
With this year’s tests, the state ratcheted up the standards for passing the writing portion of the FCAT in fourth, eighth and 10th grades. In part, students needed to score a 4.0 or better on a 6-point grading scale, up from 3.0 last year.
Also, the state made other changes, including placing more emphasis on writing basics such as punctuation, capitalization and grammar.
But the test results showed a huge drop in the number of students meeting the standards. In fourth grade, the passing rate dropped from 81 percent to 27 percent; in eighth grade, it dropped from 82 percent to 33 percent; and in 10th grade, it dropped from 80 percent to 38 percent.
With FCAT scores affecting such sensitive issues as school grades, the state Board of Education moved quickly to call Tuesday’s emergency meeting. Board members agreed to dial back the passing score to 3.0 this year, despite some reluctance.
“The change from 4.0 to 3.0 looks like we are lowering standards,” said board member John Padget, of Key West. “I’m only voting on this so we can hold (schools) harmless for this year only.”
But other board members rejected the idea that they were lowering standards.
“This is absolutely not a retreat, said Vice Chairman Roberto Martinez, of Coral Gables. “It is maintaining the equivalence with last year, we’re just using a much more rigorous application of the scoring rubric.”
Regardless, the change caused the Department of Education to say it did not adequately prepare schools and teachers for the tougher standards.
“This conversation should have come up earlier,” Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson said. “We’ll do better going forward.”
The change also reignited long-simmering arguments about whether the state’s heavy reliance on the FCAT is wise.
“Florida’s overemphasis on testing is insane,” said former Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach. “We have become a school system whose entire purpose seems to be to prepare kids for minimal competence tests.”
For his part, Scott issued a rather-nebulous statement Monday.
“Our students must know how to read and write, and our education system must be able to measure and benchmark their progress so we can set clear education goals,” Scott said in the statement. “The significant contrast in this year’s writing scores is an obvious indication that the Department of Education needs to review the issue and recommend an action plan so that our schools, parents, teachers and students have a clear understanding of the results.”
GETTING TO WORK
Scott, who won the governor’s office in 2010 on a theme of “Let’s Get to Work,” was far from nebulous Friday after the April unemployment numbers came out.
“Florida’s jobless rate moved to its lowest point in more than three years and is a clear sign we are moving Florida in a direction that gives businesses and job creators the confidence they need to grow and expand,” he said in a statement.
The jobs report, released by the Department of Economic Opportunity, also included other positive signs. As an example, the number of jobs in Florida was 7,325,300 in April, up 52,600 from last year. Also, the number of counties with double-digit unemployment rates fell from 10 in March to five in April.
But other indicators showed that Florida’s job problems continue. For instance, one factor in the lower unemployment rate is that the civilian labor force dropped by 28,000 people.
“Having the unemployment rate fall because people have given up looking for a job is not an improvement,” University of Central Florida economist Sean Snaith said.
The April numbers came just days after Florida TaxWatch issued a report showing that a government entity is the largest employer in 51 of 67 counties. Scott argues that the key to Florida’s economic growth is private-sector jobs.
“While this analysis does not consider the total size of government employment compared to total private employment, it is certainly clear that the government has a massive direct effect on local economies throughout the state through employment and payroll practices, in addition to the indirect effects that government actions, such as regulation, have on the economy,” TaxWatch said in the report. “Moreover, for many counties the potential closure of a military base or correctional facility, or large layoffs due to federal, state, or local budget shortfalls, poses a significant economic threat.”
NO EMPLOYMENT HELP NEEDED HERE
While many Florida workers and businesses might be scraping by, Tallahassee’s lobbying industry appears to be doing just fine.
Lobbyists this week had to file compensation reports for the first three months of the year, which included the 2012 legislative session. Those reports showed that 16 lobbying firms each raked in more than $500,000 in fees during the quarter.
Four firms collected more than $1 million. Those firms were Ballard Partners, GrayRobinson, Ronald L. Book PA and Southern Strategy Group.
Among the issues generating large amounts of lobbying fees was the big-money fight about allowing resort casinos in the state. The casino proposal died, but it could re-emerge — with the possibility of another big payday for lobbyists — — in the future.
HEADED FOR THE DOOR
Steve MacNamara probably won’t wind up in any unemployment line. But after a flurry of critical news reports, the hard-charging MacNamara submitted his resignation last weekend as Scott’s chief of staff.
Adam Hollingsworth, who served as chief of staff to former Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton, will replace MacNamara as of July 1.
MacNamara had planned to leave the Scott administration by the end of the year, but the critical reports about his handling of such things as government contracts sped up the move.
“It has been a pleasure and an honor serving you, but the recent media attention I have been receiving has begun to interfere with the day-to-day operations of this office,” MacNamara said in his resignation letter. “I feel now is the time to plan for me to depart, for you to name my replacement and for us to work on a smooth transition.”
STORY OF THE WEEK: The state Board of Education lowers the passing score on FCAT writing tests.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Hey governor, it’s Jim. I’m sure you know our friendship has ended, is over, and I’m just very saddened by that. But I wanted you to know personally from me that in the future there’s probably going to be things coming out that are going to be very hurtful to both you and Carole (Crist). But I’ll be honest with you, I don’t care anymore because I did everything that I could for you.” — part of a 2011 voice mail message that former state Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer left for former Gov. Charlie Crist. The Tampa Bay Times reported that Crist thought Greer was trying to extort money from him.
By The News Service of Florida
Abundant Life Youth Place In Fine Arts Competition, Head To Nationals
May 20, 2012
Several youth from the Abundant Life Assembly of God in Century attended the Assemblies of God Fine Arts Competition in Marianna recently. After winning superior in their categories, they were invited to attend the National Fine Arts Competition in Louisville, KY.
The band “The Bridge” placed in the fine arts competition. Zach Ingram won Superior with an invitation to nationals for songwriting, and Victoria Creamer had a separate solo Superior win with an invitational to the national competition.
Pictured: The band “The Bride” from Abundant Life Assembly of God with (L-R) Caleb Ingram, percussion; Zach Ingram, guitar and songwriter; and Victoria Creamer, vocals. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.