Lane Closure Monday On Highway 29 Near IP
July 19, 2014
There will be a temporary lane closure on Highway 29 south of Muscogee Road on Monday.
The lane closure will be between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. to replace a CSX Railroad highway crossing panel near International Paper.
Local Airman Killed In Ft. Bragg Exercise
July 19, 2014
Senior Airman Timothy J. Wright, 20, was fatally injured in a Humvee accident at Ft. Bragg, NC, during a unit readiness training exercise July 17.
Several unit members who witnessed the accident attempted life-saving measures until emergency medical services personnel arrived and transported him to Womack Army Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at 11 a.m. The cause of the accident is under investigation.
“Team Pope and the Gryphons of the 43rd Airlift Group are united in support of Senior Airman Wright’s family and friends,” said Col. Daniel Tulley, 43rd Airlift Group commander. “We stand together during this time of mourning. We cherish our memories of him and will continue to honor his service to our nation and the United States Air Force.”
Wright, from Pensacola, was assigned to Pope’s 43rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron as an aeromedical evacuation technician. He arrived at Pope in May of 2014.
Prior to his arrival at Pope, he served an aerospace medical service technician at Travis Air Force Base, California.
Installation memorial services for Wright will be held at a date to be announced.
Unemployment Rate Increasing In Local Three County Area
July 19, 2014
The latest job numbers released Friday show the unemployment level increasing in the North Escambia area.
Escambia County’s unemployment rate inched upwards from 6.3 percent in May to 6.5 percent in June. There were 9,109 people reported unemployed during the period. One year ago, unemployment in Escambia County was 7.7 percent.
Santa Rosa County unemployment also increased, from 5.4 to 5.8 percent from Ma to June. Santa Rosa County had a total of 4,337 persons still unemployed. The year-ago unemployment rate in Santa Rosa County was 7.3 percent.
In Escambia County, Alabama, unemployment increased from 8.1 percent in May to 8.9 percent in May. That represented 1,254 people unemployed in the county during the month.
Florida’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.2 percent in June 2014, down slightly from the May 2014 rate of 6.3 percent, and down 1.2 percentage points from 7.4 percent a year ago. There were 597,000 jobless Floridians out of a labor force of 9,626,000. The U.S. unemployment rate was 6.1 percent in June. Prior to June, Florida’s unemployment rate had been less than or equal to the national rate for 13 consecutive months.
Alabama’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, 6.8 percent in June, was unchanged from May’s rate and was above the year-ago rate of 6.5 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.
Escambia Students Place In Health Occupations Students of America Competition
July 19, 2014
Recently, the Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) National Leadership Conference was held at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Lake Buena Vista. The Escambia County School District has several Health Academy National Winners:
In third place, Pensacola High School’s HOSA Bowl Team:
- Jett Crowdis
- Anish Gupta
- Krisha Gupta
- Shayli Patel
In fourth place, West Florida High School’s Creative Problem Solving Team:
- Lindsay Adkerson
- Delaney Anderson
- Mary Tomlinson
- Elizabeth Tomlinson
BreeAnn Davidson from West Florida High School was recognized as a bronze medal winner for the Barbara James Award for Community Service.
West Florida High School’s Biomedical Sciences & Sports Medicine Chapter was recognized as medalist in HOSA Happenings.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: It’s All About The Appeal
July 19, 2014
It was a week of appeal-related decisions, both legal and political, that could have far-reaching implications.
House Speaker Will Weatherford and Senate President Don Gaetz shocked Capitol insiders when they announced they would not appeal Leon County Circuit Judge Terry Lewis’ ruling last week striking down the Legislature’s congressional map. Instead, the legislative leaders want Lewis to let lawmakers wait until after the November elections — when Gaetz and Weatherford will no longer be in power — to redraw the Northeast and Central Florida districts at the heart of Lewis’ ruling.
Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored the pleas of gay couples and gay-rights advocates who won a first-of-its-kind ruling in Florida in a lawsuit challenging the state’s constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. Bondi immediately filed a notice to appeal a Monroe County judge’s decision that found the voter-approved ban violates due process and U.S. constitutional protections against discrimination.
And former Gov. Charlie Crist, trying to make a comeback as a Democrat, enlisted Annette Taddeo to be his running-mate in what some consider a “two-fer” in his efforts to appeal to Latino and women voters, both blocs whose support is considered critical to Crist’s bid to overthrow Republican Gov. Rick Scott.
REDISTRICTING APPEAL NOT SO APPEALING
Lawyers for the Legislature, elections supervisors and the Department of State argued in court Thursday that it is too late in the election cycle to redraw the congressional districts deemed unconstitutional by Lewis.
Ballots have already been sent to overseas voters in advance of the Aug. 26 primaries, and recreating the districts would throw the entire election schedule out of whack, the lawyers insisted.
“This is not an impending election. This election has begun. To undo that, or to cancel that, is both impossible and in no way governed or set forth by Florida statutes or the constitution,” George Meros, a lawyer representing the Legislature, told the judge during a 20-minute hearing.
But David King, a lawyer representing voting-rights groups that sued the state over the congressional map drawn in 2012 by the GOP-controlled Legislature, argued that lawmakers should come up with a new plan.
“We’ve already had one election on an unconstitutional map in 2012,” King said.
Lewis ruled last week that lawmakers failed during the 2012 redistricting process to follow the anti-gerrymandering Fair Districts constitutional amendments, approved by voters in 2010. The amendments bar the Legislature from crafting districts that favor incumbents or political parties.
Lewis’ ruling targeted districts represented by Congresswoman Corrine Brown, a Jacksonville Democrat, and Congressman Daniel Webster, a Winter Garden Republican. Brown’s District 5, which snakes from Jacksonville to Orlando, has been pilloried for years as one of the nation’s worst examples of gerrymandering. Redrawing the two districts targeted in Lewis’ ruling could affect some neighboring seats, especially those surrounding Webster’s District 10 seat.
Lewis appeared caught off guard by the legislative leaders’ decision to let his ruling stand.
“Quite frankly, when I issued my order I thought surely one side or the other would appeal. So it didn’t really occur to me to start thinking about what to do with the 2014 election,” Lewis said.
But Ron Labasky, the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections general counsel, told Lewis that forcing the Legislature to craft new districts before this year’s elections would create havoc. Some of the overseas absentee ballots have already been returned, and the bulk of absentee ballots for the Aug. 26 primary are slated to be mailed next week, he said.
“I’m not sure how we back up and allow somebody to vote again in a new district,” Labasky said. “Absent some very novel, creative plan on your part, we just don’t see how there’s any possible way … to have an election in newly created districts.”
GAY MARRIAGE VICTORY BUT NO WEDDING BELLS IN THE KEYS … YET
In a ruling that mirrored decisions in other states striking down bans on same-sex marriages, Circuit Judge Luis Garcia on Thursday ordered Monroe County Clerk of Court Amy Heavilin to start giving out marriage licenses to couples of the same gender beginning Tuesday.
Garcia’s order would only apply in Monroe County, but Keys couples can’t start lining up to get wed, thanks to Bondi. She immediately filed a notice to appeal the decision, effectively putting a stay on Garcia’s order. Heavilin’s lawyer Ron Saunders, a former state representative who once served as House Minority Leader, said she won’t let any same-sex couples get married until the case is resolved.
That could be a while. Both sides expect the case, filed by two Key West bartenders who have been together for more than a decade, and/or a similar case filed in Miami-Dade County by six same-sex couples to wind up in the hands of the Florida Supreme Court and, some hope, possibly make it as far as the U.S. Supreme Court.
In his 14-page ruling, Garcia compared the politically charged issue of same-sex marriage with previous civil-rights struggles.
“This court is aware that the majority of voters oppose same-sex marriage, but it is our country’s proud history to protect the rights of the individual, the rights of the unpopular and the rights of the powerless, even at the cost of offending the majority,” Garcia wrote in his 14-page order. “Whether it’s the NRA protecting our right to bear arms when the City of Chicago attempted to ban handguns within its city limits; or when Nazi supremacists won the right to march in Skokie, Illinois, a predominantly Jewish neighborhood; or when a black woman wanted to marry a white man in Virginia; or when black children wanted to go an all-white school, the Constitution guarantees and protects ALL of its citizens from government interference with those rights.”
Scott appeared to be making an appeal to both sides of the issue in a statement released by his spokesman John Tupps.
“Governor Scott supports traditional marriage, consistent with the amendment approved by Florida voters in 2008, but does not believe that anyone should be discriminated against for any reason,” Tupps said in an e-mail.
WHO’S CRIST WOOING?
Crist’s selection of Miami-Dade County Democratic party leader Taddeo was an unusual move from a candidate who still faces a primary.
But it’s another signal that Crist, who has refused to debate fellow Democratic candidate Nan Rich, is focused on the general election against Scott. Crist frequently points out that Scott and his backers have spent nearly $20 million bashing Crist and have pledged to spend $100 million to keep Scott in the governor’s mansion and Crist out of it.
Crist touted Taddeo as a working mother who runs a small business in Miami. Taddeo, 47, who was born on a U.S. military base in Colombia, also has served as chairwoman of the Miami-Dade County Democratic Party.
“She will make an excellent lieutenant governor because as a working mom she knows Florida families are struggling to pay their bills, raise their kids, and save for retirement — and because she believes, as I do, that all Floridians deserve a fair shot at success,” Crist said in a prepared statement.
But Rich, who has trailed in polls and raised relatively little money, took a shot at Crist, who served as a Republican governor before later becoming a Democrat.
“Because he’s been a lifelong Republican, Charlie Crist might be excused for not knowing that Democrats typically don’t choose a running mate until they win the nomination,” Rich, a former state Senate minority leader, said.
Taddeo ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2008, losing to U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. She has had an elevated profile in state party politics since Democratic Chairwoman Allison Tant tapped her to serve as one of four vice-chairs last year.
Susan MacManus, a political-science professor at the University of South Florida who studies state politics, said both parties think they have a shot at the Hispanic vote, and the lieutenant-governor candidates — Scott tapped former state Rep. Carlos Lopez-Cantera to fill a vacancy as lieutenant governor earlier this year — are one way to appeal to Hispanics. But MacManus also said Crist’s choice of a woman was “shrewd” as women make up a larger share of the Democratic Party than they do the Republican Party.
“(There) is a tendency, particularly of younger women, to fall off in their participation in mid-term elections,” MacManus said. “But having a woman on the ticket as number two was one of the ways that Crist is distinguishing himself from the Republican ticket. So he’s trying to take advantage of the gender makeup of Florida and particularly of the Democratic Party, because he’s got to get turnout close to what it was during the (2012) presidential election, and that’s always difficult in a midterm.”
While at a Democratic Party fundraiser last month, Taddeo said she has “great respect” for Rich but said Democrats exude a palpable enthusiasm for Crist, whom many believe has a better chance of ousting Scott.
“Everybody wants a picture with (Crist.) When he walks into a room, everybody’s excited. And the excitement is very big,” she said.
STORY OF THE WEEK: A Monroe County circuit judge rules that Florida’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “It looks like a bunch of cockroaches that just got sprayed with Raid. They’re spinning around going nowhere fast.” — Orlando trial lawyer John Morgan on “ganjapreneurs” attracted to Florida by a new law legalizing a strain of non-euphoric marijuana and by a proposed constitutional amendment — bankrolled by Morgan — that would allow doctors to order traditional medical marijuana for patients.
by Dara Kim, The News Service of Florida
More Showers And Storms
July 19, 2014
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Saturday Showers and thunderstorms. Near steady temperature in the lower 80s. South winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation 80 percent.
- Saturday Night Mostly cloudy. Chance of showers and thunderstorms in the evening…then showers and thunderstorms likely after midnight. Lows in the lower 70s. South winds 5 to 10 mph becoming around 5 mph after midnight. Chance of precipitation 60 percent.
- Sunday A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 89. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
- Sunday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Monday A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 91. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.
- Monday Night A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
- Tuesday A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 91. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon.
- Tuesday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
- Wednesday A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 91. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.
- Wednesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 72.
- Thursday A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 92.
- Thursday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 74.
- Friday A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 93.
Wahoos Snap Skid
July 19, 2014
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos broke a 1-1 tie with seven runs in the fifth inning on their way to snapping a five-game losing streak with an 8-3 win over the Jacksonville Suns on Friday night at the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville. Wahoos starter, Robert Stephenson, left the game early after being struck by a line drive in the sixth inning.
Juan Duran’s three run home run highlighted the big fifth for the Wahoos. It was Duran’s team-leading 12th home run of the season. The Blue Wahoos used seven hits to score the seven runs, five of those were singles. The Suns committed an error and walked one to help fuel the rally.
Stephenson was struck in the right thigh by a line drive off the bat of Austin Nola leading off the sixth inning. Stephenson completed the play by picking up the ball and getting the out at first base but left the game. He walked off the field under his own power and there are no updates on his status at this time. The right-hander finished the night with just one run allowed on only two hits over 5.1 innings. He struck out one and walked one in the winning effort.
Offensively, the Blue Wahoos had five hitters with multi-hit games. Ryan Wright led the charge with a 3-for-5 night. Yorman Rodriguez, Kyle Waldrop, Ross Perez and Travis Mattair all added a pair of hits each.
The Suns’ Robert Morey suffered the loss. He pitched well over the first four innings, but ran into trouble in the fifth. He was charged with 6 R/ER on eight hits over 4.1 innings.
Pensacola will try to make it consecutive wins on Saturday night with RHP Tim Adleman (2-4, 3.30) on the mound against Suns LHP Justin Nicolino (8-3, 3.12). First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m. CT from the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.
by Tommy Thrall
Several Inches Of Rain Possible Through The Weekend
July 18, 2014
We could be in for 2-3 inches of rain –with locally heavier amounts — through the weekend. Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Friday Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 88. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
- Friday Night A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a low around 70. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph.
- Saturday Showers and thunderstorms likely. Cloudy, with a high near 88. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
- Saturday Night A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a low around 71. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight.
- Sunday Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 87. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
- Sunday Night A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 70. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
- Monday A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 89. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph in the afternoon.
- Monday Night A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight.
- Tuesday A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 90.
- Tuesday Night A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71.
- 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 71.
- Thursday A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 90.
Car Stolen; Burned When Lighter Sparks Stolen Gas In The Backseat
July 18, 2014
A Century man has been charged with stealing a car that was accidentally burned after an occupant used a cigarette lighter to illuminate the passenger compartment, which contained a stolen gas can.
Joshua Jackson Grimes, 31, was charged with grand theft of a motor vehicle, burglary of an unoccupied structure and second degree petit theft.
According to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, Grimes took a 2003 Hyundai Sonata without permission from a female on Tedder Road. Grimes allegedly drove to Wallace, AL, where he pickup up a teen male, the two of them riding around until the vehicle ran out of gas after dark. Grimes then reportedly stole a gas can containing about four gallons of gas from the carport of a residence on Highway 168.
The teen said Grimes poured a “little bit” of gas into the vehicle to get the pair out of the area and then placed the gas can in the backseat of the vehicle.
A short time later, the teen used a cigarette lighter to illuminate the inside of the vehicle, igniting the gas can and inside of the vehicle. The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue was dispatched to a vehicle fire with a possible burn victim on Highway 168, but the vehicle was gone by the time firefighters arrived.
Grimes allegedly drove the vehicle to his home on nearby Wawbeek Road until morning and then returned the burned vehicle back to the owner’s home after daylight. According to deputies, the vehicle was charred on the inside, with a melted five-gallon gas can and a melted ice chest in the backseat.
The teen male was found to have suffered burns during the incident, and the case was referred to the Department of Children and Families for further investigation.
Grimes remained in the Escambia County Jail Friday without bond due to an outstanding failure to appear warrant in battery case.
New $161 Million Jail Complex Could Be Located Near Molino, Cantonment Or Beulah
July 18, 2014
The Escambia County Commission is working to find a location to build a new jail, and so far properties in Cantonment, south of Molino and in Beulah have been discussed.
Locations discussed for a new correctional complex include an area at the Escambia County Road Prison in Cantonment, 100 acres located in the Beulah area near I-10 adjacent to the Perdido Landfill, and a nearly 200 acre parcel owned by the county in the Central Commerce Park on Highway 29 south of Molino.
The commission, at the request of District 5 Commissioner Steven Barry, will also send out a request for information on other possible locations.
Commissioners expressed a desire to move forward as quickly as possible for a replacement for the Central Booking and Detention Facility, which was destroyed in an explosion a few months ago.
For now, prisoners are be housed at facilities such as the Road Prison in Cantonment and facilities in other nearby counties — and that’s cost the county millions over time.
“I don’t want to sit around here for months and months and months and talk about this and keep saying that we are going to spend an extra three almost $5 million on temporary housing and let a lot of time go by. Because if I can save a year I’ve saved almost $5 million,” said Commissioner Wilson Robertson.
Constructing a temporary facility is estimated to cost up to $24 million, compared to $7.5 to $14 million to house prisoners in other counties.
Relocation of the destroyed building and the main jail into a correctional complex on one of the three sites or elsewhere is estimated to have a $161 million price tag. The county is still waiting to find out if flood insurance, property insurance and FEMA money will help pay for the new jail — it will all depend on the outcome of a current federal investigation into the cause of the explosion.
In the event FEMA pays up, the county will still be on the hook for 12.5 percent of the total cost plus any expansions past the pre-flood level.
The explosion claimed the lives of two people — including a McDavid man — and left 184 people injured.