More Showers, Thunderstorms Likely
April 13, 2015
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Monday Night
Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before 7pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1am. Low around 66. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%.
Tuesday
Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 82. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Tuesday Night
Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Cloudy, with a low around 67. Southwest wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Wednesday
Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 79. South wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Wednesday Night
A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 66. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Thursday
A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78. South wind around 5 mph.
Thursday Night
A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a low around 66. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
Friday
A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 80. South wind around 5 mph.
Friday Night
A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. South wind around 5 mph.
Saturday
A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78.
Saturday Night
A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 65.
Sunday
A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 76.
Sunday Night
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 64.
Monday
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 81.
Three-Run Blast Lifts Wahoos Over Biloxi
April 13, 2015
Kyle Waldrop erased three games of Pensacola Blue Wahoos hitting misery with one giant stroke.
The first baseman lofted a high-arching, three-run home run that gave the Wahoos its first lead, 3-0, of the five game series against the Milwaukee Brewers’ new Double-A franchise, the Biloxi Shuckers. The runs in the bottom of the first inning matched what Pensacola had scored in its previous three games.
It was one of only two hits by Pensacola, which snapped its three game losing streak to Biloxi with a rain-shortened 4-0 victory, although the grounds crew worked to keep the field dry throughout the drizzly day.
Waldrop, the Cincinnati Reds No. 14 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, showed an impressive bat in Spring Training with the Reds. In 12 games, the left-hander hit .273 with one homer and five RBIs.
So far this season, he has continued to swing the bat well. He’s hitting .273 with the homer and three runs-batted in. Last year, he came up to Pensacola with a handful of High-A Bakersfield Blaze mid-season and hit .315 with eight homers and 35 RBIs.
Waldrop said in Sunday’s six-inning game, he was just trying to move the runners on first and second up a base.
“It started off pretty fair and then kept slicing down the line,” he said. “I’m glad it stayed fair. It was a good feeling. Hopefully, now our bats will wake up a little bit.”
Manager Pat Kelly said Waldrop’s homer was a key to the game, even taking pressure off of starter Wandy Peralta, who was making his Double-A debut.
“Kyle was one of the few guys who came up from Bakersfield and didn’t miss a beat,” Kelly said. “It was really clutch. It allowed Peralta to relax a little bit.”
In his debut, Peralta threw five scoreless innings, giving up three hits, two walks and striking out three. Last year, Peralta was 7-12 with a 4.82 ERA for High-A Bakersfield.
He knew coming in that Biloxi was leading the Southern League in hitting with a .326 average and 18 runs, including one home run in three games against Pensacola.
“I knew they were having a real good series against us,” Peralta said through translator and starting catcher Yovan Gonzalez. “I just trusted every single pitch I threw. I wanted to just kill it.”
The Biloxi Shuckers, who open the year on a 55-game road trip while they await construction of their stadium, sent a fourth straight top-rated prospect to face the Blue Wahoos lineup Sunday. This time it was right-hander Jorge Lopez, Milwaukee Brewers’ No. 15 prospect according to Baseball America.
But Waldrop jumped on him in the bottom of the first inning and Pensacola capitalized on six walks by Lopez to get its first victory of the season.
The final game of the five-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers Double-A affiliate Biloxi Shuckers is scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Monday. RHP Marcus Walden takes the mound for the Wahoos and is scheduled to be opposed by the Shuckers RHP Jacob Barnes.
Winning $80 Million Powerball Ticket Sold In North Escambia
April 12, 2015
Check those lottery tickets….someone who purchased a Powerball ticket in North Escambia for Saturday night’s drawing is the country’s newest mega-millionaire.
The winning ticket in the $80 million Powerball drawing was sold in Davisville. The Quick Pick ticket was the only winner in the nationwide drawing, and was sold at the locally-owned State Line Gift Shop on Highway 97, next to the Piggly Wiggly.
Saturday night’s winning numbers were 01-12-32-42-58 with a Powerball of 12.
It had been a few weeks since someone won the jackpot, with five rollovers no grand prize winner since March 25.
The State Line Gift Shop will receive a bonus of $40,000 for selling the winning ticket.
Powerball tickets are $2 each. This was Florida’s ninth Powerball jackpot winner since the state joined the game in 2009.
Six People, Include Two Pedestrians, Injured In Nine Mile Wreck
April 12, 2015
Six people, including two pedestrians, were injured in a two-vehicle crash Saturday afternoon on Nine Mile Road at Guidy Lane.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 17-year old Alexus Wickizer of Pensacola was eastbound on Nine Mile Road in the left turn lane in her 1997 Toyota Celica when she failed to yield right of way to a 2012 GMC SUV driven by 83-year old Robert Schmeck of Pensacola. The vehicles collided, with the SUV overturning off the roadway and into two pedestrians that were standing on the corner of Guidy Lane.
The pedestrians - 19-year old Julianne Trundy and 59-year old Cheryl Trundy, both of Pensacola — were seriously injured and transported to area hospital by Escambia County EMS as “trauma alerts”. The women were described by bystanders as preaching and holding signs on the corner prior to the accident. Both were transported to area hospitals by Escambia County EMS as “trauma alerts”.
Wickizer and her passenger, 12-year old Lane Wickizer, received minor injuries. Schmeck was seriously injured, while his passenger, 41-year old James Wade of Pensacola, was taken to an area hospital with minor injuries.
Wickizer was charged with turning left in front of approaching traffic, and Schmeck was cited for no seat belt, according to the FHP.
The accident closed Nine Mile Road for about 45 minutes.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Price, click to enlarge.
Blackman Receives Royal Rangers’ Honor Gold Medal Of Achievement
April 12, 2015
Nicholas Blackman of Cantonment was recently awarded the Royal Rangers’ Honor Gold Medal of Achievement, the group’s highest award.
The Gold Medal of Achievement is awarded upon the completion of the entire Royal Rangers advancement system, representing a full 13 years of work. Recipients of this award must earn the highest award in each age group and meet other criteria.
Commander Ray Carnley presented Nicholas with his Gold Medal of Achievement at Pace Assembly Ministries where Blackman has been a member since birth. Blackman is also a member of Frontiersman Camping Fellowship.
The Royal Rangers program is an activity-based, small group church ministry for boys and young men in grades K-12. The group strives to empowerthe next generation of Christlike men and lifelong servant leaders.
Pictured with Nicholas Blackman are Ray Thompson, district commander; Don Fowler, assistant senior commander; Ray Carnley, advising and recruiting commander; and Terry Bracey, senior commander. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Atwater Won’t Run For U.S. Senate
April 12, 2015
Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater surprised the state’s political establishment Saturday, announcing he will not pursue a U.S. Senate seat expected to open up if Sen. Marco Rubio runs for president.
In a statement, Atwater said he had “received a tremendous amount of encouragement” to run for the office.
“While I have certainly taken these words of support under consideration, I will not be a candidate for U.S. Senate in 2016,” the Republican said. “I remain committed to only one endeavor and that is to be the best CFO I can be for the people of Florida.”
With his fundraising ability and an operation that has helped him win two statewide races, Atwater would have been the favorite to win an open seat. He won re-election in November with more votes than any other statewide candidate. Before becoming CFO, he served in the Legislature, including a stint as state Senate president.
Rubio is scheduled to announce his plans Monday and is widely expected to say he will run for the Republican presidential nomination. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has already said he’s exploring a White House bid.
Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, former state House Speaker Will Weatherford and several members of Florida’s congressional delegation have also been mentioned as possible GOP candidates for Rubio’s seat. Attorney General Pam Bondi has ruled out a run.
While an open Senate seat is a rare opportunity, some candidates might prefer to wait until 2018. U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., would be 74 on Election Day if he runs for re-election then, and voting turnout tends to favor the GOP in midterm elections.
Leading Democrats have coalesced behind two-term Congressman Patrick Murphy, who represents a swing seat in Southeast Florida, as their candidate for Rubio’s seat. But some progressives have complained about the rush to anoint Murphy, and Congressman Alan Grayson, a liberal firebrand from Central Florida, is considering a run.
The state will be closely watched in 2016, as Democrats try to wrest control of the Senate away from Republicans. Florida is far friendlier to Democratic candidates in presidential years, though having Bush or Rubio at the top of the ticket could shake up that calculus.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Jay, UWF Hold Relay For Life Events (With Photo Gallery)
April 12, 2015
Hundreds of people took part in Relay for Life events this weekend in Jay and and at the University of West Florida.
At the Jay Relay for Life, there were 13 teams and 80 participants registered to take part in the eight hour event. At last count, the event had raised $25,048 for cancer research, exceeding a $25,000 goal. Top teams going into Saturday’s event were Purple Power and Jay United Methodist Church. For a photo gallery from the Jay event, click here.
The UWF Relay For Life was moved inside the University Commons Great Hall. There were 41 teams and 408 participants registered for the event. The top teams as last count were Alpha Gamma Delta, Pi Kappa Alpha and Mako CrossFit.
A Luminaria ceremony was held at both events as participants remembered friends and loved ones that have lost the battle against cancer and honored those currently fighting cancer.
Other upcoming area Relay for Life events include the Relay for Life of Greater Escambia at Tate High School with 44 registered teams beginning at 11 a.m.. on April 18, and the Relay for Life of Escambia-Atmore at Hertiage Park. beginning at 6 p.m. on April 17, and the Relay for Life of Pensacola with 51 teams at Washington High School on May 8.
Pictured: Jay Relay for Life. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Rainy Week Ahead
April 12, 2015
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Sunday Night
Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 1am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Cloudy, with a low around 66. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Monday
A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 1pm. Cloudy, with a high near 76. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Monday Night
A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. South wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday
Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 80. South wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Tuesday Night
A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a low around 66. South wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday
Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 79. South wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Wednesday Night
A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 65. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
Thursday
Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm. Cloudy, with a high near 77. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Thursday Night
A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a low around 65.
Friday
A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 76.
Friday Night
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 58.
Saturday
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 79.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Bills Living, Dying And Somewhere In Between
April 12, 2015
On a week when Jimmy Buffett came to the Capitol, one major piece of legislation ended up happily ever after. But others were getting to where they might need to do the desperation samba. As for the fate of other legislation? Only time will tell.
The biggest single bill in education — an overhaul of testing in public schools — is now headed to Gov. Rick Scott’s desk. Lawmakers fought over whether gay couples should be allowed to adopt children and what that might mean for faith-based adoption agencies.
Meanwhile, Scott changed his attitude about Medicaid expansion, opposing something he had once supported, and the standoff over a critical pot of health-care funding continued. With crunch time on the budget approaching and little reason to think that the conflicts were about to end, legislators were already starting to plan for what happens if it all falls down.
TAKE IT BACK
It was something of a surprise two years ago when Scott announced that he would back, at least on a temporary basis, the expansion of Medicaid contemplated under the federal Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare. As a private citizen, Scott had fiercely fought the law, but as governor, he would accept funding from one of its core components.
Senators came up with their own alternative, which would tap the federal funding to help lower-income Floridians buy private insurance. That died in 2013, but has been revived by senators this year as part of a plan that also seeks to extend a critical funding program for hospitals called the Low Income Pool, or LIP. Senators and other state officials hope to persuade the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to keep a form of LIP going past the program’s June 30 expiration date.
So is Scott still on board with Medicaid expansion, or at least the Senate alternative? Not so much.
“… Given that the federal government said they would not fund the federal LIP program to the level it is funded today, it would be hard to understand how the state could take on even more federal programs that CMS could scale back or walk away from,” Scott said in a statement.
Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, responded with a veiled threat about Scott’s push for record-high public school funding and nearly $675 million in tax cuts.
“The Senate also shares the governor’s commitment to tax relief and record funding for education; however, if our state is forced to make up the difference of $2.2 billion in hospital funding, every area of our budget will be impacted,” Gardiner, R-Orlando, said. “Moving forward the Senate will continue to advance the conservative, Florida-based, free-market solutions we have proposed. We believe these innovative, bipartisan proposals can gain the approval of our federal partners, and we stand ready to meet with the House or Governor Scott at any time to discuss a way forward.”
But there was no sign of any movement from any side on the impasse. Instead, the Senate took a far less subtle shot at the governor on Tuesday, tabling the confirmation of state Surgeon General John Armstrong after questioning him about the coverage-expansion plan.
Armstrong went before the committee for what would ordinarily have been a routine confirmation hearing. But he faced a series of questions from Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, and Senate Minority Leader Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa, about his views on the expansion plan.
The surgeon general, who is secretary of the Florida Department of Health, appeared to try to deflect the questions, at one point saying he had not “formulated an opinion:” on the Senate plan.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, made a motion to “temporarily postpone” the confirmation hearing — a procedural move that essentially tabled the matter. After the meeting, Galvano pointed to questions that senators asked about the health-care expansion plan.
“There was not an adequate answer, and I think the members were frustrated,” he said.
SCHOOL BOY HEART
The major issue in public education this year has been how to limit the number of tests that public school students are forced to take. After weeks of debate, the House voted overwhelmingly to approve a compromise with the Senate and send the bill (HB 7069) to Scott.
The bill puts a hold on the use of student test data for school grades, teacher evaluations and student promotion to fourth grade until the new Florida Standards Assessments can be independently validated. It also scraps a law requiring school districts to come up with end-of-course tests in classes where the state doesn’t administer such exams; caps the amount of time students can spend on state and school district tests at 45 hours a year; and reduces the portion of a teacher’s evaluation tied to student performance from the current 50 percent to one-third.
The Foundation for Florida’s Future, an organization founded by former Gov. Jeb Bush that plays an influential role in education policy, praised lawmakers for approving the bill.
“They voted to keep education transparent and provide teachers with the information they need to help students learn, while ensuring testing at every level is done thoughtfully,” said Patricia Levesque, executive director of the foundation. “Florida lawmakers have shown it’s possible to achieve fewer, better tests while continuing to measure student success.”
The Florida Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, issued a measured statement of support, but made clear it doesn’t believe the proposal goes far enough.
“We will need to continue to work to educate the public and lawmakers about standardized testing in Florida and be prepared to make further positive adjustments the next time the Legislature meets,” FEA President Andy Ford said.
And the complaints that have long dogged the state’s high-stakes testing regime were almost certain to continue. Hours before the House vote, Democratic Congresswoman Frederica Wilson and state Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, rallied against the bill for being too mild.
“We’re taxpaying citizens, and we say, this test is invalid,” Wilson, a former elementary school principal, said in a speech slamming the FSA. “… Somebody’s gotten rich off of all of this testing and I am sick of it.”
For now, though, lawmakers seemed ready to move on to other issues.
BURN THAT BRIDGE
The House also had another vexing issue to deal with this week: a controversial measure that would allow private adoption agencies to refuse to place children with same-sex couples.
In some ways, the bill was a form of political cover. It came after a conservative backlash about part of a separate bill (HB 7013) the House passed providing cash incentives to state workers who adopt children in foster care — legislation that would also repeal a decades-old law that banned gay adoption in Florida.
The ban essentially ended in 2010, when an appeals court ruled against it, but it remained in law.
Under fire for the first bill, House Republicans proposed a second measure (HB 7111) offering “conscience protection” to private adoption agencies whose “written religious or moral convictions” prevent them from placing children with same-sex couples.
The “conscience protection” bill, sponsored by Rep. Jason Brodeur, R-Sanford, passed 75-38, mostly along party lines. It would protect private adoption agencies from losing their licenses or state funding if they refuse to facilitate adoptions on religious or moral grounds.
“There is no intent to discriminate,” said Rep. Ross Spano, a Dover Republican who supported the measure. “We should be encouraging these agencies to perform adoptions … not forcing them to choose. Please don’t put them in that position.”
But critics contended that Brodeur’s bill would allow discrimination not only against gays but against single, divorced, Jewish and multi-race parents. Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, said he wasn’t sure “that there aren’t the remnants of homophobia” in Brodeur’s measure.
“What is this really about?” Rouson asked. “Is it truly, sincerely-held religious beliefs that are about to commit an atrocity? Or is it subterfuge, to create a way that government sanctions and condones continued discrimination against our fellow man?”
The Senate also wrested with the issue, taking up the bill that would repeal the old law banning gay adoptions. Senators turned away an effort by Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, to keep that law on the books. Like with the “conscience protection” issue, she pointed to concerns about the effect on faith-based adoption agencies if the law is repealed.
“I strongly believe that our faith-based organizations provide a lot of our adoptions, and I think that they should have the religious freedom not to have to put a child in the home of a family that they may not believe holds their religious guidelines,” Stargel said.
But Gaetz, the sponsor of the adoption-subsidies bill in the Senate, led the opposition to Stargel’s amendment, which failed in a voice vote. He warned that Stargel’s amendment could jeopardize the entire adoption-subsidies bill.
“It’s not only an unfriendly amendment, it is a killer amendment,” Gaetz said.
As he often does, Scott tried to avoid anything resembling a direct answer when asked if he’d sign or veto the measure
“We have a great state,” he said. “We’re one of the best melting pots in the world.” Scott noted that many languages are spoken in Florida, more than 100 million tourists are expected this year and 250,000 people moved here last year. “This is a state that people want to move to — we’re doing the right thing,” he said.
STORY OF THE WEEK: Gov. Rick Scott reversed his previously held position on Medicaid expansion, further imperiling a Senate proposal that would use federal funds to help lower-income Floridians buy private health insurance.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “What would Skink do? He’d do the right thing,”—Jimmy Buffett, referencing fictional former Florida Gov. Clinton Tyree, who appears as a wild hermit known as Skink in a number of Carl Hiaasen’s novels. Buffett and Hiaasen were in Tallahassee for a rally to encourage lawmakers to buy Everglades land from U.S. Sugar Corp.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Blue Wahoos Lose Third Straight; Time Clock Added To Double-A Baseball
April 12, 2015
Pensacola Blue Wahoos starting pitcher Tim Adleman said he didn’t even notice the two 2-foot by 5-foot clocks on either side of the dugouts.
Third baseman Seth Mejias-Brean had a hard time seeing base balls hit by the Biloxi Shuckers because of the glare off the clocks.
All Double-A teams in the Southern League began using a clock for the first time Saturday to speed up a game that averaged 2 hours, 43 minutes in 2005 and 8 minutes more in 2014.
Last night, that meant the Blue Wahoos dropped their third straight game to the Biloxi Shuckers, 7-2, in 2 hours and 41 minutes.
In some instances, the new time-saving measures that allows 20 seconds between pitches and 2 minutes, 25 seconds between innings, could shave anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes from America’s pastime, baseball experts have said. For the first month, there will be no penalties enforced, such as assessing a pitcher a ball, if he fails to throw his pitch in time.
Adleman said he’s not sure what the effect of a clock will be on a game that’s never had one.
“Will it speed up the game and engage young fans or blow up too much and never work?” asked Adleman, who took the loss after leaving the game behind, 3-1, in the sixth inning. “Honestly, I did not notice (the clocks) at all. I was so focused on hitting my spots and getting out there and getting in a good rhythm.”
The first three games of the opening season series and the Blue Wahoos have managed three runs on 13 hits against Biloxi’s top-flight pitching staff. They are hitting just .153 against the Shuckers.
Pensacola’s Jesse Winker, at least, snapped his 0-7 slump with a single and double in four at bats. However, he was left on third base both times.
Kelly said he’s not worried about Winker or his other hitters in the middle of the lineup.
“I don’t worry about how Winker is hitting ever,” Kelly said. “I feel pretty comfortable with (Marquez Smith, Mejias-Brean and Kyle Skipworth). It didn’t work tonight and hasn’t worked so far this season. But I like my chances with those three guys.”
Adleman entered the game looking for his first Wahoos win as a starter after getting six starts the previous year. He was 0-3 with a 2.38 ERA in 2014.
After a shaky start in which he gave up three runs on seven hits in the first two innings, including muffing a bunt hit right to him that ended up costing him two runs, Adleman settled down. He allowed just three hits over the next four innings, benefitting from two double plays. On the night, Adleman allowed 11 men on base but left the game after six innings with Pensacola trailing, just 3-1.
One of the biggest Shuckers at the plate? Shortstop Orlando Arcia, the Brewers’ No. 2 prospect, has torn up Pensacola pitching, hitting .583, going 7-12 with two doubles, a triple, four runs scored and five runs batted in.
The fourth game of the five-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers Double-A affiliate Biloxi Shuckers is scheduled at 4 p.m. Sunday. LHP Wandy Peralta takes the mound for the Wahoos and is scheduled to be opposed by the Shuckers RHP Jorge Lopez.