State Briefs: Hurricane Season Starts; Job Growth Slows; DCF Official Forced Out
June 1, 2012
Here’s a look at what’s making news around Florida today:
Hurricane Season Starts Today
Gov. Rick Scott will mark the start of hurricane season in Miami, stopping at a Home Depot to remind residents to pack a hurricane kit, and taking part in a news conference at the National Hurricane Center starting off the annual summer storm season. While the Atlantic season starts June 1, Florida has already watched two named storms this year, including Tropical Storm Beryl, which while not much more than a summer squall, blew ashore in the Jacksonville area last weekend, mostly bringing rain to North Florida.
Job Growth Slowed A Bit In May
Economic growth slowed in May with just under 70,000 new jobs created, fewer than expected, and the national unemployment rate remained “essentially unchanged” at 8.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Employment increased in health care, transportation and warehousing, and wholesale trade but declined in construction. Employment was little changed in most other major industries. Republicans quickly blamed the White House for not doing enough to create jobs last month. Florida’s jobless rate is down to 8.7 percent, getting closer to the national rate.
DCF Official Forced Out After Harassment Claim
A top Department of Children of Families official was forced out because of alleged sexual harassment of an employee who was paid $150,000 by the agency to settle the issue without a lawsuit and stay quiet about it, the Palm Beach Post reported. DCF confirmed that Secretary David Wilkins decided Jamie Self, director of the agency’s Family and Community Services Office had to leave the agency after being accused of sexual harassment by employee Christie Ferris. The newspaper reported that Self hired Ferris and then had an affair with her. She claimed in a complaint filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after she was fired Jan. 19 that Self harassed her, sent her explicit text messages and that she believed if she didn’t have an affair with him she would lose her job. The Post, which obtained a copy of the settlement, quoted DCF General Counsel Drew Parker as saying that the agency settled with Ferris to avoid potentially larger costs of a lawsuit. “Sometimes employees do stuff that’s not right and that costs the agency money,” Parker told the paper. Wilkins knew Self from their work together at the Florida Baptist Children’s Home. After he worked there, Self was director of Christian education for the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in Bartow. He was paid $103,000 a year and oversaw high profile parts of the agency’s operations, including the child abuse hotline and child safety oversight. Self said in a note to colleagues when he resigned that he was moving his family back to central Florida.
By The News Service of Florida
Gulf Power Still Seeks Rate Increase For North Escambia Power Plant
June 1, 2012
Gulf Power Company’s future plans still point toward a North Escambia generation facility, and the utility is still seeking a rate hike to to pay the costs associated with the purchase of thousands of acres near McDavid.
Wednesday afternoon, Gulf Power announced a $58.5 million rate decrease plan was being filed with Florida Public Service Commission. But a previously filed $2 million rate increase proposal is still pending before the PSC for the North Escambia facility.
Earlier this year, the Public Service Commission did not allow Gulf Power to pass along costs related to a potential nuclear-power plant site in North Escambia because the utility has not taken an initial step — known as getting a determination of need — for such a project.
Gulf Power has asked the PSC to allow $2 million in costs associated with the North Escambia land purchases. That would equate to about 20 cents per month for the average customer using 1,000 kilowatt hours per month. The 20 cents would be more than offset by about a $10 per month savings from the rate decrease announced this week.
“This was the first time that the PSC has not allowed costs for land held for future use to be included in the base rate,” Sandy Sims, Gulf Power manager of public affairs, said.
The $2 million, just a fraction of the costs of the land acquisitions, would pay interest on finance agreements and fund environmental assessments on the North Escambia property.
Gulf Power has not said what type of power plant it wants to construct in North Escambia, but PSC filings indicate that it could be natural gas, coal or nuclear.
Pictured top: One of many houses that now sit abandoned near McDavid where Gulf Power has purchased thousands of acres for a possible nuclear power plant. One of many Gulf Power “Posted” signs that line the roads in the area of the potential plant. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Clear, Cooler Night
June 1, 2012
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 58. North wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 88. North wind around 5 mph.
- Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 63. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph.
- Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 94. Calm wind becoming southwest between 5 and 10 mph.
- Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 70. Southwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 95. West wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 72. Southwest wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 94. West wind between 5 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
- Tuesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71. Southwest wind between 5 and 10 mph becoming calm.
- Wednesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 90.
- Wednesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69.
- Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 90.
- Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69.
- Friday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 89.
Atmore’s South Presley Street, Atmosphere Road To Be Resurfaced With State Grants
June 1, 2012
Two roads in Atmore and Poarch will be resurfaced under a state program announced Thursday by Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley.
In Atmore, South Presley Street will resurfaced from Highway 31 to Highway 21 (at the “Y” near the Alabama/Florida state line) at a total cost of $513,893.60 — with $411,114.88 from the state and $102,778.72 in matching local funds.
The Poarch Band of Creek Indians will receive $1,514,881.20 from state and make a local match of $378,72030 for a total of $1,893,601.50 for Atmosphere Road improvements, bridge improvements and resurfacing.
The projects are two of 105 announced Thursday that will be funded through ATRIP — the Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement program.
ATRIP is the largest road and bridge improvement program in Alabama’s history. The improvements are designed to enhance safety and quality of life for people in communities across the state. Further, the transportation projects will also serve as an economic development tool. Updated roads and bridges will help the state recruit additional jobs from companies that depend on a modern, solid infrastructure to transport goods.
“From large cities to rural areas, the people of this state deserve reliable, safe roads and bridges,” Governor Bentley said. “School buses should not have to be detoured around substandard bridges. Communities need help improving roads that are currently over capacity or in need of various safety improvements.”
“Also, companies depend on updated roads and bridges to help them safely conduct business and make deliveries,” Governor Bentley added. “As we improve our infrastructure, we will improve the business climate in the state and make Alabama more attractive to businesses seeking to locate here and bring additional jobs.”
Governor Bentley first unveiled the ATRIP program in February. Cities and counties across the state then submitted project proposals for the initial round of funding. ATRIP applications were analyzed by the Alabama Department of Transportation. Eligible projects were reviewed by an advisory committee, which, in conjunction with Governor Bentley, made the final project funding decisions.
Judge Strikes Down Some Florida Voter Registration Laws
June 1, 2012
A federal judge on Thursday barred enforcement of part of the state’s controversial elections law, saying the rules made it too difficult for non-governmental organizations to register voters.
Opponents of the law, approved by the Legislature last year, cheered the decision by District Court Judge Robert Hinkle to issue an injunction against some portions of the statute, most notably a provision requiring voter registration forms to be returned to elections officials within 48 hours of being filled out.
But supporters minimized the ruling and said that the core of the measure — which made sweeping changes to the law governing how Floridians vote — remained intact.
The judge also placed some restrictions on what paperwork the state could require from voter-registration groups and their volunteers; lawyers were still trying to plow through the implications of that part of the ruling.
The clearest victory for critics of the measure, though, was on the time limit for turning in voter registration forms, which had been 10 days before lawmakers shortened it to two. Hinkle agreed with voting-rights organizations like the League of Women Voters, Rock the Vote and the Florida Public Interest Research Group Education Fund, who argued that the new standards were too stringent.
“If the goal is to discourage voter-registration drives and thus also to make it harder for new voters to register, the 48-hour deadline may succeed,” Hinkle wrote. “But if the goal is to further the state’s legitimate interests without unduly burdening the rights of voters and voter registration organizations, 48 hours is a bad choice.”
Hinkle also barred the state from requiring volunteers to sign a form that misled voters about the penalties for unknowingly submitting forms with inaccurate information on them.
The groups that challenged the law, which have largely suspended their registration drives and other activities in the state, were cautiously optimistic about the outcome.
“With those two things out of the way, we intend and expect to be able to get back to work,” said Heather Smith, president of Rock the Vote.
At the same time, the organizations said they were going to be careful about putting volunteers back in the field before they finished reviewing the ruling.
“We just want to make 100 percent sure that they are not at any risk doing this very important volunteer activity,” said Deirdre Macnab, president of the League of Women Voters of Florida.
Supporters of the bill said that the voter-registration changes were not central to the bill, which also reduced the number of early-voting days; barred voters from changing their addresses as the polling place; and set new standards for citizen-initiative petitions.
“I don’t think they’re glaring issues in the overall content of a bill that size,” said Rep. Dennis Baxley, the Ocala Republican who sponsored the law during last year’s legislative session.
But Lenny Curry, chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, said he was disappointed the measure was struck down.
“This would guarantee that new voters know with certainty they have joined millions of legal voters in being able to participate in our great democratic process,” Curry said.
Gov. Rick Scott’s office said he would review his options, but didn’t specifically say what steps he might take. The state has 30 days to decide whether it wants to appeal. He also noted, however, that most of the law was upheld.
The ruling was the latest in a series of legal maneuvers around which parts of the massive bill will remain in place. A state judge rebuffed a challenge from former state Sen. Nancy Argenziano to a portion of the law that would have barred the Republican-turned-Independent from running for Congress as a Democrat in 2012.
And a federal court in Washington, D.C., is considering whether to allow the most controversial portions of the law to go into effect in five counties covered by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. Because of a history of racial and language discrimination in those counties, any changes to elections laws must be precleared either by the court or the U.S. Department of Justice.
However, opponents contend that if parts of the law are barred in those counties, they would have to be ignored statewide.
“Frankly, I think the bulk of the voter suppression legislation approved by majority party members in the Legislature is an assault on one of our basic rights as U.S. citizens and the law should be replaced with reasonable rules regulating Florida’s elections,” said incoming House Democratic Leader Perry Thurston of Plantation.
A ruling in the preclearance case could come soon.
By Brandon Larrabee
The News Service of Florida
Blue Wahoos To Host Free Baseball Clinic
June 1, 2012
Chevy Youth Sports, in conjunction with the Blue Wahoos and the Miracle League of Pensacola will host free baseball clinics on Saturday, June 2 and Sunday, June 3. Youth league members will spend a half day in various rotations such as fielding, hitting, and pitching.
Pre-registration for these clinics is required, with the deadline to sign-up two days before the scheduled clinic. Each child must also bring a signed clinic waiver (available online) to the registration table on the day of the clinic.
There will be two clinics on Saturday morning, with the first through the Miracle League of Pensacola, which will take place from 8:00-9:00 am, with check-in starting at 7:30 am. Those interested in this event can go to ChevyYouthSports.com/RSVP and select Miracle League of Pensacola, and use the log-in password playball.
A separate two hour clinic will then be held Saturday from 10:00 am until noon, with lunch following, while Sunday will also feature two-hour instruction from 9:00 am until 11:00 am, with lunch right after. Check-in for both of these clinics begins one hour prior.
Interested parties must register at ChevyYouthSports.com/RSVP and then selecting Mobile-Pensacola, using the RSVP log-in password playball.
Family members are invited to tag along for a fun day in the sun!
Participants will need to wear and bring their own baseball gear and water bottle. Practice apparel or team uniforms are acceptable, as are cleats or tennis shoes. Each child should have their own glove, and may bring their own bat if available.
Northview Names Valedictorian, Salutatorian; Seniors Receive $600K
June 1, 2012
Over a half million dollars worth of scholarships were presented Thursday night to members of the Northview High School Class of 2012, and the school also named its valedictorian and salutatorian.
Elizabeth Wright was named the Northview High School Class of 2012 valedictorian, while Holly Dickson was named salutatorian.
Also during Senior Honors Night, seniors were recognized for college scholarships that they have received. The NHS Class of 2012 earned over $600,000 in scholarship money.
Editor’s note: A list of honors graduates and academic awards presented Thursday night was not immediately available.
The following students were recognized Thursday for scholarships received:
Elizabeth Wright
- FNBT -Valedictorian
- UWF Pace Honors Scholarship
- UWF Argonaut Scholarship
- EREC Herman D. Johnson Scholarship
- 2012 Heroes’ Legacy Scholarship
- Barrineau Park Historical Society
- Military Children Scholar Award
- High School Heroes Scholarship
- Pensacola Interstate Fair Scholarship
- Atmore Rotary Club Scholarship
- Academic All-Stars Award
- VWF Award
- Escarosa Next Generation Learning Community
Josie Doucette
- UWF Nautilus Scholarship
- UWF Arete’ Scholarship
- High School Heroes Award
- Academic All-Stars Award
- MIRA Book Scholarship
- Thomas E. Weaver Memorial Scholarship-DCT
Holly Dickson
- UWF Nautilus Scholarship
- UWF Arete’ Scholarship
- Barrineau Park Historical Society Scholarship
- United Bank-Salutatorian
Amber Francis
- UWF Pace Honors Scholarship
- Jim/Jumi Ross Award
- Academic All-Stars Award
Lucas White
- Faulkner State Presidential Scholarship
Zach Barrow
- Drafting and Design Technology Scholarship
- Tri-City Rotary Club Annual Scholarship
- Thomas E. Weaver Memorial Baseball Award
Jamila Codrington
- P.E.O. (Philanthropic Ed Org) Scholarship
- NNOA Scholarship
- Academic All-Stars Award
Lydia Weaver
- PSC Principals’ Award
- Academic All-Stars Award
- Tommy E Weaver Memorial-FFA
- Glynn Key Scholarship
- FFA Alumni Award
Melissa Moretz
- PSC Concert Chorale Scholarship
- PSC Jazz Choir Scholarship
- MIRA Book Scholarship
- Jim/Jumi Ross Award
Cory King
- PSC Outstanding Minority Scholarship
- MIRA Book Scholarship
Justin Purvis
- NADC Scholarship
- MIRA Book Scholarship
Lauren McCall
- Spirit of the Chiefs Scholarship
Kiani Okahashi
- LCPL Nelson Memorial Scholarship MIRA Book Scholarship
Rebecca Barnhill
- Fortis Institute MA Scholarship
Jacob Gibson
- Academic All-Stars Award
Alexandra Riggs
- Academic All-Stars Award
Brandon Chambless
- FFA Alumni Award
Jacob Baldwin
- MIRA Book Scholarship
Joseph Baldwin
- MIRA Book Scholarship
Alissa Fiellin
- MIRA Book Scholarship
Chelsea Parham
- MIRA Book Scholarship
D.J. Robinson
- MIRA Book Scholarship
Wes Chancery
- Pensacola Civitan Citizen of the Year Award
Charla Stark
- AL Dependents’ GI Scholarship
Austin Albritton
- Yellow Ribbon Scholarship
- BSU Nat’l Foundation Scholarship
Sean Knight
- Tyler Junior College-Athletic
Brian Ross
- Furman University
- Spirit of the Chiefs Scholarship
Joel Wetzel
- UWF Nautilus Scholarship
Jody Day
- MMI White Knight Scholarship
- MMI Cadetship Award
Charleigh McPherson
- Walnut Hill Ruritan Award
Bright Futures Scholarships FAS Awards
- Holly Dickson
- Amber Francis
- Brian Ross
- Joel Wetzel
Bright Futures Scholarships FMS Awards
- Taylor Byrd
- Jamila Codrington
- Josie Doucette
- Lindsay Hedgepeth
- Caleb Leonard
- Lauren McCall
- Alex Payne
- Lydia Weaver
- Elizabeth Wright
- Camillah Goetter
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Highway 89 South Of Jay To Be Resurfaced
June 1, 2012
A major resurfacing project is getting underway in northern Santa Rosa County.
A 7.5 mile stretch of Highway 89 from the Jay town limits to County Road 178 (Spanish Trail) will be resurfaced. Weather permitting, the project is expected to last about eight months. Access to homes and businesses will be maintained at all times, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.
Crews from APAC-Mid-South will be placing construction signs to alert motorists of upcoming work and erosion control measures to prepare the work area.
The total project, which includes resurfacing, drainage improvements and the construction of paved shoulders, will cost $3.2 million.
Driver Slams Into Utility Pole, Slides Into Northview High Holding Pond Fence
June 1, 2012
A driver escaped serious injury Thursday evening after slamming into a utility pole and nearly sliding into a holding pond at Northview High School.
The accident happened on West Highway 4 at the school about 6:45 p.m. First responders where leaving the school after a completing a medical call when a firefighter noticed a tire flying through the air. That prompted first responders to look for and find the accident.
The female driver was westbound on Highway 4 when she apparently lost control of her pickup, slammed into a utility pole and rotated multiple times as the truck slid down a steep embankment. The truck came to rest against a fence surrounding a holding pond at Northview High School.
The woman was not seriously injured and refused transport to the hospital.
The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol; further details have not been released. The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and Atmore Ambulance also responded to the crash.
Pictured: A woman lost control while driving on Highway 4, hit a utility pole and slid into a holding pond fence at Northview High School Thursday evening. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Cottage Food Business: Want To Make And Sell Homemade Foods?
June 1, 2012
Escambia County Extension will host a “Starting a Successful Cottage Food Business” program for those that wish to sell food made in their homes.
This program will cover Florida’s new cottage food regulations, marketing, sanitation and time for a question and answer session with staff.
Cottage foods by definition are foods made in the home for resale that do not require refrigeration. These include but are not limited to jams, jellies, preserves, honey, cakes and pies.
The program will be held at the Escambia County Extension office via conference call on Monday, June 4 at 6 p.m. The $5 cost of the program will cover materials and handouts. Pre-registration is required, contact Fran Lainhart at (850) 457-5230 or via email at lainhaf@ufl.edu to register.
