Pallbearer Charged With Stealing Guns Hours After Uncle’s Death
September 17, 2012
An Cantonment man named a pallbearer at his uncle’s funeral has been charged with stealing guns from the uncle’s house hours after he had a heart attack .
Robert Michael Lanquist, Jr., 22, was charged with four felony counts of grand theft of a firearm.
The guns were reportedly taken while Lanquist’s aunt was at the hospital as his uncle passed away. A handgun and two rifles were stolen from a gun safe, while a handgun was taken from the headboard of the uncle’s bed.
Lanquist’s mother called his aunt and tipped her off that he may have taken guns from the deceased uncle’s home, according to an arrest report. When Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies and an ATF agent contacted Lanquist at his residence, he granted them permission to search the house. They reported finding the weapons hidden in a crawlspace under the home.
Deputies said Lanquist admitted to taking the guns when questioned.
County Commission To Consider Utility Bill Fee Increase
September 17, 2012
The Escambia County Commission will hold a public hearing Thursday to discuss a proposal that could mean an increase in electric and natural gas bills for residents of the unincorporated areas of the county. It’s a plan that Gulf Power is speaking out against.
The plan would costs consumers an extra $2.5 million to $3 million per year that would be used for economic development efforts.
In the 1990’s, Escambia County granted power franchises to Gulf Power and Escambia River Electric Cooperative, and a natural gas franchise to the City of Pensacola. As part of the franchise agreements, the companies are required to collect and pay the county five percent of gross revenue collected on the sale of electricity and natural gas up to a maximum amount for each category. The county’s proposal would increase those caps by 50 percent.
“I don’t support the franchise fee increase,” Commissioner Wilson Robertson said during an August meeting of the Escambia County Commission. He was the lone vote against setting the franchise tax increase public hearing, while commissioners Kevin White and Grover Robertson voted yes. Commissioners Gene Valentino and Marie Young were absent.
For residential customers and small offices, the maximum amount for the franchise fee on their bills would increase from $10 to $15 per month. Effectively, the increase would not kick in unless a customer’s gross electric bill exceeded $200 each month.
The county’s proposal would increase the maximum franchise fee paid by medium size offices and retailers for $75 to $112.50 per month, and large offices and retailers from $300 to $440. The largest electric franchise fee increase would be on large industrial users from $3,000 to $4,500 per month. And for gas, commercial users would see the monthly cap increase from $750 to $1,125, while industrial uses would see a potential monthly gas bill increase from $3,000 to $4,500.
The Escambia County Commission will hold a public hearing on increasing utility franchisee fees paid by consumers in the county at 5:31 p.m. on Monday September 17.
Century Finalizing $2.9 Million Budget
September 17, 2012
The Town of Century is set to consider a budget that is $2.14 million less than the last fiscal year’s budget.
The proposed 2012-2013 budget is $2,889,827. Last year’s $5,032,816 budget was unusually large for Century due to grant income and expenditures of $1,913,000.
There will be no increase in ad valorem taxes this year to meet the budget for fiscal year 2012-2013, which begins October 1.
To view a summary of the budget in pdf format, click here or the image below.
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Miller: 225 Years Under The Constitution
September 17, 2012
It was on September 17, 1787 that our United States Constitution was signed by thirty-nine men and sent to the states for ratification. For 225 years this precious document has stood as the foundation upon which our great nation is governed, and for 225 years, it is what our nation’s service members have bravely and honorably committed themselves to protect and defend.
While we will celebrate the anniversary of its signing on Constitution Day, we must always remember the importance of the Constitution and that it is equally relevant today as it was more than two centuries ago.
The Constitutional Convention that was convened to draft this founding document took place over the course of four long months. Each member of the Constitutional Convention realized the significance of the document they were drafting. They knew that this document would forever bind the states of our nation together to form a “more perfect union.” Our Founding Fathers realized the importance of ensuring that Constitutional powers were clearly defined and limited in nature. They ensured that the Constitution provided for a system of checks and balances so that the separate branches of government could not expand their power to areas outside of their Constitutional authority. And they ensured that the specific powers not delegated to the federal government by the Constitution would be reserved to the states and the people.
What the Framers did not intend for the Constitution to be is the Supreme Law of the Land that we can pick and choose to uphold at a time of our liking. Whether by preventing the Legislative Branch from carrying out our Constitutional obligation to provide oversight, ignoring the role of the Senate in judicial and executive appointments, or simply using executive orders to pass legislation that has failed to pass Congress, the current Administration has repeatedly sought to overstep its boundaries. This is not the freedom the Founding Fathers had in mind and for which they fought and enshrined in our Constitution.
After 225 years, the importance and meaning of the United States Constitution still holds true today, and it must not be abandoned. As we celebrate its anniversary, we must remember why we are still the greatest nation on earth. We must remember the sacrifices that have been made by those who have so bravely defended our freedom and those who continue to do so. As long as we continue each and every day to honor and remember their sacrifice and adhere to the guiding principles enshrined in the Constitution, we will remain the world’s shining beacon of freedom, liberty, and justice for all and should not apologize for it.
Caregiver Support Meeting Scheduled
September 17, 2012
The Council on Aging of West Florida will host a Century Caregiver Support Group Meeting on Thursday, September 20 at 6 p.m.
There is no cost and the public is invited. Reservations are not required. The meeting will be held at Century Care Center located at 6020 Industrial Blvd. The group meets on the third Thursday of each month at the same time and location. County residency is not required to attend.
The support group is designed to reduce stress, increase coping skills, provide strategies for effective management of care giving tasks and enable caregivers to provide high quality care in the home. The programs are sponsored by Council on Aging of West Florida, the State of Florida Department of Elder Affairs and the Northwest Florida Area Agency on Aging. For more information, call (850) 432-1475.
Forecasters See Budget Surplus, Lawmakers Are Cautious
September 17, 2012
State lawmakers will have about $71.3 million of breathing room when they begin crafting the budget for the coming fiscal year, according to forecasters, but some legislators are already beginning to wonder how long the good news will last.
Amy Baker, coordinator of the Legislature’s Office of Economic and Demographic Research, told the Legislative Budget Commission that current forecasts would give the state enough money to cover expected spending and have some money left over for the 2013-14 fiscal year, after years of lawmakers facing shortfalls that often ran into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
But the relatively small amount of money, in the context of a state budget of close to $70 billion, left lawmakers looking warily at the numbers as they prepare for the 2013 legislative session. Forecasters produced similar sunny projections last year but quickly started downplaying them when the economic recovery began to slow.
“It is very good news in terms of the fact that there’s no budget gap, but we would give you the warning that there’s not much of a cushion there,” Baker said Wednesday.
There are also still risks to the fragile recovery, Baker said. There is still the potential for a monetary crisis in the European Union, which could plunge the global economy back into recession. In Washington, D.C., President Barack Obama and Congress — and potentially a President-elect Mitt Romney — have until the end of the year to come to a wide-ranging deal on spending and taxes before the nation plunges off a “fiscal cliff.”
That cliff is the result of a combination of automatic spending cuts and tax increases that economists say could cause the economy to slow again unless they are better managed.
“It’s better, but we’re not out of the woods yet,” said outgoing Senate Budget Chairman JD Alexander, R-Lake Wales. “I wish we were.”
There were also potential problems with state spending, lawmakers said. Some are concerned that the cost of the state-federal Medicaid program, which provides health-care services for the poor, could grow more quickly than forecasters expect.
“Unless we can get Medicaid costs to a predictable level, and we haven’t done that yet … we will very likely find ourselves not in a plus position of a marginal amount but in a negative position yet again,” said incoming Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville.
Alexander also said tepid growth in the state’s pension investments could force the state to provide more money to cover liabilities in that fund, draining dollars away from other programs. He noted that the pension fund is lagging behind the return rates that it generally expects, and the state’s obligations are still less than 90 percent covered.
“It does make me wonder whether or not we’re really going to close that gap,” he said.
By The News Service of Florida
Week Three: Prep Football Standings
September 17, 2012
Another week with big winners, and big losers, is in the history books, but there still have been no district games for real standings in the playoff hunt.
That will change this Friday night in District 1-6A and District 1-5A with most teams meeting district opponents. For District 1-1A, Friday night will be another week of playing non-district games.
Here’s a look at last week’s results and this Friday night’s schedule:
Northview To Host Mini-Majorette Clinic
September 17, 2012
The Northview High School majorettes will host a mini-majorette clinic.
Practices will be held September 29 and October 1, with the mini-majorettes performing during the pregame and halftime festivities during the November 5 Northview game at home against Jay.
For complete details and a registration form, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Photos: Molino Back To School Splash
September 17, 2012
Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Molino held a “Back to School Splash” Sunday afternoon with water and other activities for children of all ages.
Pictured: A “Back to School Splash” event Sunday afternoon at Aldersgate UMC in Molino Sunday. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Have news from your church? Email news@northescambia.com with the details.
FBI: ‘Bucket List Bandit’ Was Escambia County Man
September 16, 2012
The FBI says a bank robber known as the “Bucket List Bandit” is an Escambia County man, 54-year old Michael Eugene Brewster.
Brewster is suspected of robbing 10 banks in nine states from North Carolina to Arizona during the last three months. He was dubbed the Bucket List Bandit because of statements made to bank tellers that he only has months to live. Last week, the FBI launched a nationwide publicity campaign which ultimately led to a tip that identified Brewster as the bandit.
He was arrested by the Roland (Oklahoma) Police Department after running a stop sign near the Arkansas border. At the time of the arrest, Brewster was driving a vehicle reported stolen out of Florida, with a fictitious Utah license plate.
The bank robberies began after Brewster was evicted from the Torrey Village Apartments near I-10 and Davis Highway in Pensacola back in June.
During each of the robberies, the FBI said Brewster would approach bank teller, sometimes presenting a demand note. Sometimes he would allude to having a weapon, but a weapon was not seen in any of the robberies. The last robbery in which he was a suspect was September 10 in Erie, Pennsylvania.