Strawberry Field Day Is Monday
April 17, 2016
The 2016 UF/IFAS Extension Strawberry Field Day will be held this Monday at the West Florida Research and Education Center in Jay from 2-4:30 p.m.
Topics for the educational event will include a variety trial, production in a high tunnel versus field production, selling a crop through healthy food preparation and best management practices for vegetable farms.
For more information, contact Libbie Johnson at libbiej@ufl.edu or (850) 475-5230.
Residents Report Series Of ‘Explosions’ For A Second Week
April 17, 2016
For the second consecutive week, numerous residents across a portion of the North Escambia area reported hearing and feeling multiple strong “explosions” or “booms” Saturday night.
Residents from Pensacola to miles north of Brewton and Flomaton reported varying levels of impact, all the way up to their entire homes and the ground shaking, along with a loud explosion sound. The majority of the reports we received came from the Flomaton, Century and Jay areas.
No explanation for the reports was found Saturday night.
Blue Wahoos Get First Shutout Of The Season
April 17, 2016
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos lowered its team earned run average even more with Rookie Davis, Wandy Peralta and Kyle McMyne combining for the team’s first shutout this season.
Pensacola’s ERA dropped to an absurd Southern League-leading 1.80 in its, 3-0, victory Saturday over the Jacksonville Suns in front of a packed sellout crowd of 5,038 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Strong pitching has been the theme for the 2016 version of the Cincinnati Reds Double-A affiliate in its first two series against Jacksonville and the Mississippi Braves. It has thrown four one-run games.
Despite feeling under the weather when he arrived at the park, Rookie Davis picked up his second victory, leading the way with six scoreless innings. He allowed five hits, walked one and struck out four.
Davis said he didn’t tell anyone how sick he felt.
“I didn’t want it to be an excuse,” Davis said. “I wanted to put it all on the line. The other team doesn’t feel sorry for me.”
Pensacola manager Pat Kelly said he was impressed that Davis “battled through” his sickness and a hip flexor injury suffered in spring training.
The Blue Wahoos tough-to-hit pitching staff is getting a lot of credit, but Pensacola has relied on strong defense, as well.
In the fourth inning, J.T. Riddle smacked a single to right field sending Austin Dean, who drew a lead-off walk, to third. But Riddle rounded the bases too far and got caught in a run down. However, Dean decided to bolt for home and Pensacola first baseman Brandon Dixon gunned him out at the plate on a nice tag by catcher Chad Wallach.
“Our ERA under two shows how good our defense is,” said Davis, who has allowed one run in 11 innings for a 0.82 ERA. “It’s not just the pitching staff. We’re not averaging 27 strikeouts per game. We have a great defense behind us.”
Kelly said it was a good thing the rundown of Riddle took so long.
“Dean got a little anxious and Wallach made a good play on a tough throw,” Kelly said.
Pensacola scored first in the fourth inning when Davis hit a slow and high chopper to second base that scored third baseman Tony Renda from third. Blue Wahoos center fielder Beau Amaral then doubled down the right field line to drive in both Dixon and Wallach and just like that Pensacola led, 3-0.
It was the 22-year-old Davis’ first RBI since he was an 18-year-old playing in high school. He said he wasn’t trying to hit the ball to the opposite field, his swing was just behind.
“I was a little bit late,” Davis said. “I always pictured my first RBI coming on a hit.”
Pensacola has now won its first two series and is 8-2 and in first place in the Southern League South Division. It’s the team’s best start in its five-year history.
The Wahoos travel to Biloxi to play the Milwaukee Brewers Double-A affiliate the Shuckers Sunday afternoon. The Shuckers are in second place this season. The game will be a rematch of last year’s South Division playoffs that pitted the two teams against each other and was Pensacola’s first playoff appearance since it was established in 2012. Biloxi won the playoff series.
Also Saturday, Pensacola second baseman Alex Blandino, the Reds sixth best prospect, was activated Friday after an injury in spring training while playing in the World Baseball Classic qualifier for Nicaragua. He got his first hit Saturday in his seventh plate appearance on a blistering line drive to left field. He’s now 1-7 in two games.
Kindergarten Registration Underway In Escambia County
April 17, 2016
Children who will be five-years old on or before September 1, 2016, are eligible to register for kindergarten for the 2016-2017 school year. New kindergarten students enrolling in the Escambia County School District may register now at the school which serves their residential area during the regular school year.
To local your child’s school, click here. For more information, contact the School Choice Office at (850) 469-5580.
At the time of registration, parents will need:
- Child’s birth certificate
- Child’s social security card
- Proof of residence, such as a recent electric bill or rent receipt (Telephone and cable bills are not acceptable)
- Immunization Record (DH form 680)
- Physical form (DH form 3040, or other comparable form)
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: The Final Measures
April 17, 2016
This is the way the bill-signing season ends. Not with a whimper, but a bang.
Gov. Rick Scott finished off his duties from the 2016 legislative session by vetoing a bill on one of the most emotional and volatile issues that the House and Senate faced this year — not anything about the state’s schools or its environmental treasures, but a fight over what happens when a marriage falls apart.
To be sure, Scott dealt with other issues in the waning days of selecting which measures would and wouldn’t become law. A lengthy “train” on education departed Plaza Level Station with the governor’s signature attached, along with several health-care bills.
Across the northern part of the state, meanwhile, a longtime Republican congressman decided to step down, setting off what at first looked like a feeding frenzy but quickly quieted down. One of the top contenders for the race saw the Northeast Florida establishment rally behind him while another one of the leading names decided to take a pass.
The outrage over Scott’s action on the alimony bill will also likely cool with time. But as the week wrapped up, it was still about as angry as anyone’s been with one of his decisions on legislation this year.
WHEN IT’S OVER
People on both sides of the alimony issue, though, didn’t wait for Scott’s veto to make their feelings known. On Tuesday, men, women and a handful of children crammed into the governor’s waiting room in a tumultuous showdown over the legislation.
The bill (SB 668) would have laid out a formula based on the lengths of marriages and the incomes of spouses for judges to use as a guide when determining alimony payments.
But the most contentious part of the measure involved not alimony but offspring. It would tell judges that, when determining child-custody arrangements, they should begin with a “premise” that children should split time equally between parents.
Proponents of the bill held a press conference Tuesday morning on the steps of the Old Capitol, an hour before opponents gathered outside Scott’s office to urge the governor to veto the measure.
Scott’s policy director, Jeff Woodburn, met with representatives of both groups, who packed into Scott’s waiting room and at times got into heated exchanges. At one point, proponents of the measure — including many who were clad in red T-shirts emblazoned with messages supporting “father’s rights” — erupted into a chant urging Scott to “Sign the bill!”
On Friday, the governor did the opposite. In his veto message, Scott said “the one constant” when a divorce involves a young child is “the needs of the child must come before all others” when judges determine parenting schedules, something now required by Florida law.
“This bill has the potential to upend that policy in favor of putting the wants of a parent before the child’s best interest by creating a premise of equal time-sharing. Our judges must consider each family’s unique situation and abilities and put the best interests of the child above all else,” he concluded.
One of the most powerful lawmakers behind the measure lashed out at Scott for nixing the proposal for the second time in three years. Senate Appropriations Chairman Tom Lee, R-Brandon, said in a written statement that the problems Scott voiced about a similar bill in 2013 were fixed this time around.
“At this point it is unclear what future family law reform legislation the governor may find acceptable. Today’s veto message is vague and does nothing to further illuminate the governor’s concerns,” said Lee, whose wife is a judge.
Others backed Scott’s decision. Maria Gonzalez, chairwoman of the Family Law Section of the Florida Bar, said the bill would have caused more litigation if it had become law.
Divorces or paternity cases in which couples are separating are “tough situations for the entire family” but are particularly painful for children, Gonzalez said.
“So when mom and dad come in front of the judge the best thing they can have is a clean slate and have a judge consider the uniqueness of the family, and also the needs of the particular family and come up and craft a good parenting plan, a good time-sharing schedule that works best for that family,” she said.
FULL STEAM AHEAD
As he weighed what to do on the alimony bill, Scott’s office continued churning out legislation that met with his approval.
He OK’d a 160-page education bill (HB 7029) which packed in everything from funding for high-performing universities to school membership in athletic associations.
It will allow parents to transfer their children to any public school in the state that isn’t at capacity through an “open enrollment” process; add to state law performance-funding formulas for colleges and universities; allow private schools to join the Florida High School Athletic Association or other organizations on a sport-by-sport basis; and give charter schools that serve lower-income students or those with disabilities a bigger slice of construction funding doled out by the state.
The bill would also send additional funds to “emerging pre-eminent” universities — possibly the University of Central Florida and the University of South Florida. Those schools are approaching the pre-eminent status that provides extra money to the University of Florida and Florida State University.
“This is a great day for students across Florida as Governor Scott signs into law historic legislation to increase school choice options across our K-12 education system by allowing parents to have a greater say regarding which of our neighborhood public schools their child will attend,” said Senate Education Appropriations Chairman Don Gaetz, a Niceville Republican who handled the bill in the Senate.
Scott also inked a series of health-care bills, including a measure that supporters say will help shield patients from getting hit with surprise tabs after going to hospital emergency rooms and one allowing advanced registered nurse practitioners and physician assistants to prescribe controlled substances.
But Scott also vetoed a bill that would have provided financial incentives for dentists to practice in underserved areas of the state.
The money could have been used for such things as repayment of dental-school loans or investment in facilities and equipment. But in a veto letter, Scott said, in part, that the bill was duplicative of other programs that provide dental care, such as the statewide Medicaid managed-care system.
Somewhat quietly, the governor also signed a tax-cut package that had been among his top priorities during the session. A ceremonial signing of the bill served as the undercard of an announcement by Novolex — which makes plastic bags — that it’s expanding a manufacturing facility in Jacksonville.
“This bill will not only give Florida families an important back-to-school sales tax holiday, but it will also permanently eliminate the sales tax on manufacturing machinery and equipment so companies like Novolex can invest more money in growing their business and creating new jobs,” Scott said in a press release. “We will continue to do all we can to cut more taxes and support economic growth so Florida can become first for jobs.”
‘TIME TO TURN THE PAGE’
Most of the contours of the fall congressional elections have already been set in Florida. Candidates in swing seats have been recruited, some incumbents have decided to enter the race for an open U.S. Senate seat, and others are campaigning for re-election.
But just a couple of months before qualifying for his seat is set to begin, Republican Congressman Ander Crenshaw announced Wednesday he will retire at the end of his current term, ending a 16-year tenure in Washington.
“I am proud of the work we have accomplished for the citizens of Northeast Florida and our nation during my time in Congress,” Crenshaw said in a statement issued by his office Wednesday. “Progress is measured in projects completed and lives impacted, and I think we made a difference. Now, it is time to turn the page on this chapter of my life and see what’s next.”
His retirement automatically kicked up a round of speculation about who might fill his seat. Crenshaw’s district was redrawn last year in response to a redistricting lawsuit, with the new lines including all of Nassau County, part of Duval County and roughly the northern two-thirds of St. Johns County.
It remains heavily Republican; in 2012, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney carried the area by more than 33 points.
But while one of the biggest names connected to the seat quickly jumped in the race, another declined. Former Jacksonville Sheriff John Rutherford said he would run for the seat after picking up the support of Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry and influential GOP fundraiser Peter Rummell.
State Sen. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach, decided to take a pass on the race. Former Jacksonville Mayor John Delaney also begged off.
Other candidates, including Duval County Property Appraiser Jerry Holland, could still take a look at the seat.
STORY OF THE WEEK: Gov. Rick Scott vetoed an alimony bill that was among the most controversial proposals of the 2016 legislative session as he finished up work on the 272 measures approved by lawmakers.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “His favorite line was, ‘Call Ron Book. When you realize you can’t afford him, call me for the blue-light special.’”— Lobbyist Ron Book, on late colleague Robert M. Levy, who died this week at 67.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Alabama Fugitive Arrested In North Escambia
April 16, 2016
An Alabama fugitive wanted for allegedly stealing weapons during the burglary of an law enforcement officer’s home was arrested in extreme northern Escambia County, FL, Friday afternoon.
Jerrell Mitch Johnson, Jr., age 30 was taken into custody without incident at a home on Albritton Road in Nokomis. There was no word of any weapons being recovered after the arrest.
Johnson is being held on outstanding warrants from the Monroeville (AL) Police Department for allegedly taking multiple weapons after breaking into the home of a law enforcement officer. He remains in the Escambia County Jail in Pensacola awaiting extradition back to Alabama.
Slight Chance Of A Scattered Shower For Saturday
April 16, 2016
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Saturday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 73. East wind 10 to 15 mph.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56. East wind around 10 mph.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 76. East wind 10 to 15 mph.
Sunday Night: Clear, with a low around 52. East wind around 5 mph.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 76. East wind around 5 mph.
Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 53. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 79. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming south in the afternoon.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 57. South wind around 5 mph becoming northwest after midnight.
Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 79.
Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59.
Thursday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 78.
Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61.
Friday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 79.
One Injured In Molino Wreck
April 16, 2016
One person was injured in a two vehicle crash Friday night in Molino.
The accident happened about 10:45 p.m. at the intersection of Highway 29 and Molino Road. One person was transported to West Florida Hospital with minor injuries. Five other people, including at least three teens, involved in the crash refused medical treatment at the scene.
Further details have not been released by the Florida Highway Patrol as they continue their investigation.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Scott Vetoes Alimony Overhaul
April 16, 2016
For the second time in three years, Gov. Rick Scott has vetoed a controversial alimony proposal, this time blaming an even more-contentious child custody component included in the latest bill.
The proposal vetoed Friday would have created a formula, based on the length of marriage and the combined incomes of both spouses, for judges to use when setting alimony payments. After years of disagreement on the issue, alimony reform advocates and The Florida Bar’s Family Law Section supported the alimony proposal, which would have also eliminated permanent alimony while giving judges some discretion to veer from the formula.
But the plan became one of the most hotly contested issues of the 2016 legislative session when it was amended to include a child-sharing component that would have required judges to begin with a “premise” that children should split their time equally between parents.
The proposed time-sharing changes could potentially upend the state’s current policy of putting the needs of children first in favor of parents’ wishes when judges determine custody arrangements, Scott wrote in Friday’s veto letter.
The proposed revisions “have evoked passionate reactions from thousands of Floridians because divorce affects families in many different ways,” Scott wrote.
Men, women and a handful of children on both sides of the measure (SB 668) clashed outside of Scott’s office Tuesday, before representatives met with the governor’s policy director to make last-ditch pitches. Scott received nearly 10,000 messages urging him to sign the bill into law, more than three times the number of requests for a veto.
“As a husband, father and grandfather, I understand the importance of family and the sensitivity and passion that comes with the subject of family law. Family law issues are very personal, and nearly every family comes to the court with different circumstances and needs. As such, we must be judicious and carefully consider the long term and real life repercussions on Florida families,” he wrote.
But “the one constant” when a divorce involves a young child is “the needs of the child must come before all others” when judges determine parenting schedules, something now required by Florida law, Scott wrote.
“This bill has the potential to upend that policy in favor of putting the wants of a parent before the child’s best interest by creating a premise of equal time-sharing. Our judges must consider each family’s unique situation and abilities and put the best interests of the child above all else,” he concluded.
Scott’s veto drew a barbed response from Senate budget chief Tom Lee, who has pushed the child custody issue.
Lee, a former Senate president, said he met with Scott’s staff throughout the session in an attempt to address some of the concerns expressed in the governor’s 2013 veto of a similar alimony bill. Scott objected to a retroactivity provision in the 2013 legislation, which was not included in this year’s bill. Scott’s aides wouldn’t give any clear guidelines about what might please the governor, Lee indicated in a statement issued Friday afternoon.
“At this point it is unclear what future family law reform legislation the governor may find acceptable. Today’s veto message is vague and does nothing to further illuminate the governor’s concerns,” Lee, a Brandon Republican whose wife is a judge, wrote. “Specifically, the veto message focuses exclusively on potential outcomes, without giving reasons for how the legislation could actually result in those outcomes. Current law is clear that the best interest of the children remains paramount and it is the primary responsibility of judges to make a determination based on 20 factors listed in current law. Senate Bill 668 does nothing to change the primary role of the court, which is to do what is in the best interest of the children.”
Lee said he remained “hopeful that we can continue to work to find a solution for the thousands of families across our state who are seeking meaningful changes in family law.”
Other alimony reform advocates aren’t backing down, but will try to keep the time-sharing and alimony issues in separate bills next year.
“We still believe, as an organization, child sharing is important. We just don’t want it to hurt our chances for alimony reform, which is what happened this session.” Family Law Reform founder Alan Frisher, who has spent nearly a decade pushing the issue, said in a telephone interview Friday.
The alimony measure has been mired in controversy since Scott’s first veto three years ago.
A revised version of the measure, which included the formula included in this year’s proposal, died in 2015 after being enmeshed in a dispute between Lee and House Rules Chairman Ritch Workman, a key alimony-overhaul supporter who opposed the child-sharing component.
Late in this year’s legislative session, Workman and Lee reached a compromise regarding the child-sharing language. Instead of requiring a “presumption” of equal time-sharing between parents, the proposal instructed judges to begin with a “premise” that children will divide their time equally between both parents.
The Family Law Section of the Florida Bar, which for years had opposed the alimony reform efforts but worked with Workman, Frisher and others to develop the formula, opposed the child-sharing portion of the bill. Late in the session, the Family Law Section hired lobbyists close to Scott — including the governor’s former legislative affairs director, Jon Costello, and Slater Bayliss — to persuade the governor to veto the proposal.
The National Organization for Women and the League of Women Voters of Florida and some conservative groups also opposed the bill, which they argued would be especially harmful for older homemakers who have few prospects of lucrative employment after spending much of their lives caring for children and husbands.
Family Law Section Chairwoman Maria Gonzalez hailed Scott’s veto, saying the bill would have caused more litigation if it had become law.
Divorces or paternity cases in which couples are separating are “tough situations for the entire family” but are particularly painful for children, Gonzalez said.
“So when mom and dad come in front of the judge the best thing they can have is a clean slate and have a judge consider the uniqueness of the family, and also the needs of the particular family and come up and craft a good parenting plan, a good time-sharing schedule that works best for that family,” she said.
Calling Scott’s veto “crushing and devastating,” Frisher accused the governor of ignoring the will of “the highest court, the court of public opinion.”
“He did not listen to our citizens. He did not listen to our legislators. One man made this determination. I understand he’s a family man, but he’s also our governor. And that made me even more disappointed,” he said.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
New Prison Health Contractors Moves Into Nine North Florida Facilities
April 16, 2016
A new prison health contractor will begin moving into nine North Florida facilities Saturday, an initial step toward providing care for more than 80,000 inmates, the state Department of Corrections said Friday.
Centurion of Florida will begin what the department described as an “initial transition” into Holmes Correctional Institution, Gulf Correctional Institution, Liberty Correctional Institution, Madison Correctional Institution, Cross City Correctional Institution, Lake Correctional Institution, the Quincy Annex, the Mayo Annex and the Gadsden Re-Entry Center.
The department in January awarded a contract to Centurion of Florida after another firm, Corizon Health, decided to end its contract to provide services to about three-fourths of the state’s inmates. Centurion of Florida will move into 32 other facilities by May 31, the department said.
The award of the contract drew a challenge from Wexford Health Sources, Inc., which provides services to inmates in the rest of the state. But an administrative law judge this month rejected the Wexford challenge.
“Since entering into a contract for comprehensive health care services in January, the department and Centurion have worked collaboratively to ensure proper staffing, the availability of medical resources and a seamless delivery of medical care and services during this transition period,” Corrections Secretary Julie Jones said in a prepared statement Friday. “I am confident that Centurion will produce positive, patient-centered health outcomes for the more than 80,000 inmates under their care.”
by The News Service of Florida
Pictured: The medical unit inside Century Correctional Institution. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.