Gov. Scott Heads To Spain Looking For Business
May 20, 2012
Gov. Rick Scott will lead an entourage of business leaders and economic developers this week as he travels to Spain to drum up business for Florida companies.
Don’t call it a trade mission, though. Instead, the endeavor that begins Sunday evening with takeoff from Miami is being touted as a business development mission. Instead of looking for export opportunities, the governor is looking for Spanish companies to expand their business footprints on this side of the Atlantic.
“The mission is designed to help increase Spanish business development in Florida,” said Scott spokesman Lane Wright, who will accompany the governor on the three day mission. “We already have more than 300 Spanish companies doing business in the state. We want to grow that.”
“I want a thousand of them,” Scott said Wednesday morning during a radio interview with WFLA in Tallahassee.
The itinerary includes meetings with the U.S. diplomatic corps and an audience with Spanish King Juan Carlos. Businesses and local officials will also have the opportunity to hold private meetings with Spanish companies. Participants pay a $1,000 registration fee and cover their own travel and expenses.
“This mission to Spain has a goal of recruiting more foreign direct investment for Florida and enhancing Florida’s image as an ideal investment destination for Spanish companies,” said Stuart Doyle, spokesman for Enterprise Florida.
For participating businesses, the trip can produce business leads and strategic relationships in Spain. Local economic developers get a chance to promote their own regions.
In 2011, Spain was Florida’s 33rd largest trading partner, with $847 million in trade between the two countries, according to Enterprise Florida data. Trade with Spain was up 6.7 percent in 2011 from the year before. Top Spanish imports include processed oils, ceramics, perfume and wine.
Florida exports to Spain are led by aircraft parts.
Among the 70 participants signed up for the tour, are executives from Florida Power & Light, The St. Joe Co., Florida Crystals, and the Holland and Knight, and Gray-Robinson law firms.
Government groups include representatives from Enterprise Florida, the Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance, and the Beacon Council, the Florida Department of Transportation, the governor’s office and Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos.
By The News Service of Florida
Kinnard Celebrates 101st Birthday In Barrineau Park
May 20, 2012
Mary Lou White Kinnard recently celebrated her 101st birthday at the Barrineau Park Community Center. Mary Lou’s brother, Burley White, ran the White Grocery Store in Barrineau Park from the 1940’s through the 1980’s. The Barrineau Park Historical Society provided the cake for the celebration.
Pictured are Mary Lou White Kinnard, her niece Faye White Conett and Craig Exner, BPHS president. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Blue Wahoos Hang On For 6-5 Win
May 20, 2012
The Blue Wahoos had to hang on for their second straight win as they downed the Jacksonville Suns 6-5 at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville on Saturday night. Pensacola got out to a 6-0 lead before the Suns plated five runs in the bottom of the seventh to pull within one.
Brodie Greene put the fish in front with an RBI single in the first, which scored Ryan LaMarre, one of two runs he scored in the game. David Vidal drove in Didi Gregorius later in the inning to put the Wahoos up 2-0. Joel Guzman doubled the lead with a two-run homer in the fifth, part of his 2-for-4 night with three RBI. The home run was his team-leading sixth of the season. Pensacola went up 6-0 in the seventh on an RBI double by Greene and a run-scoring knock by Guzman.
The Suns added some suspense in the bottom of the inning when they scored five runs against four different pitchers. They used three hits, three walks and two hit batters for the rally, which all took place with two outs. Curtis Partch was able to get Ryan Patterson to fly out to right field to end the inning. Patterson made two of the three outs in the inning. Partch worked a scoreless eighth to get the game to Donnie Joseph (9) in the ninth.
Joseph walked a batter with one out in the ninth but retired the next two batters to earn his league-leading ninth save of the season as the Blue Wahoos move within one win of the .500 mark.
LaMarre led the way offensively for the Blue Wahoos with a 3-for-4 game. He also scored two runs and stole a base. Greene and Vidal added a pair of hits to the effort. Mark Serrano (3-0) earned the win by working 2.1 innings out of the bullpen. He allowed two runs on one hit. Kyle Lotzkar started for Pensacola and went four shutout innings. He surrendered just two hits and struck out seven batters, the most of his three Double-A appearances. Graham Taylor (2-4) was tagged with the loss for the Suns. He gave up four runs on eight hits over six innings.
The series continues in Jacksonville on Sunday when the Blue Wahoos send right-hander Daniel Corcino (2-2, 3.64) to the mound against Suns righty Matt Neil .
200 Year Old Shipwreck Discovered In Northern Gulf Of Mexico
May 20, 2012
During a recent northern Gulf of Mexico expedition, NOAA, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), and partners discovered an historic wooden-hulled vessel which is believed to have sunk as long as 200 years ago. Scientists on board the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer used underwater robots with lights and high definition cameras to view remnants of the ship laden with anchors, navigational instruments, glass bottles, ceramic plates, cannons, and boxes of muskets.
The NOAA-funded 56-day expedition that ended April 29 was exploring poorly known regions of the Gulf, mapping and imaging unknown or little-known features and habitats, developing and testing a method to measure the rate that gas rises from naturally-occurring seeps on the seafloor, and investigating potential shipwreck sites.
The shipwreck site was originally identified as an unknown sonar contact during a 2011 oil and gas survey for Shell Oil Company. The Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) requested this and other potential shipwreck sites be investigated during NOAA’s Gulf of Mexico expedition. Surveys and archaeological assessments are required by BOEM to aid in its decision-making prior to issuing permits for bottom-disturbing activities related to oil and gas exploration and development.
“Artifacts in and around the wreck and the hull’s copper sheathing may date the vessel to the early to mid-19th century,” said Jack Irion, Ph.D., a maritime archaeologist with BOEM. “Some of the more datable objects include what appears to be a type of ceramic plate that was popular between 1800 and 1830, and a wide variety of glass bottles. A rare ship’s stove on the site is one of only a handful of surviving examples in the world and the second one found on a shipwreck in the Gulf of Mexico.”
Significant historical events occurring in the regions around the Gulf of Mexico during this time include the War of 1812, events leading to the Texas Revolution, and the Mexican-American War, he said.
“Shipwrecks help to fill in some of the unwritten pages of history,” said Frank Cantelas, a maritime archaeologist with NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. “We explored four shipwrecks during this expedition and I believe this wreck was by far the most interesting and historic. The site is nearly 200 miles off the Gulf coast in over 4,000 feet of water in a relatively unexplored area.”
The expedition also discovered areas exhibiting rich biodiversity. At the base of the West Florida Escarpment, a steep undersea cliff, explorers found a “forest” of deep corals, several of which were new to scientists on the ship and ashore. For several days the expedition team also imaged deep-coral communities in the vicinity of the Macondo oil spill site. On another part of the expedition, team members designed and installed a device on the ship’s undersea robot system, or ROV (remotely-operated vehicle), to measure the rate that gas rises in the water column.
Pictured top: While most of the ship’s wood has long since disintegrated, copper that sheathed the hull beneath the waterline as a protection against marine-boring organisms remains, leaving a copper shell retaining the form of the ship. The copper has turned green. Pictured inset: An anemone lives on top of a musket that lies across a whole group of muskets at the site of the shipwreck. A variety of artifacts inside the ship’s hull relates either to daily life on board or to the ship’s cargo. Artifacts include ceramic plates, platters, and bowls; and glass liquor, wine, medicine, and food storage bottles of many shapes and colors (some with the contents still sealed inside). Photos courtesy NOAA/Okeanos Explorer program for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
2011 Northview Grad McCall Graduates From Basic Training
May 20, 2012
Air Force Airman Jessie D. McCall graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas.
The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills.
Airmen who complete basic training earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force.
McCall is the daughter of Steven McCall of Thomas McCall Lane, McDavid.
The airman is a 2011 graduate of Northview High School, Bratt.
Birth – Russell John LeMesurier
May 20, 2012
Desmond and Sarah LeMesurier of Byrneville are blessed to announce the birth of their son Russell John LeMesurier.
He was born March 22, 2012, at 2:12 p.m. at Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola. He weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces and measured 18 and three-quarters inches long. His proud grandparents are J.B. and Trudie Johnson of Byrneville and Desmond and Violet LeMesurier of Woodsboro, Texas.
“Russ” has one great grandmother, Laura Johnson of Century, and an uncle, Jeff Johnson of Flomaton, and one great uncle, Bill and Aunt Angie Weaver of Byrneville.
Tropical Storm Alberto Forms
May 19, 2012
Tropical Storm Alberto, the first storm of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, formed Satuday afternoon off the coast of South Carolina. Alberto poses no threat to the North Escambia area.
For the latest on Tropical Storm Alberto, click the above image to enlarge.
Half Of Escambia 9th, 10th Graders Fail Reading FCAT
May 19, 2012
About half of Escambia County ninth and tenth graders failed the reading portion of the new, tougher FCAT 2.0 reading test. In Santa Rosa County, about one-third of ninth and tenth graders failed.
Students must pass the 10th grade reading test to graduate.
In Escambia County, 50 percent of ninth grade students and 49 percent of tenth grade students scored a passing 3.0 or above. In Santa Rosa County, 68 percent of ninth graders passed, while 64 percent of tenth graders had passing 3.0 or greater.
Scores for North Escambia area schools appear in the table below.
Sunny Sunday Forecast
May 19, 2012
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 60. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 88. East wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 60. Northeast wind around 5 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. Partly sunny, with a high near 89. Calm wind becoming west between 5 and 10 mph.
- Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 65. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph.
- Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 66. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 91.
- Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 68.
- Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 92.
- Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 68.
- Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 94.
Cantonment Man Charged With Robbery Outside Pensacola Bar
May 19, 2012
A Cantonment man has been charged with robbing another man outside a Pensacola bar.
Deangelo Kirkland, age 22 of Lincoln Street, was charged with robbery without a weapon and petit theft. Kirkland was later released from the Escambia County Jail on a $27,000 bond.
The victim said he was outside The Game Plan on Fairfield Drive about 2:20 a.m. on March 31 when he was approached by two black males. One of the suspects, later identified as Kirkland, told the victim that he owned him money. Kirkland then, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report, grabbed the victim from behind and choked him until he lost consciousness.
When the victim awoke, he discovered his iPhone 4S and car keys were missing.