Partnership Recycles 10 Billion Gallons Of ECUA Reclaimed Water
June 22, 2015
Gulf Power’s Plant Crist in Pensacola recently passed the 10-billion-gallon milestone for the use of reclaimed water from the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority’s Central Water Reclamation Facility in Cantonment.
The electric-generating plant uses the advanced-treated wastewater as a coolant during electricity production and to run the scrubber system that reduces air emissions. And, by using the reclaimed water from the nearby facility, Gulf Power avoids taking millions of gallons of water out of the Escambia River and conserves groundwater.
“This shows how two different utilities can work together to benefit all their customers and the environment,” said Natalie Smith, Gulf Power spokesperson. “With our scrubber system, we are providing cleaner electricity for our customers in Northwest Florida, and this partnership benefits Northwest Florida with cleaner air — and cleaner water.”
Gulf Power proposed the project to ECUA soon after starting construction on the scrubber system, which went online in December 2009.
The advanced ECUA facility was built to replace the Main Street Wastewater Treatment Plant, which was located in downtown Pensacola, across the street from the then-planned Community Maritime Park. State regulations would only permit the new wastewater treatment facility if it would not discharge water into Escambia Bay — even though the water was to receive a much higher level of treatment.
ECUA began piping water from the CWRF to Plant Crist in 2010. Combined with the CWRF’s internal reuse and the use of onsite sprayfields, Gulf Power and International Paper’s use of the reclaimed water qualifies the facility as a zero-discharge plant.
“The ECUA and Gulf Power partnership has proven to be beneficial for both utilities and the environment,” said Don Palmer, director of water reclamation for ECUA. “Together we have met some unique milestones in wastewater treatment and effluent reuse, and I expect that our partnership will continue to be a positive collaboration.”
Gulf Power’s partnership with ECUA won the Sustainable Florida Award in 2010. A year later, Gulf Power won the 2011 Industry Excellence Award from the Southeastern Electric Exchange, which includes 20 major utilities in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic from Texas to Maryland and Virginia. In 2012, the project also was awarded the 2012 York Reuse Award from the Florida Water Environment Association.
Pictured: ECUA reclaimed water from the CWRF in Cantonment flows through the Crist Plant. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Scott To Visit Pensacola Today On ‘Tax Cut Victory Tour’
June 22, 2015
Gov. Rick Scott will barnstorm across the state Monday to tout a tax-cut package that he signed into law last week.
Scott will travel to Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Pensacola, St. Petersburg and West Palm Beach on what his office is touting as a “tax cut victory tour.”
The package (HB 33A), which lawmakers approved during a special session, is projected by state economists to cut revenue by $372.4 million in the fiscal year that begins July 1. As he won a second term last year, Scott made tax cuts a key issue in his campaign. Early this year, he proposed $673 million in tax cuts.
The package approved by lawmakers includes cutting the communications-services tax on cell-phone and cable-TV bills; providing a 10-day sales-tax holiday for back-to-school shoppers; and eliminating for one year sales taxes on college textbooks.
“Floridians can spend their money better than government can, and I am proud that this tax cut will save money for Florida families who pay a cell phone, cable or satellite TV bill,” Scott said in a prepared statement announcing the tour.
Scott’s appearance in Pensacola will be at 7:15 p.m. at The Apple Market, 2021 Scenic Highway.
Slight Chance Of Showers Tonight
June 22, 2015
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 75. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 97. Heat index values as high as 106. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 76. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight.
Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 93. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 74. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Thursday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 90. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 76. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Friday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 92. West wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 76. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92.
Saturday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74.
Sunday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 87.
Sunday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72.
Monday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 90.
New State Budget Funds Millions In Escambia Projects
June 22, 2015
The 2016 state budget includes an estimated $700 million for Northwest Florida education, transportation, economic development, environmental and cultural projects, according to Sen. Don Gaetz.
On average, public school districts will see more than a 4 percent increase in total funding. Per student funding will increase by $207 to $7096.96. In 2016, Northwest Florida public schools will have more operating funds than at any time in the state’s history:
Escambia County will see a 2.99% increase in funding from $271,767,718 to $279,884,266, while Santa Rosa County will see an increase of 4.77% funding increase from $172,775,066 to $181,014,246.
In addition, the National Flight Academy in Pensacola is budgeted for $1.5 million to expand its instructional and lab space to serve more students. And in addition to continuing base funding from the state, the University of West Florida will benefit from $12.4 million in supplemental program funds to meet critical workforce education needs, veterans and military support, aviation education, economic development and research and an additional $4 million in supplemental operational support.
Groundbreaking could occur as soon as next year on a new three-mile bridge linking Gulf Breeze and Pensacola at a cost of $505 million, all of which will be paid for by the state.
Overall, $1.9 billion is appropriated in the workplan for transportation infrastructure improvements in Northwest Florida in the next five years. The Pensacola airport will receive $3 million, and the Muscogee Road Freight Corridor will receive $1 million.
Lakeview Center in Pensacola will receive $750,000 for mental health and substance abuse services for children. ARC Gateway will be awarded $2 million for the second year to provide innovative education and training to disabled young men and women.
In Escambia County, the booking and detention facility will receive $1 million for construction and repairs. Bethel Empowerment Foundation Reentry Program gets $400,000 and the Reentry Alliance Pensacola is appropriated $50,000. Second Chance Outreach Reentry and Education Development receives $150,000. Expansion of the Juvenile Assessment Centers in Escambia and Bay counties is allocated $735,840.
The Pensacola Lighthouse Association will receive $50,000 for staircase renovations, and the UWF Historic Trust will receive $194,000 for the Historic Pensacola Restoration and Preservation Project.
Several Escambia County cultural projects will also receive funding:
- Pensacola Little Theater Inc. Escambia $38,588
- The Greater Pensacola Sympony Orchestra Escambia $62,068
- Pensacola Opera Inc. Escambia $63,259
- The Pensacola MESS Hall, Inc. Escambia $11,877
- Pensacola Children’s Chorus Inc. Escambia $44,516
- Pensacola Museum of Art Escambia $26,753
- The Choral Society of Pensacola Escambia $2,787
Gov. Rick Scott has until June 30 to sign or veto any spending item.
Perdido Landfill Receives National Award For Coloring Book
June 22, 2015
The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) recently announced that the Escambia County Perdido Landfill has been named the winner of the SWANA Bronze Excellence Award in the Communication, Education and Marketing Tools category. The award will be presented at SWANA’s annual conference on Tuesday, August 25, in Orlando.
The Escambia County Perdido Landfill is receiving the SWANA award for its “Escambia Recycles Activity and Coloring Book,” a tool that teaches about sustainability, landfills, resources and recycling.
“A few years ago, we looked at the available activity books. They are good tools. Basics about recycling or sustainability in a couple of pages, but we wanted something more in depth and tuned to our program,” said Dee Dee Green, recycling and education outreach coordinator. “We also wanted it to apply to any recycling program in the country.”
This book covers topics, including where does garbage go, the anatomy of a landfill, gas to energy, leachate, alternatives to landfilling solid waste, resources, different types of recycling, electronic and chemical recycling, composting, some green alternatives to chemicals, while also attempting to set a child’s mind in a recycling mode.
Covenant Hospice To Pay $10.1 Million To Settle Government Overbilling Claims
June 22, 2015
Covenant Hospice Inc. has agreed to pay $10,149,374 to reimburse the government for alleged overbilling of Medicare, Tricare and Medicaid for hospice services, the Department of Justice announced. Covenant Hospice Inc. is a non-profit hospice care provider which operates in Southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.
“The hospice benefits provided by federal health care programs are intended to provide comfort and care to patients nearing the end of life,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We will continue to ensure that these benefits are used for their intended purposes.”
The Medicare, Tricare and Medicaid hospice benefits are available for patients who have a life expectancy of six months or less if their disease runs its normal course. Patients admitted to a hospice stop receiving care to cure their illnesses and instead receive medical care focused on providing them with relief from the symptoms, pain and stress of a terminal illness.
Medicare, Tricare and Alabama and Florida Medicaid reimburse for four different levels of hospice care: routine home care, continuous home care, inpatient respite care and general inpatient care. The routine home care level is the lowest reimbursement rate and the highest reimbursement rate paid by the federal health care programs is for general inpatient care. The level of care provided to a patient is subject to change based upon a variety of factors, including the patient’s condition and needs, and the availability of family members or other caregivers to meet those needs.
The reimbursement for general inpatient care is greater than that provided for routine home care based upon the expectation that patients requiring the former level of care have more acute medical and psychosocial needs that must be provided in an inpatient setting and are more costly to treat. It is the responsibility of the hospice provider to ensure that a patient’s medical record contains the appropriate documentation to support the level of hospice care that is billed.
“Careful and correct claims for reimbursement from critical federal health care programs are essential to the health of our economy,” said U.S. Attorney Pamela C. Marsh of the Northern District of Florida. “Those public servants who worked hard to investigate the conduct and obtain this settlement deserve our deepest gratitude. We will continue our efforts to ensure that federal dollars intended for compassionate care and legitimate patient needs are protected.”
The settlement resolves allegations that between January 1, 2009, and December 31, 2010, Covenant Hospice Inc. improperly submitted hospice claims for general inpatient care that should have been billed at the routine home care level for Medicare, Tricare and Medicaid patients. The government alleged that Covenant Hospice Inc.’s medical records did not support the medical necessity of the general inpatient care.
The federal government will recover $9,597,118.44 for Covenant Hospice Inc.’s overbilling to Medicare, Tricare and Medicaid, and Alabama and Florida will collectively recover $552,255.56 as a result of overbilling of their respective Medicaid programs. The Medicaid program is jointly funded by the federal and state governments.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Graffiti Bridge Shooting Suspect Arrested
June 22, 2015
A man has been arrested in connection with a shooting Saturday near the “Graffiti Bridge”.
Kenneth D. Knight, 25, was taken into custody Sunday night after police found him hiding in a wooded area near his residence on Lillian Highway. He was charged with an open count of murder, discharging a firearm from a vehicle, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The victim – Dustin Burns, 32, address unavailable – died at the scene after he was shot near the 17th Avenue boat ramp around 9:13 p.m. Saturday. Pensacola Police Lt. Chuck Mallett said a motive for the shooting remains under investigation.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call the Pensacola Police Department at (850) 435-1900.
Northview Beats Washington
June 22, 2015
Coming off two losses on Saturday, the Northview Chiefs lost to Walton County 7-5 before bouncing back with a 7-3 win over Washington High School on Sunday at Escambia High School. Photos by Ramona Preston for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Gunter Graduates From NYU School Of Law
June 22, 2015
Nikki Guntner has graduated with a Juris Doctor from New York University School of Law.
Prior to law school at NYU, Guntner was a 2008 Tate High School graduate andattended Florida State University, where she received a Bachelors in Political Science in 2011 and a Masters in Applied American Politics and Policy in 2012.
After graduation, Guntner begins her career as a civil litigation attorney at Willkie Farr & Gallagher in New York, NY.
Guntner is the daughter of Barry and Dara Guntner, and the sister of Olivia Guntner, of Cantonment. Her grandparents are Clyde and Helen Allen of Cantonment and George and Jeanette Guntner of Milton.
Mobile Beats Wahoos
June 22, 2015
Pensacola knocked two home runs Sunday while Mobile added five – which ties a franchise record – in an offensive explosion that saw ball flying out of Pensacola Bayfront Stadium like a disturbed flock of seagulls at rest on the beach.
Mobile defeated rival Pensacola, 11-4, in front of 4,005 fans and now have won eight of 10 games against the Blue Wahoos this season.
“We just couldn’t keep the ball in the park,” said Pensacola manager Pat Kelly. “This is a ballpark that’s not conducive to home runs. I didn’t expect to see a lot of balls in the air. I expected to see a lot of ground balls. It was as much of a surprise to me as the fans.”
Leading the way Sunday for the BayBears was centerfielder Gabriel Guerrero with a two-run and solo shot for three RBIs in his first two at bats. Guerrero, the nephew of nine-time All-Star Vladimir Guerrero, now has four homers on the season. Mobile shortstop Jack Reinheimer (2), left fielder Zach Borenstein (4) and third baseman Sean Jamieson (3) also knocked it out of the park.
This series, the BayBears hit 10 home runs in 25 innings off Pensacola pitching. For perspective, Pensacola only has 14 home runs at home this season.
Pensacola first baseman Marquez Smith clubbed his third home run of the month Sunday when he smashed a two-out, two-run line drive over the left field wall in the third inning that pulled Pensacola within one, 3-2. It was also the first hit of the game for Pensacola, which has seen its starting nine go hitless in their first appearances at the plate in the past three games against Mobile.
Few Blue Wahoos batters have hit as well as Smith has in June. The 30-year-old minor league veteran has driven in eight runs, while hitting .339 and earning a .405 on-base percentage.
Blue Wahoos second baseman Juan Perez then hit his first homer in Double-A just inside the left field foul pole in the fourth inning and Pensacola trailed Mobile, 4-3.
However, Mobile put the game away in the sixth inning with five runs to go up, 11-3. It got a three-run homer by Borenstein and a solo shot to the left-center gap to start off the inning by Jamieson.
Mobile jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second inning when Guerrero crushed a two-run homer high to left field. The BayBears are 23-13 when scoring first this season.
Mobile finished below .500 for only the third time in a half since 2009, going 34-35 in the Southern League.
Meanwhile, Pensacola finished the first half 25-43.
Kelly has a few goals to turn the Blue Wahoos season around in the second half—a better bullpen and better starting pitching.
Among the relievers, he would like to see Kyle McMyne, Ben Klimesh and Zach Weiss return to form.
“Our bullpen was our strength when you look at the first two months of the season,” Kelly said. “We got to solidify that bullpen. When we give them leads, they got to win them.”
Also looking into his crystal ball, Kelly would like to receive a starting pitcher or two. Currently, the Blue Wahoos have only four starters.
“Obviously, we’re short one,” Kelly said. “If we can get one or two guys to help solidify our staff, we’re good.”