State GOP Sets Requirements For Presidential Primary Candidates
September 28, 2015
Florida Republicans approved a new rule laying out requirements for GOP presidential candidates to appear on next year’s presidential primary ballot.
The rule, approved by the Republican Party of Florida’s executive board in a 35-1 vote early Friday, would give candidates three options if they want to participate in the state’s winner-take-all GOP primary in March.
Under the new rule, candidates can show up at the state party’s “Sunshine Summit” in November, pay a $25,000 fee before November 23 or gather petition signatures from 3,375 registered Republican voters, including at least 125 registered Republicans from each of the state’s 27 congressional districts.
“The Republican Party of Florida finds it necessary for Republican presidential candidates to make a preliminary showing of substantial support in order to qualify for a place on the presidential preference primary ballot,” the rule’s prelude reads.
State Chairman Blaise Ingoglia originally wanted to require all the GOP candidates to attend the fall event to have their names on the ballot. But Ingoglia’s proposal drew harsh criticism from many of his Republican colleagues. The modified rule, which was floated a day before Friday’s executive board’s vote, “gives clear options to candidates while empowering the grassroots of our great party,” Ingoglia said in a statement.
by The News Service of Florida
Martha Sue Augustus
September 28, 2015
Martha Sue Augustus of Century passed away on September 15, 2015. She was born on February 12, 1949, to Dewey and Mazzie Knowles Smith in Flomaton. She was a loving wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and friend. She will be truly missed.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Dewey and Mazzie Smith; brother, John Smith and son, John McShea.
She is survived by her husband, Kevin L. Augustus of Century; Gerard McShea of Jay; grandchildren, Connor McShea of Jay and Dariann McShea of Pensacola; brothers, Billy (Judy) Smith of Flomaton and Donnie (Sandra) of Phoenix, AZ; sisters, Wanda Lou Standeford of Flomaton and Betty Faye McCall of Flomaton and numerous friends and family.
Private family services will be held at a later date.
Jay Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Only 14 Projects Submitted So Far For Potential Escambia RESTORE Funding
September 27, 2015
The deadline is Wednesday for interested parties to submit ideas to possibly receive a share of millions of dollars in RESTORE Act funding for Escambia County. The act provides for the allocation and use of funds gained through civil penalties from the Deepwater Horizon blowout and oil spill.
As of Friday, there were 137 current registrations in Escambia RESTORE project submission portal, with 91 active project entries. So far, only 14 projects have been submitted as the Wednesday deadline approaches.
Projects submitted for RESTORE act funding as of Friday were:
- Cantonment Community Center
- Community Gathering Center
- Raise the Homes
- Hampton Lakes Flooding Issue
- Dune Walkover Protection Project
- Brownsville Nature Trail
- G.R.U.B.
- Sidewalks, Bike Lanes, Curbs and Gutters Everywhere
- Bayou Chico Restoration
- Escambia County Regional Sediment Management Plan
- STEM Story
- Digital Radiology at Nemours
- Multi-Purpose Suite of Water Quality Models for Escambia County
- Pedestrian Safety on Main Street
The County’s RESTORE project submission portal website launched on July 1. The submission deadline is September 30.
The Escambia County RESTORE Advisory Committee will meet Tuesday, October 20, at 4 p.m. in the BCC Chambers, 221 Palafox Place, to discuss the submitted projects and the next step in the process. The public is invited and encouraged to attend. The Committee is tasked with reviewing projects and submitting recommendations to the Escambia Board of County Commissioners for consideration.
To submit a project idea today or for more information, visit restore.myescambia.com or contact Shelly Marshall, RESTORE coordinator for Escambia County, at (850) 595-3460 or email restore@myescambia.com.
Pictured: A RESTORE project information meeting held recently in Cantonment. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Gulf Low To Bring Rain, Elevated Chance Of Minor Flooding
September 27, 2015
Rain chances increase by late Sunday, with rain expected to continue through at least the early part of the week as an area of low pressure forms and drifts north across the central Gulf of Mexico. The National Hurricane Center gives the area a low chance of development over the next 48 hours and a medium chance over the next five days.
Regardless of tropical development, forecasters expect local impacts to be primarily heavy rain, rough surf, and an increase in potentially life threatening rip currents. According to the National Weather Service Office in Mobile, up to 2-4 inches of rain can be expected across the southern half of the area with locally higher amounts possible.
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Cloudy, with a low around 70. East wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Monday: Showers and thunderstorms. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. High near 81. East wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Monday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Cloudy, with a low around 71. East wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Tuesday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Cloudy, with a high near 83. Northeast wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Tuesday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight.
Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 82. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. North wind around 5 mph.
Thursday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 83. Northeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 65.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 83.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 63.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 84.
Escambia Man Gets 30 Years For Killing Elderly Man
September 27, 2015
An Escambia Count man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the second degree murder of an elderly man.
Marcus Ferrell Toler, 37, pleaded guilty to beating 76-year-old Ben Stallworth to death in 2014. He later attempted to change his guilty plea, but that motion was denied by a judge.
In March 2014, deputies responded to a disturbance in the 1700 block of West Lakeview Avenue where they found Stallworth was sitting on his couch with obvious injuries. He was transported to a local hospital by ambulance were he was pronounced deceased.
Escambia County Weekly Traffic Alerts
September 27, 2015
According to the Florida Department of Transportation, drivers will encounter traffic disruptions through Sunday, October 4 on the following state roads in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties as crews perform construction and maintenance activities.
- 10 (I-10) eastbound between Davis Highway (Exit 13) and Scenic Highway (Exit 17). Alternating lane closures began Friday, and will continue for approximately two weeks. The closure will be in effect from 8 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. as crews place asphalt on the outside shoulders of the roadway.
- Chief’s Way (State Road 294) from west of Corry Field Road to west of West Navy Boulevard will be temporarily closed Tuesday, September 29 through Friday, October 2. The temporary closure will allow crews to perform shoulder construction, remove concrete pavement and replace it with asphalt. Corry Field Road and West Navy Boulevard will be utilized as a detour route. Variable message boards are in place to alert drivers of the change in traffic pattern.
- U.S. 90 (Scenic Highway) emergency repair at the intersection of Scenic Highway Circle continues. No lane closures are anticipated, however, traffic flaggers will be on site to assist with traffic control as construction vehicles enter and exit the work area.
- I-10 between U.S. 90 Alt. (Exit 5/W Nine Mile Road) and U.S. 29 (Exit 10), including the on and off ramps at W Nine Mile Road and Pine Forest Road (State Road 297), on Thursday, October 1 and Sunday, October 4 from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Slow moving vehicles will be used as crews stripe the roadway. Drivers may experience minor delays. Drivers are reminded to watch for workers and equipment.
Drivers are reminded to use caution, especially at night, when traveling through a work zone. All planned construction activities are weather dependent and may be rescheduled in the event of inclement weather.
Big Brothers Big Sisters License Plate Now Available
September 27, 2015
A Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS) specialty license plate has been released by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.
Proceeds from the BBBS tag support their programs to bring caring mentors into the lives of children. The group says that youth today will be the professionals, leaders, and caregivers of tomorrow, and BBBS’s vision is to invest time, talent, and treasure in today’s youth to maximize the quality of life in the future.
This specialty plate is now available at the offices of the Escambia County Tax Collector. The annual cost of the tag is $25 in addition to regular registration and service fees.
Open House This Week, Grand Opening Next Week For Ernest Ward Middle School
September 27, 2015
Two big events are planned for Ernest Ward Middle School.
An Open House for parents and students will be held from 6-7 p.m. on Tuesday, September 29.
An official grand opening ceremony will be held on Tuesday, October 6 at 10 a.m. The even will include remarks from school district officials, the architect and construction company.
NorthEscambia.com photo.
State Board Of Education Members Push For Higher Standards
September 27, 2015
State Board of Education members are pushing for Florida officials to use the transition to a new standardized test as an opportunity to boost how well public school students have to do on the exam to be judged “proficient.”
Several members used their comments at a board meeting on Monday to urge Education Commissioner Pam Stewart to recommend more stringent “cut scores” to the board in the coming weeks. The new scores will be set as part of the state’s move to the Florida Standards Assessment, or FSA.
“The FSA test score is the only objective piece of information the state provides to parents about how their individual child is doing,” said Gary Chartrand, a member of the board and a recent chairman. “Some states, like Massachusetts, New York or Wisconsin have little or no gap between their state results and their national test results. Florida should move in this direction.”
The cut scores are the latest controversy to emerge over the FSA, which was dogged by a botched rollout earlier this year. Technical problems, including a cyberattack, caused widespread delays on an online portion of the test in March.
An independent report commissioned by the Legislature recently said the test was valid for use to evaluate teachers and grade schools, but cautioned against weighing it too heavily in making decisions about whether students can graduate or be promoted from grade to grade.
While Florida has often been viewed as a laboratory for school reform, some groups have taken aim at how the state’s standards on test scores compare to national exams like the National Assessment of Educational Progress. In a report issued last year and based on 2011 data, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation gave the state a “C” in what the group called “truth in advertising.”
A more recent report by Achieve, a national nonpartisan group that calls for higher standards, found that there was a 16- to 20-point gap between how many Florida students were found proficient on the national tests in 2013 and the state’s former standardized test that year.
Michael Olenick, another member of the Florida education board, tied the push for higher scores to Gov. Rick Scott’s focus on the economy.
“But the reality is, without great education reform, we’ll never have great economic reform,” he said.
The board will ultimately decide what to do with the cut scores after receiving Stewart’s recommendations, which will also be reviewed by the Legislature. But John Padget, vice chairman of the board, indicated there was “a huge gap” between what board members wanted and what technical committees advising Stewart on cut scores were recommending.
“I’m just expressing my frustration that the process has left us and left you in an awkward position,” Padget said.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Friends Of The Library Plan Book Sale Ends Today
September 27, 2015
Friends of West Florida Public Library, a non-profit support organization of the West Florida Public Library, will continue its Big Fall Book Sale and Silent Auction Sunday at the downtown Main Library at 239 N. Spring Street. Thousands of hardcover, paperback, and collectible books will be available for purchase, plus a variety of DVDs, CDs, puzzles, and other items. Proceeds are used to fund programs and enhancements at WFPL branches.
Sunday, is the final day of the Book Sale, with free admission and the popular $5 Bag Sale from noon to 3pm.
Book Sale items include thousands of generous donations from the public and some library books retired from circulation, many of them now out-of-print. Novels and mysteries are sorted by author or into genres like Science Fiction and Westerns. Other book categories include arts and entertainment, children’s, cookbooks, history, holidays, home and hobbies, literature, foreign language, military, modern living, nature and gardening, religion, science, sports, technical, and travel. There are also recorded books, magazines, and other media for sale.
The Collector’s Corner will feature an assortment of signed books, pre-1950s books, books by local and Florida authors, and other special books that are great for gifts. These items are priced as marked and must be checked out separately, so shoppers paying by check should bring two of them.
Payment by cash or check is preferred. Credit cards are accepted for sales of $20 or more. All profits are used to support the West Florida Public Library branches and programs.