Gas Prices Up, Economists Predict Tourist Lull, Slow Growth
July 25, 2012
Gas prices in the Escambia County area are up about 10 cents during the past week; that ’s about 15 cents over a month ago.
In the short term, economists believe the rising fuel prices will serve to curb those last minute summer vacation trips to Florida, including Escambia County and the local beaches.
Meeting this week to recalibrate earlier estimates on a host of indices from housing starts to unemployment, economists from the Legislature and the governor’s office made only minor changes to a forecast last revised in December.
The bigger economic picture remains largely unchanged, said Amy Baker, coordinator of the Legislature’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research. Florida is expected to avoid another recession, but the climb back remains slow.
“We are not expecting any dramatic changes in our previous forecast,” Baker said. “We are making some minor adjustments, but that’s about it.”
Compounding Florida’ recovery will be the situation in Europe, which is embroiled in debate over the structure and make-up of the European Union. The union is experiencing significant financial instability as it decides the fate of Greece and looks at other struggling countries that have become a drag on the economy.
Florida’s tourism industry may suffer as a result. European travelers have helped buoy the state’s multibillion-dollar market in recent years as favorable exchange rates have led many visitors to Florida’s shores. Such exuberance may ebb as economic uncertainty and a rising U.S. dollar make traveling more expensive.
Overseas tourism may drop by up to 2 percent over the next 12 months, before picking up again in 2014. It will not return to robust year-to-year growth until 2015.
“I’m seeing a decline through 2013 as Europe experiences the brunt of their recession,” said Clyde Diao, an economist in Gov. Rick Scott’s office.
One bright exception is Canada. Taking advantage of lower gas prices, the flow of Canadians to Florida would increase by nearly 6 percent by the end of 2013. The rebound would be welcome. Canadian tourism dropped 11.4 percent during the first three months of 2012, a drop largely due to high gas prices.
Job growth will remain sluggish as the state continues to claw its way back following a real estate and housing crash that began in 2007. Even the most optimistic projection has Florida’s unemployment rate above 6 percent until 2016.
Unemployment will gradually decrease over the next few years, fueled in part by a reduction in housing inventory and slowly rising home prices.
Sales and median prices of existing homes will continue to be soft, with another wave of foreclosures expected to temper the rising prices. Still, new home starts are up and point to a modest recovery in the construction sector, which has jettisoned nearly 25,000 jobs in the past 12 months.
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.
Pictured: The price of a gallon of regular unleaded was at $3.35 Tuesday morning in Molino. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Open House Held At Molino Tax Collector, Property Appraiser Offices
July 24, 2012
An open house was held Tuesday morning for the new Escambia County Tax Collector and Property Appraiser offices in Molino. The newly constructed new 7,000 square foot building has been open since July 2 at 6440 Highway 95A, next to the old Molino School.
For more photos, click to enlarge.
Pictured top: Customers are helped during an open house Tuesday morning at the new Escambia County Tax Collector Office in Molino. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Driver Injured When Log Truck Overturns, Cited For Careless Driving
July 24, 2012
[Updated 3 p.m.] An Atmore man was injured when the log truck he was driving overturned this morning near Bay Springs.
The accident happened just before 9 a.m. on South Highway 99 near Sunrise Trail, just north of the railroad crossing. The Florida Highway Patrol said Danny Wayne Boyington, 48, was at fault in the crash.
Witnesses told the FHP that Boyington’s 2005 Freightliner was in both the north and southbound lanes as he traveled southbound and attempted to negotiate a curve. He over-corrected, ran off the paved portion of the roadway and overturned onto the shoulder of the road.
Boyington was transported by Escambia County EMS to Molino and then airlifted by LifeFlight to a Pensacola hospital. His injuries were reported by the FHP to be minor.
There were no other vehicles involved.
The Molino and Cantonment stations of Escambia Fire Rescue also responded to the crash.
Pictured top and below: The driver of this log truck was seriously injured in this Tuesday morning crash. Pictured inset: The driver was airlifted to a Pensacola hospital. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
One Injured In Rollover Crash Near Cantonment Post Office
July 24, 2012
One person was seriously injured in a single vehicle rollover accident early Tuesday morning on Highway 29 near the Cantonment Post Office.
A male, about 26 years old, lost control of his vehicle which flipped into a ditch and came to rest upside down. The man was briefly trapped in his vehicle following the 2 a.m. crash. He was extricated in just a few minutes and transported by Escambia County EMS to Sacred Heart Hospital.
The accident remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. The Ensley and Cantonment stations of Escambia Fire Rescue and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the early morning crash.
Pictured: One person was injured in this single vehicle rollover accident early Tuesday morning near the Cantonment Post Office. Reader submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Mom Busted For Letting Child, 10, Drive From Taco Bell, Across 9 Mile
July 24, 2012
A Cantonment woman was arrested after allowing her 10-year old son to drive away from a Taco Bell and across a busy major highway.
A witness called the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office to report a young child driving a Buick Century on Chemstrand Road. When deputies found the car, it was stopped in the parking lot of a shopping center across Nine Mile Road from the Taco Bell restaurant. They found 46-year old Janice Louise Pauley behind the wheel smoking a cigarette and the 10-year old boy in the backseat.
The boy told deputies he had driven across Nine Mile Road from the Taco Bell because he wanted to learn to drive, a Sheriff’s Office report states.
Pauley told deputies that she first said no when the boy asked to drive. But when he asked again, Pauley told deputies, she agreed to let him drive away from the Taco Bell and across the four-lane highway.
Pauley was charged with felony child neglect without great harm and given a traffic citation for permitting an unlicensed minor to drive.
Grand Jury To Review Allegations Against Sheriff Candidate
July 24, 2012
ARCHIVED STORY — July 24, 2012
Next week, a grand jury will decide if criminal charges are warranted against John Powell, a candidate for Escambia County Sheriff, based upon allegations made by the incumbent sheriff.
State Attorney Bill Eddins announced Monday afternoon that allegations against Powell involving possible campaign finance violations will be presented to a grand jury on Monday, July 30. Powell is alleged to have accepted cash donations over the legal limit, according to Eddins.
The allegations were raised to the State Attorney’s Office in a letter from incumbent Sheriff David Morgan. Monday afternoon, Morgan said he would not comment further on the case because of its pending status.
“While I am acutely aware of the political implications of this letter and request, both you and I are sworn to uphold (enforce) laws, regardless of the timing, when made aware of such violations,” Morgan said in a letter to Eddins.
In the letter, Morgan lists about 30 cash contributions made to Powell’s campaign that were in excess of the $50 per person cash limit. Campaign finance documents at the Escambia County Supervisor of Elections Office show cash contributions to Powell’s campaign in excess of $50 in amounts that ranged from $65 to $230.
“This information was brought to my attention by another elected official. And upon further investigation, through public records posted on the Supervisor of Elections Website, it appears that John Powell’s campaign is engaged in an ongoing course of conduct in violation of Florida’s Election Law’s specific limitations on cash contributions,” Morgan wrote.
“As you can surmise, this is no small amount and is indicative of an ongoing flagrant disregard for the very statutes one swears to uphold,” Morgan continued.
Powell said Monday afternoon that he has cooperated fully with the State Attorney’s Office investigation and that any mistakes were just that — honest mistakes that were being corrected with any cash contributions in excess of the $50 rule being refunded to contributors.
Powell said Morgan’s campaign had also accepted cash donations in excess of $50 and had then issued refunds.
“We are looking forward to the facts coming out; there was no intent,” Powell said. “We will continue to cooperate with the State Attorney’’s Office and the Supervisor of Elections.”
If the grand jury should find any wrongdoing on Powell’s part, Eddins said he would not expect any resolution to the case before the August 14 primary. “If any charges were to be presented, it would take two or three weeks for an arraignment and several months before any trial,” Eddins said.
Florida law says accepting cash campaign contributions in excess of the maximum allowable amount is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year on jail or a $1,000 fine.
Escambia Academy Student, Football Player Killed In Wreck
July 24, 2012
An Escambia Academy student and football player was killed in a two vehicle crash Monday afternoon in Crenshaw County, Ala.
Noah B. Allison, age 17 of Troy, was killed when his 2011 Chevrolet Camaro collided with a 1998 International semi truck hauling batteries that was driven by 61-year old James R. Barnett of Banks, Ala. Barnett was treated and released.
The accident happened about 4:45 p.m. on Highway 29 near Goshen Road in Crenshaw County, about three miles east of Luverne, Ala..
Allison recently transferred from Charles Henderson High School in Troy to Escambia Academy near Atmore, following EA’s new head football coach Hugh Fountain. Allison was a lineman last season for the Charles Henderson Trojans under Fountain’s leadership.
The accident remains under investigation by Alabama State Troopers.
ECAT Gets $1 Million Grant To Replace Vehicles
July 24, 2012
Escambia County Area Transit (ECAT) will receive just over $1 million in funds from a $787 million transit grant announced Monday by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The $1,053,401 for ECAT will replace paratransit vehicles that have met or exceeded their useful lives. The new vehicles will be equipped with a vehicle camera technology safety system. ECAT will also purchase scheduling software to manage a fleet with zero spares.
All total, Florida will receive more than $50 million in federal transportation funds for 14 projects to revamp and renovate aging public transit systems.
In addition to ECAT in Escambia County, the list of approved projects includes $15 million to renovate transit facilities in Gainesville and $5 million for a new transit facility in Fort Myers.
The Florida projects were included in a group of 255 projects in 48 states. Since 2010, the federal program has pumped $1.8 billion in funding to replace aging transit facilities and vehicles around the country “to meet the growing demand from millions of riders across the country.”
Walter G. Bush
July 24, 2012
Walter G. Bush, 52, of Cantonment,, went to be with his mother and father on Saturday, July 21, 2012.
Walter was born October 17, 1959m in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and was a lifelong area resident of Pensacola. He was self-employed in the scrap industry. He was the heart of our family, the light of our lives and the laughter of our soul. He was a good husband, great father,and an amazing grandfather. He was a loving brother and devoted uncle. His laugh and love will be with us always.
He is preceded in death by his father George C. Bush Sr., his mother Adriana Bush and an uncle and an aunt.
He is survived by his wife, Cindee Bush; daughter, Marcie Maynard (Steve); grandchildren, Tyler Maynard, Madison McLean and Jaxon Maynard; brothers, George Bush (Sonnia) and Melvin Bush (Sonia): sisters, Caroline Bush and Adrienne Bush (Jesus); nephews, Ryan Bush, Evan Bush and Georgie Bush; nieces, Ashley Allen (Matt), Adriana Manjon and Maria Bush.
Pallbearers will be George Bush, Melvin Bush, Steve Maynard, Tyler Maynard, Norman Jackson, Ray Flowers, Ryan Bush and Fred Cornejo.
Honorary pallbearers will be Chuck Evans, Darrell Robinson, Jake Nall, Pete Arnold, John Miller, Bryan Webb, John Fritz and Jesus Manjon.
Funeral Services will be held at 10:00 a.m., Friday, July 27, 2012m at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North with Reverend Norman Brown officiating. Interment will follow at Serenity Gardens, Milton.
The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 5-8:00 p.m., Thursday, July 26, 2012, at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North.
Gonzalez Crash Injures One
July 24, 2012
There were no serious injuries reported in a two vehicle crash Monday evening on Kingsfield Road.
The accident happened just before 6:30 p.m. at East Kingsfield Road and Pompano Street. A collision between a pickup truck and a van ended with both vehicles in a ditch.
The driver of the van, according to bystanders, was transported by ambulance to an area hospital while the pickup truck driver was not injured.
The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.
Pictured above and below: At least one person was injured in this two vehicle crash Monday evening at East Kingsfield Road and Pompano Street. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Smith and Kari Doyle, click to enlarge.
