Unemployment Rate Steady In Escambia County, Falls In Santa Rosa
December 20, 2014
The latest job numbers released Friday show the unemployment level decreasing or holding steady in the North Escambia area.
Escambia County’s unemployment rate held steady at 5.8 percent from October to November. There were 8,030 people reported unemployed during the period. One year ago, unemployment in Escambia County was 6.6 percent.
Santa Rosa County unemployment decreased, from 5.3 to 5.1 percent from October to November. Santa Rosa County had a total of 3,797 persons still unemployed. The year-ago unemployment rate in Santa Rosa County was 5.7 percent.
In Escambia County, Alabama, unemployment decreased from 7.3 percent in October to 6.8 percent in November. That represented 936 people unemployed in the county during the month. One year ago, the unemployment rate in Escambia County, Alabama, was 7.2 percent.
Florida’s jobless mark was 5.8 percent in November, down 0.2 percentage point from the October rate of 6.0 percent and down 0.7 percentage point from 6.5 percent one year ago. The state’s November rate was the lowest since May 2008 when it was 5.7 percent. Florida unemployment rate has been less than or equal to the national rate for 15 of the last 19 months.
Alabama’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, at 6.0 percent in November, was down from October’s rate of 6.3 percent and was below the year-ago rate of 6.2 percent.
The jobless numbers released by Florida and Alabama do not include persons that have given up on finding a job and are no longer reported as unemployed.
The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.
Traffic Shift On Pineville Road
December 20, 2014
Traffic on Pineville Road in North Escambia will be transitioned to the completed roadway and bridge over Brushy Creek Monday, December 22. Drivers can expect intermittent lane closures as crews make preparations to open the new bridge to traffic.
The $1.1 million bridge project funded by the Florida Department of Transportation has been under construction since July.
Pictured: A temporary bridge was put in place last July next to the now demolished and replaced Brushy Creek Bridge on Pineville Road. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Scott Says Florida Has Reached His 2010 Jobs Goal
December 20, 2014
Gov. Rick Scott declared Friday that Florida has reached his 2010 campaign goal of creating 700,000 jobs within seven years, as the state’s unemployment rate was posted at its lowest rate since May 2008.
Four years ago, Scott’s jobs pledge was accompanied by the line “on top of what normal growth would be,” a phrase abandoned by the governor shortly after he took office but not forgotten by Democrats.
Scott’s declaration that the campaign pledge has been achieved came tied to the monthly jobs report from the state Department of Economic Opportunity, which put Florida’s unemployment mark at 5.8 percent in November, down from 6.0 percent a month earlier.
The state rate is even with the national figure.
The state’s unemployment report estimated that 38,600 private-sector jobs had been created between October and November, the most in a single month since Scott took office at the start of 2011.
The monthly gains were primarily found in services fields, from hotel accommodations and the food industry to health care. The latest numbers also pushed the number of private-sector jobs added in the state to 715,700 since December 2010, “far surpassing (Scott’s) goal to create 700,000 jobs in seven years,” the state report declared.
“Four years ago, we unveiled an ambitious plan to fix Florida’s economy and turn the state around,” Scott said in a prepared statement. “Our goal was to create 700,000 jobs in seven years. Today our goal was reached three years early, with 715,700 private-sector jobs created in Florida since December 2010.”
The release from the governor’s office was titled: “Gov. Rick Scott: Florida did it!”
When Scott took office, the unemployment rate stood at 11.1 percent.
Democrats on Friday called Scott’s mission-accomplished release a “lie,” saying Scott’s 2010 pledge included the caveat of being on top of normal growth as predicted by state economists.
“It’s a fraud against the people of Florida, and an insult to everyone who can’t find a job this holiday season,” Joshua Karp, communications director of the Florida Democratic Party, said in an email.
When the campaign pledge was made, it was immediately viewed as a high bar as the goal was on top of the roughly 1 million jobs economists said Florida will add during that time through normal growth and business expansion.
Sean Snaith, the director of the University of Central Florida’s Institute for Economic Competitiveness, acknowledged that Scott’s campaign pledge has “come back to haunt him,” but called Scott’s claim “valid.”
“We have solid measurements of payroll jobs and we know when he took office and we can count the number of jobs added to payroll since then,” Snaith said. “The fog goes back to some point that there was some claim that this would be on top of the normal jobs, which I don’t know how anyone could know.”
When Scott took office, there were 1.1 million Floridians considered out of work from a labor force of 9.245 million. In the latest report, the number of jobless was down to 556,000 from a labor force now standing at 9.66 million.
By Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Questions About Jobs, Jeb And Marriage
December 20, 2014
One of Gov. Rick Scott’s first and most heavily debated promises was back in the headlines Friday, as the governor claimed he had reached his goal of creating 700,000 jobs — and critics quickly noted that the original pledge was a bit more robust than that.
It was a fitting end to a week full of open questions, often about semantics, that never seemed to get resolved.
Former Gov. Jeb Bush announced he would “actively explore” running for president — which many observers saw as a precursor to a formal bid for the 2016 GOP nomination, though Bush still hadn’t officially thrown his hat in the ring by week’s end (and wasn’t expected to for a while). At the same time, longtime Bush-watchers were questioning the national media’s rush to label the state’s former leader a “moderate.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi continued her fight to prevent same-sex marriage from taking effect in Florida — but the clock was running toward an early 2015 beginning for nuptials, and the courts largely remained quiet. Perhaps, like everyone who doesn’t breathe politics, they were simply out doing some Christmas shopping.
700,000 JOBS — GIVE OR TAKE A MILLION
It was notable enough in Friday’s monthly jobs report that the state’s unemployment mark fell below 6 percent for the first time since May 2008, before the financial market crash that triggered one of the worst economic downturns in American history. The jobless rate checked in at 5.8 percent in November.
But the numbers also gave Scott something to crow about: He claimed that the state had created 700,000 jobs since he took office, a fulfillment of the 7-7-7 pledge he made to voters during his first campaign for the governor’s mansion in 2010.
Never mind the fact that not all of the seven steps that Scott had claimed would lead to 700,000 jobs in seven years were fully enacted. And never mind caveats about how many jobs he actually promised.
“Four years ago, we unveiled an ambitious plan to fix Florida’s economy and turn the state around,” Scott said in a prepared statement. “Our goal was to create 700,000 jobs in seven years. Today our goal was reached three years early, with 715,700 private-sector jobs created in Florida since December 2010.”
Not so fast, Democrats countered.
“It’s a fraud against the people of Florida, and an insult to everyone who can’t find a job this holiday season,” Joshua Karp, communications director of the Florida Democratic Party, said in an email.
The dispute dates back to one of Scott’s debates with then-Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, his Democratic opponent in 2010.
“So, our plan is seven steps to 700,000 jobs,” Scott said during that debate. “And that plan is on top of what normal growth would be.”
The moderator, Antonio Mora, pushed Scott a bit. Economists expected the state to add about a million jobs, so another 700,000 jobs would mean that Florida would have an additional 1.7 million openings over the next seven years, Mora noted, in a state where 1 million people were unemployed at the time.
Scott didn’t correct Mora. “We’re going to grow the state,” he responded, then began ticking off the virtues of doing business in Florida.
Even before this year’s campaign, when Scott’s biggest talking-point was his record of job creation, the exchange with Mora was repeatedly walked back after the governor settled into office. In a statement issued in October 2011, Scott said his promise was “the creation of 700,000 jobs over seven years regardless of what the economy might otherwise gain or lose” — a slight change in phrasing that altered the meaning of the promise.
By the original count, Scott still has plenty of work cut out for him in his second term. But Friday showed that Scott will stick to his revised promised. The question is whether Democrats will want to keep holding him to what he said in 2010, or move on to other fights.
‘ACTIVELY EXPLORING’
With all the policy speeches and newspaper stories bubbling up about the presidential ambitions of the man they once called Jeb!, one could be forgiven for thinking that Bush had already begun to “actively explore” whether to run for the nation’s highest office in 2016.
But that step actually happened this week, as Bush announced Tuesday on his Facebook page. That alone was a sign of how much politics had changed since Bush’s last bid for public office in 2002, before Mark Zuckerberg had begun building the website that would become Facebook.
In his post to the social media site, Bush wrote about spending time with his wife, Columba, children and grandchildren at Thanksgiving.
“We also talked about the future of our nation,” Bush wrote. “As a result of these conversations and thoughtful consideration of the kind of strong leadership I think America needs, I have decided to actively explore the possibility of running for President of the United States.”
National political reporters hailed the news as the latest signs of hope for the Republican establishment, and perhaps the now-endangered species of GOP moderates. That puzzled Floridians who had long considered Bush a rock-ribbed Republican who backed school vouchers, tax cuts and efforts to keep life support hooked up for Terri Schiavo, a woman diagnosed by doctors as being in a persistent vegetative state.
“I think what’s intriguing and I’m sure y’all have been reading the national media (reports) that Jeb is a moderate or middle of the road, and — y’all covered him,” Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, said skeptically during a meeting with reporters.
Democrats were all too happy to make the same point, hoping to ding the brother of the last President Bush and lessen the chances that there would be another one.
“Here’s the good news: With this announcement, Americans are going to get their first chance to learn about Jeb Bush,” said Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Allison Tant. “As Florida governor, Jeb was a partisan extremist who fought to privatize public education and abused the power of government to interfere in private medical decisions in the Terri Schiavo case.”
YES OR NO ON GAY MARRIAGE?
While the political maneuvers over jobs and presidential ambitions continued, a legal battle to decide whether gay couples can marry in Florida also kept moving. On Monday, Bondi asked the U.S. Supreme Court to place a hold on same-sex nuptials, which could begin Jan. 6 unless an extension of the state’s ban is approved.
Bondi’s request came less than two weeks after a federal appeals court rejected her effort to at least temporarily extend the gay-marriage prohibition, which U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle ruled in August was unconstitutional. Hinkle placed a stay on his decision to allow time for appeals in three cases then pending before the Supreme Court.
Bondi asked the Supreme Court to keep the hold in place until Florida’s appeals run out or until the justices rule in similar cases. The Republican attorney general is asking justices to intervene to avoid confusion and to “maintain uniformity,” her spokeswoman Jenn Meale said in a memo accompanying the filing.
“In a continuation of the effort to maintain uniformity and order throughout Florida until final resolution of the numerous challenges to the voter-approved constitutional amendment on marriage, the Attorney General’s Office filed with the United States Supreme Court an application to extend the stay,” Meale wrote.
Unsurprisingly, lawyers for same-sex couples asked the high court Thursday to reject that request.
“Every day that the couples we represent and the thousands of families across Florida who are also denied the protections of marriage go without those protections, they are suffering real harm, as Judge Hinkle’s order made plainly clear,” said Daniel Tilley, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, in a prepared statement announcing the Supreme Court filing.
But access to marriage for gay couples could be complicated regardless of whether Hinkle’s stay expires. Lawyers for the Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers have advised county officials statewide not to issue marriage licenses “until a binding order is issued by a court of proper jurisdiction” and warned the clerks that they could be subject to criminal prosecution if they allow gay couples to wed.
“We realize that it may seem to many that Judge Hinkle’s federal district court ruling that Florida’s same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional and violates fundamental rights would permit all Florida clerks of court to lawfully issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples,” the lawyers wrote in the Monday memo, an update of an analysis the clerks’ lawyers provided in July.
But, the lawyers wrote, “our review of the law indicates that an order and injunction issued at the federal trial level is not binding on any person, including a clerk of court, who is not a named party in the action.”
Hinkle’s ruling only applies to the Panhandle’s Washington County, where one of the gay couples in the lawsuit resides, Greenberg Traurig lawyers Fred Baggett, John Londot, Hope Keating and Michael Moody wrote.
STORY OF THE WEEK: Despite objections by Democrats, Gov. Rick Scott announced that he had reached his goal of creating 700,000 jobs.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “What does the cause of (Cuban) liberty get in return for that?”—State Rep. Jose Javier Rodriguez, D-Miami, on the possibility of the Cuban government opening an embassy in Washington, D.C., following President Barack Obama’s decision to re-establish diplomatic ties with the island nation.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Gulf Power Gives Back To America’s Heroes
December 20, 2014
Gulf Power presented $63,400 to two local charities today in support of veterans in the Escambia County area. The money was raised from its second annual Clay Shoot for America’s Heroes held in November at the Santa Rosa Shooting Center in Pace. Two checks for $31,700 were presented to the two organizations at Gulf Power’s headquarters.
The clay shoot raised money for Building Homes for Heroes and Gulf Coast Veterans In Need — two charities that provide assistance to wounded military members and their families in Northwest Florida.
“Many disabled veterans have nothing in their life to call their own or to be proud of. This support enables veterans to begin anew and start living life the way it should be,” said Army Sgt. Joshua Hamilton, who will receive a home from Building Homes for Heroes on Dec. 27.
Building Homes for Heroes gives mortgage-free homes to wounded American service members. Locally, five homes have been given or pledged with plans for several more in Northwest Florida.
Gulf Coast Veterans In Need supports severely injured veterans in the Pensacola Bay Area. The group works with individual service members to coordinate benefits, community resources and family needs and determines the level and type of additional assistance.
Each charity will receive a check raised through Gulf Power’s Clay Shoot for America’s Heroes event.
“The Gulf Power fundraiser and the Building Homes for Heroes organization has meant the world to us,” said retired Army Spc. Anthony Stroup. “It has given us the opportunity to build a solid foundation for our family and make new lasting memories together. Our family has moved 14 times in eight years, so now our children will have the chance to grow up in the same house in the same school district, and will be able to make lifelong friendships. We have a chance as a married couple to secure our future and provide the lifestyle we never had growing up.”
Close to 80 volunteers from Gulf Power and the community hosted the clay shoot on Nov. 6 with 35 teams of sportsmen and women gunning for clays. Twenty-five sponsors showed their support to make the event possible and volunteers launched clays and scored endless rounds of shots from 130 participants.
“There was terrific response from the community and once again we have selected two great causes that provide much needed support to our military veterans,” said Sandy Sims, Gulf Power manager of Community Relations. “Our employees are proud to support groups that support our military friends and neighbors — and the key is that our partners in the community feel the same way.”
Pictured: Gulf Power presented donations for $31,700 each Friday to Gulf Coast Veterans in need (below) and Building Homes for Heroes (top). Pictured inset: Gulf Power CEO Stan Connally chats with Army Sgt. Josh Hamilton, one of two area veterans receiving a home through the Building Homes for Veterans charity. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia Man Charged With November Murder
December 19, 2014
An Escambia County man was charged Friday morning with a November murder.
Reginald Sherrod Williams, 24, was charged with homicide in the November 25 death of 22 year old Nicolas Baer on Galvin Road.
Baer was discovered deceased on the floor of a residence in the 1500 block shortly before 3:00 pm. Narcotics were also recovered from the residence according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. At the time of the homicide, Williams was the suspect in a home invasion which occurred in the 400 block of Shiloh Drive on November 24. He was arrested on November 26 on multiple charges in that case.
Attemped Kidnapping At Elementary School Under Investigation
December 19, 2014
An attempted kidnapping is under investigation at an Escambia County elementary school.
About 4 p.m. Thursday, deputies responded to Warrington Elementary school where a juvenile male victim said he was playing in the rear of the school when he was approached by a man who was smoking and armed with a knife.
The victim said the man grabbed him and carried him to a fence that runs behind the school. The victim told deputies that the suspect then let him go and fled the area.
The suspect was described as a light-skinned male with long straight hair down to his elbows and blue eyes. He had no visible scars or facial hair. At the time of the attempted kidnapping, the suspect was wearing a blue short-sleeve shirt, black jeans, white tennis shoes and a purple cowboy hat.
According to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, there have been no further reports involving the man, but citizens should be alert.
Anyone with information on the identity of the suspect is asked to call Crimestoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Century Talks Business Climate, Business Challenge
December 19, 2014
Big changes are in store for the business climate in Century as the town works to implement an economic development plan authored by the University of West Florida’s Haas Center.
Thursday afternoon, the Haas Center’s Brice Harris met in a workshop setting with the Century town council, recommending future actions the council should take toward their business goals.
A first step centers around the town’s “Habitat for Opportunity Building”, a former school on Pond Street. The complex was redeveloped into a possible business incubator several years ago, but has remained empty.
Harris recommended that the council start be changing the awkward “Habitat for Opportunity Building” name to something along the lines of the “Century Business Center”. Individual classrooms, each with a door to the outside, will be improved into office space.
One space, Harris suggested, could be rented to the winner of the upcoming Century Business Challenge for a reduced rate of $1 per year as part of the winner’s prize that will also include $25,000 in startup cash from Quint and Rishy Studer. Details on that contest will be forthcoming in January.
Another office space would be used by an Americorp volunteer working for the town and by the Haas Center, and another office could be shared by community non-profits providing regular services such as the United Way or Northwest Florida Legal Services.
“I think it’s the beginning of a new year 2015, and it’s great thing for Century,” council member Sandra McMurray Jackson said.
“We are ready, willing and able to cooperate,” Century Mayor Freddie McCall said.
The council and Harris also discussed a redesign and upgrades for the town’s website, which was described by McCall as “a poor website”. The website work would possibly be performed by an Americorps volunteer.
Century’s current website was developed by an area marketing firm in 2012 for $5,950, part of a $11,450 package that also included a five year comprehensive marketing strategy. Also at the workshop Thursday, the council and Harris discussed transportation improvements, and even new signage at the town’s limits.
Any action items discussed at Thursday’s workshop must be approved by the council during an upcoming regular meeting.
Pictured top: Century Economic Development Coordinator Allison Tyler listens as Brice Harris of the Haas Center addresses the Century Town Council Thursday afternoon. Pictured inset: Council member Gary Riley listens to the discussion. Pictured bottom: A portion of Century’s Habitat for Opportunity complex. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
State Rep. Clay Ingram Named President, CEO Of Pensacola Chamber
December 19, 2014
The Greater Pensacola Chamber board of directors voted Thursday to elected Clay Ingram as the chamber’s new president and CEO. . Ingram, who was unanimously voted by the Board to oversee all operational aspects of the Chamber, will begin his new role on January 5.
“Clay brings energy, leadership, a unique perspective and highly developed skillsets important to this role and our organization. We are thrilled to have him serve as the Chamber’s next president and CEO,” said Carol Carlan, chair of the Greater Pensacola Chamber board of directors. “His understanding of small business development, finance and the importance of regional partnerships will be a tremendous asset that will allow us to continue serving the Northwest Florida business community.”
Ingram currently serves as a member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 1st District – which includes most of Escambia County – and previously, the state’s 2nd District from 2010 to 2012. He was recently named chair of the Transportation and Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee, where he is responsible for crafting a $12 billion budget for several agencies, including the Department of Transportation, Department of State, Department of Economic Opportunity, Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, and Department of Military Affairs. Ingram also serves on the Florida Defense Support Task Force and the Joint Legislative Budget Commission.
“Over the course of this year, the Chamber has repositioned itself to create a better business climate in the Greater Pensacola Region,” said Ingram. “I am excited to lead a team that is dedicated to maintaining economic prosperity and a better quality of life for those that choose to live and do business in this community.”
Prior to being elected to the legislature, Ingram worked in sales, real estate and served as a teacher in the Escambia County School District, where he taught courses in the Exceptional Student Education Department at Tate High School.
“It has been an honor and privilege to lead the Chamber, and I couldn’t be more proud of what this organization has accomplished over the past year and a half,” said former Pensacola mayor and current chamber president and CEO Jerry Maygarden. “In addition to serving as the executive director for the Pensacola Chamber Foundation, I will continue to serve as an advisor to both Clay and the board for as long as I am needed.”
A Pensacola native, Ingram is a graduate of Tate High School and Florida State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in general communication, with a minor in political science. An active member of the community, he is a member of St. Luke United Methodist Church, the Cantonment Rotary Club, Century Chamber of Commerce and serves as a board member for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northwest Florida and the Florida State University Alumni Association. Clay and his wife Leslie have two daughters, Madilyn and Lydia.
Graduation Rates Increase In Escambia, Santa Rosa Counties
December 19, 2014
Statewide graduation rates increased to an 11-year high of 76.1 percent, an increase of 0.5 percent over last year and a rise of nearly 17 percentage points since 2003-04, according to data released Thursday by the Florida Department of Education. The graduation rate also improved in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
Escambia County’s graduation rate was up to 66.1 percent, an increase of nearly two percentage points since last year and 8.4 percentage points since 2010-11. And Santa Rosa saw an increase in their graduation rate to 82.8 percent, a 3.9 percentage point improvement over last year and five percentage points since 2010-11,
The graduation rates at high schools in Escambia County are as follows:
- Escambia — 60%
- Pensacola — 62%
- Tate — 77%
- Pine Forest — 64%
- Washington — 72 %
- Northview — 70%
- West Florida — 95%
The graduation rates at high schools in Santa Rosa County are as follows:
- Central — 70%
- Gulf Breeze — 94%
- Jay — 91%
- Milton — 89%
- Pace — 91%
- Navarre — 96%
The graduation rate measures the percentage of students who graduate within four years of their first enrollment in ninth grade. The rate is calculated for an adjusted cohort of students – a group of students on the same schedule to graduate – taking into account those who enter or exit the group.
Florida’s graduation rate only considers standard diploma recipients as graduates in the calculation. Students who earn a special diploma, a GED-based diploma, a certificate of completion, or have been retained and are still in school after four years are counted as non-completers in the calculation.
Pictured top: The Tate High School Class of 2014 graduated last June at the Pensacola Civic Center. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.