Northview Chiefs Pound Laurel Hill 18-0 In Just 3 Innings
February 13, 2016
The hits just kept on coming Friday night in Bratt from the Northview Chiefs as they defeated the Laurel Hill Hobos 18-0 in a game that was called after just three innings.
The winning pitcher for Northview was Thomas Moore. He threw three innings, gave up no runs, no hits and struck out all 9 batters he faced. His record is 1-0.
Leading hitters for the Chiefs were Zach Payne, 3-3, including a triple, two runs scored, one RBI and two stolen bases. Jared Aliff went 1-3, with a three-run double. Quentin Sampson went 1-2 with four runs scored and two stolen bases. Also scoring runs for the Chiefs were Roman Manning (2 runs), Luke Ward (2 runs), Jacob Dunsford (1 run), Zach Holland (1 run), John Shivington (1 run), Josh Neese (1 run), Michael Jones (1 run), Chandler Lowery (1 run) and Daniel Mascaro (2 runs).
The Chiefs (1-0) will host the West Florida Jaguars on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Ramona Preston, click to enlarge.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Hoping For A Very Happy Ending
February 13, 2016
Budgets have been approved. Committee meetings are dropping off. And the major differences between the House and the Senate are coming into focus.
The halfway point of the legislative session passed this week, and lawmakers were already trying to set the stage to avoid the kind of slow-motion train wreck that accompanied the end of their 2015 gathering. With a more modest gap between spending plans this year — and no unbridgeable policy divides like last year’s fight over health-care spending — there’s hope, at least, that the Legislature can finish its work on time.
Or at least the necessary work of agreeing on a final budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 and the likely tax-cut package that goes along with it. But there are still key differences between lawmakers on everything from a lucrative gambling agreement with the Seminole Tribe to whether the state should change the public employees’ retirement system.
The to-do list is set. The story of the second half of the session revolves around how many items lawmakers will check off.
A BILLION HERE, A BILLION THERE
While there is occasionally an outbreak of bipartisanship over the House budget, the chamber is generally more given to argument over its spending plan than the Senate is. And this week was true to form: While the Senate debate was sleepy, the House discussion was charged with objections from minority Democrats, none of those complaints noisier than a fight over whether to ban funding for Planned Parenthood.
The legislator who sponsored the Planned Parenthood provision didn’t really talk about what motivated it, instead giving a presentation heavy on the separation of powers and mechanics of the process and light on his decision-making.
“This is a matter of legislative authority,” said Health Care Appropriations Chairman Matt Hudson, R-Naples. “We have a choice. … Given the fact that we had never expressly said to fund them, when you see that happening, I think it’s incumbent upon us as a Legislature to say, ‘Hey, no, that’s not what we want to do.’ ”
Democrats continued to hammer away at the cut, which they said would harm women’s health, given that there is already a federal law preventing federal money that flows through the state budget from being used to pay for abortions.
“The funding that they get from this state is for the things that women need,” said Rep. Kevin Rader, D-Delray Beach.
The Senate budget debate was, as usual, a more collegial affair. The chamber’s spending plan — which lacked the Planned Parenthood language in the House blueprint — was approved unanimously, even though some Democrats made clear they would like to see a different approach.
“For me, personally, even though I’m going to support this budget, I just want to let you know: I think it’s more important for us to spend that money on our students than it is to spend it on a tax cut,” said Sen. Jeff Clemens, D-Lake Worth. “I think it’s more important to spend this money on health care for children or on mental health services than it is for a tax cut.”
But the more notable comments might have come near the end of the debate, when Senate Appropriations Chairman Tom Lee, R-Brandon, delivered his closing arguments for the bill.
Senate leaders have clearly been more hesitant about the size of the tax cuts offered by Gov. Rick Scott and the House, both of which amount to roughly $1 billion. Lee issued the most scathing critique yet about a large package — the Senate’s opening offer was $250 million — signaling a major hurdle for one of Scott’s top priorities.
“I can tell you that, in my view, if we even begin to entertain tax cuts remotely in the area of that billion-dollar number, it would be fiscally irresponsible of us,” Lee said.
CUTTING TO THE CHASE
Lee’s comments came shortly after the House charged ahead with a $991.7 million tax-cut bill (HB 7099) that includes provisions aimed at reducing taxes on commercial leases, permanently eliminating a tax on manufacturing and filling the calendar with sales-tax “holidays for consumers.”
House Finance & Tax Chairman Matt Gaetz, a Fort Walton Beach Republican who has spearheaded the House package, said the measures will help boost Florida’s economy and he’s optimistic most of the proposals will get accepted by the Senate.
“The goal in the House is to return $1 billion to the people of Florida,” Gaetz said. “On the methodology, I’m eager to have a discussion … on how that can be done.”
The House voted 96-17 to approve the package, with a few Democrats saying they voted in favor because there are “good elements” in the proposal and that they anticipate the total cuts will be reduced during budget talks with the Senate.
“I do not believe there is one chance, one iota of a chance, that when we finish this process on day 60 (the final day of the legislative session), that there’s going to be a $1 billion tax cut,” said Rep. David Richardson, a Miami Beach Democrat who voted for the bill.
The Senate has been slowly piecing together its tax package through individual member bills still in the committee process and formally unveiled a plan this week to add a temporary reduction in education property taxes to the mix. Those taxes, known as the required local effort, form the overwhelming majority of a proposed increase in education funding and have sparked criticism that lawmakers are balancing the budget on the backs of property owners.
“This is not just a tax cut,” said Sen. Don Gaetz, the chairman of the Senate Education Appropriations Subcommittee and father of Matt Gaetz. “This is making sure that the state, through its other revenue sources, picks up our fair share of our partnership with local school boards and local property taxpayers.”
Under the bill, at least half of the boost in education funding — scheduled to hit record levels — would have to come from state funds, not the required local effort. Using the Senate’s budget proposal — the most generous one on education funding — the state would need to kick in another $183.2 million to increase school spending by the same amount and get to an even split. An equivalent rollback in property taxes would be about $12.40 on $100,000 of taxable value.
There were still unknowns about how exactly the proposal would work. House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, repeated Thursday that he would be interested in the proposal as long as lawmakers ensured the money made it back to taxpayers.
“Because if we’re just pushing money back to locals and not cutting the millage, then that’s not ideal, unless we’re writing checks back to the individuals that pay property taxes,” he said.
Lee said the proposal would likely work by lowering the millage and not by sending rebates directly to taxpayers, which he said would incur large postage bills.
MATTERS OF LIFE, DEATH AND PENSIONS
Lawmakers are also facing the clock when it comes to hammering out differences on how to fix Florida’s flawed death-penalty sentencing process, which was struck down as unconstitutional last month by the U.S. Supreme Court. At the heart of the legislative debate is an element of the death penalty not addressed by the high court: whether a jury should be required to unanimously recommend an execution before the penalty can be imposed.
The Senate backs unanimity, advocated by nearly all death penalty experts, while the House is supporting a 9-3 jury recommendation, pushed by state prosecutors. In the past, recommendations could come from a majority of jurors.
At a meeting of the House Judiciary Committee, family members of murder victims talked about their support for not requiring unanimity.
“Justice won’t be served” by allowing a single juror to thwart a recommendation of death, Emilee Cope told the panel.
Cope’s father, Keith, was kidnapped, hogtied to a bed and left to die in 2009. Keith Cope died later from complications brought on by injuries sustained as a result of the attack. A jury voted 10-2 to recommend putting her father’s killer to death, Emilee Cope said.
The two chambers “have room to compromise,” particularly about providing notice to defendants when the death penalty will be sought, Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, said later Wednesday.
“We will find a resolution to the issue. I think there’s some middle ground there,” Bradley, a former prosecutor, said. “I don’t think we’re there yet.”
Scott would not say what lawmakers should do to ensure that Florida’s death penalty system is fixed. But Attorney General Pam Bondi told The News Service of Florida she sides with prosecutors.
“The U.S. Supreme Court has not required (unanimity)” in previous cases, Bondi said, and the court did not address the issue in the ruling last month. That ruling found that that the state’s system of giving judges — and not juries — the power to impose death sentences was an unconstitutional violation of defendants’ Sixth Amendment right to trial by jury.
When asked why she and the prosecutors supported a 9-3 supermajority vote to recommend the death penalty, Bondi said, “Compromise.”
Cracks between the two chambers were also showing up in other policy areas. House leaders want to combine a measure dealing with death benefits for first responders killed in the line of duty with a change to the overall retirement system for public employees. The change would involve whether employees would be enrolled in a traditional pension plan or a 401(k)-style plan if they don’t choose one. The Senate sponsor of the death-benefits bill called for his colleagues to reject the House plan and pass his bill.
“I hope we can make a very strong showing on this bill as it goes over to our friends on the other side. … I don’t believe we should ever be negotiating on the bodies of our dead first responders,” said Sen. Jeremy Ring, D-Margate.
Also this week, House and Senate members took different approaches to major gambling legislation. A House panel overwhelmingly supported a trio of bills that would ratify a $3 billion gambling deal between the state and the Seminole Tribe, do away with greyhound racing while allowing dog tracks to keep operating other games, and open the door for slot machines in Palm Beach County.
Senators, however, were more cautious. A committee postponed consideration of gambling measures after Sen. Joe Negron, a Stuart Republican set to become the chamber’s president in November, filed a series of amendments that would dramatically change the proposal, months in the making.
STORY OF THE WEEK: The House and Senate approved budgets for the fiscal year that begins July 1, setting up negotiations for the one bill lawmakers are constitutionally required to finish each year.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “The death penalty to me is equivalent to euthanizing an animal. They’re given peace and they won’t have to suffer anymore. Meanwhile, my father suffered horribly. I wish he could have traded places with those defendants, in the sense that he would have been given a more peaceful, painless death.”— Emilee Cope, a victim advocate for the Edgewater Police Department whose father was kidnapped, hogtied to a bed and left to die in 2009. Keith Cope died later from complications brought on by injuries sustained as a result of the attack.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Escambia Sheriff’s Office Seeks Missing Brothers
February 13, 2016
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is asking for the public’s help in finding two brothers missing since late November.
Blake Kent Stevenson, 14, and Mackenzie Ray Owens, 16, were last seen at their home on Candlewood Circle on November 29. Blake Stevenson currently has an active warrant for his arrest.
Anyone with information on their whereabouts is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Larry Dale Irwin
February 13, 2016
Larry “Ricky” Dale Irwin, age 66, passed away Monday, February 8, 2016, in Jay. He was a native of Atmore, former long-time resident of Bratt, and had resided in Century since 2010. He was retired from Century Correctional Institute. He was the former minister of music and was a member of the Bratt First Baptist church.
He was preceded in death by his mother, Gwendolyn Albritton Irwin, and his father, Harold Irwin
Mr. Irwin is survived by his wife, Reita Wearren Irwin of Century; brother, Ray Hall of Atmore; and niece, Shannon Hall-Jones.
Funeral services were held Thursday, February 11, 2016, at Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Home with Rev. Delbert Redditt officiating.
Burial followed at Godwin Cemetery.
Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Homes is in charge of all arrangements.
Century Chamber To Hire New Economic Development Coordinator
February 12, 2016
The search is about to begin for a new economic development coordinator in Century.
The Century Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors voted Thursday afternoon to fund the position with a $40,000 yearly donation from the Escambia County Commission. The job listing will be posted soon on NorthEscambia.com and will have a closing date about 10 days later.
The person selected will work directly as a independent contractor and report to the Century Chamber of Commerce.
Century’s previous economic development director, Allison Tyler, worked for the University of West Florida and their Haas Center. She was tasked with overseeing the implementation of the Town of Century’s economic development strategic plan, which was developed by the Haas Center.
Tyler’s period as Century’s economic development coordinator was completed when the Haas Center’s contract with the chamber came to an end. She continues her employment in a different capacity with the Haas Center.
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Sunny Low 70’s Today; Colder For The Weekend
February 12, 2016
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
This Afternoon: Mostly sunny, with a high near 71. West wind around 10 mph.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 41. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming north after midnight.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 53. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday Night: Clear, with a low around 28. North wind around 5 mph becoming east after midnight.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 57. East wind around 5 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.
Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of rain after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 44. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
Washington’s Birthday: A chance of showers, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after noon. Cloudy, with a high near 65. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming southwest in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Monday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 45. Southwest wind around 10 mph becoming northwest after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 62. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west in the afternoon.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 43.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 65.
Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 44.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 68.
Highway 4 Railroad Crossing Open; Schedule Released For Closing A Dozen More
February 12, 2016
The railroad crossing on East Highway 4 in Century was open again Thursday, and a scheduled was released for the closure of about a dozen more crossings in North Escambia.
CSX will close numerous other North Escambia a crossing as part of its network-wide crossing maintenance program beginning next Tuesday. The latest schedule is as follows:
- Cottage Street — Tuesday 2/16
- McCurdy Street — Tuesday 2/16
- Front Street — Tuesday 2/16 or Wednesday 2/17
- West Pond Street — Wednesday 2/17
- Salters Lake Road — Wednesday 2/17
- Private Crossing (south of Salters Lake) — Thursday 2/18
- Bluff Springs Road — Thursday 2/18
- Courtney Road — Thursday 2/18
- Private Crossing (4 miles north of Mystic Springs) — Thursday 2/18
- Mystic Springs Road – Saturday 2/20
- East Bogia Road — 6/22
- Cotton Lake Road — 6/21 or 6/22
NorthEscambia.com is working with the contractor to provide updates as soon as possible if there are any schedule changes.
CSX engineering crews will be laying new rail ties, resurfacing crossings and repaving them with asphalt. CSX has worked closely with local officials to coordinate the crossing closures to minimize disruption to the community and is communicating directly with residents where there are dead-end roads or no-outlet situations.
All activities are weather dependent and may be delayed or rescheduled in the event of inclement weather. Motorists are reminded to travel with care through the work zone and to watch for construction equipment and workers entering and exiting the roadway.
Pictured top: The East Highway 4 railroad crossing in Century was open again Thursday. Pictured below: The crossing was closed Tuesday and Wednesday. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
House Tax Cuts Face Downsizing In Senate
February 12, 2016
A wide-ranging, nearly $1 billion tax-cut package got strong House approval on Thursday.
But with the Senate budget chairman calling $1 billion in tax cuts “fiscally irresponsible,” the Senate will have a big say about what eventually lands on Gov. Rick Scott’s desk.
The $991.7 million House package (HB 7099) includes reducing a tax paid on commercial leases, permanently eliminating a tax on manufacturing equipment and holding several types of sales-tax “holidays” for consumers.
The cuts would be enacted over two years, with many causing one-time hits on state revenue. Lawmakers have a budget surplus for the coming fiscal year, but state economists recently reduced revenue projections by about $400 million.
House Finance & Tax Chairman Matt Gaetz, a Fort Walton Beach Republican who has spearheaded the House package, said the measures will help boost Florida’s economy and he’s optimistic most of the proposals will get accepted by the Senate.
“The goal in the House is to return $1 billion to the people of Florida,” Gaetz said. “On the methodology, I’m eager to have a discussion … on how that can be done.”
The House voted 96-17 to approve the package, with a few Democrats saying they voted in favor because there are “good elements” in the proposal and that they anticipate the total cuts will be reduced during budget talks with the Senate.
“I do not believe there is one chance, one iota of a chance, that when we finish this process on day 60 (the final day of the legislative session), that there’s going to be a $1 billion tax cut,” said Rep. David Richardson, a Miami Beach Democrat who voted for the bill.
Scott has made $1 billion in tax cuts one of his top priorities this year. But the Senate, which remains apprehensive about making too many recurring, or permanent, cuts is using a $250 million figure as a starting point.
Senate Appropriations Chairman Tom Lee said it would be “fiscally irresponsible” to consider tax cuts in the range of $1 billion or to force the hands of future lawmakers by approving recurring cuts.
“My biggest concern is the volume. That’s my biggest concern,” said Lee, a Brandon Republican who has asked for a meeting with Scott’s staff to discuss the cuts. “My second concern is the amount of recurring that we do, because I don’t think it’s sustainable.”
Lee added that any cuts would be need to return money to “the broadest number of Floridians possible, to return it to people that have been part of the tax base in this state currently and for generations past, and not worry — quite so much in the tax package portions of this — of trying to attract businesses.”
Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, said any cuts would have to be balanced with Scott’s other priority, a $250 million request for economic business incentives at the public-private Enterprise Florida, Inc.
“I want to give the governor as much flexibility as we can on EFI,” Gardiner said. “At some point all these things have to start coming together.”
The Senate has matched Scott’s incentives request, which also would revamp the process of awarding and handling incentive money.
The House has offered $80 million for the incentives, which is still an increase from the $43 million Enterprise Florida received for the current fiscal year.
House Transportation & Economic Development Appropriations Chairman Clay Ingram, R-Pensacola, said Wednesday that the funding isn’t there to match Scott’s incentive request.
Meanwhile, the Senate has been slowly piecing together its tax package through individual member bills still in the committee process.
The House tax-cut package and the individual Senate bills do not include the largest part of Scott’s requested cuts — a permanent elimination of income taxes on manufacturing and retail businesses. The cut is projected as a $770 million recurring hit to state revenue.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Man Gets 10 Years On Drugs, Weapons Charges
February 12, 2016
An Escambia County man was sentenced t0 a decade behind bars, according to State Attorney Bill Eddins, on drugs and weapons charges.
Martin Oviedo was sentenced by Circuit Judge Thomas Dannheisser to 10 years in state prison with seven years as a minimum mandatory. Oviedo pled straight to the court to trafficking in methamphetamine, possession of firearm by a convicted felon, possession of ammunition and possession of marijuana.
Law enforcement took custody of several firearms which they later determined belonged to Oviedo. Further investigation revealed that Oviedo was staying at a local hotel and he was taken into custody. A search warrant was executed on the hotel room where methamphetamine, marijuana, and spice were located. A subsequent search of a related storage unit revealed ammunition that matched the caliber of weapons previously seized.
Wilson Robertson Boat Ramp Opens Honoring Longtime Public Servant
February 12, 2016
More than 50 local, regional and state representatives joined Escambia County in celebration of the new Wilson B. Robertson Boat and Canoe Launch ad at 11800 Mobile Highway Thursday. The special ceremony also recognized Vice Chairman and District 1 Commissioner Wilson B. Robertson for his years of service and dedication to Escambia County, including his years of service as District 5 commissioner.
The boat ramp area, which sits on a 4.8 acre parcel near the Perdido River, features two boat ramp launch lanes, an ADA compliant dock, a paddle craft launch, 31 parking spaces for vehicles with trailers and a covered picnic table. Funding sources for the project included a Natural Resource Damage Assessment grant from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Escambia County Local Option Sales Tax and vessel registration fees for a total of $2.65 million.
“Fishing and boating are just some of the many recreational activities that continue to serve as great outdoor experiences in Escambia County,” said Robertson. “This new facility provides opportunities for citizens and tourists of all ages to enjoy, and I am very grateful to all of the local, regional and state partners that helped bring this project into fruition.”
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
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