Escambia 4-Year Old VPK Registration Ends Friday
March 14, 2013
Registration for the Voluntary Prekindergarten Program for 4-year olds ends Friday at area elementary schools, including Bratt, Molino Park and Jim Allen.
Registration will continue through March 15 at selected Title I schools: Bratt, Ensley, Lincoln Park, Molino Park, Monclair, McMillan (Wies), Oakcrest, Semmes, and West Pensacola. Children who live in these Title I attendance zones will given priority for enrollment.
Registration will also take place at the Global Learning Academy, Jim Allen and Warrington; however, only children in the attendance zones of these schools may apply.
For complete information, including required documentation, click here (pdf). For more information, call (850) 595-6915, ext. 224 or 227.
Federal Fund Application Deadline Friday For Ag Producers In Escambia River Watershed
March 14, 2013
Agricultural producers living in the Escambia River watershed have until March 15 to apply for financial incentives from the Gulf of Mexico Initiative resulting from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.
Financial assistance is available to help eligible producers focus on reducing soil erosion, improving water quality, and improving wildlife habitat on cropland, pastureland, and forestland, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
NRCS and their conservation partners developed this initiative in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and President Obama’s call to help restore the waters, shores, and wildlife populations along the Gulf Coast.
All NRCS conservation programs are voluntary but participants must meet eligibility requirements. For more information about signing-up for this initiative contact Escambia County District Conservationist Josh McElhaney at 151 Highway 97 in Molino or call (850) 587-5404, ext. 3.
For a printable information sheet, click here.
Escambia Extends Lake Stone Caretaker, Management Agreement
March 14, 2013
The Escambia County Commission has extended a contract for the management of Lake Stone Campground near Century.
Since the inception of the Lake Stone Campground, the county has entered into an agreement for on-site caretaker and management services at the facility. Mervyn Simmons has served as the caretaker since February 2009.
The commission extended the agreement with Simmons until February 10, 2014. Simmons is compensated $850 per month with housing and utilities provided.
Century Correctional BBQ To Benefit Special Olympics
March 14, 2013
Century Correction Institution will hold a BBQ to benefit Special Olympics.
Lunches will include a BBQ pork sandwich, chips and a cookie for $5. Plates will also be sold on Friday, March 22 at the Nadine McCaw Park on North Century Boulevard beginning at 10 a.m.
Arrests, Carroll Resignation Puts Long Odds on Future Of Internet Cafes
March 14, 2013
The Internet Cafés that have popped up around the state, which some say are essentially strip mall gaming parlors, appear about to be finished as an industry in Florida.
The president of the Senate and the speaker of the House both said Wednesday that the cafes should be shut down, and a bill doing that is likely to be heard on the House floor as soon as next week. It would almost assuredly pass there and in the Senate quickly thereafter.
Legislative leaders said they wanted the ban hours after state and federal officials announced a massive investigation into the industry, a probe that also led Wednesday to the resignation of Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, who has done consulting work for the organization at the center of that probe.
House Speaker Will Weatherford said the House will take up a bill to ban the storefront businesses next week. Senate President Don Gaetz also said he would “fully support such a ban.”
Gov. Rick Scott last year expressed support for banning Internet cafes. But he did not take such a direct stance when asked about it during a news conference Wednesday.
“I think that issue’s on the table,” Scott said. “I want to work with the House and the Senate to see if that is something we ought to be doing.”
Law enforcement officials earlier in the day announced a sweeping probe into an Internet café chain operating under the umbrella of a supposed veteran’s charity, but also said the investigation could include other companies in the industry.
The revelation of the widespread probe also led industry lobbyists to jump ship, leaving the cafes with few friends at the Capitol.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, officials from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and several others said at a press conference in Orlando that a three-year investigation revealed an alleged sophisticated racketeering and money laundering scheme involving 49 centers in 23 Florida counties.
The organization at the center of the investigation is a veterans charity group called Allied Veterans of the World, which purported to be using money raised to assist veterans.
Carroll and her firm 3N and JC, at a minimum served as a public relations consultant to the company in 2009 and 2010 while she was in the House.
The officials declined to discuss any role that Carroll may have played or the potential that other elected officials could still be in the investigative crosshairs.
Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey alleged the company wasn’t a true charity – and also said the probe will now shift to other café operations that have long claimed to offer “sweepstakes.”
“This is the only the first wave of our investigation,” Bailey said. “Our investigation suggests that the premise of charity is a lie, a lie to our citizens and a lie to our veterans.”
The FDLE claims that less than 2 percent of the $300 million the Allied gambling centers generated in revenue in Florida between January 2008 and January 2012 made its way to any charity.
Scott’s chief of staff, Adam Hollingsworth, said Wednesday that Carroll stepped down to avoid “distracting” the work of the executive office.
As of Wednesday, 57 people had been arrested and remained held without a bond limit set, each on: 57 charges of racketeering and influence corrupt organizations (RICO); 614 counts of possession of slot machines; and 614 counts of keeping a gambling house; and 1,265 counts of money laundering, FDLE said.
Bondi said her office will file formal charges next week against those arrested as part of the probe, called “Operation Reveal the Deal.”
The investigation began in Seminole County in July 2009 and grew to include law enforcement agencies in South Carolina, Oklahoma and Texas.
The latest sweep started when a federal search warrant was issued Monday by the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service and the FDLE on International Internet Technologies, which provided the software for the machines used at the Allied businesses.
Law enforcement alleges that the four primary principles, including two from Florida – Kelly Mathis, 49, and Jerry Bass, 62, both from Jacksonville – allegedly received more than $90 million, with other money going into lobbying efforts.
It couldn’t be determined Wednesday who was representing them in the matter.
But at the Capitol, there was almost no call for waiting for that side of the story.
“The case against Allied Veterans of the World makes clear that internet casinos are a breeding ground for illegal activity,” Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam said in a statement. “I intend to work with the Legislature to shut down these organizations and keep them from defrauding and scamming their clients and, in this case, veterans who were never given their share of the promised proceeds.”
Putnam’s office has been involved in a lawsuit with Allied Veterans of the World since November 2011 for failure to provide required documentation as evidence of its charitable activity.
The House Gaming Committee is now set to discuss Internet cafes on Friday. The Senate Gaming Committee is expected on Monday to take up a bill (SB 1030) by Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, that seeks to impose a moratorium on new cafes. Thrasher was one of the first lawmakers on Wednesday to call for going further and banning the businesses.
Critics have long contended the cafes illegally operate electronic games that are akin to slot machines, but the industry has said they are legal sweepstakes games.
Former state Rep. Scott Plakon sponsored legislation that passed the House last year to ban the outlets, but the measure failed in the Senate.
He said Wednesday he hoped the arrests will give the proposal a boost to passage.
“I’m interested to see them try to stand behind what is happening here,” Plakon said. “I don’t see how you can anymore.”
While investigators say the money generated from the cafes also went into lobbying efforts, the industry may find it doesn’t have as much clout with lawmakers as the legislative gaming committees take up the issue.
Last year, International Internet Technologies, which licenses the software to the cafes, spent $740,000 on lobbying the Legislature, according to a lobbyist-compensation report.
But International Internet Technologies’ lobbying team terminated its representation after the announcement of the arrests and law-enforcement searches of Internet cafes.
Sarah Bascom, who runs a prominent public-relations business in Tallahassee, served as a spokeswoman for a group called the Coalition of Florida’s Internet Cafes, which included International Internet Technologies. She said she quickly terminated representation because of “misrepresentation” by International Internet Technologies.
By The News Service of Florida
Sheriff’s Task Force Taking Aim At Spring Break Safety
March 14, 2013
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office will join a Florida Sheriff’s Task Force program aimed at a cracking down on Spring Break drug and alcohol use. Operation Dry Spring — aimed at protecting the safety of Florida’s youth — will run through April 7.
The Sheriff’s Office said the use of drugs and alcohol by youth leads to emergency medical situations. There were, the Sheriff’s Office said, 190,000 alcohol related injuries to persons under the age of 21 requiring an emergency room visit in 2010.
“Come to Escambia County, enjoy our weather, beaches and varied nightlife. Do not let a momentary lapse in judgment affect you for the rest of your life,” Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said. “Illegal activity of any kind will not be tolerated. You can have fun and be safe.”
The Florida Sheriffs Task Force will be targeting businesses that are selling alcohol, tobacco or synthetic drugs to underage youth. Operation Dry Spring will also focus on underage youth in possession of drugs, alcohol and tobacco.
Pictured: An Escambia County Sheriff’s deputy patrols Pensacola Beach. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Florida Lt. Gov. Carroll Resigns Amid Scandal
March 14, 2013
Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll’s resignation in the wake of an illegal gambling probe sent shockwaves through the Capitol on Wednesday, potentially ending the career of a rising political star and confronting Gov. Rick Scott with one of the most sensitive personnel decisions of his administration.
It was the end of a tumultuous two years for Carroll, the highest-ranking black elected official in state history, who has not been charged with any wrongdoing in the investigation. Law enforcement officials, though, said more indictments were possible in the ongoing probe.
Carroll had earlier raised hackles with some of her comments; after criminal charges against an employee led to allegations last year that Carroll was caught in a compromising position with another female aide, Carroll suggested she was too attractive to be gay. She later apologized.
Still, the lieutenant governor had been a darling of social conservatives, and her selection as Scott’s running mate was a gesture from the former health-care executive who was known mostly for his economic conservatism.
And Carroll was often seen as a desperately needed female, minority voice in a Republican Party whose strongest voices are largely white and frequently male. In 2012, she was named a member of TheGrio’s 100, a list of prominent political, cultural and business figures put together by a website focused on black issues.
On Wednesday, Scott stood on a sun-drenched corner of the Capitol grounds and spoke about Carroll’s departure, which was handled quietly late Tuesday and became public the next day.
“I will not elaborate on the details of her resignation further, other than to say that she resigned and she did the right thing for the state and for her family,” Scott said.
A company Carroll co-owned during her time in the Legislature, 3N & JC Corporation, provided consulting services for Allied Veterans of the World, the entity at the center of the investigation.
In a statement issued through unofficial channels, Carroll said she did not believe she or her company are “targets” in the ongoing investigation.
“My decision yesterday to resign as Lieutenant Governor represents my unwavering commitment to the great state of Florida,” Carroll said in the lengthy statement. “I simply refuse to allow the allegations facing a former client of my public relations firm to undermine the important work of the Governor and his administration.”
Attention immediately pivoted to who might replace Carroll. Speculation surrounded members of the Cabinet, including Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and Attorney General Pam Bondi. It wasn’t clear whether either of those officials, both of whom have been rumored as potential primary challengers for Scott in 2014, would be interested in the position.
“I’m very happy being attorney general,” Bondi said at a press conference about the investigation. “I’m sure the governor will make a great choice.”
Scott said he wouldn’t pick a replacement until after the 2013 legislative session ends in early May.
“I think, whenever you pick a lieutenant governor, you want somebody that can do the job, somebody that can do the right things for the state of Florida,” he said.
Some legislators were also mentioned, including Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami, whose supporters quickly started a hashtag on Twitter to boost her chances. A legislative choice could help Scott, an outsider, work with lawmakers on his election-year agenda in 2014.
“A lieutenant governor can be helpful in this process, here,” said Sen. John Thrasher, a St. Augustine Republican and former chairman of the state GOP. “I certainly think that that’s appropriate, to look at somebody that might have some experience in this process, somebody that has an identity from the standpoint of the entire state, if you can find somebody like that.”
The selection could also have a political impact on Scott’s bid for re-election in 2014.
“The governor now has a chance to pick, frankly, somebody that he believes can help him in the campaign,” Thrasher said. “So I think it will be benefit to him, frankly, down the road.”
Like most lawmakers, though, Thrasher stressed the final decision was Scott’s to make.
Legislative leaders also shrugged off the thought that the open position could give Scott more sway over representatives or senators who might want to be considered.
“I don’t think it has any more leverage over lawmakers than him having the veto pen [over] every bill and every appropriation that goes in the budget,” said House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel.
As for Scott, the governor promised to remain fixed on his long-running message of creating jobs.
“That’s what I want to focus on,” he said. “That’s what I’m going to go back to focusing on.”
By The News Service of Florida
Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll Resigns Amid Gambling Racketeering Case
March 13, 2013
Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll has resigned the post amid a gambling investigation into a non-profit for which she once did consulting work, an official with the governor’s office said Wednesday.
Carroll, the first African-American woman to hold the post of lieutenant governor, represented a suburban Jacksonville district in the House before Gov. Rick Scott chose her as his running mate in 2010. She has weathered controversy in the office, but her resignation came as a surprise.
Carroll’s resignation followed the arrest on Tuesday on racketeering and money laundering charges of various people affiliated with Allied Veterans of the World, which runs Internet café establishments around the state. The industry says it allows people to partake in sweepstakes, but critics say the establishments are basically gaming parlors.
Carroll and her firm 3N and JC, served as a public relations consultant to the company in 2009 and 2010 while she was in the House, and Scott chief of staff Adam Hollingsworth said Carroll was interviewed by officers from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement about that work.
“Lt. Gov. Carroll resigned in an effort to keep her former affiliation with the company from distracting from the administration’s important work on behalf of Florida families,” Hollingsworth said in a statement. “She made the right decision for the state and her family.”
Scott hasn’t commented yet, though a spokeswoman said he would speak with the media later Wednesday. Officials from FDLE have scheduled a mid-afternoon news conference in Orlando on the Allied Veterans probe.
Carroll had filed legislation when she was in the House to codify what the Internet café industry could do, but withdrew it because of a possible conflict of interest with her work for Allied Veterans.
It wasn’t clear yet early Wednesday whether Scott planned to immediately name a replacement.
By The News Service of Florida
Cantonment Man Arrested On Drug Charges
March 13, 2013
A Cantonment man is behind bars on multiple drug charges following a traffic stop on the George Stone Technical Center campus.
Corderius Devon Stanton was charged with felony cocaine possession, marijuana possession, possession of drug paraphernalia and two felony counts of destroying evidence. He was also cited for not wearing a seat belt.
An Escambia County deputy initiated a traffic stop on Stanton’s vehicle on Diamond Dairy Road, with Stanton continuing on to weave through the George Stone Campus before coming to a stop.
Escambia County Sheriff’s K-9 Rex alerted on the car, where deputies reporting finding marijuana. Deputies also found a knife that field tested positive for the presence of cocaine. As deputies placed Stanton under arrest, they found he was concealing a piece of crack cocaine in his mouth. He was ordered to spit out the crack, but swallowed it instead, according to an arrest report.
Stanton consented to a Q-tip swab of his mouth to test for cocaine residue. As the deputy conducted the test, Stanton bit down on the Q-tip. He was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital for medical treatment after the swab tested positive for cocaine.
At Sacred Heart, Stanton attempted a flying, head first leap out of the patrol vehicle while tossing a “large amount” of loose marijuana on the ground. He was secured on the sidewalk before being taken into the hospital.
Medical personnel reported finding a marijuana cigarette near Stanton’s privates.
Pensacola Man Sentenced For Atmore Manslaughter
March 13, 2013
A Pensacola man has pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the death of an Atmore man in 2011.
Antonio Alberto Crenshaw, age 31 of Pensacola, was originally charged with capital murder for the shooting death of Christopher Payne Andrews. He was given a 20-year split sentence. Under the terms of a plea agreement and with time served, he will serve approximately 42 months in state prison.
Atmore Police responded to 195 Maxwell Street just before 1 a.m. August 25, 2011, where they found the 23-year old Andrews near his vehicle, dead from multiple gunshot woods.
Crenshaw was developed as a suspect, and Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force received word in late August 2011 that he might be in the Pensacola area. That Gulf Coast task force, along with the U.S. Marshals Florida Regional Fugitive Task Force in Pensacola, were able to confirm that Crenshaw was in fact staying at Red Roof Inn in the 7300 Block of Plantation Road near what was then University Mall. Crenshaw, aka “Ton-Ton” was arrested without incident.