NASA Rover Lands On Mars; Beams Back First Photos
August 6, 2012
NASA’s newest Mars rover, Curiosity, landed on the Red Planet early Monday. The rover’s entry and descent was nerve-wracking for NASA engineers, compounded by a 14-minute delay as the rover’s signals travel to Earth from Mars. Curiosity became the seventh NASA spacecraft to land on the Red Planet.
Shortly after landing, Curiosity beamed two images back to earth — one showing a wheel on the Martian soil and the other showing the vehicle’s shadow on the surface (pictured top).
“No photo or it didn’t happen? Well lookee here, I’m casting a shadow on the ground in Mars’ Gale crater,” Curiosity posted on Twitter after the landing. “It once was one small step… now it’s six big wheels. Here’s a look at one of them on the soil of Mars.”
Curiosity is the centerpiece of the $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft, launched in November aboard an Atlas V rocket. It’s traveled some 560 million kilometers toward its destination, the Red Planet.
Curiosity was traveling at about 20,000 kilometers per hour when it hits the Martian atmosphere. It had only seven minutes to reduce its speed for a soft landing but NASA engineers were not able to control or even witness the events in real time. They called this period “seven minutes of terror.”
Its descent-stage retrorockets fired, guiding it to the surface. Nylon cords lowered the rover to the ground in the “sky crane” maneuver. When the spacecraft sensed touchdown, the connecting cords were severed, and the descent stage flew out of the way.
Curiosity is a “Mars scientist’s dream machine,” said Deputy Project Scientist Ashwin Vasavada ahead of its launch. “This rover is not only the most technically capable rover ever sent to another planet, but it’s actually the most capable scientific explorer we’ve ever sent out,” he said.
Curiosity is the size of a small car and has 17 cameras. It’s much larger than previous rovers and can travel as far as 200 meters per day. It’s a nuclear-powered mobile laboratory.
The remote-controlled vehicle can gather samples of soil and rocks and analyze them using instruments onboard.
The goal is to see if the area ever had environmental conditions that could have supported microbial life, explains Vasavada. “This mission is really about looking for those habitable environments, and not detecting life itself,” he said.
A team of space agency scientists selected the landing site, the foot of a mountain within a deep, 150-kilometer-wide depression called Gale Crater. Each layer of rock contains clues about the planet’s evolution.
Curiosity will investigate Martian geology, weather and radiation levels during the mission, which is expected to last about two Earth years. . .the equivalent of one Martian year.
Pictured top: The first images back from Curiosity, showing a shadow of the rover on Mars (left) and a wheel on the dusty red planet (right). Pictured top inset: This artist concept features NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover. Pictured below: The Mars Science Laboratory team reacts early Monday morning after learning that the Curiosity rover had landed safely on Mars.. (NASA/JPL-Caltec)
Fall Ball Registrations Set For NWE, Molino, Cantonment
August 6, 2012
NWE Bradberry Park
NWE will pursue the park’s first Fall Ball program for the Walnut Hill, Century, and Atmore area. Baseball is for children 5 to 15, and softball is open to ages 7 to 16. Games will run mid-September until the end of October.
Players will be registered at Bradberry Park in Walnut Hill with no money collected at the time of registration. A $50 registration fee will be collected when teams are created; the fee will cover park expenses and a player team shirt. Each team will also raise $5 per player, per game for umpire fees
NWE Fall Ball registraition will be held:
Friday, August 11, 10 a.m. – noon
Friday, August 17, 5:30 – 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, August 18, 10 a.m. – noon
Saturday, August 25, 10 a.m. – noon
For more information, call (850) 327-4579 after 5 p.m.
Molino Ballpark
Sign ups are underway for Fall Ball at the Molino Ballpark.
Registration will take place every Saturday in August from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. in the board room at the ballpark. Fall ball is for all ages — tee ball, baseball and softball. $35 per player.
Cantonment Ballpark
Fall Ball registration will be held Saturday, August 11 from 10 a.m. until noon.
Registration is $40 per player for all ages, no birth certificate needed, at the ballpark on Well Line Road. The Fall Ball parent meeting will be held Monday, August 13 at 6:30 p.m.
For more information, call (850) 417-0673.
Watching The Tropics, Rainy Monday
August 6, 2012
The tropics are still active with Tropical Storm Ernesto. And Florence has been downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone and is not expected to redevelop.
Details on Tropical Storm Ernesto are in the graphic above, while the final advisory on Tropical Depression Florence is in the map below. (Click maps to enlarge.)
Here is your local North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 7pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Tuesday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 90. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Tuesday Night: Scattered showers and thunderstorms before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
- Wednesday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 91. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
- Wednesday Night: Isolated showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
- Thursday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 92. Light southwest wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
- Thursday Night: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
- Friday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 92. West wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
- Friday Night: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. West wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
- Saturday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 92. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
- Saturday Night: Isolated showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
- Sunday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 93. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
- Sunday Night: Isolated showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
- Monday: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 92. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Escambia County’s Justin Gatlin Takes Bronze
August 6, 2012
It’s wasn’t the gold he had hoped for, but Escambia County’s Olympian took the bronze Sunday.
Justin Gatlin of Pensacola finished third in the men’s 100m dash at London’s Olympic Stadium. Gatlin’s personal best time of 9.79 was 0.16 behind Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, who posted a time of 9.63 seconds, which broke the Olympic record. Bolt’s teammate, Yohan Blake, took the silver in 9.75 seconds.
Tyson Gay (Lexington, Ky.) was fourth, 0.01 behind Gatlin, while Ryan Bailey (Long Beach, Calif.) was fifth in 9.88 seconds.
Gatlin had waited eight years to get back on the podium. The 2004 Olympic 100-meter champion, Gatlin served a doping ban.
Gatlin, 30, said he was inspired watching Bolt and Blake as the Woodham High graduate served his suspension, and then worked his way back to the top.
“I went out there to challenge a mountain,” Gatlin said. “I went out there to challenge the odds, not just what I’ve been through, but the legacy of Usain Bolt. I went out there to be fearless.”
Choking up, he said, “Just to be part of an epic race, I just wanted to get on the podium and be there for my country. There were a lot of people in the audience with flags so I wanted to be there for them.
Gatlin’s next event will be the 4 x 100 relay for Team USA on Friday.
State Ready To Revamp Medicaid Payments To Hospitals
August 6, 2012
With the hospital industry closely watching, the state is moving forward with a plan to revamp the way hospitals get paid to care for Medicaid patients.
Lawmakers this year directed the state Agency for Health Care Administration to develop the plan, which is designed to more accurately tailor Medicaid payments to the treatment each patient receives. It will replace a complex system that involves calculating per-diem rates for inpatient care — a system that Gov. Rick Scott and other critics say has led to wide differences in how much hospitals get paid.
Consultants briefed state and health-care industry officials Thursday about work on the plan, which is required to be submitted to Scott and legislative leaders by Jan. 1 and is scheduled to take effect July 1, 2013. The changes have high stakes for hospitals, as some likely will wind up getting paid more under the new system and others will get paid less.
Lawmakers required that the revamped system — known in the hospital world as a system of diagnosis related groups, or DRGs — not cost more than continuing the current system.
“We have to be budget neutral,” said Jim Pettersson, a managing director of the consulting firm Navigant. “We don’t have an option.”
The Medicare program and some other states already use DRG systems. But the Florida Medicaid changes could particularly affect so-called “safety net” hospitals, such as teaching hospitals, public hospitals and children’s hospitals, which treat large numbers of low-income patients.
Jim Zingale, who closely tracks finance issues for the Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida, said he was concerned about being able to get the revamped system in place by next July. Consultants and state health officials will have to resolve myriad details and also will have get approvals from the Legislature and the federal government.
“That timeline looks very difficult to deliver an accurate product that meets these requirements,” Zingale said.
Pettersson, whose firm has worked on DRG systems in other states, said the timeline is aggressive, but “it can be done.” He also said the payment systems can include provisions that help shift money to hospitals that care for large numbers of Medicaid patients.
“The states generally try to protect the hospitals that are really vested in the Medicaid program,” Pettersson said.
Zingale said it also is unclear how the DRG system would work with a broader state move to shift almost all Medicaid beneficiaries into HMOs and other types of managed-care plans. That shift, which is expected to play out over the next few years, will lead to hospitals and managed-care plans negotiating contracts that will include payments.
Though DRG systems vary, the general idea is to classify patients based on such factors as their diagnoses or types of treatments. Those classifications are then used to calculate payment amounts that are designed to more closely reflect the costs of treating patients than a per-diem rate would.
Pettersson said one possible DRG model, for example, includes numerous classifications for neonatal care. Such care can have widely varying costs because of complications suffered by infants, and the classifications could help better tailor payments to hospitals.
By The News Service of Florida
Lottery Sales Up, More Cash For Schools
August 6, 2012
Lawmakers will have an additional $48 million to spend on education construction and other enhancements under a revised Lottery scenario reached by state economists.
Tough economic times may be translating into higher revenues for the Department of Lottery, which would see total sales climb by $262 million more for the current fiscal year that began July 1 than economists estimated earlier this year.
The boost in Lottery revenues translates into more money available to the Education Enhancement Trust Fund, which was created to augment traditional general revenue education funding.
Going forward, however, Lottery proceeds will continue to exceed previous projects through 2015/16 but at a more moderate clip.
Sales of scratch-off games were up 5.3 percent from previous projections while Lotto sales will be flat. PowerBall sales growth, though strong at 12 percent, will grow at nearly half the rate as previously expected.
Hamilton Steals Three As The Pensacola Blue Wahoos Fall 7-4
August 6, 2012
The Huntsville Stars broke a 4-4 tie in the bottom of the seventh by scoring a pair of runs on back-to-back wild pitches during an attempted intentional walk to Hunter Morris on their way to a 7-4 win Sunday night at Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville, Ala. The win is the Stars’ second straight over the Wahoos in the five-game series. Blue Wahoos shortstop Billy Hamilton stole three more bases giving him 125 for the season. He is now alone in third place on the all-time single-season Minor League Baseball stolen base list.
Despite the loss, Pensacola remains just two games out of first place in the Southern League South Division after the Montgomery Biscuits lost to the Jacksonville Suns.
As they did in the first two games of the series, the Blue Wahoos scored first with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. Ryan LaMarre put Pensacola ahead with an RBI single bringing home Hamilton from third. Josh Fellhauer came home later in the inning on a groundout by David Vidal.
After getting a run in the second inning, Huntsville took its first lead with a pair of runs in the fourth. Josh Prince doubled home Brock Kjeldgaard and Morris to make it a 3-2 game. Pensacola responded the next inning when the Blue Wahoos got three straight two-out extra-base hits. Beau Mills started it with a double. Vidal traded places with him a batter later to tie the game. Then, he scored when Brodie Greene tripled to give the Wahoos a 4-3 advantage.
After the Stars tied it with a sacrifice fly in to bottom of the sixth inning, they moved in front for good in the seventh. With runners at first and second base, a passed ball was charged to Wahoos catcher Tucker Barnhart moving runners up to second and third with one out. This opened first base with Morris at the plate, so an intentional walk was called for to load the bases. The next two pitches from reliever Josh Ravin were thrown to the backstop allowing both runners to score giving the Stars a 6-4 advantage. They added another run in the eighth on their way to the win.
Ravin took the loss after giving up the two seventh inning runs, though only one was earned. Brian Garman worked two scoreless innings out of the Stars bullpen in the winning effort. Brandon Kintzler worked a scoreless ninth to earn the save.
Offensively, Greene and Vidal continued their hot hitting with two hits each. Andrew Means also had a two-hit game for the Wahoos.
The series continues on Monday with RHP Daniel Corcino (7-5, 3.09) getting the start for Pensacola against RHP Johnny Hellweg (1-0, 0.00) for Huntsville. First pitch is set for 6:43 p.m. from Joe Davis Stadium in Huntsville.
By Tommy Thrall
Pictured: Billy Hamilton had three steals on Sunday night giving him 125 for the season. Photo by Chris Nelson for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Kenneth Roy Thomas
August 6, 2012
Mr. Kenneth Roy Thomas, age 61 of Jay, passed away Friday afternoon after injuries sustained in an automobile accident. He was a native and former resident of Brewton and moved to Jay 27 years ago. Mr. Thomas was a member of Golden Memorial Holiness Church, a 1969 graduate of W.S. Neal High School, and was employed as a oil field supervisor.
He is survived by his wife, Paula Foster Thomas of Jay; daughter Nanci (Marty) Kent of Huxford; son Jeremy Alford Thomas of Daphne; mother Annie Laura Thomas of Brewton; brother Mike (Gina) Thomas of Brewton; grandchildren Cotten Kent and Cody Kent.
He was predeceased by his father Claude Thomas; father-in-law and mother-in-law Charlie and Ina Foster; a brother Ed Mack Thomas; and sister JoAnn Steele.
Visitation will be held Monday, August 6, 2012, from 6-9 p.m. at Williams Memorial Chapel Funeral Home in Brewton.
Funeral services are scheduled Tuesday afternoon, August 7, 2012, at 2:00 at Blackwater Baptist Church in Munson with Rev. Andy Boutwell, Rev. Alton Nixon, and Rev. Bill Thompson officiating. Interment will follow in Foster Cemetery in Munson.
Williams Memorial Chapel Funeral Home in Brewton, directing.
Shooting at Wisconsin Sikh Temple Leaves At Least Seven Dead
August 5, 2012
Police in Wisconsin say at least seven people were killed in a shooting Sunday at a Sikh temple in a suburb of Milwaukee. A police officer responding to the shooting was wounded in an exchange with the gunman, who is among the dead.
The shooting occurred Sunday morning as dozens of worshippers gathered at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin in Oak Creek.
Greenfield Police Chief Bradley Wentlandt says one of the first officers to respond to the incident encountered a gunman, who opened fire. “The first officer on the scene is a 20-year law enforcement veteran, an extremely accomplished tactical officer. When he arrived on the scene, he engaged an active shooter outside of the temple. Multiple rounds were exchanged. The officer was shot multiple times,” he said.
Wentlandt says officers killed the alleged shooter and that four people were found dead inside the temple.
Friends and family members of worshippers told local media that several people, including the president of the temple, were being treated for gunshot wounds at area hospitals.
A man who said his uncle was among the wounded, told reporters that Sunday services are among the biggest weekly gatherings at the temple. “The gunman came earlier than when most people come, so I think, relatively, damages were somewhat limited. But I mean, if this had happened an hour or two later, God knows how many people would be hurt or dead,” he said.
Sunday’s shooting put other Sikh temples in the area on a heightened state of alert, with local police departments guarding other temples as a precaution.
The Sikh Temple of Wisconsin’s website says about 350 to 400 people worship at the site. The Sikh community in southeastern Wisconsin is relatively small, and includes a total of about 3,000 families.
There were isolated incidents of violence against Wisconsin Sikhs in the wake of the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.
[VOA]
Cantonment Woman Charged After Wreck; 6-Year Old Seriously Injured
August 5, 2012
A Cantonment woman was charged after a wreck on I-10 in Santa Rosa County late Friday night.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 39-year old Julie Ann Yonker was eastbound on I-10 near the 34 mile marker just after 11 p.m. when she suddenly slowed down in front of another vehicle and impeded traffic.
In order to avoid a collision, William Lester Morrill, age 37 of Crestview, veered off the roadway before striking a tree. Morrill and four other people in his pickup suffered minor injuries, while a six-year old passenger was seriously injured.
Yonker was charged with careless driving/impeding flow of traffic, no proof of insurance and failure to display registration.