Convicted Double Killer Found Dead At Holman Prison
April 8, 2016
An inmate at Holman Prison in Atmore was found dead Thursday morning.
Bob Horton, public information manager for the Alabama Department of Corrections, said state inmate William Randall Triplett, 45, was found dead of an apparent suicide.
At 11:10 a.m., two corrections officers found Triplett hanging from a bedsheet in a one-person cell inside the prison’s segregation unit. The inmate was unresponsive and a corrections physician pronounced him deceased 11:35 a.m.
Triplett was convicted of capital murder in 2003 and sentenced to life without parole for killing his father, Billy Triplett, and stepmother, Debbie Triplett, during the course of a robbery in Clay County in 2001.
Triplett’s death remains under investigation.
Bondi, FDLE Warn About Deadly ‘Super Pill’
April 8, 2016
Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement are warning about a new “super pill” that contains deadly amounts of fentanyl mixed with other drugs. The FDLE said counterfeit drugs have been found in which fentanyl is mixed with otherwise legal prescription drugs such as Oxycodone and Xanax.
When sold illegally on the street, the drugs look like the legal prescriptions, but dangerous amounts of fentanyl can quickly lead to death for users.
Central Florida and the Tampa Bay area are the main locations where the new drugs have been found. But Bondi said the issue needs to be discussed across the state.
“Please, please, please just talk to your kids about it,” she said. “Just don’t take anything if you don’t know what it is, because when they are cutting it with fentanyl some of these kids are dying within seconds. I say kids, but some of them are 20s and older.” When prescribed legally, fentanyl is a pain medication, stronger than morphine, and is given to people dealing with severe, chronic pain. At least 10 deaths in Florida have been linked to the use of fentanyl-cut drugs.
by The News Service of Florida
Scott Honors Local Veterans; Signs Veterans Legislation
April 8, 2016
Gov. Rick Scott honored veterans in Escambia County Thursday morning and signed legislation aimed at saving money for veterans and active-duty military members.
Scott ceremonially signed SB 222 which provides free parking at public airports for disabled veterans and HB 7023 which qualifies additional deployed service members for an ad valorem tax exemption. Governor Scott also awarded 122 veterans in Pensacola with the Governor’s Veterans Service Award for their service to Florida and the nation.
“Beginning now, when any of our fellow Floridians are away from home defending our country in operational theatres they and their families won’t have to pay property taxes. This is yet another way for us to show military families who live, worship and work alongside us that we care about them, we understand the stress of separation during deployments and we want them here strengthening our neighborhoods, schools and communities,” Sen. Don Gaetz, sponsor of the property tax bill, said.
Scott said, “Today, I am proud to join many of Florida’s veterans to ceremonially sign several pieces of legislation to support our nation’s heroes. We can never thank our brave veterans and military members enough for their service, and I hope these important measures we signed into law will show how incredibly grateful we are for the countless sacrifices they have made to defend freedom here and around the world. I want to thank Senator Don Gaetz, Representative Trumbull, Representative Matt Gaetz, and other members of the Florida Legislature for their work on this legislation.”
Major General Michael Calhoun said, “I want to thank Governor Scott for signing military-friendly legislation to help us better support our veterans and military members in Florida. We want Florida to be the best place in the country for our American heroes to live and raise a family.”
While at the National Guard Armory in Pensacola, Scott awarded 122 veterans with his Veterans Service Award.
Pictured: Gov. Rick Scott greets veterans in Pensacola Thursday morning. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Colonial Story Time Saturday At Molino Library
April 8, 2016
The West Florida Public Libraries and the Molino Mid-County Historical Society present a story time about the way Colonials in Pensacola worked. Join reader Sandra Pettis, a retired Ferry Pass Elementary librarian and a costumed member of the UWF Historic Trust for a story, demonstrations and hands-on activities about work in Colonial times. This event, intended for youth and families will be held at multiple locations:
- April 9 at 1 p.m. at the Molino Community Complex, 6450 Highway 95-A North
- April 14 at 6 p.m. at the Pensacola Library, 239 N Spring Street
- April 16 at 1 p.m. at the Tryon Branch Library, 1200 Langley Avenue
- April 21 at 6 p.m. at the Century Branch Library, 7991 N Century Blvd.
Along with the Colonial Story Time, be sure to check out “The Way We Worked,” a Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition, which celebrates the history of our nation’s diverse workers and industries. This exhibit is on display at the Lillian F. King Museum, located in the Molino Community Complex until April 30. Viewing hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekly, closed Sundays.
Wahoos Earn Season-Opening Win Over Braves
April 8, 2016
Phillip Ervin wanted to prove that getting in shape this offseason would improve his game. He shed 10 pounds to 205 and the Pensacola Blue Wahoos left fielder said he could feel a big difference.
Ervin hit a triple and double in four at bats and scored Pensacola’s first run as the Blue Wahoos defeated the Mississippi Braves, 3-1, at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss. The Cincinnati Reds No. 12 prospect according to Baseball America, had two of the team’s four hits.
The victory was Pensacola’s fourth in its five opening season games since its inaugural year in the Southern League in 2012.
The Blue Wahoos took the lead over Mississippi in the fourth when Ervin led off the inning with a triple on a fly ball just left of dead centerfield. Ervin scored when Donald Lutz followed him with a deep fly out to left.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Mississippi loaded the bases with no outs against Pensacola right-hander Nick Travieso. Dustin Peterson doubled, Jacob Schrader walked and Carlos Franco singled to left field. But Travieso struck out Matt Lipka and forced Willians Astudillo to ground out into a double play to end the threat.
Travieso, the Cincinnati Reds No. 7 prospect according to Baseball America, pitched five shutout innings in his Double-A debut with Pensacola. He allowed four hits by walking two and striking out five.
Pensacola scored two more runs in the top of the seventh to go ahead, 3-0, when second baseman Brandon Dixon scored on a ground out into a double play by pinch hitter Pin-Chieh Chen. Blue Wahoos centerfielder Beau Amaral then hit a two-out single to left field that scored right fielder Sebastian Elizalde from third base.
Mississippi got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the seventh when Jordy Lara singled in Johan Comargo to trail Pensacola, 3-1.
The Braves did strike out 13 Pensacola hitters with starter Lucas Sims leading the way with nine in his five innings of one-hit, one-earned-run ball.
Calten Daal started the game at shortstop for Pensacola but the third pitch to him in the first inning by Mississippi’s Sims clocked him in the helmet. Zach Vincej replaced Daal, the No. 23 prospect in the Reds organization.
Sunny Days, Clear Nights
April 7, 2016
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Thursday Night: Clear, with a low around 53. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 76. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 45. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 71. North wind around 5 mph.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 47. North wind around 5 mph becoming northeast after midnight.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 72. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.
Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 54. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 77.
Monday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 64.
Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78.
Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 62.
Wednesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 76.
It’s No Longer Illegal To ‘Shack Up’ In Florida
April 7, 2016
For the first time since shortly after the Civil War, it is no longer a crime for unmarried men and women to shack up in the Sunshine State.
Gov. Rick Scott signed 20 bills into law Wednesday, including a long-discussed repeal of the state’s rarely enforced ban on unmarried men and women living together.
The repeal became law with Scott’s approval.
The signing (SB 498) leaves Michigan and Mississippi as the only states that make cohabitation illegal, according to a Senate analysis of the bill, which was approved during this year’s legislative session without opposition in the Senate and with only five dissenting votes in the House.
Rep. Richard Stark, a Weston Democrat who co-sponsored the repeal, argued on the House floor that the ban had impacted seniors as well as younger singles.
“I represent communities of seniors, where a lot of them are technically not married,” Stark said. “They are living together, but it makes more sense financially or for whatever reason like Social Security to not be married. I don’t think that they want to be considered to be violating the law.”
Opposing the repeal were Republicans Janet Adkins of Fernandina Beach, Brad Drake of Eucheeanna, Mike Hill of Pensacola Beach, Jennifer Sullivan of Mount Dora and Charles Van Zant of Keystone Heights.
A House staff analysis noted the cohabitation law has rarely been used to bring criminal charges, but it has been used in other ways. As an example, the analysis said the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation suspended a company’s liquor license in 1979 after finding that six people tied to the company were in violation of the law.
Enacted in 1868, the law declared it illegal for men and women to “lewdly and lasciviously associate and cohabit together” without being married. Violators could face second-degree misdemeanor charges.
The measure signed by Scott does not impact another part of state statute on lewd and lascivious behavior, maintaining the misdemeanor charge for men and women, married or unmarried, who engage in “open and gross lewdness.”
Among the other bills signed into law Wednesday was a wide-ranging measure (SB 698) that, in part, will allow the state Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco to issue alcoholic beverage licenses to the owners of railroad transit stations that are used for passenger service between two or more cities.
Another new law (SB 218) will make it a first-degree misdemeanor to have two or more electronic benefit transfer cards and to sell or attempt to sell one of the cards. A second offense would be a third-degree felony. The intent of the law, which goes on the books Oct. 1, is to crack down on the trafficking of EBT cards, which help provide food assistance to low-income Floridians.
Also, starting July 1, a new law (SB 1202) will require county and municipal parks to offer full or partial entry-fee discounts to current members of the military and honorably discharged veterans. Also, the discounts will apply to spouses and parents of members of the military who died in combat, and spouses and parents of emergency first responders who died in the line of duty.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Career Academies, Students Honored
April 7, 2016
The school districts of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties recently recognized the best of their career academies and their students.
Career academies are small learning communities where students complete a rigorous program of study within a career pathway. The academies produce students ready for college and careers. With the guidance of teachers and business partners, students develop knowledge around a given industry while they are provided with opportunities to earn industry credentials relevant to their chosen career path and to participate in related work-based learning.
The following winners of outstanding business partners, students, teachers and academies categories were recognized at the Seventh Annual Career Academy Awards Luncheon:
Healthcare Industry Partner:
Arcadia Health and Rehabilitation Center – Mary Reid
Information Technology Industry Partner:
University of West Florida – Anthony Pinto
Agriscience Industry Partner:
Veterinary Emergency Referral Center – Dr. David Bordelon & Catheryn Grantham
Aviation Industry Partner:
Unmanned Safety Institute – Alex Mirot
Marketing and Entrepreneur Industry Partner:
University of West Florida, Freelance Photography – Sabrina McLaughlin
Middle School Career Academy Student of the Year:
Shaleyah Carter – Bellview Middle School, Information Technology Academy
Alexis King – Woodlawn Middle School, Microsoft IT Academy
Middle School Career Academy Teacher of the Year:
Jonathan Cordier – Woodham Middle School, Information Technology Academy
Martha Fricks – Gulf Breeze Middle School, CAPE
Middle School Career Academy of the Year:
Information Technology Academy, Bellview Middle School
Santa Rosa Medical Center IT Academy, Hobbs Middle School
High School Career Academy Student of the Year:
Gabby Gordon – Escambia High School, Digital Design Academy
Andrew “Chase” Durbin – Milton High School, Aviation and Manufacturing Academy
High School Career Academy Scholar of the Year:
Kiana Celestino – Escambia High School, Digital Design Academy
Mary Katherine Ashford – Pace High School, Pace HS Communication and Graphic Arts
High School Career Academy Intern of the year:
Mariah McMullen – West Florida High School, Multimedia Academy
Athena Crawford – Navarre High School, Navarre High School Construction Academy
High School Career Academy Teacher of the Year:
Amy Hendrix – B.T. Washington High School, Sports Medicine Academy
Celene Sessions – Pace High School, YEA Academy
High School Career Academy of the Year:
Multimedia Academy, West Florida High School of Advanced Technology
Biotechnology Academy, Pace High School
Final RESTORE Project Rankings Listed, North Escambia Projects Score Low
April 7, 2016
The Escambia County RESTORE Act Advisory Committee will present their rankings of all 124 RESTORE applications to the Escambia County Commission late today. Five project specifically benefiting some part of the North Escambia area general scored low in the rankings.
The rankings are the final recommendation for the allocation of component funds, ending three years of work by the committee.
The direct component funding, or pot one of RESTORE money, is just part of the approximately $70 million Escambia County is expected to receive over the next 16 years as part of the final settlement of the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Escambia will also be eligible to apply for other sources of oil spill funding.
Once the commission selects the projects to receive RESTORE direct component funding, the county will draft a Multi-Year Implementation Plan and initiate a 45-day public comment period. Public input will be reviewed and necessary updates will be made before the MYIP is submitted to the U.S. Treasury Department for final review and acceptance.
The top 15-ranked project from the committee were (listed in ranked order with total cost):
- Eleven Mile Creek Stream Restoration $12,929,908
- Forest Creek Apartment Complex Acquisition/Demolition & Jones Creek Floodplain Restoration Project $2,029,200
- Perdido Key Gulf of Mexico Public Access $1,648,000
- Carpenter Creek and Bayou Texar Economic and Environmental Revitalization Plan $2,440,000
- Perdido Key Gulf of Mexico Public Access $1,648,000
- Port Pensacola Maritime Infrastructure Berth 6 Restoration $3,750,000
- Project Universal Access (promotion of tourism and fishing) $3,350,000
- White Island Restoration $169,000
- 11 Mile Creek Basin $4,024,000
- Hollice T. Williams Park -Stormwater Management/Recreational Facilities Project $3,764,000
- Lake Charlene/BridleTrail $1,000,000
- OLF8 Commerce Park Improvements $19,037,790
- Woodlands -UWF Scenic Hills–St Luke’s Church Neighborhood Partnership Stream Restoration & Flood Protection $3,753,466
- Escambia Wood Treating Superfund Redevelopment Master Plan $500,000
-
Sanders Beach Park Addition / Beach Restoration $17,268,246
Five projects specifically benefiting some portion of the North Escambia area (north of Muscogee Road) were submitted. Those projects (listed with rank and total cost) were:
31. Town of Century Water Quality Improvements $486,000
70. Cantonment Community Center $2,000,000
90. Lambert Bridge Road $500,000
97. Cottage Hill Water Works Infrastructure Update and System Improvements $3,700,000
116. Cantonment Sportsplex $50,000
For the complete project listings:
- Click here to view the scored and ranked list of 124 RESTORE project applications.
- Click here to view the RESTORE project applications separated by category.
Pictured top: A RESTORE project information meeting held during October 2015 in Cantonment. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge
Justices To Decide On Higher Taxes For Satellite TV Than Cable
April 7, 2016
The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday waded into a constitutional fight about a higher state tax rate for satellite-television companies than for their cable TV competitors.
The Florida Department of Revenue and a cable industry group asked justices to overturn an appeals-court ruling last year that sided with satellite companies DirecTV and Dish Network. In a 2-1 decision, a panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal found that the differing tax rates were discriminatory and violated the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Supreme Court justices questioned attorneys on both sides Wednesday and, as is customary, did not indicate when they will rule. But along with affecting cable and satellite companies, the outcome of the case could have major financial ramifications for the state — in part because the appeals court raised the prospect of providing refunds to satellite companies.
Jonathan Williams, an attorney for the Department of Revenue, told justices that there is no evidence the Legislature intended to discriminate when it set the tax rates. The issue centers on the state’s communications-services tax.
“Florida’s communications-services tax does not discriminate against interstate commerce,” Williams said, alluding to the federal constitutional issue.
But the satellite industry argues that the difference in tax rates violates what is known as the “dormant” Commerce Clause. The industry, in a brief filed last year, described the tax difference as “economic protectionism” that benefits cable companies over satellite firms that generate their services out of state.
“We have a situation in which the signal difference between cable and satellite is where they perform this critical activity of assembling and distributing pay TV service,” satellite industry attorney Eric Shumsky told the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
(Disclosure: The News Service of Florida and the Florida Cable Telecommunications Association, an industry group that is a party in the case, have a partnership for the Capital Dateline Online news show.)
The communications-services tax dates to 2000 and is actually paid by customers, though cable and satellite companies collect the money and remit it. The state tax rate for cable services is 4.92 percent, while the rate for satellite services is 9.07 percent.
Cable customers also face local communications-services taxes that do not apply to satellite TV. A Department of Revenue brief in the case said those local tax rates are typically about 5 percent, though they vary.
Williams argued Wednesday that the combined state and local taxes ultimately create higher rates for the cable industry than for satellite providers.
“In every single year examined in this case, satellite providers enjoyed a tax advantage over the pay-TV competitor cable,” he said. “Plainly, satellite is not the victim of discrimination against interstate commerce in this case.”
But Shumsky drew a distinction between the state and local taxes, saying that cable companies use local rights of way for their equipment. He said Congress provided an exemption on local taxes to satellite companies.
“The reason it (Congress) gave is, this is national industry that does not use public rights of way,” Shumsky said.
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.