Abortion Waiting Period Awaits Scott’s Signature
April 25, 2015
A bill that would require 24-hour waiting periods before women can have abortions is heading to the desk of Gov. Rick Scott, following passage Friday in the Florida Senate.
By a vote of 26-13, the Republican-dominated Senate approved the bill (HB 633), which the House passed Wednesday. The Senate vote was along straight party lines.
“There is nothing I will be more proud of than to be a voice for the unborn,” Sen. Anitere Flores, a Miami Republican and the Senate sponsor, said in her closing statement.
Flores said the bill would add a day-long waiting period to the current requirements for informed consent before women can have abortions in Florida. The current requirements include discussing such issues as medical risks to the woman and fetus, a description of the fetus and a list of entities that offer alternatives to terminating pregnancies.
“All that we’re requiring is that it be done 24 hours prior,” she said.
Lawmakers earlier this week approved adding exceptions for victims of rape, incest, domestic violence or human trafficking to the bill. However, those victims could only get waivers of the 24-hour waiting period if they can produce police reports, restraining orders, medical records or other documentation.
“All of this documentation is unnecessary government intrusion into the lives of women,” said Sen. Geraldine Thompson, D-Orlando.
Flores on Thursday fended off a series of amendments that Democrats said would alleviate hardships on women for whom two trips to abortion clinics in other counties could put the procedure out of financial reach.
“Seventy percent of the counties in this state don’t have an abortion provider,” Sen. Maria Sachs, D-Delray Beach, said Friday.
Meanwhile, Sen. Darren Soto, D-Orlando, said he opposed the bill because it was unconstitutional.
“Under the Florida Constitution, we have a right to privacy,” he said. “I would not be surprised to see this bill challenged immediately.”
After the vote, Laura Goodhue, executive director of the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates, said the bill’s opponents would turn their attention to urging Scott to veto the measure.
“But should he sign it, advocates for reproductive rights will take whatever steps possible to ensure women’s access to health care is guaranteed without delay,” Goodhue wrote in an email.
A Scott spokeswoman said he would review the bill before making any decision.
As with other debates as the bill moved toward passage, Friday’s discussion juxtaposed a woman’s right to choose with the sanctity of life.
“As a woman, that should be my right (to make reproductive decisions),” said Senate Minority Leader Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa.
“This is not a medical procedure,” said Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island. “This is a life.”
Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth, said the bill really is about “restricting access” to abortions. Clemens said there were better ways of reducing the number of abortions, such as spending money on sexual health, family planning and sex education.
“But instead of doing those things that are proven to work, we’re basically trying to find a way of restricting women’s access,” he said.
However, Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, said the measure “does not limit a woman’s right to have an abortion.”
“It’s making sure we have the same standard for women as we do in every other medical procedure, and that there is not a business, the business of abortion, trying to take advantage of women and trying to play on their emotion and talk them into something that they make money on and you spend the rest of your life regretting,” Stargel said.
Planned Parenthood’s Goodhue said such charges “are simply not true.”
“Our physicians, nurse practitioners and family-planning assistants all work hard every day to provide high-quality, non-judgmental, affordable health care to women and men to enable them to make the right decision for them,” Goodhue wrote in an email. “Decisions about whether to choose adoption, end a pregnancy or raise a child should be left to a woman, her family, her faith and her health care provider.”
Stargel also said that pregnancies resulting from rape, incest, domestic violence or human trafficking provide “all the more reason to reflect” before having an abortion.
by Margie Menzel, The News Service of Florida
Escambia Man Facing Child Porn Charges
April 25, 2015
An Escambia County man had been indicted on multiple child pornography charges by a federal grand jury.
Kandel Marki Whiting, 35, is charged with receipt, distribution and possession of child pornography. He is accused of receiving and distributing images and videos of child pornography between October 2014 and January 2015. And in March, prosecutors said he knowingly possessed porn involving a prepubescent minor and a minor younger than 12. Whiting’s conduct came to light based upon his use of the social media applications Twitter and Kik.
Whiting was arraigned in federal court in Pensacola Friday before United States Magistrate Judge Miles Davis.
The case is being investigated by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Pensacola Police Department, and the other agencies that are part of the Northwest Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, whose joint investigation led to the charges in this case. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David L. Goldberg.
April Is Distracted Driver Awareness Month
April 25, 2015
Keep your hands on the wheel, eyes on the road and mind on driving — that’s the message the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (DHSMV) and the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) want motorists to remember this April during Distracted Driver Awareness Month.
Distracted driving crashes in Florida have increased 25 percent since 2012. Even though teens represent only five percent of licensed drivers, they were responsible for 12 percent of distracted driving crashes. Drivers aged 20–29 were responsible for 31 percent of crashes.
“If you are not 100 percent focused, then you’re not 100 percent driving,” said Col. David Brierton, director of the Florida Highway Patrol. “Troopers around the state will continue to educate motorists on the dangers of distracted driving for the safety of all who share our roadways.”
There are three main categories of distraction: visual (taking your eyes off the road), manual (taking your hands off the steering wheel), and cognitive (thinking about anything other than driving). Some of the most common types of distractions include:
- An object, person, or event outside of the vehicle that divert a driver’s attention away from the road
- Texting
- Reaching for a device such as a GPS
- Interacting with passengers
- Eating or drinking
- Unsecured pets
- Grooming
- Adjusting stereo or climate controls
- Lighting a cigarette
- Daydreaming
Jim Allen Elementary Students Take Part In 4-H Speech Contest
April 25, 2015
Fourth graders at Jim Allen Elementary School took participated in the Tropicana 4-H Speech Contest on Friday.
First place was awarded to Destiny Williams, second to Joshua Jones and third to Savannah Guilford.
Fifth graders will also take part in the contest later this school year.
Pictured top: Jim Allen Elementary Tropicana 4-H Speech Contest winners (L-R) Savannah Guilford, third place; Joshua Jones, second; and Destiny Williams, first. Below: Fourth grade participants. Submitted photos for NorthEcambia.com, click to enlarge.
‘Growlers’ Going To The Governor
April 25, 2015
Half-gallon “growlers” are closer to going under brewery taps across Florida.
The House on Friday joined the Senate in supporting the end of the state’s prohibition on brewers being able to fill 64-ounce containers known as “growlers” for off-site consumption. Currently, brewers can only fill containers of other sizes.
“Let’s all just push the button and free the growler here in the state of Florida,” Majority Leader Rep. Dana Young, R-Tampa, said before the House voted unanimously to approve the bill.
A heavily lobbied issue in the Capitol, the measure (SB 186) now will go to Gov. Rick Scott. A spokeswoman said Friday the governor will review the bill once it reaches his desk.
Rep. Chris Sprowls, a Palm Harbor Republican who sponsored the bill in the House, said the legislation allows “entrepreneurs, artists, people who care about innovation and business, to continue to prosper in our state.”
But Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, said that while he supports letting small businesses grow, the state needs to be mindful of the proliferation of alcohol.
“And yes … 64 ounces is not enough for a true professional drinker, but it’s a crack in the door,” said Rouson, who has been both homeless and a drug addict.
Craft brewers sought the growler change in recent years, but the proposal was scuttled amid objections from large beer distributors. The distributors pointed to a need to protect the state’s Depression-era three-tier regulation system, which requires the manufacture, distribution and sale of alcoholic beverages to be separated.
The bill was filed this year as a straightforward attempt to repeal the ban on the containers, which are considered the most popular size among “growler” aficionados.
But as expected, the final bill took on additional issues while going through the committee process.
The final product that will be served to Scott includes regulations that would limit cup sizes to 3.5 ounces for beer tastings, ban the use of electronic-benefits transfer cards — formerly known as food stamps — to buy alcoholic beverages and cap at eight the number of tap-room licenses a single brewer can hold.
Byron Burroughs, a founder of Proof Brewing Co. in Tallahassee and a Florida Brewers Guild board member, said some brewers may be upset at the cap, but he has a more optimistic view of the bill.
“The distributor lobbyists have been doing everything they can to stop the number of licenses we can hold, the amount of beer we can transfer between locations,” Burroughs said. “The most important aspect of this bill defines what we can and can’t do. I think it puts us in a much stronger position to reinvest and grow.”
Breweries have been operating since 1963 under a tourism exemption intended to allow on-site alcohol sales. While there is a cap on how many locations each brewer can have as part of the bill, they may no longer have to rely on the tourism exemption to exist.
The bill would allow the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco within the Department of Business and Professional Regulation to issue vendor licenses to businesses located within a single complex that includes a brewery.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Molino 16U Lady Jags Win Mid Season Tournament
April 25, 2015
Both of the Molino 16U Molino softball teams won championships in their mid-season tournaments.
The Lady Jaguars coached by Donnie Nicholson and Mike King advanced to the championship game undefeated. After concluding the day after a five-hour rain delay, the Jags lost the first game of the championship series 5-4 before coming back strong in the second game with an 8-5 win over the East Milton Buckshots.
Pictured: (front, L-R) Sky Gorum and Kaelyn Coffee, (middle) Ashley Ragsdale, Jasmine Crabtree, Trista Loranza, Mika King, Rena Banks, Jamia Newton, Abi Mansoso, (back) Coach Donnie Nicholson, Catherine Jerigene, Meredith Morgan and Coach Mike King. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Barons Take Series Over Wahoos
April 25, 2015
Joey DeMichele clinched the series for the Birmingham Barons (7-7) with a line drive to right field in a 2-1 walk-off victory over the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (4-9) at Regions Field.
RHP Raul Fernandez (1-1) got the win for the Barons while RHP Chad Rogers (0-1) got his first loss of the season after the run, one walk and two hits in the ninth.
In the third inning, the Barons’ Jeremy Farrell reached base on a fielding error by second baseman Juan Perez and then advanced to second. With a wild pitch by LHP Wandy Peralta, Farrell advanced to third and then scored off of a single by Jacob May.
The Blue Wahoos tied up the game in the seventh inning. Smith led off the inning with a single and scored after Yovan Gonzalez grounded into a double play.
Juan Perez singled in the ninth inning to extend his hit streak to six games.
Peralta made his third start of the season and pitched for six innings registering six strikeouts, five hits and an unearned run. RHP Drew Hayes posted two scoreless innings of work with two hits. He has now thrown 5.2 innings allowing no runs this season.
For the Barons, RHP Tyler Danish gave up only three hits in six innings of work while recording seven strikeouts. RHP Nolan Sanburn gave up the lone Pensacola run. Fernandez threw four strikeouts in his two innings as Birmingham struck out 12 Blue Wahoos.
The Blue Wahoos return to Pensacola April 25th-29th against the Biloxi Shuckers.
Rain Chance Continues Into Early Evening, Hot Sunday
April 25, 2015
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Saturday Night
Showers and thunderstorms likely early. Some of the storms could be severe. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69. West wind 5 to 15 mph becoming southwest in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 70%..
Sunday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 88. West wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday Night
A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 66. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming northwest after midnight.
Monday
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 82. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
Monday Night
A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. East wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday
Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 75. East wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Tuesday Night
A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming northwest after midnight.
Wednesday
A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 72. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Wednesday Night
A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 55.
Thursday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 74.
Thursday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 56.
Friday
Sunny, with a high near 79.
Escambia Looks To Increase Volunteer Response, Staff Some Stations With Career Firefighters
April 24, 2015
Change is coming to fire services in Escambia County, but exactly what those charges are remain to be seen.
For the past few weeks, the firefighter’s union, the volunteers and county administration have held a series of meetings working to solve a few undeniable facts– some emergency calls for help are not being answered, the number of volunteers is decreasing, volunteers say the county has made the process to becoming a volunteer firefighter too difficult, and the county can simply can’t afford to do without volunteers and replace them with all-paid fighters. The estimated cost to staff one fire station with 24/7 paid firefighters has been estimated to be $750,000.
The county has already taken steps to remove some of the barriers to becoming a certified volunteer firefighter, according to Administrator Jack Brown. The county is now starting to accept state-approved online firefighter courses, allowing volunteers to complete the classes on their own schedule. They will still be required to received hands-on type experience. He said required classes will be conducted at times that volunteers can attend, and make-up classes will be available.
Commission Chairman Steven Barry said that changes are coming to the physical agility tests for volunteers. It won’t be made any easier to pass the demanding exam, there will just be additional opportunities to complete the physical agility tests after technique is learned.
“The intent is never to get rid of the volunteers,” Brown said. “We need volunteers. We need full-time firefighters both working together.”
“One team, one fight, one mission – that’s the theme ” Commissioner Doug Underhill said. “I would hope to think that I’ve heard for the last time a volunteer firefighter saying something about the professionals, and that I have seen and read for the last time a statement from the professional firefighters negative about their reserve brethren. We’ve got to move beyond that.”
Underhill said he would not be against a possible MSBU raise if that’s what it take to improve fire services.
“It’s definitely not from the lack of trying or disregard for the public. There simply just aren’t not enough volunteers to handle the call volume in the county, Nick Gradia, president of the firefighter’s union said Thursday. “There are many reasons that volunteer numbers have dropped over the years. And, unfortunately, there does not seem to be a massive increase on the horizon. Our goal is to ensure the stations in the south end of the county have qualified personnel that can respond with a fire truck when called.”
“There never has been and never will be a guarantee that your closest neighborhood station will be the one coming to you every single time,” Gradia said. “However, we should guarantee that your neighborhood station has a qualified crew available to respond at all times, providing the greatest level of service possible. Volunteerism in this county is a longstanding tradition and it will never be the goal of my organization to replace or tarnish those traditions.”
Placing the qualified career personnel in the remainder of the south-end stations is necessary to meet public safety needs,” Gradia concluded.
The county commission also heard from the volunteer side.
“If you’re willing as a commission to change the way we’ve done business for the last eight years, where we can all come together and work toward a common solution, I think that we can achieve what we all want which is a greater public safety arena for the people of this county. That’s all we’ve ever wanted; that’s all we’ve every pushed for…We don’t wish to be career firemen,” Beau Rodrique, spokesman for the volunteer’s association told the commission. “If you simplify the system, you will see a stronger service. But you have to let volunteers take care of volunteers.”
“Our one common goal needs to be public safety,” Rodrique said. “If we can do it without raising taxes I think we owe, y’all owe to the county taxpayers, to exhaust all options of how we can do that without raising taxes. And we can do it.”
“My goal is what I heard today, let’s make sure we do everything we can do, as even the career firefighters have stated,” Commissioner Wilson Robertson said. “We need volunteers…one working unit that works together and both sides are treated fairly, and with all respect, and that our administration needs to make sure we do everything we can do to promote, recruit and retain the volunteers.”
“This county cannot afford a fully paid fire department throughout the entire county, ” Robertson said. “We’ve got to have volunteers.”
“We are going to make sure that we are safe, that our neighborhoods are safe, and that we have people that can respond,” Commissioner Grover Robinson said. “We are going to have to look at changes in the way we do business to make it easier for recruitment.”
The Escambia County Commission is expected to consider a written fire services plan at their May 7 meeting.
Pictured: Volunteer firefighters battle a full-involved house fire on Highway 97 in Davisville last November. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Santa Rosa Drops Plans To Rezone Nine Schools
April 24, 2015
After a public outcry against the idea, the Santa Rosa County School Board voted late Thursday night to kill a plan that would have rezoned nine schools. The measure failed on a 3-2 vote after numerous residents, mostly from the Ashley Plantation subdivision, spoke out against the plan.
The rezoning proposal would have changed the attendance boundaries for Avalon Middle, Bennett Russell Elementary, Chumuckla Elementary, Central School, Dixon Primary and Intermediate, Pace High, Pea Ridge Elementary and Sims Middle.