Florida Senate Snuffs Out E-Cigarettes To Minors
March 19, 2014
Amid concerns about youths getting hooked on nicotine or tobacco, the Florida Senate on Tuesday voted 40-0 to ban the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors. The proposal (SB 224), sponsored by Majority Leader Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers, quickly moved through the Senate, and a similar measure (HB 169) has been approved by two House subcommittees. The increasingly popular electronic cigarettes are seen by some people as more acceptable than smoking, with the process involving a vaporizer to inhale nicotine that is often enhanced with flavors. But critics have raised questions about whether the devices could serve as a gateway to nicotine addiction.
Chiefs Down Rocky Bayou
March 19, 2014
The Northview Chiefs beat Rocky Bayou on the road Tuesday 6-1.
Chasen Freeman 2-3, 2B, 2 Runs, 1 RBI, 1 SB; R.J. Pritchett 2-4, 4 RBI, 2 run HR, run scored; Thomas Moore 2-4; Roman Manning 2-4, run scored; Daulton Tullis 1-3, 1 RBI, run scored; Kevin Barrow 1-3, SB and Aaron McDonald – 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, none earned, 2 BB, 5 K’s.
The Chiefs are scheduled to take on Escambia Academy (Canoe, AL) Thursday in Poarch, AL, at 7:00.
NorthEscambia.com file photos.
Aggie Classic Continues (With Tuesday Scores)
March 19, 2014
The Aggie Classic, a 24-team tournament hosted by the Tate Aggies, is continuing.
Tickets for each game are $6 for adults and students and will be available at the gate at each location. Games will be played at all the five local fields Tuesday and Wednesday. The championship games on Thursday at 4 and 7 p.m. will be played at the University of West Florida.
Tuesday scores were as follows:
Navarre Raiders 2, Edmond North Huskies 1
Christ Presbyterian Lions 10, Jay Bulldogs 0
Brentwood Academy Eagles 14, Sallisaw Black Diamonds 8
Second Baptist School 11, Ft.Gibson Tigers 9
Knoxville Catholic Irish 9, Tulsa Union Redskins 5
Milton Panthers 5, Sapulpa Chieftains 1
Niceville Eagles 15m Pryor Tigers 4
Escambia Gators 4, Claremore Zebras 2
Tate Aggies 13, Davidson Academy Bears 1
South-Doyle Cherokees 9, Ponte Vedra Sharks 3
Washington Wildcats 5, Brentwood Bruins 4
Washington Hornets 2, West Florida Jaguars 1
Here is Wednesday’s Aggie Classic schedule:
1:00 – Brentwood Academy Eagles vs. Washington Hornets at Tate
1:00 – Pryor Tigers vs. Knoxville Catholic Irish at Washington
4:00 – Davidson Academy Bears vs. Jay Bulldogs at ECHS
4:00 – Ponte Vedra Sharks vs. Niceville Eagles at Tate
4:00 – Milton Panthers vs. Sallisaw Black Diamonds at UWF
4:00 – Second Baptist School vs. Christ Presbyterian Lions at Washington
4:00 – Brentwwod Bruins vs. Claremore Zebras at WFHS
7:00 – Escambia Gators vs. South-Doyle Cherokees at ECHS
7:00 – Tate Aggies vs. Sapulpa Chieftains at Tate
7:00 – Navarre Raiders vs. Tulsa Union Redskins at UWF
7:00 – Edmond North Huskies vs. Washington Wildcats at Washington
7:00 – Ft.Gibson Tigers vs. West Florida Jaguars at WFHS
Florida (Yes, Florida) DOT Purchases Snow Plows, Salt, Spreaders
March 19, 2014
The Florida Department of Transportation has purchased snow plows, salt and spreaders for use in Northwest Florida. The purchases come on the heels of a freak ice storm in January that paralyzed the area.
The DOT spent $22,000 for five snow plows that will attach to the front of current DOT vehicles, $12,400 for 42 tons of salt, $26,400 for 10 salt spreaders to attach to dump trucks and $26,400 for 4,400 gallons of the ice-melting chemical potassium acetate.
The equipment can be used in mutual aid effort in other areas, and the snow plows can be used to remove beach sand from the roads after strong storms and hurricanes.
Pictured above: One of FDOT’s snow plows. Pictured inset: Two jack-knifed 18-wheelers on an icy Highway 29 south of Century and (below) an impassable Highway 97 near Davisville last January. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
A ‘Final Tribute From A Grateful State’ For Askew
March 19, 2014
In a flag-draped casket topped by a single white rose, former Gov. Reubin Askew lay in state on Tuesday in the historic Old Capitol, the building where the “man of courage” was inaugurated and served as a state legislator more than four decades ago.
A military honor guard carried the body of Askew, who died Thursday at age 85, past a gantlet of dignitaries including three former governors, Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida Cabinet, the House speaker and the Senate president.
Inside the building, dozens of other high-ranking officials who served beside, beneath or around the Democrat, as well as those whose lives were influenced by him either directly or indirectly, paid their respects to Askew’s family, headed by his widow, onetime First Lady Donna Lou Askew. The couple’s children Kevin Askew and Angela White and several grandchildren were among those in a reception line near Askew’s official portrait, placed at the head of his coffin.
“The final tribute from a grateful state,” read cards commemorating the 37th governor’s lying in state.
Askew was a seminal figure in Florida’s modern history whose policies shaped nearly every facet of the state. Education, the environment, civil rights, the judiciary and “government in the sunshine” were among the legacies the former governor, who served from 1971 to 1979, left behind.
“Gov. Askew would be on the Mount Rushmore of Florida,” said Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam, a Republican. “He ushered Florida into the modern era, kicking and screaming at times. But he had the vision and boldness to do it.”
Askew, a prim, devout Presbyterian with a deep Southern drawl, was born in Muskogee, Okla., and grew up in the Pensacola area. He represented the region in the state House and Senate for 12 years before running for governor in 1970 and defeating incumbent Gov. Claude Kirk, a Republican. Kirk, who died in 2011, was the last governor to lie in state. His son Erik represented the late governor at Tuesday’s memorial.
Former governors Bob Martinez, Wayne Mixson and Bob Graham, who also served in the U.S. Senate, were all in attendance, as well as former aides Jim Apthorp, Jim Bacchus, Doug Sessions and Guy Spearman; former state Treasurer Bill Gunter; former FDLE Commissioner Jim York; and former Secretary of State Bruce Smathers.
Bacchus, who went to work for Askew at age 24 after covering him as a reporter, said the last promise the man he considered a second father made of him was to deliver the eulogy at his memorial service, which the former congressman will do on Wednesday.
“This will be a challenge. I know what to say. I just don’t know that I’ll be able to say it. But he coupled that request with another request: Keep it short. There is an irony in that. … All of us through the years tried and failed many, many times to get him to keep it short,” Bacchus, who was also Askew’s speechwriter, including during Askew’s brief presidential bid in 1984.
Bacchus recounted how Askew would approve 20-minute speeches, many of which he wrote himself, then veer from them and instead “transform the 20 minutes of the speech into 30 or 40 and then digress for another 30 or 40 minutes before concluding.” Askew grew even more loquacious before he dropped out of the presidential race, Bacchus said.
“He believed that if he could just talk long enough to any one person they would vote for him,” he said. “If I keep it short tomorrow, it will be because I simply won’t be able to get the words out.”
Martinez said he first met Askew in the 1960s and got to know him as “Reubin Who?” — the relatively unknown Askew’s campaign slogan during his run for governor. Martinez, who lost a bid for mayor of Tampa in 1974, said he had given up on politics after leaving the Hillsborough teachers’ union a year later and buying the family business, a large restaurant.
“A month after I bought it, he calls me in the middle of lunch. It was a large restaurant, jammed with people. He said, ‘Bobby, I need for you to sit on the Southwest Florida Water Management District board,’” Martinez told reporters Tuesday, adding that he argued with Askew but the late governor, a lawyer, persuaded him to take the post.
“Had he not done that, I suspect being mayor and governor and drug czar would not have followed, frankly,” said Martinez, who served as Tampa mayor from 1979 until his election as governor in 1986 and was tapped by President George H.W. Bush as drug czar in 1991.
Askew was a “man of courage,” said Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, whose great-grandfather Napoleon Bonaparte Broward served as governor in the early 20th century.
“He did not wait for the issues of his time to be right by anyone else’s standards but his own. He was not going to tolerate racism. He was not going to tolerate any injustice or unfairness. And he was willing to put people in very uncomfortable positions to see if they would be fully committed to their call to public service,” Atwater said Tuesday.
The Florida Senate also honored Askew with a resolution during floor action on Tuesday.
Senators remembered Askew as a calming influence during the turbulent civil rights era who led efforts to institute a corporate-income tax. As governor, Askew shepherded Florida from a sleepy state into a booming, modern tourism hub. He also appointed the first black Supreme Court justice and pushed through a voter-approved open government “Sunshine Amendment” in part to clean up a state government mired in corruption and scandal.
Sen. Gwen Margolis, a Miami Democrat who was elected to the state House during Askew’s first term in office, said Askew integrated the Florida Highway Patrol and increased the homestead exemption to benefit homeowners.
“He was probably the most progressive leader,” she said, adding later, “I was really awed by Reubin Askew. He was an incredible guy.”
Describing Askew as a “consummate Southern gentleman,” Margolis concluded by saying, “He was a progressive good old boy from Pensacola.”
Bacchus, Askew’s son Kevin and Talbot “Sandy” D’Alemberte will deliver the eulogies at a 2 p.m. memorial service Wednesday at Faith Presbyterian Church in Tallahassee. On Thursday, Askew will lie in repose at his former home church, First Presbyterian Church Pensacola and will be buried with full military honors Friday in Pensacola.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Century Grants First Barnyard Animal Ban Exception
March 18, 2014
The Century town council voted Monday night to allow the first variance under a new animal control ordinance that prohibits non-conforming barnyard animals.
The council approved the variance for Tom and Darla Warta to keep two horses and one steer on their 2.5 acre low density residential parcel at 7911 Jefferson Avenue. The variance passed 4-0 with council member Annie Savage not present for the vote.
An inspection, according to Mayor Freddie McCall, found the Warta’s animals to be in good condition with adequate shelter and living conditions.
As of December 23, it became illegal to keep a horse, mule, donkey, goat, sheep, or cow within the town limits except in areas that are zoned agricultural or rural residential. Hogs were already prohibited in all areas of the town.
One horse or cow is now allowed for every two acres, one donkey or mule per acre and one goat or sheep per one-half acre. The animals and their pens must be 200 feet or greater from a dwelling or property line.
Anyone with the regulated animals in an area not zoned agricultural or rural residential within the town limits, was required to register their animals at the Century Town Hall within 60 days from the passage of the ordinance. Anyone with nonconforming animals must apply for and be granted a variance from the town council within six months or get rid of their animals.
Fog Possible Overnight, Sunny And Near 75 Wednesday
March 18, 2014
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight Patchy fog after 4am. Otherwise, mostly clear, with a low around 44. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light southwest after midnight.
- Wednesday Patchy fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 75. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph in the afternoon.
- Wednesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 48. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming north after midnight.
- Thursday Sunny, with a high near 74. North wind around 5 mph.
- Thursday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 43. Calm wind.
- Friday Mostly sunny, with a high near 76. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
- Friday Night Mostly cloudy, with a low around 55. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light after midnight.
- Saturday A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 76. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
- Saturday Night A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west after midnight.
- Sunday A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 68.
- Sunday Night A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 49.
- Monday A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 62.
- Monday Night A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46.
- Tuesday A slight chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 69. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Free Health Screenings Today In Molino
March 18, 2014
Free health screenings will be offered today in Molino.
The community event will be held at Scott’s Pharmacy from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Tuesday. The free screenings including total cholesterol, glucose, body mass index and blood pressure. Results will be ready in about five minutes, and no appointment in necessary.
Scott’s Pharmacy is located on Highway 29 at the Molino Road intersection.
Bridge Delays Or Detours: Fannie, Rockaway Creek, North Pineville And Devine Farm
March 18, 2014
Bridge work is causing delays and detours for drivers at four North Escambia area locations.
Three bridges will be limited to single lane closures on varying days from about 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m through March 20:
- Rockaway Creek Road bridge over Rocky Branch on the Alabama/Florida state line. The bridge was constructed in 1965.
- North Pineville Road over an unnamed branch between Tullis and Jakes roads. The bridge was constructed in 1965.
- Devine Farm Road bridge over a branch of 11 Mile Creek. The bridge was constructed in 1962.
The Fannie Road Bridge over Dead Lake closed last week. It is being replaced with a new concrete structure consisting of two 12-foot wide travel lanes and eight foot shoulders. Fannie Road is closed during construction and traffic detoured on to Highway 4 and Highway 29 in Florida and Highway 29 and Old Fannie Road in Alabama. Restrictions will remain in effect through the fall of 2015.
Picture top: The Fannie Road Bridge over Dead Lake near Century. Pictured below: Looking toward Alabama at the Rockaway Creek Road bridge on the state line. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Education Boss Selects New Test To Replace FCAT Next Year
March 18, 2014
Education Commissioner Pam Stewart said Monday she has selected the non-profit group American Institutes for Research to design the state’s new tests for public schools, the final step in an effort to tamp down grassroots anger over learning standards.
The $220 million contract with AIR will run for six years and will be cheaper than it would have been to go forward with a test developed by a multi-state consortium that Gov. Rick Scott ordered Stewart to back away from last year, according to the Department of Education.
“I feel very confident that it is the best choice for Florida students,” Stewart said in a conference call with reporters.
Scott’s decision last year to distance the state from the consortium — the Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC — was part of an executive order meant to assuage largely conservative activists worried about the Common Core State Standards.
The Common Core standards, adopted by about four dozen states, were tweaked by the State Board of Education last month. Officials have begun referring to the revised version as the “Florida Standards.”
But AIR and another company that will work with it on the Florida tests, Data Recognition Corporation, have also helped to develop the Smarter Balanced Assessment. Like PARCC, that test is being put together by a multi-state consortium that hopes to use it to measure student learning under Common Core.
Stewart said the two systems would be separate.
“This is a platform and assessment for Florida,” she said.
Items used on the Florida tests will be field-tested in Utah, Stewart said, giving AIR the information it needs to make sure that the assessment system is working.
Florida students would begin taking the tests, which will cover language arts and math, following the 2014-15 school year. In addition to seeing how well students are doing, the tests will be used to determine school grades and help evaluate teachers.
Activists who have fought Common Core’s implementation in Florida quickly dismissed the move as far too little to address concerns about PARCC. Randy Osborne, who has lobbied against Common Core in the Legislature on behalf of the Florida Eagle Forum, said other decisions following Scott’s executive order have been like putting lipstick on a pig.
“This one, I think we forgot to get the lipstick out,” he said. ” … This is one of the worst testing consortiums you can pick, other than PARCC.”
Representatives of the anti-Common Core movement say they’ve been underwhelmed by what followed Scott’s executive order, issued in September. A series of public hearings across the state led to changes to the standards that Stewart said Monday were “significant” but have been rejected by critics.
The opposition springs largely but not exclusively from the concerns of conservative activists that Common Core would give the federal government more influence over what children learn in school. While the standards were spearheaded by a group of state officials, they have been promoted by the Obama administration.
“After all of this time, after the executive order, nothing has changed … other than the name,” said John Hallman, who lobbies for conservative groups like the Florida Campaign for Liberty and Liberty First Network.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida