Florida House To Consider Abortion Waiting Period
April 18, 2015
The House on Tuesday is expected to take up a controversial bill that would require a 24-hour waiting period before women could have abortions.
The bill, filed by Rep. Jennifer Sullivan, R-Mount Dora, is the major piece of abortion legislation moving in the Capitol this year. Three House panels have approved the bill in party-line votes, with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed. Meanwhile, the Senate version, filed by Sen. Anitere Flores, R-Miami, will be heard Monday afternoon in the Senate Fiscal Policy Committee. If approved, the bill will be ready to go to the full Senate.
by The News Service of Florida
Molino Man Seriously Injured In Crash Trying To Avoid Dog
April 18, 2015
A Molino was seriously injured in a single vehicle crash in Cantonment Friday morning.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 54-year old William Kite of Molino was northbound on Jacks Branch Road approaching Pepin Lane about 9:35 a.m. A white dog was in the center of the northbound lane, so Kite swerved to the shoulder where he struck a concrete culvert and his 2001 Chevrolet Silverado went airborne. The pickup then struck the ditch nose down and rotated end over end.
Kite was trapped in the vehicle before being extricated with the Jaw of Life and airlifted to a Sacred Heart Hospital. There were no other occupants in the vehicle.
Any charges in the crash are pending, according to the FHP.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Price and reader submitted, click to enlarge.
Corrections Agency Settles With Paralyzed Inmate
April 18, 2015
A paralyzed inmate at a Northwest Florida prison who was denied the use of a wheelchair and faced retaliation for suing the Department of Corrections has reached a settlement with the agency, according to lawyers representing the prisoner.
The complaint, filed in federal court, alleged that Santa Rosa Correctional Institution officials for more than a year prevented Richard Jackson, who is paralyzed in his lower limbs, from using a wheelchair in his cell, forcing the inmate to crawl on his hands and knees to get to his bunk or to use the toilet or sink.
A year after he filed the lawsuit, Jackson was transferred to the Northwest Florida Reception Center, where guards and others allegedly retaliated against the inmate for failing to drop the case. Within hours after arriving at the Chipley prison, a guard handcuffed Jackson to his wheelchair and repeatedly punched him in the face and kicked him while threatening that “he would be getting more if he did not drop the lawsuit,” according to the complaint filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and the Florida Justice Institute.
The settlement requires the department to pay $97,000 for Jackson’s legal fees and damages and also requires that he be allowed to use his wheelchair.
“The abuse and violence that goes on in Florida prisons violates the principles that our Constitution was created to protect. With the eyes of the state on our prisons as more horror stories seem to come out of our prisons every week, we hope this settlement will bring us one step closer to ending the toxic culture of violence that has plagued the Florida Department of Corrections,” ACLU of Florida lawyer Benjamin Stevenson said in a statement.
by The News Service of Florida
The Power Of Evangelism: ‘Strength Team’ Founder To Speak In Molino
April 18, 2015
Mike Hagen of the Strength Team will be the guest speaker this Sunday morning during the monthly Men’s Breakfast at Highland Baptist Church.
From a NFL first round draft pick, to a pro bull riding champion, to men that bench 475 pounds and smash through concrete, The Strength Team is a group of professional athletes who minister under Hagen’s leadership.
A former player for the Seattle Seahawks, Hagen is leader and founder of The Strength Team Ministries, an international, evangelistic ministry. He is an ordained minister and has been an evangelist for the over 27 years. Hagen was the vice president of the Power Team for 14 years and for the last 13 years he has lead the Strength Team. Mike has personally seen close to one million people come to Christ in his 27 years of evangelistic ministry.
Using feats of strength as an evangelistic tool, The Strength Team has reached out to those who may not normally attend church and through this; they have seen 52,000 people come to Christ last year alone. Mike Hagen and the Strength Team also perform 1,052 school assemblies last year; challenging students to live a life of excellence.
The breakfast takes place this Sunday morning at 7:00 at Highland Baptist, 6240 Highway 95A in Molino. All men and boys are invited.
National Junior Honor Society At Ernest Ward Middle Inducts New Members
April 18, 2015
Sixty students were inducted into the National Junior Honor Society during a candlelight ceremony Friday at Ernest Ward Middle School.
The NJHS is the nation’s premier organization established to recognize outstanding middle school students. More than just an honor roll, NJHS serves to honor those students who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of scholarship, leadership, service, citizenship and character.
New National Junior Honor Society members at Ernest Ward are:
- Austin Adams
- Lauren Ahern
- Addison Albritton
- Rebekah Amerson
- Madicyn Bell
- Trevor Bomba
- Cassidy Boutwell
- Emily Boutwell
- Alexia Broadhead
- Keaton Brown
- Juliana Bryan
- Katherine Buford
- Colby Burkett
- Micah Calhoun
- Lacie Carter
- Logan Chavers
- Destiny Cleckler
- Jayda Crabtree
- Karlee Criswell
- Justin Cruce
- Anthony Day
- Jackson Edwards
- Jason Fayard
- Neionni Findley
- Jakob Gibson
- Ian Gifford
- Jordan Godwin
- John Gulledge
- Ashlan Harigel
- Elijah Harigel
- Anna King
- Aubree Love
- Ansleigh Maholovich
- Jessie McCall
- Hannah McGahan
- Kayla McKillion
- Hannah Merchant
- Colby Morris
- Chris Nordman
- Charleigh Parham
- Joseph Parker
- Kinzie Rackard
- Teriana Redmond
- Dariontae Richardson
- Savannah Roley
- Kyle Sconiers
- Ryan Sconiers
- Bailey Seibert
- Shelby Sloan
- Cloe Smith
- Savannah Spence
- Savannah Steadham
- Josiah Stilwell
- Nicholas Trump
- Bailey Van Pelt
- Josh Warren
- Brianna White
- Cassidy White
- Raeleigh Woodfin
- Ashten Wright
Pictured: Sixty students were inducted into the National Junior Honor Society Friday at Ernest Ward Middle School. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Blue Wahoos Split Doubleheader With Smokies
April 18, 2015
The Blue Wahoos split Friday night’s doubleheader against the Tennessee Smokies on an evening where Pensacola’s starting pitchers, Daniel Wright and Tim Adleman, combined for 11 strikeouts and only allowed four hits. The Smokies took the first game 1-0 while the Wahoos won the second game 4-1.
The first game of the doubleheader was a pitchers’ duel with the teams garnering a combined six hits. After giving up six runs in 2.2 innings of work in his first start of the year, RHP Wright gave up no runs and two hits in five innings before being relieved by RHP Kevin Shackleford. RHP Ivan Pineyro took the mound for the Smokies also only gave up two hits in six innings of work.
Shackleford walked C Kyle Schwarber in the bottom of the seventh inning, advanced to second on a single by 1B Dan Vogelbach and then to third on a wild pitch. RF Bijan Rademacher singled through the hole at second base to drive in Schwarber for the walk-off win.
The pitching duel continued into the second game with RHP Tim Adleman throwing 59 pitches, 44 for strikes, in five innings. Reliever Carlos Gonzalez had a strong showing in the bottom of the sixth inning giving up a hit.
First baseman Kyle Waldrop started the second game with a home run in the second inning to give the Blue Wahoos an early 1-0 lead. This marked his second home run in seven games this year.
RHP Ben Klimesh came in for the save in the seventh inning but the Smokies tied it up with a run by Rademacher. In the eighth inning, RHP Kyle McMyne came into the game and threw a one-hit inning to give the Wahoos another chance in the top of the ninth.
After a hitless day, RF Jesse Winker hit a double in the ninth inning and advanced to third after Beau Amaral reached base on a fielding error by first baseman Dustin Geiger. Amaral then reached second on a wild pitch by RHP Zach Cates. Waldrop drove in Winker with a sacrifice fly to left field and then Amaral scored on a pair of errors by second baseman Stephen Bruno. Zach Vincej had the final run of the night after scoring off of a double by 2B Juan Perez.
McMyne returned to the mound and closed out the game to secure the win for the Blue Wahoos. This was his first win since July 1, 2014 for the Bakersfield Blaze.
LHP Wandy Peralta (1-0, 0.00) is scheduled to take the mound for the Wahoos against RHP Frank Batista (1-0, 1.50) on Saturday night at 6:05 p.m.
The Blue Wahoos return to Pensacola Saturday, April 25th against the Biloxi Shuckers.
Flash Flood Watch: Weekend Rain Chances Remain High
April 18, 2015
A flash flood watch continues. Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight
Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm, then showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Low around 66. South wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Sunday
Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 81. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Sunday Night
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Increasing clouds, with a low around 68. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Monday
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1pm. Cloudy through mid morning, then gradual clearing, with a high near 81. Southwest wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Monday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 56. West wind around 5 mph becoming north after midnight.
Tuesday
Sunny, with a high near 78. North wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 55. North wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 80. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming south in the afternoon.
Wednesday Night
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 62. South wind around 5 mph.
Thursday
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 84.
Thursday Night
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 65.
Friday
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 82.
Friday Night
A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 68.
Saturday
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 81.
Regulators Approve Gulf Power, Military Solar Plan
April 17, 2015
The Florida Public Service Commission on Thursday approved a plan that would lead to Gulf Power Company buying electricity from major new solar facilities on Northwest Florida military bases.
“Adding solar energy to our portfolio is another step in further diversifying our energy mix,” said Stan Connally, Gulf Power president and CEO. “Through careful planning, we’ve been able to work alongside our military partners to help provide cost-effective renewable energy — and all our customers will reap the benefit.”
The solar energy farms will be constructed at Eglin Air Force Base in Fort Walton Beach (30 megawatts), Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Outlying Landing Field Holley in Navarre (40 megawatts), and Naval Air Station Pensacola, Outlying Landing Field Saufley in Pensacola (50 megawatts).
“We support this important partnership between Gulf Power and the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy that will play a major role in Florida’s energy future,” Public Service Commission Chairman Art Graham said. “The solar facilities will diversify the utility’s power supply and increase Florida’s emissions-free electricity generation.”
Gulf Power will serve customers across Northwest Florida with power from these renewable energy-generating facilities. Together, these new solar facilities, which will be developed by HelioSage Energy, could produce enough energy to power approximately 18,000 homes for one year.
As an intermittent energy resource, the solar farms will not replace Gulf Power’s generation plants, but will have the capability to provide energy that will diversify the power supply and provide a cost-effective alternative during peak energy usage.
Construction is scheduled to begin in February 2016 and the facilities are expected to be in service no later than December 2016.
The company’s first renewable energy project was the 3.2-megawatt Perdido Landfill Gas-to-Energy facility, which has produced more than 100 million kilowatt hours of electricity since starting commercial operation in 2010.
Gulf Power also submitted a request in February to the FPSC to approve an agreement that would make the utility a leading purchaser of wind generation among Florida utilities. If approved, this would bring the company to a total of five renewable energy sources.
Pictured: Examples of HelioSage Energy solar photovoltaic (PV) facilities. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Another Day, Another Downpour; Flash Flood Watch Continues
April 17, 2015
A flash food watch is continuing. Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Friday
Showers and thunderstorms. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. High near 78. East wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Friday Night
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a low around 66. East wind around 5 mph.
Saturday
Showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. High near 79. East wind around 5 mph becoming south in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Saturday Night
Showers and thunderstorms likely. Cloudy, with a low around 69. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Sunday
Showers and thunderstorms likely. Cloudy, with a high near 78. South wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Sunday Night
A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Monday
A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 82. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Monday Night
Mostly cloudy, with a low around 62. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming north after midnight.
Tuesday
Partly sunny, with a high near 78.
Tuesday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 59.
Wednesday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 80.
Wednesday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 62.
Thursday
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 81.
Scott To File Suit Against Feds Over Health Funding
April 17, 2015
In a new sign of escalating tensions between state and federal officials, Gov. Rick Scott announced Thursday he will sue the federal government to try to resolve a standoff over $2.2 billion in funding for hospitals and other health providers.
But even lawmakers who support Scott’s move said any court decision would come too late to resolve a budget impasse that has made it a near-certainty that the Legislature won’t finish a spending plan — its one constitutionally required responsibility — before the annual session’s scheduled May 1 conclusion. If so, it would mark the first time lawmakers have gone into overtime on the budget since 2009.
Scott’s lawsuit would rely on a potentially novel interpretation of the 2012 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld the federal Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare. In that case, NFIB v. Sebelius, the court ruled that the federal government couldn’t coerce states into expanding Medicaid by requiring any state that didn’t do so to give up all of its Medicaid funding.
The governor’s legal action would argue that the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is doing the same thing by linking an extension of the Low Income Pool, or LIP, program to whether the state expands Medicaid coverage. LIP, which provides money to hospitals and other health providers that serve large numbers of poor and uninsured patients, is set to expire June 30.
“Our citizens already pay federal taxes that go into the federal LIP program,” Scott said in a statement announcing the action. “Now, President Obama has decided that the state must take on a larger Medicaid program, forcing our taxpayers to pay even more to government, before they get their own federal tax dollars back. This is outrageous, and specifically what the Supreme Court warned against.”
Advocates and hospitals have said that if the state loses LIP funding, it could cause cutbacks in services or programs across the state.
Speaking to reporters after the announcement, Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera said Scott’s administration was doing whatever is necessary to try to get LIP funds for Florida.
“We need to explore every option to ensure that these funds are available for the most needy here in Florida,” Lopez-Cantera said. “That’s what Gov. Scott’s always done. He’s always fought for Floridians, and that’s what he’s doing with this.”
The lawsuit plays into a heated battle over a Senate plan to use $2.8 billion in Medicaid expansion funding to help lower-income Floridians purchase private health insurance. But the House and Scott — who once favored straight-up Medicaid expansion — oppose that idea. House leaders say the federal government wouldn’t approve it even if they agreed to go along.
Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, said he’s skeptical that the lawsuit will free up LIP dollars before the new budget year begins July 1.
“Certainly, the governor has his opinion and has put forward kind of a new little wrinkle today, but I’m not sure that that solves the situation that we’re in where we have to have a balanced budget, and we have to make some decisions,” Gardiner said.
Any case could take weeks to be heard, and any initial ruling could spend months winding its way through the appeals process. House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, a Merritt Island Republican who backed Scott’s lawsuit, also said legal action wouldn’t have a practical impact on the immediate budget problem.
“No, most likely, it won’t,” he said. “The only thing that will have an effect on the budget from the standpoint of LIP and CMS is if Washington does something.”
Asked about the lawsuit, a spokesman for CMS said the state could do what it wanted with Medicaid, but referred back to a letter in which the agency said “the state’s expansion status is an important consideration in our approach regarding extending the LIP beyond June.”
That letter outraged some state officials and eventually led to Scott’s lawsuit.
“Florida, like all states, is free to implement Medicaid expansion or not. … We look forward to the state submitting its LIP proposal and CMS will review it based on the principles articulated in our April 14 letter,” spokesman Aaron Albright said in an email.
Democrats, meanwhile, blasted the governor for an act that they said wouldn’t solve the problem and would lead to the state being tied up in costly litigation. Scott, whose foray into politics began with a fierce ad war against Obamacare before seeking the governor’s office, has frequently battled the federal government in court.
“It’s more of the same from the governor,” said House Minority Leader Mark Pafford, D-West Palm Beach. “It’s a corporate reaction: We sue people. The sad part is, it’s the taxpayers of Florida that will pay more.”
Senate Minority Leader Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa, accused Scott of hypocrisy for pushing for LIP dollars from the federal government while rejecting expansion money from the same source.
“Today’s grandstanding underscores his commitment to wasting Florida’s tax dollars to get what he wants, at whatever cost,” Joyner said in a statement issued by her office. “This is all about scoring points against President Obama.”
At the same time, Crisafulli signaled a willingness to use state money to try to shield hospitals from the effects of lost LIP funding. The speaker has said before that he would not use state dollars to “backfill” the LIP system, but drew a distinction Thursday between that and setting up a state program.
“If we want to talk about a plan moving forward, we can talk about a plan moving forward from the standpoint of trying to help those safety-net hospitals with a different kind of program,” he said. “But for us to take up and put a pot of money out there that they get to draw from like they do right now with LIP is not something that we could possibly do in Tallahassee with even the greatest of budget reserves.”