Heat Advisory, Chance Of Rain
July 21, 2015
Once again, there is a heat advisory in effect for tomorrow. Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 7pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 75. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 95. Heat index values as high as 107. West wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 77. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Thursday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 95. West wind around 5 mph.
Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 75. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Friday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 95. West wind around 5 mph.
Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 76. West wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 96. West wind around 5 mph.
Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 74.
Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 96.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 74.
Monday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 96.
Monday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 74.
Tuesday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 96.
Tate Freshmen: Don’t Miss ‘Aggie Day’ On Thursday
July 21, 2015
Tate High School is inviting all incoming freshmen to participate in “Aggie Day”on Thursday, hosted by Tate’s leadership clubs. During the event, ninth graders will divide into small groups and will attend a series of workshops. They will learn the campus, review school rules, discuss study habits and have the chance to make new friends.
Aggie Day will begin at 9 a.m., with freshmen to be dropped off at the “new gym” and picked up by noon. Lunch will not be provided, but students are encouraged to bring a snack and a bottle of water. If parents wish to stay on campus during the event, a parent waiting area will be provided in the administrative conference room.
Because this is the school’s first Aggie Day, freshmen are asked to RSVP by clicking here so that the number of workshops can be planned accordingly.
Student schedules will not be available at this event, which will be led by students unable to answer questions regarding specific student schedules.
Women’s Conference Friday Night, Saturday At McDavid Church
July 21, 2015
Ray’s Chapel Baptist Church in McDavid is hosting a Women’s Conference this Friday and Saturday titled “Surrender”.
The conference begins Friday evening at 6:30. Doors open at 6 p.m. There will be a dessert bar and time of fellowship and worship. The conference continues on Saturday from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. A continental breakfast and lunch will be served. Keynote speaker will be Liz Traylor, wife of Dr. Ted Traylor, pastor of Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola. Worship will be led by Leah Taylor. Breakout sessions on a variety of topics will be led by women from Ray’s Chapel and other churches.
Tickets for the conference are $15 each, and include the conference, a dessert bar, a continental breakfast and lunch. Contact Danielle at (256) 609-8696 for tickets or more information. Ray’s Chapel Baptist Church is located 140 West Bogia Road in McDavid.
Pictured: Liz Traylor, wife of Dr. Ted Traylor, pastor of Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola, will be the keynote speaker for a Women’s Conference at Ray’s Chapel Baptist Church in McDavid. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Proposed Gambling Rules Impacting Poarch Creek’s Gretna Track Headed For Showdown
July 21, 2015
At least two years in the making, proposed pari-mutuel regulations continue to leave industry operators divided, with some saying the rules don’t go far enough and others complaining that the plan will put them out of business.
State gambling regulators held a hearing Monday on the latest version of the proposed rules, released last month for the third time in two years. The proposed regulations deal with everything from how much jockeys can weigh to the sizes of horse tracks and jai alai frontons. Much of the plan is aimed at curbing controversial rodeo-style barrel racing and “flag drop” horse races, first implemented by a small track in North Florida.
Donna Blanton, a lawyer who represents the North Florida Horsemen’s Association, whose members include about 200 women who ride the horses at Gretna Racing in Gadsden County, told a hearing panel Monday that many of the proposals floated by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s Division of Pari-mutuel Wagering were “invalid exercises” of the agency’s authority.
Gretna is managed and operated by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians in Atmore.
Also, Blanton said, the proposed rules — which bar jockeys from weighing more than 135 pounds and require jockeys to wear “unique racing colors and white pants registered with the racing secretary” along with helmets, vests and boots “specifically designed for horse racing when riding in racing or exercising horses” — would put the women who ride the horses at the small facility out of a job.
“They’ll be gone. They won’t be here. And that’s contrary to the fact that there’s nothing in statute … that prohibits this kind of horse racing,” Blanton told the four-member panel Monday morning. “It’s perfectly legitimate. It’s allowed. It’s something you have licensed in the past.”
Four years ago, state gambling regulators granted Gretna Racing a pari-mutuel permit for quarter-horse barrel racing — the first, and possibly only, in the nation — but a court later ruled that the permit was issued in error. State regulators later entered an agreement with the facility authorizing “flag drop” races, in which two horses race against each other in a straight line.
Gretna Racing is also in the midst of a legal battle over slot machines. A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal recently ruled that gambling regulators erred in denying the facility a slots license. The state is asking that the full court rehear the case in what is called an “en banc” hearing.
Florida horse owners and breeders not affiliated with the association Blanton represents strongly oppose barrel racing and “flag drop” races as pari-mutuel activities, in part because nearly all other races require more horses to compete.
Under the proposed rules, quarter-horse races would have to be conducted on tracks that are at least 1,300 feet in length, much longer than the track now in use at Gretna.
A legislative panel that oversees rules also questioned whether regulators went too far with a variety of the proposed rules. A letter from Joint Administrative Procedures Committee Senior Attorney Marjorie Holladay sent last week also asked whether costs associated with the proposed changes would exceed $200,000 a year, which would require legislative approval.
Some of the industry operators, all of whom were sworn in Monday, testified that the proposed requirements would cost from $500,000 to in excess of $1 million a year, including the costs of installing new “break-away” rails and starting gates.
A 10-day window to challenge the rules begins Tuesday.
“No matter what you do you’re going to come up with a contested decision,” Florida Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association CEO Lonny Powell said.
But Powell and many of his allies who represent horse breeders and owners said that, overall, they were pleased with the plans, which he said “seem to reinforce reality” that barrel racing and flag drops are not legitimate.
“We want to make sure that expanded gambling doesn’t happen through loopholes. Otherwise, we just want integrity in the business. We don’t need made-up sports. What do we get to next? Hermit crab sprints? We can bet odd-even that the sun will be covered by clouds one day and that’s pari-mutuel? It’s just a real slippery slope. But we’re encouraged by some of the comments we heard from the department today,” Powell said.
The proposal won’t rein in “gambling creep,” said Paul Seago, of the anti-gambling organization “No Casinos.”
“What they’re trying to do today is a step in the right direction but not far enough,” Seago said.
Other issues discussed at Monday’s meeting included jai alai. The proposed rules would impose minimum standards for jai alai players to qualify to participate in games and would also require pari-mutuels to have at least eight different players or teams.
But David Cantina, general manager of Orlando Jai Alai Fronton and Race Book, said that the new regulations were problematic for his facility, the only jai alai fronton in the state that does not have a card room or slots.
“It will almost definitely put us out of business,” Cantina said after the meeting ended.
Cantina said his operation — which has relied mostly on revenues from simulcast games — is in a “cash flow negative.”
Dave Roberts, a lobbyist who represents Magic City Casino in Miami, which has a summer jai alai permit but has not yet begun jai alai performances, objected to the proposal that would require games to be played indoors and frontons to be constructed of granite.
He said that jai alai traditionally was played outside in France and Spain.
But department lawyer Jason Maine, a member of the hearing panel, questioned how an outdoor fronton would work while providing safety for the players, as required by the proposed rules, in rain- and heat-prone South Florida.
Doug Russell, who represents the International Jai Alai Players Association, objected that, while the proposed rules established outlines for jai alai frontons, they failed to include minimum standards for seating. Florida is now the only state in the country where jai alai — the state’s oldest professional sport — is still played commercially.
Russell said the jai alai players’ salaries have been shaved more than in half — from $5,000 to $2,000 a month — because pari-mutuels are focusing their efforts on more lucrative card rooms or slots.
“Most of my guys are skilled laborers on the side. … We’re the only humans in the game,” Russell said.
Other complaints involved a rule that would require pari-mutuels to publish information regarding horses’ qualifications. Under the proposed rule, the racing secretary would have to ensure that at least three published past performances, whether in races or workouts, were available to the public prior to a race.
That won’t give bettors enough information, said Tom Ventura, president of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company. Tracks or owners can “pick and choose” the data they want published, he said.
“It’s really, really important to see what a horse has done,” Ventura said.
Since the rule-making process has dragged on for more than two years, some participants at Monday’s hearing are hoping that lawmakers will address the gambling regulatory issue when they reconvene in January for the regular legislative session.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida with contribution from NorthEscambia.com
Molino Man Charged With Aggravated Battery Following Traffic Crash
July 21, 2015
A Molino man has been charged after an altercation that broke out following a traffic crash back in May.
Jonathan David Franklin, 22, was arrested this week on an outstanding warrant stemming from the May 24 accident at Cedartown Road and Highway 95A. He was charged with aggravated battery using a deadly weapon and booked into the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $15,000.
Franklin allegedly left the scene of the traffic crash, stopping to pick up his bumper. The traffic crash victim gave chase on foot, with Franklin stopping and getting out of his vehicle, according to an arrest report. The victim said Franklin the attacked him, pulling his shirt over his face and hitting him repeatedly with a black object, later determined to be the black rubber handle of a large knife.
Sheriff’s Office To Host ‘Bridging The Gap’ Conference
July 21, 2015
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office will host a crime prevention conference “Bridging the Gap” July 27-29.
The three-evening conference is an effort to encourage communication and action within the community by showcasing innovative crime prevention ideas and successful strategies. A major component of the program will be directed toward
alternatives to violence among young people, the agency said.
The event will be held at the Brownsville Community Center at 3100 West Desoto Street in Pensacola. Each evening’s agency will begin with a light dinner at 5:00, followed by speakers and discussion from 6-9 p.m.
Admission is free, but seating is limited. Registration form are available by clicking here. For more information contact Sgt. Delarian Wiggins at dcwiggins@escambiaso.com or (850) 436-9705.
Jolly Announces For U.S. Senate
July 21, 2015
Joining three other Florida congressmen in seeking to move to the U.S. Senate, Pinellas County Republican David Jolly said Monday he will run in 2016 for the seat being vacated by presidential candidate Marco Rubio.
Jolly, who was elected to Congress last year in a high-profile battle with Democrat Alex Sink, offered a conservative message in announcing his Senate bid, saying the “time to reclaim America begins right here, right now.”
“Over the next year, I intend to run for the United States Senate on an unwavering platform that will reject the politics of division and class warfare that have defined the current administration, reject the failed foreign policies that have projected only weakness and apology on the world stage, and embrace a new economy founded on the principle that individuals and families, not government bureaucrats, create success,” Jolly, 42, of Indian Shores, said in a prepared statement.
Jolly entered an increasingly crowded field that also includes Republican Congressman Ron DeSantis and Democratic Congressmen Alan Grayson and Patrick Murphy. Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera and Orlando businessman Todd Wilcox also are seeking the GOP nomination, while Northwest Florida Republican Congressman Jeff Miller is reportedly considering a run.
Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Allison Tant quickly issued a statement Monday blasting the four announced GOP candidates, including Jolly, who worked as a lobbyist before getting elected to Congress.
“Koch-backed Tea Partiers, a no-show lieutenant governor with more baggage than Rick Scott’s private jet can carry, and now a Washington lobbyist,” she said in the statement. “Could Florida Republicans have assembled a primary field more out of touch with middle class voters than these four?”
Early polls, however, point to a wide-open race, with voters knowing relatively little about the candidates. Jolly, a Dunedin native, has longstanding ties in the politically important Tampa Bay area and served as an aide to the late Congressman C.W. Bill Young. He planned to hold a campaign-launch rally Monday night at the Republican Club of Greater Largo.
Jolly defeated Sink, a former state chief financial officer, in a March 2014 special election after the death of Young, who served in Congress for four decades. Jolly easily won re-election to a full term in November.
The decision to enter the Senate race came as Jolly’s congressional district is poised to be redrawn because of a Florida Supreme Court ruling this month. That ruling ordered state lawmakers to redraw eight districts, which the Supreme Court found violated a 2010 constitutional amendment aimed at ending gerrymandering.
Jolly’s redrawn district is expected to get an influx of Democratic voters, making it harder for Republicans to hold onto the seat. Former Gov. Charlie Crist, a Democrat, has been widely mentioned as a possible candidate in the redrawn district.
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
Woman Dies In 1-10 Crash
July 21, 2015
A Milton woman died in a single vehicle accident Monday afternoon in Santa Rosa County.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 71-year old Mary A. Spencer was westbound on I-10 near Highway 87 about 12:55 P.m. when she lost control of her 2003 Ford SUV and struck a tree. She was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Spencer was wearing her seat belt, according to the FHP.
Smith Hits Back To Back Homers In Wahoos Win
July 21, 2015
Pensacola Blue Wahoos first baseman Marquez Smith showed off the power that he has displayed throughout his nine seasons in the minor leagues.
The 30-year-old lined a two-run home run to left center in the first inning and then crushed a solo shot to left field in the second inning. Smith became the first Pensacola player to hit back-to-back home runs this season.
P
ensacola downed Jacksonville, 7-4, Monday in front of 3,973 at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium and now leads the Florida rivals’ race for the Golden Skillet, 8-6. The Blue Wahoos, who have one more five-game series left with the Suns, have never won the trophy since its inaugural season in 2012.
Smith has averaged just over 15 homers a season and last year smacked 30 mostly for the High-A Bakersfield Blaze. Besides his two home runs, he had a double and four RBIs. Smith now has seven homers and 33 RBIs and improved his batting average to .278 this season for Double-A Pensacola.
“It was a big one,” Smith said about his night. “A pretty huge one for sure.”
Smith said he cranked a slider and fastball out of the park. His play in the Mexican League earned him 300 more at bats during the winter. He said everyone on the team is stepping up their play in the second half.
“You go up every at bat just trying to battle,” he said. “I was just trying to move the runners over. I was able to get it in the air and drive it out.”
In the first inning, Smith lined a two-run home run to left center that also brought in left fielder Jesse Winker, who had hit a stand up double, to put Pensacola ahead, 3-0. In his next at bat, he crushed a solo shot to left field that put the Blue Wahoos up, 5-0, after two innings. Then, in the sixth inning, Smith doubled to score center fielder Bryson Smith for a 7-2 lead.
Smith became the eighth Pensacola player to clobber two homers in a game. Former outfielder Kyle Waldrop was the last to do it against Jacksonville on Aug. 19, 2014. No Blue Wahoos player has hit three homers in one game.
Pensacola manager Pat Kelly said Smith is now hitting like he did in Bakersfield, where he coached him last year.
“This is how he was swinging the bat last year,” Kelly said. “You’re starting to see it in this second half. I think he’s hitting extremely well.”
The fifth inning was the Seth Mejias-Brean inning. After making a diving grab at third of Jacksonville left fielder Eudy Pina’s sharp grounder and barely getting him out at first, Mejias-Brean came to the plate and crushed a solo homer to left field, which was his fifth of the year, and put Pensacola ahead, 6-2.
Meanwhile, Pensacola starter Josh Smith rebounded from his loss to Birmingham Barons who scored six runs before chasing him after 3.2 innings. It wasn’t pretty but Smith lasted 5.1 innings and gave up just two runs to Jacksonville and struck out eight. However, he also gave up 10 hits and two walks to the Suns. He improved to 5-2 on the season with a 3.00 ERA.
Four times Jacksonville loaded the bases and four times Pensacola thwarted the Suns from scoring.
Smith had given up two singles and a walk after getting the first two batters out in the fifth inning and got out of the bases-loaded jam.
Blue Wahoos reliever Patrick Schuster came in for Smith, who loaded the bases on three singles, and got a strike out and ground out to shortstop to end the sixth inning with no runs.
Then, Jacksonville loaded the bases in the eighth inning but Blue Wahoos reliever Miguel Celestino struck out the Suns’ cleanup hitter Matt Juengel on a 94 mph fastball.
Finally, Zack Weiss struck out two batters and got a ground out to escape with the bases loaded in the ninth inning without a score. Weiss now has a team-leading 11 saves.
“You can’t give them that many opportunities,” Kelly said. “Eventually, it comes back and bites you.”
The final game of the two-game series is scheduled at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday with the Miami Marlins Double-A affiliate Jacksonville Suns
Scott Orders Flags To Half-Staff In Honor Of Chattanooga Service Members
July 20, 2015
Monday, Gov. Rick Scott Monday directed the flags of the United States and the State of Florida to be flown at half-staff in honor of the five service members who were murdered at recruiting centers in Chattanooga, TN, last week. The flags are to remain at half-staff until sunset on the day of the final military member’s date of internment.
Pictured: The flag at half-staff Monday afternoon at the West Florida Library Main Branch in downtown Pensacola. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.