Deputies: Century Man Chases Another Around With Box Cutter
June 19, 2013
A Century man was jailed after allegedly chasing a man around a Pensacola apartment complex with a box cutter.
George Calvin Carter, age 21 of East Pond Street, was charged with felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill and battery.
Carter allegedly got into a fight with another man outside an apartment building on Lillian Highway. Carter then, according to an arrest report, pulled out a box cutter and chased the other man around the building before running into an apartment before the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office arrived on scene.
Carter remained in the Escambia County jail early Wednesday morning with bond set at $15,000.
Carjacker That Couldn’t Drive Stick Shift Arrested
June 19, 2013
An alleged carjacker that ran away from his intended victim last month because he could not drive a stick shift is now behind bars.
Antoren “Chief Keef” Bell, 19, was booked into the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $400,000.
The incident happened near the intersection of North 50th Avenue and Carey Street. The victim said she was driving through the area when she was flagged down by three young white females who were looking for a ride.
The victim stated that as she got out of her vehicle to offer help, a black male later identified as Bell approached her from the side and pointed what appeared to be a gun at her. Bell then told her that this was his vehicle now and jumped into the driver’s seat of the vehicle. The victim ran away and contacted the Sheriff’s Office.
Another individual on a bicycle told the victim that her car was still sitting on Carey Street. The victim later stated that she believes Bell did not take her vehicle because he could not drive a stick shift.
Arriving deputies soon located two of the females on foot in the area of 49th Avenue and Jackson Street. One of the juveniles told deputies they had jumped into the car with Bell, but that he didn’t know how to drive a stick so he ordered everybody out of the vehicle at which time they fled on foot.
Bell was later identified in a photo lineup. He was arrested on charges of vehicle theft, robbery and criminal mischief.
Three Area Residents Among 22 Seeking Seats On State PSC
June 19, 2013
Three areal residents are among 22 applicants challenging two members of the Florida Public Service Commission for their seats at the state’s top regulatory agency.
Commission Chairman Ronald Brise and Commissioner Art Graham have both applied to keep their governor-appointed positions, with competition for the $130,036-a-year positions coming from a wide-ranging list of people with business and government experience.
North Escambia area applications include:
- Jennifer Reeves, of Pensacola, manager of Ferguson Airport.
- Martha Hicks, of Milton, a U.S. Navy retiree who is employed by the Escambia County Health Department and is a special-needs shelter consultant.
- John Bruce, of Gulf Breeze, an independent insurance and financial services contractor.
The most notable name among the challengers is former state House member and short-time PSC commissioner Ken Littlefield.
Littlefield, who spent eight years in the House, was appointed to the PSC by former Gov. Jeb Bush in September 2006 but was replaced shortly after being sworn-in in January 2007 by former Gov. Charlie Crist. Crist contended Littlefield was not consumer-friendly enough.
Several tea party groups unsuccessfully urged Gov. Rick Scott to return Littlefield to the commission last year, imploring the governor to replace Commissioner Lisa Edgar, who faced criticism that she did not adequately represent ratepayers. Scott reappointed Edgar.
Brise and Graham were both appointed to the commission by Crist in July 2010 and reappointed by Scott. Their terms will expire in January.
The deadline to apply for the seats was Tuesday. A nominating council will meet July 24 in Tampa to whittle the applicant list to those deemed “most qualified.”
People on the short list will appear before the council for interviews on August 28 in Orlando. The council will then submit at least six names from which Scott will make the final appointments.
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.
Brook, Gardener Attend National Leadership Forum In Arkansas
June 19, 2013
Two North Escambia students attended Harding University’s 57th annual National Leadership Forum in Searcy, AR, recently. Attendees were Taylor Brook from Northview High and Graham Gardener from Tate High.
Brook was sponsored by the Pensacola Civitan Club as a delegate to the forum, which is presented by the University’s American Studies Institute.
More than 200 young people from five states attended this year’s National Leadership Forum. Harding University, with an enrollment of over 6,000, is the largest private university in Arkansas.
Century Losing WIC Services
June 19, 2013
Century will lose WIC services at the end of this month, according to the Escambia County health department.
WIC — the Federal Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children — provides vouchers for free nutritional food to use at local grocery stores as well as nutrition and breastfeeding counseling for women, infants and children under 5 years old.
The Century WIC site at 511 Church Street will close after Tuesday appointments on June 25. Beginning July 1, the Molino site will be the nearest Escambia County location where former Century clients can receive WIC services. The Molino site is open all day on Mondays and Thursdays, and on Friday mornings. Persons needing WIC services should call (850) 595-6670.
WIC services will be available to Century area clients at any WIC location in Escambia County (FL) or Santa Rosa County, including Jay.
For more information, including all WIC locations in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, click here for a letter that was provided to Century WIC clients.
NEP Blue Wins Gospel Projects Tee Ball World Series (With Complete Scores)
June 19, 2013
NEP Blue won the Gospel Projects 2013 Tee Ball World Series Tuesday night in Milton. NEP Blue downed Pace in a close one, 30-28 for the championship.
Pace beat NEP Gold 23-14 for the Loser’s Bracket championship, and back on Saturday Molino beat Milton 33-21 for the consolation championship.
Here are complete scores:
WINNERS BRACKET
Thursday
- Tri-County American 22, Perdido 21
- Brent 40, Cantonment 19
- GP World 37, Molino 16
- Pace 29, Bellview 18
- Tri-County Nationals 27, East Milton 15
- NEP Gold 30, Navarre 8
- NEP Blue 23, Milton 10
- Myrtle Grove 28, GP American 13
Friday
- Brent 27, Tri-County American 12
- Pace 23, GP World 3
- NEP Gold 39, Tri-County National 18
- NEP Blue 29, Myrtle Grove 6
Saturday, Round One
- Pace 33, Brent 22
- NEP Blue 24, NEP Gold 21
Saturday Round Two
- NEP Blue 29, Pace 27
Tuesday Championship
- NEP Blue 30, Pace 28
LOSERS BRACKET
Friday
(Friday numeric scores were unavailable)
- Perido over Cantonment
- Bellview over Molino
- Navarre over East Milton
- GP Ameircan over Milton
Saturday
- Myrtle Grove 24, Perido 13
- Bellview 26, Tri County National 20
- GP World 35, Navarre 24
- Tri-County American 32, GP American 30
- Bellview 28, Myrtle Grove 11
- GP World 30, Tri County America 9
- Brent 33, Belleview 24
- NEP Gold 33, GP World 17
Monday
- NEP Gold 32, Brent 31
- Pace 23, NEP Gold 14
CONSOLATION BRACKET
- Milton 30, East Milton 29
- Molino 32, Cantonment 13
- Molino 33, Milton 21
Pictured top: Tee Ball World Series Champions NEP Blue. Pictured below: The Molino All-Stars. Pictured bottom: The Tri-County Nationals. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Lightning Causes Damage In, Around Walnut Hill Home
June 19, 2013
Lightning caused damage in and around Walnut Hill home late Tuesday night.
A resident on South Cypress Street reported the strike damaged electrical plugs inside their home, busted a phone connection box outside, broke a neighbor’s window and destroyed a phone company pedestal by the street.
There were no injuries.
Pictured top left: Lightning destroyed this phone company pedestal on South Cypress Street in Walnut Hill Thursday night. Pictured top right: A damaged phone connection box outside a home. Pictured inset: EREC works to restore power. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Board Of Ed Looks To Avoid Another Grades Fiasco
June 19, 2013
Looking to avoid another botched rollout of school grades this year, the State Board of Education on Tuesday asked Education Commissioner Tony Bennett to appoint a task force to examine the test scores used to calculate the grades.
The move comes just a few weeks before the grades are set to be released, and with superintendents warning that preliminary calculations already show a possible collapse in the grades for schools across the state.
“The resulting grades show nearly 10 times more ‘F’ elementary schools in our district,” said Hillsborough County Superintendent MaryEllen Elia.
Educators suspect the grades are being complicated, at least in part, by a slew of changes to the state’s testing regimen and standards. In addition to the increased standards, a provision put in place last year to keep school grades from dropping more than one letter is set to expire.
In all, there are 13 changes being made to the scores this year after 19 were approved by the state board last year, said Miami-Dade County Superintendent Alberto Carvalho, who along with Elia spoke to the board at its Tuesday meeting to push for change.
“When you put all of that together, I don’t think anybody’s taken the time to examine the implications of the simultaneous coming together of all these variables,” Carvalho said.
While it was mentioned only in passing at the meeting, last year’s mishandling of the release of state grades formed part of the backdrop for Tuesday’s discussion.
Bennett’s predecessor, Gerard Robinson, resigned in 2012 after less than a year on the job after the public-relations pounding the department took when FCAT scores collapsed, followed a few months later by a school grades mix-up.
The Florida Board of Education was forced to lower passing grades for the statewide writing tests last year after the passing rate plunged from 81 percent to 27 percent for fourth graders and showed similar drops in eighth and 10th grades.
Then, in July, the department had to reissue grades for 213 elementary and middle schools and nine school districts as part of a “continuous review process.”
Within weeks, Robinson was gone, though he said the resignation was to allow him to spend more time with his family.
But Carvalho said that at least one problem had been repeated, saying the state had not done enough to prepare parents for the possibility of a widespread drop in grades as standards increased, and clarifying that students might be learning more even as the grades fell.
“Now we are but a couple weeks away from the release of letter grades,” he said. “It’s too late.”
Bennett and board members are hoping that’s not the case. The task force will include superintendents from different regions of the state as well as state officials who deal with the testing and accountability system. While no board meetings are scheduled before September, Chairman Gary Chartrand said one could be called if Bennett’s group recommends changes.
“It may be late, but it’s not too late,” Chartrand said.
The task force is expected to be put together by sometime next week.
By Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Summer Ball: Northview Splits Games With Escambia
June 19, 2013
In summer baseball Tuesday, the Northview B team lost to Escambia High 3-1. The Northview Chiefs A team shut out the Escambia Gators 6-0 in a four-inning game called due to lightning. Photos by Ramona Preston for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Poll: Scott Shows Improvement, Still Trails Crist
June 19, 2013
With the Democratic field remaining unsettled, Republican Gov. Rick Scott is seeing improvement in his poll numbers — though he still trails former Gov. Charlie Crist by double digits in a potential 2014 election battle.
Quinnipiac University on Tuesday released a poll that shows the Republican-turned-Democrat Crist leading Scott by a margin of 47 percent to 37 percent. While that is a significant edge for Crist, it is down from a 16-point margin in a March poll.
Another sign of improvement for Scott: In the new poll he is viewed favorably by 40 percent of voters and unfavorably by 42 percent. While he is still underwater, Scott’s numbers have improved since March, when he was viewed favorably by only 33 percent of voters and unfavorably by 46 percent.
Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said it is an indication of how low Scott’s poll numbers have been that he can “take some solace” from only trailing Crist by 10 points. Also, Brown pointed to improvements for Scott in other parts of the poll, though he described the governor’s job approval and favorability numbers as “tepid.”
“Now that doesn’t mean that happy days are here again for the governor, but if he is going to make a comeback these are the kind of steps that would be required,” Brown said in a news release announcing the poll results. “Whether it is the start of something larger, we’ll see in the coming months.”
Crist, who served as the Republican governor from 2006 to 2010 before losing an independent bid for the U.S. Senate and then becoming a Democrat, has not announced whether he will run against Scott next year. Similarly, former state Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, who narrowly lost to Scott in 2010, has remained coy about whether she will run again.
The only prominent Democrat who has announced a bid is former Senate Minority Leader Nan Rich of Weston. The new poll shows Scott leading Rich by a margin of 42 percent to 36 percent. It also shows that voters know little about Rich, with 84 percent saying they hadn’t heard enough about her to offer an opinion.
Though U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., has repeatedly said he does not plan to run for governor, the poll shows he would lead Scott in a hypothetical match-up by a margin of 48 percent to 38 percent.
Scott during this spring’s legislative session focused on a narrow agenda that included popular ideas such as raising pay for public-school teachers and cutting taxes for manufacturers. He also has been traveling the state to appear at choreographed bill-signing ceremonies and to talk about job creation, the issue that he rode into office in 2010.
“The governor needs to make voters believe he is responsible for a better economy. That’s the key to his electoral future,” Brown said. “He isn’t going to get re-elected because he is Mr. Personality. He needs to essentially convince voters, ‘You may not like me, but I’m the guy who is making things better,’ ”
In some ways, Scott has had the early campaign to himself as Democrats continue to sort out who will run in 2014. But if Crist jumps into the race, he will start out more popular than Scott.
The Quinnipiac poll shows that 48 percent of voters have a favorable view of Crist, while 31 percent have an unfavorable view. Independent and women voters particularly have a better opinion of Crist than they do Scott.
The state Republican Party has already started a daily barrage of criticism of Crist, including attempts to highlight changes in his positions since he left the GOP. In the Quinnipiac poll, 47 percent of voters viewed the party-switching as a positive, while 44 percent saw it as a negative.
The Connecticut-based Quinnipiac regularly conducts polls in Florida and other states. The poll released Tuesday was conducted from June 11 to June 16 and included 1,176 registered voters. It had a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points.
By Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida