Jim Allen Elementary Students ‘Sponge’ Teachers For Relay For Life
April 1, 2014
Jim Allen Elementary School recently completed a fundraiser for Relay for Life. Each class collected money, with the top three classes getting to “sponge” the teacher of their choice….like a pie in the face, just with a wet sponge.
Pictured: Kindergarten students “sponge” Jim Allen Elementary School music teacher Greg Sexton. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Last Hopes Of Florida Online Voter Registration Fade
April 1, 2014
Florida voters hoping to register online will have to wait another year after the sponsor of a Senate bill that would have allowed Internet sign-ups essentially dropped the measure Monday.
With two prominent Republicans saying they would vote against the bill, and the possibility that the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee would defeat it, Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth, asked for the proposal to be shelved.
The chances that the measure (SB 784) would become law were already incredibly small. The House has not taken up any major elections legislation this session, leaving a wider Senate bill that included online voter registration (SB 1660) stalled. And a companion bill to Clemens’ measure has gone nowhere in the House.
But passing the proposal through at least one committee would have opened up the possibility for it to be added to another bill as an amendment.
Critics of the measure said the bill was premature, given that the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections expects to develop recommendations about online registration for the Legislature and the secretary of state’s office by the end of the year. Clemens’ proposal would not call for online voter registration to begin until July 2015.
“This bill is not going to go very far this session,” said Senate Rules Chairman John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine. “I think we all know that. … I’d be more inclined to hopefully look at it next year.”
Sen. Andy Gardiner, an Orlando Republican set to become Senate president after the November elections, also said he was hesitant to take up the bill this year.
Clemens countered that the state would need time to set up a system to handle online registration; delaying the bill until the 2015 session means it could take even longer until citizens could sign up.
“With 19 other states already doing this, we’re really behind the ball,” Clemens said. “I’d hoped that this wouldn’t become a partisan issue, because I don’t see it as partisan. I think Republicans use the Internet just as much as Democrats do.”
Senate Ethics and Elections Chairman Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, suggested that he could support the bill. Latvala successfully pushed Clemens to include language in the bill that would require voters who registered online to vote in person the first time after registering.
“I concur with you, personally, that this is an idea that’s time has come,” Latvala said. “I think that next year, we should have some serious conversation, serious debate and seriously look at this issue.”
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Pictured: The polling place at the First Baptist Church of Bratt. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Scott Signs Florida GI Bill
April 1, 2014
Flanked by military veterans, members of the Florida National Guard and lawmakers, Gov. Rick Scott signed into law on Monday the “Florida GI Bill,” modeled after the World War II-era program and intended to make Florida the most military-friendly state in the nation.
The wide-ranging measure (HB 7015), rushed through the Legislature the first week of session as a priority of House and Senate leadership, provides university tuition waivers for veterans, pays for military and guard base improvements, is expected to help increase employment opportunities for veterans and allocates $1 million a year to sell the state to veterans.
Andrew Sloan, a Georgia native who spent six years in the U.S. Air Force and has been lobbying lawmakers since September on behalf of student veterans, said the bill will draw other veterans to Florida’s universities.
“We served our nation and we only ask for that which we earned, by virtue of our service, (to) be there when we get home,” said Sloan, who is now a political science and German double-major attending Florida State University.
Scott tied his own experiences when leaving the U.S. Navy to wanting to support veterans and active duty service members.
“I remember when I got out of the Navy back in the early ’70s, it was not a good time to get out of the service in this country,” Scott said after the signing ceremony at the National Guard Armory in Panama City. “Our veterans were not respected; it was a tough time. We’re going to make sure that is this is the most military-friendly state for active-duty members, but also for all the veterans.”
According to the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs, the state currently houses 1.5 million veterans, of which nearly one-third are from the Vietnam era and 231,000 served in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Florida’s nursing home population includes nearly 114,000 World War II-era veterans and more than 178,000 veterans of the Korean conflict.
House Speaker Will Weatherford and Senate President Don Gaetz crafted the package during a statewide “listening” tour last summer.
Weatherford called the legislation “the most important bill that we’ll pass this legislative session.”
The package, expected to cost more than $30 million in its first year, includes an anticipated $12.5 million for ongoing upgrades of the state’s National Guard facilities and $7.5 million to purchase a total of 45 acres of buffer lands around MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Naval Station Mayport in Jacksonville and Naval Support Activity Panama City.
The proposal also requires Visit Florida to spend $1 million a year on marketing aimed at veterans, and allocate another $300,000 to a new nonprofit corporation, Florida Is For Veterans, Inc. The nonprofit, to be housed within the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs, would be used to encourage veterans to move to Florida, and promote the hiring of veterans.
Meanwhile, state universities and colleges are expected to take an $11.7 million hit in waivers for out-of-state tuition charges for all honorably discharged veterans, a proposal named the “Congressman C.W. Bill Young Veteran Tuition Waiver Act” after the late Pinellas County lawmaker who served more than four decades in Congress before his death last year.
Because in-state tuition, covered by the federal GI Bill, is thousands of dollars cheaper than out-of-state rates, lawmakers hope the new waivers encourage veterans from outside of the state to apply to Florida schools.
To assist families of active-duty service members, the bill also waives the requirement for spouses and dependents to get a Florida driver license if they get a job or enroll in a public school.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Pictured top: Monday, Gov. Rick Scott was joined by Senate President Don Gaetz, Speaker of the House Will Weatherford, Rep. Marti Coley, Speaker Pro Tempore, Rep. Jimmie Smith, Rep. Jimmy Patronis and Rep. Doc Renuart to sign House Bill 7015 which creates the “Congressman C.W. Bill Young Tuition Waiver Program,” that waives out-of-state tuition fees for honorably discharged veterans. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Electric Line Workers Recognized On National Lineman Appreciation Day
April 1, 2014
Monday was National Lineman Appreciation Day with Gulf Power Company and Escambia River Electric Cooperative joining utility companies across the nation in recognizing the efforts of the men and women who work in all sorts of weather at all times of the day and night to keep electricity flowing.
“Whether it’s going on storm duty, restoring a customer’s power or just turning on someone’s power for the first time, the work Gulf Power crews do every day is to keep our customers at the center of everything we do,” said Jeff Rogers, Gulf Power Corporate Communications manager. “These men and women are truly heroes and this day is to honor them.”
Gulf Power has approximately 175 employees who work on the company’s transmission and distribution lines.
While the state Legislature has made August 26 Lineworker Appreciation Day in Florida, a resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives set aside March 31 as National Lineman Appreciation Day.
“Our line workers are committed to getting customers’ power back on, whether here in Northwest Florida or across the country,” Rogers said. “That’s what they do and we’re proud they are being recognized for their efforts.”
Pictured top: EREC linemen work on Tungoil Road just off Highway 97 the morning on February 21 to rebuild a section of power lines destroyed by strong straight line winds. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Downtown Pensacola Goes Blue For Child Abuse Prevention Month
April 1, 2014
Blue bows are up along Palafox Street in downtown to raise awareness for Child Abuse Prevention month.
“The ‘From Blue to Better’ campaign takes place every April to raise awareness about child abuse prevention and to promote the fact that we all have a role to play in protecting children,” said Stacey Kostevicki, executive director of Gulf Coast Kid’s House. “Our hope is that these bows serve as a daily reminder of our obligation to children in our community.”
“From Blue to Better” is a month-long series of events for Child Abuse Prevention Month in April. Launched by local child and family service agencies, the campaign uses the color to highlight child abuse awareness and prevention during the month of April.
The campaign also emphasizes that it is everyone’s job to keep children safe.
Local residents and visitors will see blue events popping up around town throughout April, including the painting of the 17th Avenue “Graffiti Bridge”.
Rosie Cumbie Lassiter
April 1, 2014
Rosie Cumbie Lassiter,79 of Cantonment passed away Tuesday April 1, 2014, at her residence. She was a homemaker, born in Little River, Ala., on December 28, 1934, to the late Gulie and Lillyie Jeter Cumbie.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Bobby J. Lassiter.
Survivors include two sons, Darrell (Mary) Lassiter of Gulf Breeze and Jerald (Nora) Lassiter of Cantonment; four daughters, Patricia (Mark) Lockridge of Pensacola, Shelia(Frank) Champion of Uriah, Sandra (Alan) Milstead of McDavid and Cindy (Mike) Quint of Cantonment; 18 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
Services will be Friday, April 4, 2014, at 10 a.m. from Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Mike Grindle officiating.
Interment will follow in McCullough Cemetery.
Family will receive friends on Thursday, April 3, 2014, at Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home from 5:30 p.m. until 8 p.m.
The family would like to express a special thank you to Dr. Ibrahim and Covenant Hospice for the special care given their Mother.
Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home is in charge of all arrangements.