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House, Senate Ready To Approve Budget Plans

Lawmakers on both ends of the Capitol worked Wednesday to prepare spending plans for the budget year that begins July 1, with House members squabbling about funding for Planned Parenthood while senators readied a reduction in education property taxes.

Votes on the spending measures, expected Thursday, would clear the way for the annual negotiations between the House and Senate over a final budget, likely to weigh in somewhere around $80 billion.

In the House — frequently the scene of the most heated discussions about the budget — the Republican majority batted away amendments from Democrats that would have changed the basis for a bonus program for teachers and would have authorized the purchase of 153,000 acres of land in the Everglades.

But a major clash broke out over a provision in the budget that would bar any money from flowing to Planned Parenthood, an organization that provides abortion among its health-care services for women. No state revenue goes to Planned Parenthood, but a handful of county health departments have used federal funds to contract with the organization.

Federal funds are not allowed to be used to cover abortions.

Budget-writers remained guarded about their reasoning for the ban on funding for the organization. Despite repeated questions from Democrats about why the language was written into the budget, the chairman of the House’s health funding committee simply repeated that the Legislature has the ability to ban the contracts if it wants.

“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 countered that the move was a partisan maneuver copied from Congress, which recently fought unsuccessfully to defund Planned Parenthood.

“I constantly hear how much better we are from the majority than Washington,” said Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Coral Springs. “Apparently, we are no better than them.”

The Senate debate was more measured, and a few tweaks were added.

Sen. Thad Altman, R-Rockledge, proposed a far-reaching change that called for the state to issue bonds to inject $222 million into the Florida Forever land-acquisition program. Altman said the proposal would help the state buy land that will not be available in the future, at least in part because of development pressures.

“There’s no downside to doing this,” Altman said.

But the proposal was scuttled after Republican leaders ruled that it would violate budget guidelines by knocking the spending plan out of balance.

Much of the Senate discussion of the budget involved questions and answers about details of spending on education, health and justice-system programs.

Meanwhile, after weeks of signaling that they would try to counter the natural growth of education property taxes due to increasing real-estate values, Senate leaders prepared to unveil legislation that would use state funding to hold down homeowners’ tax bills.

Those local property taxes, known as the “required local effort,” are at the center of the budgets’ much-touted record level of education funding. But senators have balked at what they call a de facto tax increase, especially given that Gov. Rick Scott has asked for $1 billion in cuts to other levies.

“As I look across the spectrum of tax relief that we’re considering, I can’t think of anything that is broader based and impacts more people currently living in this state than something like a reduction in the required local effort,” said Senate Appropriations Chairman Tom Lee, R-Brandon.

The plan is scheduled to be rolled out at a committee meeting Thursday morning.

After the House’s meeting Wednesday, Speaker Steve Crisafulli told reporters that he was open to the idea of including some easing of the required local effort in the tax package, as long as it was done in a way that would ensure\ the refund made it back to property owners.

“My rationale is, unless there’s an impact on the millage or rolling that back someway somehow, then we better be writing checks back to individuals on property taxes, because local governments don’t need to have windfall profits because that money’s not coming to Tallahassee,” said Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island.

by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida

Joyce Marie Johnson Akins

Mrs. Joyce Marie Johnson Akins, 77, passed away on Saturday, February 6, 2016, in Booneville.

Mrs. Akins was a native of Goodway and a resident of Booneville since 1975. Mrs. Akins was a former employee of Judy Bond, and manager of the lunch room and bus driver at Escambia Academy. She was a member of the Atmore Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She is preceded in death by her husband of 44 years, Jack Akins, Sr.

Survivors include her two sons, Harry (Judy) Akins of Goodway and Jack Anderson “Andy” (Amy) Akins of McCullough; one daughter, Suzanne Akins of Booneville; two brothers, Dean Johnson of Goodway and Joseph Johnson of Meridian, MS; three sisters, Helen Eady of Warner Robins, GA, Colleen Maddox of Montgomery and Sarah Smith of Goodway; and six grandchildren.

Graveside services will be held Friday, February 12, 2016, at 11 a.m. at the Lindsey Cemetery with Patriarch Joseph Johnson officiating.

Petty-Eastside Chapel Funeral Homes, LLC, is in charge of all arrangements.

Vernon Burl Vinson

Vernon Burl Vinson, 87, passed away on February 6, 2016, at home surrounded by his loving family. He was a devoted husband and father who will be deeply missed.

Vernon was a Pensacola native. He was retired from Pensacola Naval Air Station. He was a member of the Pensacola Camellia Club and an active member of Presley Street Baptist Church in Atmore.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Betty Jean; sons, David (Islamorada, FL), and Danny and daughter in law, Jessica; grandchildren, Ian, Ansis and Sophia (Raleigh, NC).

The family would like to thank the ladies at Southern Care Hospice Services in Atmore for their compassionate care.

Graveside services were held Tuesday, February 9, 2016, from the Oak Hill Cemetery in Atmore with Rev. Mike Grindle conducting services.

Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Shirley Elaine Brewton

Shirley Elaine Brewton, 65 of Atmore, passed away Monday, February 8, 2016, in Pensacola. She was a hairdresser. She was born in Atmore on August 2, 1950, to the late Alvin and Laverne Flowers Conway.

She was a member of Huxford Baptist Church. She taught cosmetology at Reid State. After Reid State she opened her business, A Cut Above, in McCullough.

She is preceded in death by a daughter, Marcie Michelle Brewton.

Survivors include husband, John Brewton of Atmore; one son, Ken (Jennifer) Brewton of Pineview, AL; one daughter, Lynn (Arron) Rhodes of Stockton; one brother, Don Conway of Poarch; one sister, Earline (Gilbert) Wall of McCullough; nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Services were Thursday, February 11, 2016, at Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home Chapel with Bro. Ron McGhee.

Interment was in Huxford Baptist Church Cemetery.

Johnson-Quimby Funeral Home is in charge of all arrangements.

Area Residents Encouraged To Welcome VIP Train Next Week

A special “inspection train” will ride the rails from New Orleans to Jacksonville next week in advance preparation for the possible return of passenger rail service to cities like Pensacola and Atmore.

And the City of Atmore is doing much more than rolling out the red carpet, asking residents of the Atmore and North Escambia areas to join them in welcoming the train.

The train is set to arrive at 2:31 p.m. on Thursday, February 18 at the Atmore Train Station downtown. They will greeted by music from the Escambia County High School Jazz Band, and the VIP’s will walk through a ceremonial sword arch provided by the Northview High School NJROTC.

The train will leave the passengers behind as it departs at 2:41 p.m., just before speeches from Atmore Mayor Jim Staff, Amtrak Chairman Joe Boardman and Southern Rail Commission Chairman Gregory White.  The passengers will then be bused to the Wind Creek Casino for a press conference and a reception, and many will spend the night in the Wind Creek Hotel.

The passengers will then board buses to Pensacola to an 8 a.m. departure on February 19, with stops later that day in Crestview, Chipley and Tallahassee before an arrival that night in Jacksonville.

Jerry Gehman, Atmore’s self-proclaimed biggest train fan and the city’s representative on the Southern Rail Commission, is urging Atmore and North Escambia residents to turn out for the historic event.

“It’s open to the public; it is not a private event,” Gehman said. “And we’d love people to come and welcome the train and build a favorable impression of South Alabama.”

The inspection train will carry elected officials, industry representatives, community leaders and federal stakeholders. The goal of the invitation-only trip is to examine the existing CSX railroad infrastructure and to better understand rail’s economic, cultural and mobility opportunities. It it designed to provide an unparalleled perspective on reintroducing intercity passenger rail along the Gulf Coast.

The SRC recently released a study by Amtrak detailing the range of feasible service options accompanied by an analysis of ridership levels, projected revenues, and associated costs for passenger trains between New Orleans and Orlando. The models in this new study present the range of service options that will support regional economic resilience and projected population growth.

“If we will get train service, this is the first step, and I am excited about that possibility. The beginnings often lead to great ends, and we’d love that to be the success story here,” Gehman said.

Connecting the cities and towns along the Gulf Coast with passenger rail is one of the top priority projects for the Southern Rail Commission. The earliest service is projected to return is about two years from now.

Pictured top and bottom: The Atmore Train Station has been cleaned up and a temporary plywood decked added in advance of an Amtrak inspection train next week. Pictured inset: Jerry Gehman, Atmore’s representative to the Southern Rail Commission, outlined train arrival activities during a Tuesday afternoon press conference. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Feds Help Florida With Zika Tests

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has sent 950 antibody tests to Florida to help determine whether people have contracted the Zika virus. A public health emergency has been declared in Santa Rosa and six other counties due to the virus.

The 950 came in addition to 475 antibody tests already on hand, giving the state a total of 1,425, according to a statement from Gov. Rick Scott’s office.

Florida has 16 confirmed cases of the mosquito-borne virus. Each of the cases is believed to have been travel-related rather than acquired in Florida, state officials say. Miami-Dade County has the largest number of cases, with six.

Zika was detected last year in Brazil and has spread to other countries.

“We appreciate that the CDC sent 950 Zika antibody tests to Florida so we can better test those who have traveled to affected areas and had symptoms of Zika,” Scott said in a prepared statement. “While having these tests readily available is great progress, we are still waiting on the CDC to schedule a conference call with Florida hospital workers to ensure they fully understand the symptoms, treatments and proper precautions for Zika. We will continue to do all we can to ensure our state is prepared for the possible spread of the Zika virus.”

by The News Service of Florida

Highway 4 Railroad Crossing Closed; Dozen More Closing Next Week

The railroad crossing on East Highway 4 in Century is closed, and a dozen more crossings in North Escambia will close next week for repairs.

The Highway 4 crossing will be closed today, possibly opening temporarily overnight, and will be closed until work completion on Thursday. CSX is making crossing repairs and replacing railroad ties.

CSX will close numerous other North Escambia a crossing as part of its network-wide crossing maintenance program beginning next week, with work expected to be completed in one week.

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.

Traffic will experience temporary closures to the following road crossings during the operations period:

• Cottage Street
• McCurdy Road
• Hecker Road
• Front Street
• East Pond Street
• Jefferson Avenue
• Salters Lake Road
• Bluff Springs Road
• Courtney Road
• Mystic Springs Road
• East Bogia Road
• Cotton Lake Road

The roads listed above will be temporarily closed at different times on the  maintenance schedule, according to CSX.  NorthEscambia.com is working with the contractor to provide an updated schedule for crossing closures as soon as possible.

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: The East Highway 4 railroad crossing in Century was closed Tuesday, expected to reopen by Thursday. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Escambia County Presents Public Safety Employee Awards

Pensacola Opera Presents ‘Jack And The Beanstalk’

The Pensacola Opera presented a free performance of the endearing tale “Jack and the Beanstalk” Tuesday night a the Century Branch Library. Another performance was held Wednesday morning at the Molino Branch Library.

For a photo gallery, click here.

Pictured: The Pensacola Opera presented “Jack and the Beanstalk” Tuesday night at the Century Branch Library. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Cool Jobs: This Really Ranks Up There

Wednesday was breezy and cold, with winds gusting to about 20 mph — just like the cool, windy day on Tuesday.  While many people are required to work outside in cold weather, we found a few men on a job Tuesday that really exposed them to the cold wind — working at the top of one of the water towers in Walnut Hill. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

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