Learn To Do Business With ECUA

March 20, 2016

The FSBDC Government Contracting Services at UWF, is offering a workshop entitled “How To Do Business With Emerald Coast Utilities Authority” on Wednesday, March 16th, from 9:00 a.m. until noon.

Attendees will learn how to do business with Emerald Coast Utilities Authority (ECUA), how to register as a vendor and learn about upcoming events and bid opportunities. THe event will take place at the UWF Innovation Institute, Main Stage, 321 DeVillers Street, Pensacola. There is no cost for the workshop.

To register, call (850)474-2528 or register online at www.sbdc.uwf.edu, click on “Training Opportunities”.

One Injured In Highway 97 Crash

March 19, 2016

One person was injured in a single vehicle crash Friday night on Highway 97 in Walnut Hill.

A driver lost control on Highway 97 north of North Highway 99 about 10:20 p.m., ran off the roadway, clipped a power pole and struck a magnolia tree before the vehicle came to a stop. One person was transported by Atmore Ambulance to Atmore Community Hospital with injuries that were not considered critical.

The accident also downed a electric service line, leaving at least one home without power.

The accident remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol; further details have not been released. The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue also responded to the crash.

NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Free Food Giveaway Saturday In Century

March 19, 2016

There will be a free food giveaway Saturday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. (or until all food is gone) at the Century Church of Christ on East Highway 4.

This giveaway, which includes a half-semi truck load of food, is for anyone in the Century, Flomaton or Jay areas. It not just for tornado victims.

Tornado victims may also inquire about additional assistance.

IMPACT 100 To Give Away Over $1 Million In Grants

March 19, 2016

IMPACT 100 Pensacola Bay Area, a local women’s philanthropy group, has announced that its 2016 Membership Drive has successfully concluded with a record of 1,082 members.  The organization will give back to the community by awarding ten high impact project grants of $108,200 each to nonprofit agencies in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties on October 16, 2016.

This will be the 13th year that IMPACT 100 will award grants to local nonprofit agencies. After awarding the 2016 grants, IMPACT 100 Pensacola Bay Area will have funded 77 grants, totaling $8.318 million.

“We are thrilled to have such a tremendous response from our community and we can’t wait to see what innovative projects the nonprofit agencies submit this year,”said Cyndi Warren, President of IMPACT 100. “Thanks to every one of our members, the Pensacola Bay Area shines once again as the largest Impact 100 organization in the world.”

Two grants will be awarded in each of the following five focus areas: Arts & Culture; Education; Environment, Recreation & Preservation; Family; and Health & Wellness.

Non-profit organizations interested in applying for a grant are invited to attend this year’s Nonprofit Education Workshop with guest speaker Quint Studer, founder of the Studer Group. He will present “Dream Big – Create IMPACT” at First Baptist Church, 500 North Palafox Street, on Thursday, April 26, 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.  All nonprofit organizations in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties are invited to learn about the grant process, get tips to writing a more successful grant, be inspired to dream big and create a winning project.  Letters of Intent to Apply for a grant are due April 30.  Grant Applications must be submitted by June 24.

Four Sentenced In Burglary Ring

March 19, 2016

Four co-defendants in a burglary were sentenced by Circuit Judge Ross Goodman to the following:

Johnnie Lee, 56 years old from Pensacola, was sentenced to life in  prison on charges of gurglary of a structure causing more than $1,000 damage to said structure, criminal mischief causing over $1,000 damage and fleeing to elude a law enforcement officer.

Noral Scott, 54 years old from Pensacola, was sentenced to 50 years state prison on charges of two counts of burglary of a structure causing more than $1,000 damage to said structure, conspiracy to commit burglary, possession of burglary tools,  and resisting arrest without violence.

Markett Simpkins was tried and convicted of burglary charges from this case  in December and was sentenced to 25 years in state prison by Circuit Judge John Miller. Donald Robinson pleaded no contest to the burglary charges on July 31, 2015 and was sentenced to 10 years state prison by Circuit Judge John Miller.

On November 24, 2014, officers from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and Pensacola Police Department were conducting surveillance on individuals involved in a string of business burglaries.  Those burglaries involved breaking into safes and ATM units.

The surveillance led officers to the Eglin Federal Credit Union ATM located in the 8500 block of Navarre Parkway in the Soundview Plaza Shopping Center.  Officers conducting surveillance saw three individuals: Noral Scott, Markett Simpkins, and Donald Robinson  enter the building at the Eglin Federal Credit Union ATM while Johnnie Lee drove around as a lookout.  When officers converged on the building, they discovered the suspects had cut a hole in the wall into an adjacent pet grooming business.  Scott, Simpkins and Robinson were located in the attic of the pet grooming business and were removed by officers from the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team.  Johnnie Lee was located in the neighborhood directly behind the shopping center and led deputies on a pursuit, ultimately ending when Lee collided with a sheriff’s vehicle.

Several wires were cut on the outside of  the building to attempt to disarm the security system.  Additional damage was done to the walls, doors and ceiling of the businesses.

Johnnie Lee was convicted of the charges by a Santa Rosa County Jury on March 2 and Noral Scott entered a plea to the charges on October 23, 2015. Lee has an extensive prior criminal record, including five prior burglaries, possession of burglary tools and multiple grand theft and dealing in stolen property charges spanning multiple decades back to 1979.

Scott also has an extensive criminal history, including a conviction for second degree murder in 1980.  Both Johnnie Lee and Noral Scott are charged in several burglaries in Santa Rosa County which are set for trial on April 11, as well as burglaries in Escambia County set for trial on March 28.

Court Backs Use Of New Law In Death Penalty Cases

March 19, 2016

Florida’s new death-penalty sentencing process should apply to prosecutions that were already underway when the new law went into effect this month, a state appeals court ruled Friday.

The 5th District Court of Appeal also decided that a U.S. Supreme Court decision, in an Escambia County case known as Hurst v. Florida, did not strike down the state’s entire death penalty as unconstitutional, but instead overturned the procedure for imposing death sentences.

But because the issues “involve questions of great public importance,” a three-judge panel asked the Florida Supreme Court to decide whether the Hurst decision declared that the state’s death penalty is unconstitutional and if the new law applies to cases already in the pipeline before the new sentencing process went into effect March 7.

In a Jan. 12 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court found that Florida’s system of giving judges, and not juries, the power to impose death sentences was an unconstitutional violation of defendants’ Sixth Amendment right to trial by jury.

The 8-1 U.S. Supreme Court decision dealt with the sentencing phase of death-penalty cases after defendants are found guilty, and it focused on what are known as aggravating circumstances that must be determined before defendants can be sentenced to death. A 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, in a case known as Ring v. Arizona, requires that determinations of such aggravating circumstances must be made by juries, not judges.

The ruling left Florida temporarily without a death-penalty sentencing structure, prompting the Legislature to hurriedly pass a bill intended to fix the process. Gov. Rick Scott signed the bill March 7, and it went into effect immediately.

Under Florida’s new law, juries will have to unanimously determine “the existence of at least one aggravating factor” before defendants can be eligible for death sentences. The law also requires at least 10 jurors to recommend the death penalty in order for the sentence to be imposed, and it did away with a feature of the old law that had allowed judges to override juries’ recommendations of life in prison instead of death.

The Florida Supreme Court, which indefinitely put on hold two executions after the Hurst ruling, has been grappling with how — or whether — to apply the ruling to inmates already on Death Row. The questions posed Friday by the appellate judges are part of a process known as “certifying” questions to the Florida Supreme Court.

Friday’s ruling came in the consolidated cases of Larry Darnell Perry, accused of killing his 3-month-old son in 2013, and William Theodore Woodward, charged with murdering two of his neighbors in 2012.

After the Hurst decision, Perry and Woodward asked judges in their cases to bar prosecutors from seeking the death penalty. The judges agreed with the defendants’ lawyers, who argued that, because there was no constitutionally permitted death penalty process in Florida at the time, the state could not pursue death sentences in the cases.

But the appellate court on Friday sided with the state, saying that blocking the death penalty “impermissibly invades” the discretion of the state to seek the sentence.

The appeals court also rejected arguments that the new sentencing law should not apply in the cases of Perry and Woodward because of a 1972 law that provides alternative sentences if the death penalty is deemed unconstitutional. The 1972 law, which required that all death sentences be converted into life imprisonment, came in response to a ruling in a case known as Furman v. Georgia that resulted in a nationwide moratorium on the death penalty.

In the 10-page decision issued Friday, appeals-court Judge Richard B. Orfinger wrote that the Hurst ruling “struck the process of imposing a sentence of death, not the penalty itself.”

Orfinger, joined by judges Kerry I. Evander and F. Rand Wallis, also disagreed with the defendants’ contention that the application of the new law to pending cases would amount to an “ex post facto” violation of both the Florida and U.S. Constitutions.

That constitutional problem would only arise if the new law retroactively altered the definition of crimes or increased the punishment for the crimes, Orfinger noted.

While Florida’s new law changes the process used to determine whether the death penalty will be imposed, it does not modify the punishment attached to first-degree murder, Orfinger wrote.

“The new sentencing statute added no new element, or functional equivalent of an element, to first-degree murder. Hence, the changes to our capital sentencing procedures do not resemble the type of after-the-fact legislative evil contemplated by the ex post facto doctrine,” he wrote.

by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida

Weekend Gardening: Daffodils Signal Spring

March 19, 2016

Few plants seem to signify the freshness of spring quite as well as daffodils. The name “daffodils” is derived from “addodell” a variant of Asphodel (a plant of the Asphodelus genus.) In historical documents and the common language of 16th century Europe, the term “daffodil” referred specifically to the wild daffodil, Narcissus pseudonarcissus.

The derivation of the Latin narcissus is unknown.  It is frequently linked to the Greek myth of Narcissus, who was rumored to be so obsessed with his own reflection that he died while gazing at himself in a pool of water.  From the location of his death sprang the narcissus plant.  Another Greek myth finds Persephone, daughter of the goddess Demeter, lured to her doom by the God Hades while picking a narcissus.  Therefore the plant is perceived as a symbol of vanity in some Western culture.

Others attribute the plants’ name to its narcotic properties.  One translation of the Greek name is “I grow numb!”  All narcissus species contain the alkaloid poison lycorine, mostly in the bulb but also in the leaves.  Members of the Amaryllidaceae family contain unique types of alkaloids.  They are responsible for the poisonous properties of a number of the species.  Of the 200 different chemical compounds found in this plant family, at least 79 of them can be found in narcissus.

Daffodils are a popular potted plant for cut flowers, but also make attractive naturalized ground covers in gardens and around trees, providing color from the end of winter through late spring.  If the narcissus blooms on Chinese New Year, it is said to bring wealth and good fortune throughout the year.  The flower color varies from white through pinks and yellows to deep reddish-orange with multiple petal forms. Hundreds of cultivars are available.

Planting dates vary according to geographical location, but bulbs are usually planted in the fall when the soil is cool.  Daffodils grow well in full sun or light shade, with the blooms lasting longer when protected from the noon day sun.  When selecting a location for planting, it should be noted that the individual flowers will face the sun.

Pre-chilled bulbs should be planted in 6-8” deep holes with a tablespoon of slow release fertilizer added to the soil directly under the bulb and with 4-5” of soil covering the bulb.  Watering throughout the winter will be necessary if rains are infrequent.  After flowering, the daffodils need to be fertilized and watering should continue.  The foliage will naturally turn yellow and die as stored food is restored to the bulb.

Division, transplanting and collection for forcing potted plants can be done after all the foliage has declined.  To force Daffodils to bloom at varied times in a container the dried bulbs will need to be stored at a 45° F temperature for 4-6 weeks prior to being placed in the sun to grow.

The bright, cheery Daffodil flowers are beginning to bloom now and will continue as Easter approaches, reminding us that spring really is coming.

Email Sheila Dunning at sdunning@ufl.edu.

NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.

Middle School Report Cards Delayed

March 19, 2016

Middle school report cards were due to be sent home Friday in Escambia County, but distribution has been delayed until the Monday after spring break.

Meanwhile, parents can see the report  cards online in the Focus Parent Portal.

Showers Possible This Afternoon Turning Colder For Spring Break

March 19, 2016

Here is your official NorthEscambia area forecast:

Tonight: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 7pm. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly clear, with a low around 44. North wind around 10 mph.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 61. North wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Sunday Night: Clear, with a low around 37. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

Monday: Sunny, with a high near 62. Light northwest wind becoming north 5 to 10 mph in the morning.

Monday Night: Clear, with a low around 39. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.

Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 68. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the morning.

Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 51. South wind around 5 mph.

Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 73. South wind 5 to 10 mph.

Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59.

Thursday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 77.

Thursday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 62. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Friday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 71.

Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 49.

Saturday: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 71.

Federal Protection Sought For Black Bears

March 19, 2016


Conservation and animal-protection groups want a federal endangered-species protection designation for Florida black bears before another hunt may be held in the state. T

he Center for Biological Diversity and the Animal Legal Defense Fund, along with more than a dozen groups, filed a petition Thursday with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that seeks to place the black bear under the federal Endangered Species Act. Jaclyn Lopez, Florida director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said the proposal is intended to “make sure the bear has a place in Florida’s future.”

The groups note the bear population has been able to grow from between 300 to 500 in the 1970s to around 3,500 due in part to being listed as threatened by the state.

However, that designation was lifted in 2012 when a new management plan was approved.

In October, the state held what resulted in a two-day hunt in four parts of the state, with 304 bears killed — 16 short of the so-called “harvest objective.”

The Center for Biological Diversity estimates at least 590 bears were killed in Florida last year, when factoring in the hunt, habitat loss and road kill. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission hasn’t made any decision about a future hunt. Florida lawmakers included $500,000 to reduce human-bear conflicts in the state’s new $82 billion budget, which Gov. Rick Scott signed late Thursday

The money is to match local dollars in purchasing bear-resistant garbage containers. The budget specifies that at least 60 percent of the money has to go to local governments that have “an ordinance in place focused on resolving issues associated with bear attractants and garbage.”

by The News Service of Florida

NorthEscambia.com file photo.

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