Florida Leads States In Obamacare Enrollments
December 22, 2016
Florida led the nation with 1.3 million residents signing up for 2017 coverage under the federal Affordable Care Act by a Monday deadline, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday.
Floridians seeking health insurance through the federal marketplace were up more than 14 percent from the 1.14 million Floridians who had signed up during the same time last year, federal officials said. More than 1.5 million Floridians were covered by the federal program, which is also known as Obamacare, in 2016. The 1.3 million Floridians signed up for 2017 coverage will grow, as the number does not include consumers who were automatically enrolled in the program, federal officials said. The number also only reflects those signing up for coverage beginning Jan. 1.
Floridians can still enroll in Obamacare through Jan. 31, with the coverage beginning March 1. Updated numbers, including the automatic enrollees, will be released next month.
In a phone conference with reporters, Sylvia Burwell, the Health and Human Services secretary, said the Florida numbers, and the record 6.4 million consumers who signed up nationally for the Jan. 1 coverage, reflect the fact that the federal health care program “is vital to them and their families.” Burwell said the federal health care program faces “head winds” as President-elect Donald Trump and Congress have vowed to repeal Obamacare.
But she said Floridians who sign up for the 2017 coverage will be covered through next year, as the debate evolves over repealing and replacing the program in Washington, D.C.
Molino Road To Be Closed For Bridge Replacement
December 22, 2016
Molino Road will be closed beginning the first week of January to replace the bridge over Penasula Creek, just east of Sunshine Hill Road.
The project scope includes replacing the bridge, completing drainage improvements and signing and marking. A detour will be in place while the new bridge is built. The detour will consist of Highway 29 to Crabtree Church Road to Sunshine Hill Road to Molino Road, or Molino Road to Sunshine Hill Road to Crabtree Church Road to Highway 29.
The project is expected to be completed in approximately 265 calendar days.
The bridge has reached a level of deterioration to warrant replacement and is next on the list of the FDOT’s Five-Year Work Plan. The project will be funded and the construction work will be performed under contract for the Florida Department of Transportation. After completion of the structure, Escambia County will be responsible for the maintenance of the bridge.
The wood piling supported Molino Road Bridge over Penasula Creek was constructed in 1958.
ictured top: The Molino Road bridge over Penasula Creek. Pictured below: The deteriorating wood pilings that support the bridge. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Patchy Fog Overnight
December 22, 2016
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: Patchy fog. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 49. North wind around 5 mph.
Friday: Patchy fog before 8am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 66. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming southeast in the morning.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 54. East wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 74. East wind around 5 mph becoming south in the afternoon.
Saturday Night: Areas of fog. Otherwise, partly cloudy, with a low around 59. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
Christmas Day: Areas of fog before 9am. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 75. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Sunday Night: Areas of fog. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
Monday: A 20 percent chance of showers after 9am. Areas of fog before 9am. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 74. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Monday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 60.
Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 73.
Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57.
Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 72.
Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 57.
Thursday: A slight chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 66.
Vehicle Burglary Suspect Arrested
December 22, 2016
An 18-year old Atmore man has been arrested for a string of vehicle burglaries just north of the Alabama/Florida state line.
David Tyler Vickery was charged with eight counts of breaking and entering an automobile, four counts of theft of property second degree and one count of theft of property third degree.
Atmore Police said the vehicle burglaries occurred in the area Forest Hill Drive and Rockaway (Rocky Way) Creek Road areas. Police responded to reports of suspicious activity in the area and found Vickery with stolen property in possession, according to Atmore Police Chief Chuck Brooks.
Brooks said everyone should lock their vehicle doors, especially around the holiday season.
No Injuries In Pine Cone, 297A Crash
December 22, 2016
There were no injuries in a two vehicle crash Wednesday evening at Pine Cone Drive and Highway 297A. The accident remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. No further details have been released. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Peanut Butter Bounty Distributed To Local Food Banks
December 22, 2016
Over 4,000 jars of peanut butter collected during the UF/IFAS Escambia County Extension’s “Take a Bite out of Hunger” Peanut Butter Drive were delivered to 22 local food pantries this week.
The food drive asked residents to meet the challenge of donating 1,000 pounds of unopened jars of peanut butter at five drop-off locations in the county during the months of September and November. The goal was exceeded thanks to citizens and local peanut producers Rodney and Mike Helton, with 4,871 jars totaling 4,000 pounds collected — a 43 percent increase over the 2,800 jars collected in 2015.
The peanut butter was distributed to the following food pantries:
- Manna Food Pantries
- Mount Canaan Baptist Church
- EscaRosa Coalition for the Homeless
- St. James Missionary Baptist Church
- Myrtle Grove United Methodist Church
- Highland Baptist Church
- Salvation Army
- Carver Park Resource Center
- Abundant Life Assembly of God (Century Church)
- Perdido Bay United Methodist Church
- Alfred-Washburn Center
- Brentwood Assembly of God
- Allen Memorial United Methodist Church
- Aldersgate United Methodist Church Molino
- Gonzalez United Methodist Church
- Liberty Church North Campus
- First Baptist Church of Bratt
- Waterfront Rescue on Herman Street
- St. Monica’s Espical Church
- First Baptist Church of Flomaton
- Cathedral of Faith Church
- Marcus Pointe Baptist Church
This is the fourth year UF/IFAS Escambia County Extension has teamed up with the Florida Peanut Producers Association to participate in the peanut butter drive, with donations to food pantries being made in the month of December. As many families in our community experience food insecurities, they rely upon food pantries to supplement their family’s meals and reduce worries about running out of food. The donated peanut butter can help meet the need of providing healthy options for local residents in need.
Gun Proposals Could Have Better Shot in Senate
December 22, 2016
A measure that would expand how and where Florida’s more than 1.67 million concealed-weapons license holders can carry handguns may have an easier path through the Senate in 2017 than in the past.
Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, this week sent the bill (SB 140) to three committees, two of which are led by prominent gun-rights supporters. The bill would need to make it through the committees before it could be considered by the full Senate during the 2017 legislative session, which starts in March.
“I’ve always been a strong proponent of the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens,” Negron said Tuesday before he assigned the bill to committees.
The bill, sponsored by Senate Judiciary Chairman Greg Steube, R-Sarasota, would allow people with concealed-weapons licenses to openly carry handguns in public and also would allow them to be armed on college and university campuses. They also could carry guns at airport passenger terminals; in elementary and secondary schools; and at legislative and local government meetings.
Negron assigned the measure to the Steube-led Judiciary Committee and to the Governmental Oversight and Accountability Committee, which is chaired by Ocala Republican Dennis Baxley, who in 2005 sponsored the House version of the state’s “stand-your-ground” self-defense law.
The Senate president Tuesday also assigned the bill to the Rules Committee, which is led by Fort Myers Republican Lizbeth Benacquisto. While not as prominent as Steube and Baxley on gun-related issues, Benacquisto in 2016 voted during a Higher Education Committee meeting in favor of allowing concealed-weapons license holders to carry guns on college and university campuses.
Influential National Rifle Association lobbyist Marion Hammer praised Negron when asked about the committee assignments for the bill. But she wouldn’t make any prediction on the bill’s future.
“It is my hope that Senate members will have an opportunity to vote on this bill,” Hammer said Wednesday in an email.
During the 2016 session, open-carry and campus-carry measures failed to advance through the Senate Judiciary Committee, which was chaired by former Sen. Miguel Diaz de la Portilla, R-Miami. Diaz de la Portilla lost a re-election bid in November.
The campus-carry proposal has been opposed by university and college leaders, campus law- enforcement officials and faculty members.
Florida State University President John Thrasher, a former House speaker and senator, this month reiterated his strong opposition to allowing guns on university and college campuses.
As a member of the Senate, Thrasher helped kill a bill in 2011 that would have allowed gun owners with concealed-weapons licenses to bring their firearms on campuses.
“I opposed it. I killed it. I have worked against it since then,” Thrasher told the FSU faculty during his annual “state of the university” address on Dec. 7. “And you have my promise that I will work against it this year also.”
The proposals during the 2016 session first went through the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, where they drew narrow support. Negron has named Sen. Randolph Bracy, D-Orlando, to chair that committee in 2017, but it appears the panel will not hear the Steube bill.
Parts of Steube’s proposal appear in separate measures that have been filed in the House for the 2017 session.
Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, introduced a House version of the campus-carry measure (HB 6005). Also, Rep. Jake Raburn, R-Lithia, has proposed a bill (HB 6001) that would allow people with concealed-weapons licenses to bring guns into the passenger terminals of airports.
The House overwhelmingly approved campus-carry and open-carry bills during the 2016 session. Steube and Baxley, who were elected to the Senate last month after serving in the House, voted for both bills.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Atmore Man Charged With Attempted Murder
December 22, 2016
An Atmore man has been arrested for a late November shooting that left another man in critical condition.
Douglas Jermaine Oliver, 26, was charged with the attempted murder of Anthony Jerome Riley of Sunset Drive in Atmore. He was booked into the Escambia County Detention Center in Brewton.
About 2:15 a.m. on November 25, Atmore Police responded to a disturbance an found Riley shot multiple times in the rear parking lot of “Special Occasions” at 129 South Main Street Riley was transported to Atmore Community Hospital and later transferred to a Mobile hospital.
The shooter, later identified as Oliver, fled the area in a black Dodge Charger.
The Atmore Police Department said the business is licensed to hold banquets, wedding receptions and retirement parties. “The business is not allowed to have alcohol on the premises, but evidence at the scene showed alcohol was present at the time of the shooting,” police said. The city later revoked the company’s business license.
Tate Wrestling Wins Gator Duals Invitational Tourney
December 22, 2016
The Tate High School wrestling team recently went 4-0 to take home first place in the Gator Duals Invitational at Satsuma, AL. Alex Young (pictured bottom left) received the Best Upper Weight Match Award and Jacob Cochran (pictured bottom right) received the Outstanding Wrestler award in the Lightweight Class.
The Aggie wrestling team will host their only home varsity match of the year on December 30. Both events will be held in the Fryman Gymnasium at Tate High School. Wrestling will begin at 10 a.m.
Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Karen Anne Ellis
December 22, 2016
Karen Anne Ellis, age 60, passed away peacefully on Monday, December 19, 2016, after a brief battle with lung cancer. She was the beloved wife of Timothy Ellis. Karen was born on June 30, 1956, and grew up in Waukegan, IL. She was the daughter of the late Charles and Nancy Raasch. Karen worked for the United States Navy Civil Service for 38 years prior to her early retirement. She thoroughly enjoyed camping, traveling, and cruising with her husband and friends.
Besides her husband Tim, Karen leaves her favorite daughter, Melissa and (Mike) Shaw. She also leaves behind her sister Sherry and (Jim) Kenton; her brother, James Raasch, and her sister, Alice Raasch. She also leaves behind her cherished nieces and nephews, Samantha Bowsher, Daniel Raasch-Bowsher, Zach Kenton, and Alex Kenton, as well as her aunts, uncles, cousins, and close friends.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to: Covenant Care, 5041 N. 12th Ave., Pensacola, FL 32504.
Memorial services were held Wednesday, December 21, 2016, at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home North is entrusted with the arrangements.