Ernest Ward To Hold School Advisory Council Meeting
December 13, 2016
Ernest Ward Middle School will hold a School Advisory Council meeting at 8:00 am on Wednesday. The meeting will be held in a meeting room located above the media center. The SAC will discuss AdvancED School Accreditation, Chromebooks, and upcoming events. Breakfast will be provided. The public is invited to attend.
For more information, contact the school at (850) 327-4283.
Rain, Thunderstorms Likely
December 13, 2016
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tuesday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after noon. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 74. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Tuesday Night: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Low around 56. South wind around 5 mph becoming north after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers before noon. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 64. North wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 39. North wind around 5 mph.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 55. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 35. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 59. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 51. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 74.
Saturday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 62.
Sunday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a high near 69.
Sunday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a low around 45.
Monday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a high near 55.
Byrneville Students Present Christmas Musical (With Gallery)
December 13, 2016
Byrneville Elementary School’s third, fourth and fifth graders presented their annual Christmas musical Monday night at Northview High School. Students in grades K-2 will present their Christmas musical Tuesday night at 6:30, also at Northview High School.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Florida Worker’s Comp Rate Hike Continues Amid Legal Battle
December 13, 2016
A state appeals court Monday said an increase in workers’ compensation insurance rates will continue amid a legal battle about whether Florida’s Sunshine Law was violated during the ratemaking process.
The 1st District Court of Appeal approved a stay of a Nov. 23 ruling in which Leon County Circuit Judge Karen Gievers said the 14.5 percent rate increase should be rejected because of Sunshine Law violations. The stay will remain in place while the appeals court considers appeals of Gievers’ Sunshine Law ruling.
With businesses gradually getting hit with the rate hikes starting Dec. 1, the appeals court said it will consider the appeal on an “expedited” basis. But it appears a ruling on the appeal will not come until February at the earliest, as the court set a Feb. 2 deadline for filing final briefs.
The state Office of Insurance Regulation and the National Council on Compensation Insurance, an organization that files rate proposals for workers’ compensation insurers, appealed Gievers’ ruling. The appeals court approved a temporary stay that allowed the rate hikes to take effect Dec. 1 and then followed up in Monday’s order to keep the stay in place.
A three-judge panel, made up of Chief Judge Clay Roberts and judges Brad Thomas and Lori Rowe, did not explain their reasoning for approving the stay.
In the Nov. 23 ruling, Gievers said, in part, that the National Council on Compensation Insurance, commonly known as NCCI, did not comply with legal requirements about holding public meetings during its deliberations on the hike. Also, she wrote that the organization held improper closed-door meetings with staff members of the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation.
James F. Fee Jr., a Miami attorney who represents injured workers, filed the lawsuit Aug. 10, as insurance regulators were considering an NCCI proposal to raise rates by 19.6 percent. The Office of Insurance Regulation later required that the proposal be scaled back, and the 14.5 percent hike was approved in October.
NCCI issued a statement late Monday saying it was pleased with the appeals court’s decision to extend the stay while considering the Sunshine Law issues.
“We continue to believe that NCCI, (Insurance Commissioner David) Altmaier, and the Office of Insurance Regulation have fully complied with the law,” NCCI said in the statement. “NCCI looks forward to presenting its case to the appellate court.”
The rate hike stems largely from two Florida Supreme Court rulings this year that found parts of the workers’ compensation system unconstitutional. The most-prominent ruling rejected strict limits on fees that can be paid to attorneys who represent injured workers.
The rulings and the rate hike are expected to lead to workers’ compensation insurance being one of the biggest issues of the 2017 legislative session. A key battleground will be attorneys’ fees, with business groups arguing that fees drive up insurance costs. Meanwhile, attorneys for injured workers blame the insurance industry for higher rates.
Bill Herrle, executive director of the small-business group NFIB/Florida, said in a text Monday night that the appeals court’s decision on the stay clears the way for the broader legislative debate on the workers’ compensation system.
“Now we can get on with fixing the workers’ compensation crisis, and it looks like the trial lawyers can’t keep hidden from legislators the data from OIR and NCCI that shows just how outrageous attorneys’ fees are,” Herrle said.
But earlier Monday, Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, indicated he wants to take a broad look at the workers’ compensation insurance system — including looking at the fees paid to attorneys who represent insurance companies.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever heard anyone talk about defense fees, and it turns out they are actually significantly more than the claimants’ fees in the (workers’) comp system,” Negron said. “And then I want to have a focus not just on addressing or reacting to the Supreme Court ruling but looking at the entire system because my commitment (is) to business owners, to small business entrepreneurs, to others in the construction industry to make sure that the financial burden on them is at a level as it should be and not based on other outside forces.”
Negron also said he wants to look at how the 14.5 percent rate increase was reached and focus on premiums paid by business owners.
“In the Senate, we want to look at the whole system on how rates are determined and make sure that proposed rate increases are in fact justified and are being arrived at in a fair and appropriate manner,” Negron said.
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
Century Camp Fire Kids Present Christmas Program (With Gallery)
December 13, 2016
The children of the Camp Fire Century Youth Learning Center presented their Christmas program Monday morning for parents at he Century Ag Center.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Top Chiefs Honored At Northview Football Banquet
December 13, 2016
The Northview Chiefs recently held their annual football banquet. Awards were presented to the following players:
Offensive Lineman Award – Dillon Clary
Defensive Lineman Award – Jared Aliff
Offensive Back Award – Hunter Edwards
Linebacker Award – Alston Wiggins
Receiver Award – Neikel Robinson
Defensive Back Award – MJ Jones
Chief Award – Greg Pressley and Jacob Weaver
Defensive MVP – Ohijie Elliott
Offensive MVP – Luke Ward
Challenger Award – Dustin Bethea
Pictured top: (L-R) Luke Ward, Hunter Edwards, Dillon Clary and Neikel Robinson. Pictured below: (L-R) MJ Jones, Ohijie Elliott, Alston Wiggins and Jared Aliff. Pictured inset: Chief Award winners Jacob Weaver (left) and Greg Pressley. Pictured bottom: Seniors Bailey Wilson, Jacob Weaver, Luke Ward, Josh Smith, Hunter Edwards, Alston Wiggins, Devin Stabler, Chase Olsen, Dustin Bethea, Greg Presley, Dillon Clary, Ohijie Elliott, Jared Aliff and (not pictured) Hunter Cofield. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Sheriff’s Office Seeks Wanted Woman
December 13, 2016
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help in locating 48-year old Tina Loree Gagloria . Gagloria has outstanding warrants for robbery by sudden snatching and burglary of an occupied vehicle. Anyone with information on her her whereabouts is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP or the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620.
Nathan Allen Hawthorne
December 13, 2016
Nathan Allen Hawthorne was born April 19, 1999, in Layton Utah. He passed away in a tragic accident the evening of December 4, 2016 in Jacksonville, Florida. He was a resident of Walnut Hill, Florida and was a Junior at Northview High School.
He is survived by his mother, Jammie Colley of Jacksonville, FL; father, Craig (Amanda) Hawthorne of England; brothers, Brian, Aiden, Joshua, and William; sisters, Rebecca, Abrianna, Emma and Laura; grandparents, Pastor Jim (Anna) Colley of Walnut Hill, FL, Jerry Hawthorne of Jay, FL, Patricia ( Joe) Ahola of Germany; great-grandfather, Robert Brotherton of Pensacola, FL; uncles, Torrey (Katherine) Colley, Michael (Faye) Colley, Joey (Brittany) Colley, Jimray (Jennifer) Colley, and Jeremy Hawthorne; and many great aunts, great uncles, cousins, and friends.
Visitation will be at First Assembly of God on Highway 21 in Atmore on Thursday, December 15, 2016, from 12 p.m. until service time at 1 p.m. Officiating ministers will be Jon Hill and Max Stinson.
Interment will follow at Oak Hill Cemetery on Highway 21 in Atmore, AL.
Four Lose Home, Firefighter Transported After Beulah Blaze
December 12, 2016
Four people were left without their home by a fire that sent a firefighter to the hospital on Sunday.
A fire in the ceiling of the home in the 8900 block of Mobile Highway in Beulah was reported at 4:32 a.m. Sunday. Crews arrived to fine a working attic fire in the single family home. All of the residents had escaped and were outside as fire trucks arrived.
One Escambia Fire Rescue firefighter was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in stable condition suffering from heat-related fatigue. He is expected to make a full recovery.
The home was a total loss. The Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the blaze.
The Bellview, Beulah, Ensley and Osceola stations of Escambia Fire Rescue responded to the blaze, along with Escambia County EMS.
The fire is represented by the fourth red bulb in the “Keep the Wreath Green” fire safety campaign. Each time firefighters respond to a residential fire with damage, a green light bulb on wreaths at fire stations across the county will be replaced with a red one to remind citizens of the dangers posed by fires in residential home.
Related: Firefighters Save Cat From House Fire (click here)
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Rain Moving Into The Forecast
December 12, 2016
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: A 20 percent chance of showers. Patchy fog after midnight. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 62. South wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after noon. Patchy fog before 7am. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 74. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Tuesday Night: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm before midnight, then showers likely. Low around 58. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming northwest after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 65. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 43. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 55. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 34. North wind around 5 mph.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 58. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 50.
Saturday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 73.
Saturday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 60.
Sunday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 67.