Chance Of Severe Storms
January 21, 2016
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could be severe. Low around 50. South wind 10 to 15 mph becoming southwest after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.
Friday: A 40 percent chance of rain, mainly before noon. Partly sunny, with a temperature falling to around 42 by 5pm. West wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32. Wind chill values between 20 and 25. Northwest wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 46. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 27. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 53. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 36. South wind around 5 mph.
Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 64. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Monday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 50.
Tuesday: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 61.
Tuesday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 40.
Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 53.
Century Library Holding Appreciation Event Today
January 21, 2016
The Century Branch Library will celebrate and thank area residents and the Town of Century for all the support they have received during a Customer Appreciation Day set for late this afternoon. The staff will serve coffee , hot chocolate and cookies, and a door prize will be awarded during the event from 5-7 p.m. NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Jay’s Stewart Inks Softball Scholarship With University Of Mobile
January 21, 2016
Jay High School’s Michaela Stewart has signed a softball scholarship with the University of Mobile. Pictured with Stewart are the Rams’ coach and her father, Casey Stewart. Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Trump Takes Commanding Lead In Florida Poll
January 21, 2016
Donald Trump is “crushing” his Republican opponents in the Sunshine State, according to a new poll of likely Florida voters released Wednesday.
The poll, released by the Florida Atlantic University Business and Economics Polling Initiative, showed Trump drawing the support of more than 47 percent of GOP voters, giving him a 32-point lead over the next-closest candidate, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. The survey also gave Trump a 12 percentage-point boost from an FAU poll in September.
The new poll also showed Democrat Hillary Clinton leading U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders by 36 percentage points and gaining in match-ups against the Republican candidates. The poll was conducted between Friday and Monday, immediately following the last two debates.
On the GOP side, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida came in third with 11 percent, followed by former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush with 9.5 percent. Neurosurgeon Ben Carson’s third-place position in a November poll dropped to fifth, down from 14.5 percent to 3.3 percent in the latest poll.
In the GOP primary, Cruz gained six percentage points since November, while Rubio dropped seven points. Bush essentially remained even, with a gain of less than one percentage point.
Although the presidential preference survey had a relatively high margin of error of 4.9 percentage points, Trump’s lead was well outside of that.
With 70 percent of GOP voters viewing the part-time Palm Beach County resident favorably, Trump is “crushing” the opposition in Florida, said FAU political science professor Kevin Wagner.
“The mood of the electorate is very anti-establishment. That’s clear. In a lot of ways, Donald Trump is probably one of the most reassuring candidates to people who are frustrated with the state of American politics,” Wagner, a research fellow at the initiative that conducted the survey, said in a telephone interview.
Trump speaks about “simple solutions” and “gives a commanding sense” that he can accomplish them, Wagner said.
“There aren’t a lot of details in it but, for Americans that are worried about the state of the country and the state of the world, his campaign is sort of the direct answer to that. I’ll fix everything and I’ll make everything the way you want it to be. That kind of message has a strong appeal,” he said.
While Clinton has closed the gap with Republican frontrunners in potential match-ups, Trump and Bush would still defeat the former secretary of state if the election were held today, the poll found.
Clinton has a 5 percentage-point lead over Cruz, up from a three-point deficit in November, and is even with Rubio after trailing the former Florida House speaker by seven points two months ago. She also gained six percentage points on Trump but still trails him, with 47 percent of those surveyed saying they’d vote for Trump, compared to 44 percent for Clinton. With a 3.5 percentage-point advantage, Bush holds the largest lead over Clinton.
Florida’s presidential primaries will be held March 15. Later this year, the state also will have high-stakes races for a U.S. Senate seat that Rubio plans to vacate.
The poll found that nearly half of Florida voters remain undecided in the U.S. Senate race. That survey had a margin of error of 5 percentage points for Democrats and 5.2 percentage points for Republicans.
In the Democratic primary, Congressman Alan Grayson holds a seven-point lead — 27 to 20 percent — over U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy. On the Republican side, U.S. Rep. David Jolly has a 20-point lead over Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera and U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis.
But 45 percent of Democrats and 50 percent of Republicans remain undecided about the race, the survey found.
Rubio’s decision to leave the Senate opens the door for Democrats to possibly retake the seat. But Florida voters appear focused instead on the presidential race, Wagner said.
“The space for a Senate campaign in a presidential year is going to be very small” in Florida, Wagner said. “It’s possible that the presidential race will dominate the Senate race to the extent that the winner of the presidential race will carry the senator with him into office.”
Pictured: Donald Trump campaigns last week in Pensacola.
One Person Seriously Injured In Highway 29 Wreck
January 20, 2016
At least one person was seriously injured in a single vehicle crash on Highway 29 north of Molino Wednesday afternoon.
The driver of a Jeep Cherokee slammed into a guardrail, with the vehicle then overturning onto the roadway. One person was airlifted by LifeFlight to a Pensacola hospital with serious injuries following the 12:10 p.m. wreck..
The accident remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. The Molino, McDavid and Cantonment stations of Escambia Fire Rescue, Escambia County EMS and the Escambia County Sheriff’s also responded to the accident.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Sindel To Run For Commission; Taylor To Seek ECUA Seat
January 20, 2016
Two new candidates pre-filed Tuesday to seek local seats in the 2016 election cycle.
Karen Sindel pre-filed for Escambia County Commissioner, District 1, as a Republican. She is seeking the seat currently held by Wilson Robertson, who has said he will not seek re-election. Sindel ran unsuccessful for county commission in 2010, finishing about 150 votes behind Gene Valentino. School Board member Jeff Bergosh and Jesse Casey have also pre-filed to seek the position.
Jim Taylor pre-filed for Escambia County Utility Authority, District 5, as a Republican. He previously pre-filed to run for school superintendent in 2016. Taylor ran unsuccessfully for the Escambia County Commission District 5 seat in 2012, receiving about 10.5 percent of the vote.
Century Council Can’t Do Business Due To Missing Members
January 20, 2016
The Century Town Council was unable to conduct business Tuesday night due to a lack of a quorum.
Only two of five town council members attended — one short of the number needed to conduct regular business on agenda items. Council members Gary Riley and Ann Brooks were in attendance, while members Ben Boutwell, Annie Savage and Sandra McMurray Jackson were unable to attend due to illnesses or a conflicting meeting.
A special meeting will be called in the next few days to conducted pressing council business; the date and time will be published on NorthEscambia.com.
In addition to ordinary business Tuesday night, the council was set to consider five resolutions in order to advance a Community Development Block Grant and one resolution to allow the Capital Trust Agency to approve financing of a multi-million dollar construction project.
Pictured below: (L-R) Mayor Freddie McCall, Town Clerk, Leslie Gonzalz, council members Gary Riley and Anne Brooks, and three empty seats belonging to three absent council members. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Nine Mile Road Lane Closure
January 20, 2016
The eastbound, right turn lane on Nine Mile Road to Holsberry Lane in Escambia County will be closed from 8 p.m. Thursday to 5 a.m. Friday as crews mill and resurface access at Zaxby’s. Drivers are reminded to use caution, especially at night, when traveling through a work zone.
Construction activities are weather dependent and may be re-scheduled in the event of inclement weather.
Deputies Seek Bank Robbery Suspect
January 20, 2016
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office released a surveillance photo Tuesday of the man who attempted to rob the Coastal Bank and Trust on University Parkway at Nine Mile Road last week.
The incident occurred about 3:30 p.m. last Friday.
Anyone with information on the crime or the suspect is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9630 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Protesters Demand School Voucher Lawsuit Be Dropped
January 20, 2016
Calling on God and the memory of civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., thousands of protesters descended Tuesday on Tallahassee to demand that opponents of the state’s de facto school-voucher program drop a lawsuit challenging the survival of the system.
Based on head counts from buses and school groups that attended the rally, organizers said that more than 10,500 people gathered on the crisp winter morning. Protesters jammed the street between the Capitol and the Florida Supreme Court and trickled over into a plaza outside the Capitol.
Speakers who backed the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program — mostly African-Americans and Latinos — laced into the state’s largest teachers union, the Florida Education Association, for a legal attack on the system. The program provides tax credits to companies that donate money to nonprofit entities that help pay for low-income children to attend private schools.
“In the name of the Lord, drop the suit,” demanded the Rev. R.B. Holmes, pastor of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Tallahassee. “In the name of the Holy Spirit, drop the suit.”
The star attraction to the rally was Martin Luther King III, son of the slain civil rights leader whose birthday was marked by the nation on Monday.
“My dad — I don’t know if I can aptly speak to what he would say today,” King said. “But what I can say is, I know that he always stood up for justice, and this is an issue of justice.”
The union’s lawsuit, filed in 2014, argues that the voucher program violates the Legislature’s responsibility to provide every student with a quality education. Opponents say the system siphons away money that could be used for public schools, though voucher supporters note that the scholarships actually provide less per student than it costs to educate a child in public schools.
The challenge also draws on a 2006 ruling from the Florida Supreme Court that struck down the state’s Opportunity Scholarship Program — a purer version of a voucher system, using public money directly to fund private education for some students.
The lawsuit targeting the Tax Credit Scholarship Program was dismissed last year by a Leon County judge, who said the union didn’t have standing to challenge the program, but voucher opponents have appealed the case to the 1st District Court of Appeal.
In the wake of the challenge, groups that support the voucher system have begun emphasizing the benefits of the program to low-income students, though lawmakers approved legislation in 2014 that would allow for a family of four earning up to $63,050 to be eligible for at least a partial scholarship in the 2016-17 school year.
“I wonder truly how anybody could be against these scholarships,” said Julio Fuentes, head of the Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Hispanic Council for Reform and Educational Options. “These scholarships are helping low-income children. They are helping minority children. How did that become such a bad thing?”
In a statement issued Tuesday, Florida Education Association President Joanne McCall said the organization didn’t intend to back down.
“For more than a year, voucher groups have been demanding FEA drop a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the tax-credit vouchers. What are they so afraid of going to the courts to ensure this voucher scheme is legal?” McCall said. “Let’s let the courts decide this once and for all. We’re not dropping our legal challenge.”
McCall’s group staged its own rally last week, drawing about 2,000 teachers and other public-school employees to the Capitol to call on lawmakers to place more emphasis on classroom learning and less focus on standardized tests.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida