Nelson, Mack Bicker At Debate
October 18, 2012
The sole debate between Democratic U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and his Republican challenger, Congressman Connie Mack, turned into a sharp and squabbling affair almost from the start and rarely let up.
The back-and-forth, held Wednesday evening at Nova Southeastern University, took on a tough tone as soon as Mack began his opening statement by highlighting Nelson’s vote for President Barack Obama’s health-care overhaul and what Mack said were 150 votes for tax increases — a figure that’s been disputed by independent fact-checkers.
Nelson responded by starting out his evening calling his opponent a liar.
“I’m looking forward to pointing out what the truth is, because everything that the congressman has just said is not true,” he said.
The discussion largely followed those outlines for the next hour.
“I’m not going to let you get away with this,” Nelson said after Mack accused him of hacking away at Medicare Advantage, which allows private insurers to cover some Medicare patients.
“You’ve just painted this picture that doesn’t exist,” Mack retorted after Nelson said the economy was slowly improving. “I’m not sure which Florida you’re talking about.”
Mack tore into Nelson for his support of “Obamacare” — arguing it constitutes a raid on Medicare — and taxes. Mack repeatedly said the senator had voted with Obama 98 percent of the time.
“Is that the only line that you have memorized?” Nelson shot back once, drawing laughter from the crowd.
But Nelson also threw out his own share of barbs, citing Mack’s votes on women’s issues and the congressman’s support of the Ryan plan to overhaul Medicare by essentially turning it into a voucher program. Nelson also hammered Mack for his attendance.
“And when you show up, it’s even worse because you try to take out Medicare and Social Security,” Nelson said.
Mack swept the charges aside, repeatedly asserting that Nelson was exaggerating or lying about Mack’s voting.
“Senator, you need to do a better job of explaining your own record, because you’re really messing up my record,” he said. “Apparently, you’re looking at somebody else.”
Little changed after the debate, with Nelson telling reporters that he saw a profound difference between the congressman’s father, a Republican senator who worked with Democrats, and the son.
“It’s extremism in the raw, and fortunately that’s not where Florida is,” Nelson said.
Mack bristled at the extremism charge, even when reporters asked him about it without noting the barb about the elder Mack.
“I think this is an example of a desperate candidate who is willing to say and do anything to try to keep his job,” the younger Mack said.
Supporters of Nelson and Mack each said the other candidate had started the attacks and that their preferred candidate was simply trying to keep up.
“Connie Mack is well behind in the polls, so he obviously had to swing for the fences,” said former Democratic state Sen. Dan Gelber. “And he obviously swung wildly, and I believe in total disregard for the truth. And that set the tone.”
What was less certain was whether the evening would have any effect on voters, perhaps turning them off with the negativity.
“That’s modern politics,” said outgoing Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island, a Haridopolos supporter.
By The News Service of Florida
Bratt Fall Festival This Afternoon
October 18, 2012
The annual Bratt Elementary School Fall Festival will be held today from 3:30 until 6:30 at the school on North Highway 99. There will be local vendors, food, fun and games for all ages.
Ernest Ward Football Schedule Updated Beginning Tonight
October 18, 2012
There has been a change in Ernest Ward Middle School’s football schedule with tonight’s game moved home and new game moved next week.
Ernest Ward was scheduled to travel to Elberta, Ala., tonight. But instead, the Eagles will be at home in Walnut Hill against Escambia Academy at 6:00. A new final game of the season has been added for next 6:00 Tuesday night at Escambia Academy.
Sample Ballots In The Mail
October 18, 2012
Escambia County Supervisor of Elections David H. Stafford said Tuesday that sample ballots for the November 6 general election are being mailed to Escambia County voters this week. The sample ballot includes an image of the multi-page, multi-sheet ballot, the voter’s polling location and map, and information on early voting, absentee voting, and voting on Election Day. Voters are encouraged to study and mark their sample ballot and bring it with them to the polls.
Voters have three different ways to cast their ballot:
By Mail: Voters may vote by mail using an absentee ballot, which can be requested through the online form at EscambiaVotes.com, or by contacting the Supervisor of Elections by mail, phone (850-595-3900), e-mail (absentee@escambiavotes.com), or fax (850-595-3914). Requests must include the voter’s date of birth and the address, and must be received no later than Wednesday, October 31. Voted ballots must be received in the Elections Office no later than 7:00 p.m. on Election Day and may not be returned to a polling location on Election Day. Absentee voters may track the status of their ballot at EscambiaVotes.com by clicking Track My Ballot.
Early Voting: Early voting will be available Saturday, October 27 through Saturday, November 3, from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. Early voters will cast paper ballots through digital scanners, and may choose any one of five sites:
- Supervisor of Elections Main Office, 213 Palafox Place, Second Floor
- Supervisor of Elections Annex, 292 Muscogee Road, Cantonment
- West Florida Public Library, 200 West Gregory Street
- Southwest Branch Library, 12248 Gulf Beach Highway
- Tryon Branch Library, 1200 Langley Avenue
At A Precinct: The third option for voters is to cast a paper ballot at their precinct on Election Day, November 6, using our digital scanners. Polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. An AutoMARK ballot marking device is also available at each polling place and early voting site for persons with disabilities. Voters are encouraged to pay special attention to their polling location, as several have changed due to redistricting.
Voters are reminded to bring their photo and signature ID with them to the polls. A sample ballot is also available at EscambiaVotes.com.
Arrest Made In Century Armed Robbery
October 17, 2012
A Century man has been charged with robbing a local convenience store at gunpoint after being caught on video attempting to buy a ski mask just hours before.
Devante Aaron Knight, 20, was charged with robbery with a firearm, grand theft and committing a felony while wearing a mask or hood, for for the September 30 holdup of the Southern Pit Stop on Highway 29 just south of the Alabama state line.
Knight entered the store about 8:40 p.m. on that Sunday night wearing a black shirt tied around his head and a pistol and demanded the money from the register, according to an Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrest report. He allegedly went behind the counter and held the gun to a store clerk’s head. After getting the money from the register, he then demanded two packs of Newport cigarettes before fleeing the area on foot.
Surveillance video from the nearby Dollar General Store shows Knight in the business less than three hours before the robbery. A Dollar General employee told deputies that Knight asked for help in finding a stocking cap or mask like would be worn in the winter. The store did not have the item in stock.
Knight’s clothing on the Dollar General video was the same clothing worn during the robbery attempt, the arrest report states, and store clerks from the Southern Pit Stop identified the man on the Dollar General video as being the robbery.
Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived at the robbery scene within two minutes of the robbery report and established a perimeter around the store.
A K-9 team from Century Correctional Institution located a track on the suspect that ended nearby on North Century Boulevard. Authorities were not sure if the suspect got into a vehicle or if heavy rain showers at the time destroyed the track.
The same convenience store was robbed at gunpoint in similar fashion back on April 2, 2012. There have been no arrests in that robbery.
Pictured: Deputies were on the scene of a Century convenience station robbery minutes after it happened on September 30. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Century Applying For Permit To Spread Sewage Sludge On Farm
October 17, 2012
The Town of Century is applying for a new Florida Department of Environmental Protection permit that will allow sewage sludge to be spread on a local farm.
The town will pay Fabre Engineering up to $7,000 to obtain the permit and maintain the necessary records.
Ordinarily, the town’s sewage sludge is “pressed” and transferred to a facility in Crestview. But when the sludge press is inoperative, it sometimes becomes “urgently” necessary, according to Mayor Freddie McCall, to spread the sludge on a local farmer’s hayfield.
“It’s a safety valve for us when the sludge press is down,” McCall said of the occasional use of the farm. He said that when the farm is used, a town vehicle spreads a mixture over a hayfield that is about 98 percent water and 2 percent sludge.
Front Brings Slight Rain Chance, Cooler Nights
October 17, 2012
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 64. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 84. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming north in the afternoon.
- Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 49. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
- Friday: Sunny, with a high near 77. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon.
- Friday Night: Clear, with a low around 44. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
- Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 79. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
- Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 45. Calm wind.
- Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 82. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph in the morning.
- Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 52. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Monday: Sunny, with a high near 82.
- Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 54.
- Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 82.
- Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 56.
- Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 82.
Second Case Of Meningitis Confirmed In Escambia County Area
October 17, 2012
A second case of fungal meningitis associated with contaminated steroid injections has been confirmed in Escambia County.
Both patients received spinal injections from Pain Consultants of West Florida on North Davis Highway in Pensacola, according to the Escambia County Health Department. The patients are identified only as a 79-year old woman and a 47-year old man. The injections were from contaminated medication shipped to the Pensacola clinic from the New England Compounding Center in Massachusetts.
As of Tuesday, 598 persons in the Escambia County area have been identified as having been exposed to the contaminated medication, and 593 of these 598 persons have been contacted by health department officials in an effort to notify all exposed persons of their risk. The Florida Department of Health continues its efforts to reach and notify the remaining persons.
Persons having received spinal or joint injections of a steroid medication from Pain Consultants of West Florida between July 8, 2012, and September 28, 2012 and who have not spoken with someone from the Escambia County Health Department or Pain Consultants of West Florida should contact the health department at (850) 595-6651 and should also advise their primary care physician. Persons experiencing signs or symptoms of joint infection or meningitis should seek immediate medical evaluation by their physician or their local hospital emergency department. Symptoms of fungal meningitis may be milder than those normally associated with meningitis. Symptoms of fungal joint infections or meningitis can include:
- Joint infection: worsening of inflammatory symptoms in the treated joint including increased redness, warmth, swelling or pain
- Fungal meningitis: fever, new or worsening headache, stiff neck, nausea, and/or new symptoms consistent with a stroke
County May Name Governmental Complex For Ernie Lee Magaha
October 17, 2012
The county commission may rename the county’s governmental hub in honor of Jay native and longtime Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller Ernie Lee Magaha.
Magaha has served 55 years as Escambia’s clerk of court. He was defeated by challenger Pam Childers in August.
The commission will consider renaming the Escambia County Governmental Complex to the Ernie Lee Magaha Governmental Complex during their meeting at 5:30 Thursday afternoon.
Magaha was born in Jay, raised in Mosquito Flats near Century, and graduated from Century High School. He served in the Merchant Marines and graduated from Auburn University with a degree in economics in 1950.
He served as a state auditor for five years and resigned in 1956 to run for the clerk of the court of record. At that time, he and his wife, Lucile, spearheaded a grassroots campaign and literally walked the county for a successful election in November 1956 as she was expecting their first child.
He took office in January of 1957 and has held the position of clerk since that time. His office was instrumental in the smooth transition of the court system in 1972 to the two-tier system in place today. In 1995, then Governor Lawton Chiles asked him to assume the additional responsibilities of the comptroller’s office.
In order to name the governmental complex on Palafox Street in honor of Magaha, the commission will be required to waive an existing policy against naming county facilties in honor of a living person.
Florida DOC Proposal: Further Prison Privatization?
October 17, 2012
A proposal from the Florida Department of Corrections floats the idea of further privatization if budget cuts are needed, but doesn’t specify which facilities might be turned over to private companies to come up with $6.4 million in savings.
The agency’s idea is included as one of a menu of cuts provided as part of its annual legislative budget request and might not ultimately be a part of the spending plan that lawmakers approve in the spring. But it comes after years of fights in both the Legislature and the courts about whether to allow for-profit vendors to assume greater responsibility for the state’s prison system.
“In an effort to maximize the state’s resources during difficult economic times, the department proposes privatizing additional facilities,” the request says simply.
Ann Howard, a spokeswoman for the department, said in an email that the agency hasn’t necessarily targeted specific facilities.
“We do not have a list when it comes to privatizing,” she said.
The department could get rid of its pretrial intervention program aimed at offenders involved in relatively minor crimes. That is expected to save $2.3 million, Howard said. And the agency floats a five percent cut in funding for prisons that have already been privatized.
“At this point, this is all very early on and as you know, a fluid process,” she said.
Gov. Rick Scott is not expected to unveil his suggested budget blueprint until early next year. A final package will likely pass the legislature at the end of the spring legislative session and will be signed by Scott after that.
The agency also asks for some increases in its main budget request, in some cases aimed at greater security for guards and inmates. The department is asking for almost $5.2 million to comply with the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003.
Most of the money — an estimated $3 million — would go to increase camera surveillance at prisons in an effort to prevent sexual assaults. The funding would also provide money for training, inmate screening and “emotional support services” for inmates who are victimized.
“The decision to implement or not to implement the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) requirements involves weighing the resource related costs for full compliance against the 5% penalty assessed against Justice Department Grants for non-compliance,” the request says. “Additionally, the potential costs associated with liabilities, including litigation, assumed by the Department in the case of non-compliance may be greater than any costs incurred with implementation.”
A separate proposal includes more than $900,000 for “safe havens” to which employees could retreat in case they are attacked by inmates and “throw phones” that could be used in hostage negotiations.
By The News Service of Florida