Chance Of Thunderstorms, Otherwise Partly Sunny Sunday
June 18, 2016
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 87. East wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly clear, with a low around 68. East wind around 5 mph.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 68. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 93. North wind around 5 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 68. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 93. West wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 70. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 94.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 71.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 93.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 73.
Saturday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 93.
One Injured In Highway 29, Highway 97 Crash
June 18, 2016
One person was injured in a two vehicle crash Friday night at the intersection of Highway 29 and Highway 97 in Molino.
One vehicle came to rest on Highway 97 at the intersection, while the second came to rest north of the intersection in the edge of a wooded area alongside Highway 29.
The driver of the vehicle in the wooded area was transported by Escambia County EMS to a Pensacola area hospital with injuries that were not considered serious. The driver of the other vehicle refused medical treatment at the scene.
The accident remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. Further details. including the names of the drivers, have not been released. The Molino and Cantonment stations of Escambia Fire Rescue also responded to the crash.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
FDOT: Weekly Traffic Alerts
June 18, 2016
Drivers will encounter traffic disruptions on the following state roads in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties as crews perform construction and maintenance activities.
Escambia County:
- Interstate 10 (I-10)/U.S. 29 Interchange Improvements – The following traffic impacts will occur Sunday, June 19 through Thursday, June 23 from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. to allow crews to perform bridge widening work:
- Intermittent and alternating lane closures on U.S. 29, between Diamond Dairy Road and Broad Street.
- Alternating lane closures on I-10 near U.S. 29 (exits 10A and 10B).
- The U.S. 29 south to I-10 eastbound ramp will be closed. Traffic will be detoured south to make a U-turn at Diamond Dairy Road.
- The U.S. 29 north to I-10 westbound ramp will be closed. Traffic will be detoured north to make a U-turn at Broad Street.
- The I-10 westbound to U.S. 29 south ramp (exit 10A) will be closed. Traffic will be detoured to exit 10B and will make a U-turn at Broad Street.
- The I-10 eastbound to U.S. 29 north ramp (exit 10B) will be closed. Traffic will be detoured to exit 10A and make a U-turn at Diamond Dairy Road.
- Drivers are reminded that the speed limit on I-10 near U.S. 29 has been lowered to 50 mph.
Santa Rosa County:
- I-10 Widening – Alternating lane closures, between the Escambia Bay Bridge and S.R. 281 (Avalon Boulevard/Exit 22), Sunday, June 19 through Thursday, June 23 from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. as crews continue widening work. In addition, alternating lane closures on Avalon Boulevard near the I-10 interchange for bridge work.
All activities are weather dependent and may be delayed or re-scheduled in the event of inclement weather. Drivers are reminded to use caution, especially at night, when traveling in a work zone and to watch for construction workers and equipment entering and exiting the roadway.
FEMA Awards $6.5 Million For Bristol Park, Ashbury Hills, Lake Charlene
June 18, 2016
Escambia County has been awarded two FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program projects, or HMGP, to reduce the loss of life and property due to natural disasters, one in Lake Charlene and the other in the Bristol Park-Bristol Creek-Ashbury Hills Flood Plain. The grants total more than $6.5 million and will implement long-term hazard mitigation measures to reduce flooding in both areas. HMGP projects are typically phased to allow an engineering study, construction plans preparation, permitting, bidding, and construction management services.
Bristol Park-Bristol Creek- Ashbury Hills Flood Plain Restoration Project
Federal HMGP funds for this project total $6,189,379. A plan of action will be developed to include professional services that will be needed to manage the grant. To meet restoration expectations, the floodplain area will be evaluated and property areas and easements will be studied.
After conceptual plans are completed, Escambia County will schedule a public meeting to review options before property areas/easement needs are identified. Other funding sources such as RESTORE, LOST and other sources of funding will also be pursued for this project. This grant is the first step toward extensive flood plain restoration of Eleven Mile Creek that adjoins the Bristol Park-Bristol Creek- Ashbury Hills Area.
Lake Charlene Outfall Project
The goal of this mitigation project is to improve drainage for the Lake Charlene area. The project begins at the channel intersecting Lake Joanne Drive on the west and expands east to the intersection of South 61st Avenue, then south to the outfall at U.S. Highway 98.
The grant is set up in two phases: design and construction. Federal HMGP funds total $314,274 for Phase 1, the design phase. It is expected this phase will take nine months to complete, pending contract negotiations for professional services, design time, permit approvals, and FEMA review and approval.
After design, easement acquisition, environmental permitting and bid packages are complete and delivered to FDEM-FEMA for review, Phase 2 for construction will be considered by FEMA for funding and agreement amendment.
The current plan for Phase 2, the construction phase, is to install approximately 1,600 feet of double 60-inch concrete pipe from the channel intersecting Lake Joanne Drive, east to 61st Avenue, and then south on 61st Avenue. At minimum, another 800 feet of 66-inch pipe and 110 feet of 60-inch pipe will be installed to reach the U.S. 98 outfall location. The construction schedule will be dependent on identification of needed easements and processing of issues associated with those easements.
An additional future phase, referenced as Lake Charlene-Bridle Trail emergency outfall was submitted to the RESTORE Advisory Committee, for funding consideration.
Upon completion, Phase 1 will provide protection against a 50-year storm event. A public meeting will be scheduled upon completion of 60 percent design.
Pictured top: Post-flooding in Bristol Park. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Florida Retailers: Father’s Day Spending To Reach Record High
June 18, 2016
The Florida Retail Federation (FRF), the state’s premier trade association representing retailers for over 75 years, says Florida families will spend more than ever on Father’s Day this year. Consumers are expected to spend an average $125.92 for the holiday, up from last year’s $115.57. Total spending nationwide is expected to reach $14.3 billion, the highest in the survey’s 13-year history but still below this year’s Mother’s Day total of $21.4 billion.
“Father’s Day serves as an informal kickoff to the summer shopping season, and we expect it to be a record setting start statewide,” said FRF President/CEO Randy Miller. “More Florida families are feeling better about their economic situation, which bodes well for dads, in terms of receiving gifts, and for retailers who can expect increased sales.”
According to FRF’s partners at the National Retail Federation’s annual survey conducted by Prosper Insight and Analytics, consumers plan to spend $3.1 billion on special outings such as dinner, brunch or other types of a “fun activity/experience” (given by 47 percent). Clothing (given by 43 percent) and gift cards (given by 41 percent) are tied at under $2 billion each while consumer electronics (given by 20 percent) follow at $1.7 billion. As with Mother’s Day, greeting cards are the most commonly purchased gift at 65 percent but account for only $833 million of projected spending. Other popular gifts include personal care, automotive accessories, books, music, home improvement/gardening supplies and sporting goods.
The survey found 22 percent of shoppers will opt for a “gift of experience” such as tickets to a concert or a sporting event. Two in five Millennials are planning to give an experience, significantly higher than older generations.
When searching for the perfect gift, 38 percent of consumers will head to department stores and 32 percent will shop online while 27 percent will shop at a discount store, 24 percent at a specialty store and 17 percent at a local small business. Among smartphone owners, 30 percent will use them to research gift ideas but only 16 percent will use them to make a purchase. Tablets are used more frequently both to research (32 percent) and buy (19 percent).
More than half of those surveyed plan to buy for their father or stepfather (53 percent), while others will shop for their husband (28 percent) or son (9 percent).
Storms Down Trees, Power Lines; Driver Hits Downed Tree; Lightning Sparks House Fire
June 18, 2016
A line of storms that moved through the area Friday evening left behind downed trees and power lines.
In Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, Gulf Power reported about 5,750 customers without power. As of 1 a.m. Saturday, nearly 700 customers were still without power in over 50 scattered outages. Escambia River Electric Cooperative reported about 1,000 customers without power in scattered outages following the storm.
Downed trees also blocked several roadways, including Highway 4A near Century, Meadows Road in Davisville and Molino Road. On Highway 4A west of Broomes Road near Century, the driver of a pickup truck plowed into a downed tree across the roadway.
Santa Rosa County reported a house fire in the 3700 block of North Simmons Road that was caused by lightning. The Jay, Allentown, Berrydale and Flomaton fire departments responded. The fire was quickly brought under control with minimal damage.
There were no storm related injuries and no major structural damage reported in the North Escambia area.
A wind gust of 60 mph was reported by an official weather station in Atmore.
Pictured top: The driver of this pickup ran into a downed tree on Highway 4A near Broomes Road. Reader submitted photo by Aaron James. Pictured below: A tree and downed powerlines on Meadows Road near Davisville. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Orlando – You Just Can’t Imagine This Happening
June 18, 2016
Terrorism hit home this week.
Floridians woke up Sunday morning to the unthinkable. On Saturday night, young people crowded into an Orlando club for music, dancing and the simple joys of being with friends. Hours later, 49 clubgoers were dead and dozens more were wounded.
Mayor Buddy Dyer described Sunday as “probably the most difficult day in the history of Orlando.” For lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Floridians, it carried the extra weight of knowing that a gay club had been targeted.
Orlando police were hailed as heroes for going into the Pulse nightclub and ultimately killing the shooter, who claimed to support the Islamic State terrorist group. State, federal and local officials also converged during the week to lend support to the family members of victims.
Florida, however, won’t ever be the same. Omar Mateen was a virtual nobody from St. Lucie County. But he was able to carry out the worst mass shooting in U.S. history — and make Floridians feel vulnerable.
‘GRIEF … BEYOND DESCRIPTION’
Gov. Rick Scott, Attorney General Pam Bondi and U.S. Sens Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio quickly joined authorities Sunday in Orlando to try to sort out what had happened and to help oversee assistance for the reeling community.
“Clearly, this is an act of terrorism. You just can’t imagine this happening in any community,” Scott said. “My heart goes out to every family member that’s been impacted. … This state is going to be defined as a state of generosity, a state of love. We are a resilient state. We love people in our state and we are going to continue to do that.”
Rubio, R-Fla., said Sunday that the attack “could happen anywhere in the world.”
“Unfortunately, today was Orlando’s turn,” he said. “We know that there’s hate in the world. We know that some of it is inspired by warped ideology. … I hope they see today they won’t terrorize America. They won’t terrorize Floridians. We stand with all Americans … irrespective of their sexual orientation.”
While Rubio raised the issue of sexual orientation, some gay activists said in the days after the attack that they thought the LGBT community was being ignored.
“I think it’s pretty much gone viral that our political leaders not only in Florida but throughout the country need to say the words that this was an attack on our gay community,” said Christian Ulvert, a Florida Democratic political consultant who is gay. “You have to say those words.”
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Sunday, Obama called the massacre “an act of terror and an act of hate” that was “especially heartbreaking for all of our friends … who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.”
On Thursday, Obama and Vice President Joe Biden traveled to Orlando to comfort the family members of victims and survivors.
“Their grief is beyond description,” Obama said after he and Biden spent two hours at the Amway Center, meeting privately with people who lost loved ones in the attack. “These families could be our families. In fact, they are our family. … And today the vice president and I told them, on behalf of the American people, that our hearts are broken, too.”
GUN DEBATES RENEWED
Debates about gun rights and gun control never go away. But after a tragedy like the Orlando killings, the debates get ratcheted up.
Mateen, a security guard, passed all of the legally required background checks for his weapons.
“He held a ‘D’ license, as well as a ‘G’ license, which means that he is a security guard and a security guard who is permitted to carry a firearm,” state Agriculture Commission Adam Putnam, whose agency oversees weapon permits in Florida, told reporters on Monday.
“All of the information related to his application to receive those licenses was in order,” Putnam added. “He was fingerprinted. He successfully completed the application, had a criminal background check. There is nothing in that record that would have disqualified this individual, who was a U.S. citizen, who had a clean criminal record, who underwent a background check and mental-health screening.”
That doesn’t mean, however, the debates will go away. Democratic lawmakers held a news conference Wednesday in Orlando and called for a special legislative session to address gun-control measures.
“I don’t think there is anyone here who opposes a person’s right to defend themselves,” Sen. Geraldine Thompson, D-Orlando, said. “But what do you need for self-defense? Do you need a bazooka? Do you need a flame thrower? Do you need a rocket launcher? Do you need an assault-style weapon? It is those kinds of things we want to examine in the special session.”
Republican legislative leaders, however, said they didn’t see a need for a special session. Marion Hammer, the longtime Tallahassee lobbyist for the National Rifle Association and the Unified Sportsmen of Florida, said in an email that the special session request by “these ultraliberal, gun hating Democrats” is “political grandstanding.”
“They are attempting to exploit a tragedy for political gain,” Hammer said in the email.
Meanwhile, GOP political consultant Rick Wilson gave a bottom-line analysis of why the terrorist attack will not spur the Republican-dominated Legislature to pass gun-control measures.
“Democrats say this is all about gun control, and Republicans say this is all about Muslims. Now, the important thing to remember is that our society has largely made up its mind on guns. A tragedy like this, just speaking in cold political terms, doesn’t move the needle,” he said. “If people look at this as a competition between security versus gun control, security wins every time.”
POLITICAL FALLOUT
Quickly after the shootings, elected officials and political candidates started flooding social media and inboxes with messages about issues such as gun control and cracking down on terrorists.
But with the November elections less than five months away, the political ramifications of the shootings remained somewhat murky this week.
Wilson, for example, suggested that the attack might have little impact on the elections.
“As horrifying as this is, as terrible as this is, human grief has sort of a span of time where it affects people,” he said. “It doesn’t diminish the horror of this thing to note that, as a country, we have a short attention span. We always have.”
But others said anger and grief about the massacre won’t go away before the Aug. 30 primary elections or the November elections. Some said the mass murder certainly won’t fade away for LGBT people or Hispanics, who made up many of the victims at the club.
“It’s going to be a wake-up call,” said Carlos Guillermo Smith, a state House candidate who is governmental affairs director for the advocacy group Equality Florida.
Probably the most tangible political result this week was that Rubio, in light of the tragedy, indicated he might be reconsidering his decision not to seek re-election.
“Obviously, I take very seriously everything that’s going on — not just Orlando, but in our country,” Rubio told reporters, according to The Hill, a Washington-based publication. “I enjoy my service here a lot. So I’ll go home later this week, and I’ll have some time with my family, and then if there’s been a change in our status I’ll be sure to let everyone know.”
But Lt. Gov. Carlos Lopez-Cantera, a longtime Rubio friend who has been running for the Senate seat, said he would step aside if Rubio wants to get into the race.
“As friends for 20 years, this race is so much bigger than the two of us, and, as you have heard me say on the trail, this race isn’t about an individual, this race is about Florida and the future of our country,” Lopez-Cantera said in an email to supporters Wednesday. “I am still in this race and nothing has changed. However, if Marco decides to enter this race, I will not be filing the paperwork to run for the U.S. Senate.”
STORY OF THE WEEK: Florida reels from the Orlando massacre.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “This is probably the most difficult day in the history of Orlando. We need to support each other. We need to love each other. And we will not be defined by a hateful shooter. We will be defined by how we support and love each other.” — Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer on Sunday.
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
Wahoos Washed Out
June 18, 2016
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos and Mobile BayBears game was suspended and is scheduled to be completed at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Blue Wahoos Stadium. The second game will begin 30 minutes after and will be seven innings.
The score was tied, 2-2, in the top of the fifth inning when an ominous dark cloud settled over Blue Wahoos Stadium and the rain started.
The Blue Wahoos scored two runs in the second inning to take the lead for the first time in the early innings in 11 ball games since June 8.
Pensacola second baseman Brandon Dixon singled on a sharp grounder past the shortstop and stole second base. Blue Wahoos shortstop Zach Vincej then hit a line drive to right field to score Dixon to put Pensacola ahead, 1-0. Vincej then scored when left fielder Tony Renda smacked a line drive to right field to put the Blue Wahoos up, 2-0.
However, in the top of the fifth inning, Mobile catcher Ronnie Freeman and shortstop Ildemaro Vargas scored to tie the game, 2-2, on a rocket hit by center fielder Evan Marzilli back up the middle.
Pensacola starting pitcher Sal Romano was hurrying to finish the fifth inning to make the game official and give the Blue Wahoos the victory. He was one pitch away from doing just that with a 3-2 count on Mobile’s Marzilli. But Marzilli ripped the ball to center to tie it.
Pensacola is 38-29 and temporarily tied with the Biloxi Shuckers, who defeated the Jacksonville Suns, 4-1, Friday.
Cantonment Man Arrested On Drug, Weapons Charges After Search Warrant
June 17, 2016
A Cantonment man is facing multiple drug and weapons charges after local and federal authorities executed a search warrant at a home in Cantonment earlier this week.
Billy David Clakley III, 27, was charged with possession of methamphetamine with the intent to sell, distribute or manufacture; possession of cocaine with the intent to sell distribute or manufacture; possession of of marijuana with intent to sell, distribute or manufacture; possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; possession of a controlled substance without a prescription; and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Gun Response Team and ATF executed a search warrant at in the 100 block of Vaughn Avenue. They reported finding a long list of illicit items, including cocaine, marijuana, methamphetamine hidden in the false compartment of a drink can, Clonazapam, a cut rifle barrel with a .38 caliber round, marijuana, a Reminton .22 caliber bolt-action rifle, .22 caliber ammunition, and a variety of drug paraphernalia. The items were reportedly found in a bedroom of the home belonging to Clakley.
Clakley was previously convicted of felony marijuana possession in 2006, carry a concealed weapon and improper exhibition of a weapon in 2008, and possession of a controlled substance in 2013.
Thursday Morning, he remained in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $35,500.
Commission Gives Go Ahead To Fire Tax Increase To Staff South-End Stations
June 17, 2016
The Escambia County Commission has given official approval to a $25 fire tax increase to finishing staffing south end fire stations with paid firefighters .
The commission voted 4-1 Thursday night, with Steven Barry against, to add the $25, increasing the fire tax for the average homeowner from $100 to $125 beginning with the next fiscal year.
The proceeds from the extra $25 per year municipal services benefit unit assessment (MSBU) will fund 24/7 paid firefighters at the Myrtle Grove, Innerarity Point and Bellview stations, plus fund $150,000 in volunteer firefighter stipend increases.
The tax is not be final until the county’s budget process for the next fiscal year is complete.
Commissioner Steven Barry voted against supporting the $25 MSBU increase because no District 5 station will receive additional benefits.
Last year, Escambia County increase the fire MSBU by $15 to fund full-time staff at Ferry Pass and West Pensacola.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
