David Stafford Seeks Third Term As Elections Boss
January 14, 2012
Incumbent David Stafford prefiled Friday for his third term as Escambia County Supervisor of Elections. Stafford, a Republican, was first elected to the position in 2004.
No other candidate has prefiled to date for the position.
Brush Fire Burns Several Acres
January 14, 2012
Firefighters battled a waterfront brush fire in Walnut Hill Friday afternoon.
The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue fought a brush fire around several ponds mid-afternoon Friday on South Highway 99 and Eicher Road. There were no structures threatened by the blaze. The cause of the fire was not immediately known.
Pictured: This brush fire scorched several acres at South Highway 99 and Eicher Road Friday afternoon. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Dr. Robert Harold Jackson
January 14, 2012
Dr. Robert Harold Jackson, age 75 of Decatur, AL, passed away suddenly on January 13, 2012, in Brandon, MS.
Dr. Jackson was a native of Century and had been a member of the Decatur community for four years coming from Brandon, MS, where he served as assisting pastor at Central Baptist Church of Decatur and he was president of Romanian American Missions.
He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Abigail Jones Jackson of Decatur, AL; son, Dr. Robert Ernest (Tonya) Jackson of Decatur, AL; daughter, Jeannece Jackson (Dennis) Luhrs of Frankfort, KY; grandchildren, Jake Hart and Luke Hart, both of Frankfort, KY and Abigail Jackson of Decatur, AL; three step-grandchildren, Adam M. Luhrs of Prospect, KY; Rebecca Luhrs of Lincoln, NE and Aaron M. Luhrs of Frankfort, KY.
Funeral services will be held on Monday, January 16, 2012, at 3 p.m. at Flomaton First Baptist Church with Dr. Robert E. Jackson, Dr. Kristi Chivu, Rev. Lawrence Baldridge and Dr. Jerry Keese officiating. Visitation will begin at noon and will continue until service time at 3 p.m. at the church. Interment will follow in Flomaton Cemetery.
Flomaton Funeral home directing.
Registration Time: NWE, Cantonment, Atmore
January 14, 2012
Baseball and softball registrations have been scheduled for Northwest Escambia, Cantonment and Atmore.
The Northwest Escambia League will hold open registration for baseball and softball for ages 3-18 as follows:
- Saturday, January 14 from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.
- Saturday, January 21 from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.
- Friday, January 27 from 5-8 p.m.
- Saturday, January 28 from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.
The cost will be $50 for the first child, $40 for the second child and $10 for the third child from each family. A copy of the child’s birth certificate should be brought to registration at Bradberry Park in Walnut Hill.
Cantonment Baseball and Softball registration will he held every Saturday until February 18 from 9 a.m. until noon at the Cantonment Ballpark, 681 Well Line Road.
Ages 4 and up. Registration is $80 for the first child, $70 for the second, $60 for the third and additional child per family.
Teams include:
- T-ball 4-6
- Coach Pitch 7-8
- Minors 9-10
- Majors 11-12
- Pony 13-14
Atmore Babe Ruth Softball registration for ages 6-16 will be held as follows:
- Saturday January 21 – 9 am. until noon
- Saturday January 28 – 9 am. until noon
- Saturday February 4 – 9 am. until noon
Registration will be held at the concession stand at the softball fields at Tom Byrne Park.
Tryouts will be Saturday, February 14 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the softball fields at Tom Byrne Park. Players may register on the day of tryouts.
The registration fee will be $45 for one child and $40 each for the second and additional children. A copy of the player’s birth certification should be brought to registration.
Auburn Coach Gene Chizik Visits Local Recruit, Tiger Fans
January 14, 2012
Auburn Tiger head football coach Gene Chizik paid a visit to Escambia County High School in Atmore Friday morning to visit with a small group of fans and a future Tiger defensive tackle.
Escambia County Blue Devil Tyler Nero has verbally committed to play at Auburn this fall. He chose Auburn over Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Clemson, Georgia, Arkansas, Kentucky and others, according to Rivals.com.
Chizik led the Auburn Tigers to the 2010 BCS National Championship.
Pictured top: Auburn Tigers Head Coach Gene Chizik with Tyler Nero. Pictured inset: Chizik with Ernest Ward Middle School Principal Nancy Perry. Pictured below: Chizik with Auburn fan Toby Weaver of Walnut Hill. NorthEscambia.com photos by Edie Jackson, click to enlarge.
Preston E. Chunn
January 14, 2012
Preston E. Chunn, 72 of Atmore, died Friday January 13, 2012, in Pensacola. He was a salesmen for Farm Equipment. He was born on October 13, in Century to the late Mose E. and Leona Jones Chunn.
He is preceded in death by four brothers and two wisters.
He is survived by his wife, Wanza P. Chunn of Atmore; three sons, Keith Browning of Vicksburg, MS, Wesley Chunn, and Jason Chunn and wife Brandy all of Atmore; one sister, Emma Lou Henderson of Eufala, AL; and four grandchildren, Jennifer Browning, Jacelyn, Macie and Danie Chunn.
Services will be Monday January 16, 2012, at 11 a.m. from the Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Wayne Stevens officiating. Interment will be in Lottie New Home Cemetery.
Family will receive friends Sunday January 15, 2012, at Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home from 6-8 p.m.
Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home Inc in charge of all arrangements
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: And They’re Back
January 14, 2012
State lawmakers kicked off an election-year, budget-cutting, once-a-decade-political- remapping session this week as Gov. Rick Scott called for further tax cuts and $1 billion more for education while assuring Floridians that good times are returning.
Ushered into a January session in a constitutionally mandated effort to draw new political boundaries in time for the 2012 elections, legislative leaders took little time to caution voters of potentially painful cuts as they work to craft a budget that may fall up to $2 billon short.
Meanwhile, proposals to make significant changes to the state’s no-fault automobile insurance, and a controversial piece of gambling legislation began their separate treks through the chambers, which both cranked back into action.
SCOTT TALKS DONUTS, JOBS AND EDUCATION:
Visibly more at ease than he was a year ago, Gov. Rick Scott delivered his second State of the State speech to a joint session of the Legislature, saying the signs of economic recovery are in the air and his plans to bring 700,000 new jobs to the state are on track.
Scott kept his message limited by focusing on public education, auto insurance reform and his mantra of more jobs.
“The decisions we make in the next few months will determine whether we continue to create a business climate that will provide new jobs and opportunities for Floridians; whether we fully recapture that spirit of human potential that is at the core of what it means to be a Floridian,” Scott said. “I’m absolutely convinced that we will.”
Otherwise short on specifics, the governor called on lawmakers to find at least a $1 billion more for public education while holding the line or reducing taxes, and warned lawmakers he “cannot budge” on that number.
CLAIMS BILLS:
Taking a cue from Scott’s 2010 campaign, the Senate got right to work, passing a pair of claims bills that have caught the attention of Senate President Mike Haridopolos.
Hours after the session started Tuesday, the chamber approved (SB 4), which calls for Eric Brody to receive $15.575 million as compensation for debilitating injuries he suffered in a 1998 car crash with a Broward County sheriff’s deputy. It then passed the other bill (SB 2) to provide $1.35 million to William Dillon, who spent 27 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of a murder in Brevard County.
“Today’s simply about justice,” Haridopolos said in presenting the Dillon bill, which passed 39-1.
PIP MY RIDE:
With Scott calling for swift action, both chambers released proposals this week backers say are needed to curb costs that have crippled the state’s no-fault system set up 40 years ago to pay medical costs up to $10,000 for victims of automobile accidents.
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation in April estimates that the number of personal injury protection claims grew by 28 percent between 2006 and 2010 despite no significant increase in the number of drivers on the road. Between 2008 and 2010, estimated claims payments jumped 70 percent to $2.37 billion.
The Senate plan, SB 1860, places tighter restrictions on clinics and makes sure hospitals get paid first. Unlike the House plan, HB 119, the Senate version does not place caps on attorney fees.
The House version, which passed the Insurance and Banking Subcommittee on a 10-5 vote Wednesday, caps overall legal fees and prevents plaintiffs’ attorneys from using multipliers to boost their fees. The House plan also funnels accident victims to hospital emergency rooms or satellite urgent care facilities associated with ERs in an effort to curb costs.
DESTINATION UNKNOWN
Debate over expanding gambling in Florida continued as neither side of the controversial issue was ready to fold. A Senate proposal to allow three mega-resort gambling venues in Florida was amended to allow for expanded gaming in more pari-mutuels around the state. The measure, SB 710, also backed away from earlier promises to shut down Internet cafes.
The Senate Regulated Industries Committee approved the bill in a 7-3 vote to allow developments of at least $2 billion to spring up in Florida. Supporters face long odds getting it through the full Senate and House.
The House Business & Consumer Affairs Subcommittee, meanwhile, held a workshop later in the week, on its proposal, but committee chairman Rep. Doug Holder, R-Sarasota said he has not made up his mind about whether he would support the House bill, HB 487, a more limited proposal that would also allow up to three destination resort casinos.
Meanwhile, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued an advisory opinion rejecting proposals for slot machines at pari-mutuel facilities outside Miami-Dade and Broward counties. The opinion came less than three weeks before Gadsden and Washington counties are scheduled to hold referenda about whether to allow slot machines.
ECONOMIC FORECAST
As lawmakers eye gambling as a way to produce revenue several years from now, state economists left their revenue estimate for the next year and a half all but unchanged, prompting renewed calls from the House for lawmakers to finish their budget on time despite the Senate leaders’ hesitance to move too quickly.
The new estimate issued Thursday changes the overall projection by $26.1 million — about 1 percent of the projected $2 billion budget shortfall and an increase of 0.05 percent in projected revenue. It includes an increase of $46 million in the estimate for the current year and a drop of $19.9 million for the fiscal year beginning July 1.
“You don’t hardly get any closer to the current estimate than that,” said Amy Baker, coordinator of the Office of Economic & Demographic Research.
Earlier in the week Haridopolos said lawmakers should consider postponing budget action until after revenue data from December and January was available. The idea gained momentum as the week progressed.
By Friday, Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, said a majority of members were in favor of taking a break on budget items until another round of revenue estimates is calculated, if that’s the approach the Senate president wants to follow.
So far, House Speaker Dean Cannon, R-Winter Park, has said he is confident the session will end in 60 days.
PRISONS
Scott’s push to get the state out of the prison business took a step forward this week as his prison chief announced plans to close seven prisons and four work camps as part of a consolidation plan that’s possible because of declining numbers of prisoners.
The largest facility slated to close is New River Correctional Institute in Raiford, a part of the so-called Iron Triangle of prison facilities that surround Florida State Prison in northeast Florida.
Later in the week, bills to privatize prisons, work camps and other facilities in South Florida were introduced. The fast tracked measures are scheduled to be taken up next week by the Senate Rules Committee, a sure sign the push to get the state out of the corrections business remains in play.
BROWNING, WALLACE TO STEP DOWN.
Two veteran administrators announced this week they would step down. Two-time Secretary of State Kurt Browning said Wednesday he would step away from the position again. Browning, first hired by former Gov. Charlie Crist in 2006 and then brought back by Scott in 2010, said he will return to Pasco County and would at least consider taking a run at school superintendent. Browning will remain in office until Feb. 17, allowing him to oversee the Jan. 31 presidential primary.
Another veteran to hit the road is Scott Wallace, who will step down this spring as CEO of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. the state-backed company that is now the largest property insurer in the state. Wallace, who has spent six years at Citizens’ helm, gave no reason for his decision to quit effective April 6.
STORY OF THE WEEK: With an election looming and an expected $2 billion budget hole facing it, the Legislature convened this week for a 60-day(?) session that will include redrawing all the political boundaries.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “My fellow Floridians, I’m here today to tell you that promise and opportunity will return; in fact ARE returning even as we meet here today. While we have many miles to go, and some of them will be painful, our higher journey is already under way. This year and today we see the rebirth of an even greater Florida.” Rick Scott, during his state of the state speech.
By The News Service of Florida
Davis Highway Reopens
January 13, 2012
Davis Highway in Pensacola has reopened after being closed for several hours this morning due to a power outage.
Davis Highway was closed from about 3:30 a.m. until 10 a.m. between Creighton Road and Bloodworth Lane due to downed power lines. That’s near the old University Mall, just south of I-10.
About 120 Gulf Power customers were impacted by the outage.
Freezing Tonight
January 13, 2012
Here is your chilly North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight: Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming clear, with a low around 22. Calm wind.
- Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 61. Wind chill values between 15 and 25 early. Calm wind becoming southwest between 5 and 10 mph.
- Saturday Night: Clear, with a low around 29. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 62. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph.
- Sunday Night: Cloudy, with a low around 38. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph.
- M.L.King Day: Mostly sunny, with a high near 68. Southeast wind between 5 and 15 mph.
- Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 53. South wind between 5 and 10 mph.
- Tuesday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 69. South wind between 10 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 39. North wind between 10 and 15 mph.
- Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 53.
- Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 32.
- Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 61.
- Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 38.
- Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 63.
Florida Supreme Court Rules Against West Florida Hospital
January 13, 2012
The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday rejected arguments by an Escambia County hospital in a legal battle about turning over documents to an injured woman’s attorneys.
The dispute stems from a 2004 constitutional amendment that called for hospitals to disclose a wide range of internal documents in medical-negligence cases. But West Florida Regional Medical Center argued it should not have to release certain documents to attorneys for Lynda See, who suffered liver damage after going to the hospital to have a gallbladder removed in 2003.
In part, the hospital contended that a federal law, known as the Health Care Quality Improvement Act of 1986, trumped the state constitutional amendment and barred the release of documents involved in internal hospital peer-review processes.
But in an opinion written by Justice R. Fred Lewis, the Supreme Court flatly rejected the argument, saying the federal law “clearly does not provide for confidentiality for peer-review documents.’.
By The News Service of Florida