Four Tate Students Named Commended National Merit Scholars
September 27, 2017
Four Tate High School students have been named Commended National Merit Scholars. They are (left to right) Rosemary Smyth, William Jones, Ashlyn Adams and Hannah Huggins, pictured with counselor Renee Willis. National Merit Commended Students are named on the basis on a nationally applied selection index score in the National Merit Scholarship Program. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
FHP Seeks Man For Illegally Rebuiding, Selling Cars
September 27, 2017
The Florida Highway Patrol is searching for 28-year old Manuel Jacquet of Pensacola on an outstanding warrant for felony title fraud.
According to the FHP, Jacquet sold about 15 vehicles during the past year without obtaining a Florida dealers license. He allegedly purchased salvaged vehicles from Georgia and rebuilt them in Pensacola before reselling them in Mississippi without their rebuilt or salvaged status disclosed on the titles.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call Trooper J. Tucker at (850) 316-2474 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Gaetz Wants End To Sports League Tax Exemptions
September 27, 2017
Update: In a Monday press release, Congressman Matt Gaetz stated that the NFL League Office is tax exempt. While still eligible to be tax exempt, they voluntarily relinquished that status in 2015. When questioned by NorthEscambia.com Wednesday morning, a spokesperson for Gaetz made that clarification and issued an updated statement that is below..
Tuesday, Congressman Matt Gaetz became the lead sponsor of a bill that ends the tax-exempt status of professional sports leagues.
The NFL League Office received a special tax carveout from 1966 until it was voluntarily relinquished in 2015. Though individual teams were not tax-exempt, the NFL League Office was. They are responsible for the construction and development of new stadiums, paid for with over 6.5 billion taxpayer dollars. Tax-exempt revenues for professional sports leagues are higher than $2 billion. According to the Internal Revenue Service, businesses that conduct operations for profit on a “cooperative basis” should not qualify for tax-exempt treatment, yet a special exemption is made for professional sports leagues.
“Though the NFL voluntarily relinquished their tax exempt status in 2015, the NHL, PGA, and LPGA remain tax exempt. There is nothing that prevents the NFL from reclaiming its status. My legislation would end this loophole and generate over $150 million in new revenue over 10 years, according to 2016 estimates,” Gaetz said in a clarified statement Wednesday morning.
“Like many Americans, I was dismayed and disgusted to see multimillionaire athletes sitting or kneeling during the national anthem. Standing for the national anthem shows respect for our nation, and for the brave men and women who have sacrificed so much to protect our freedoms,” Rep. Gaetz said. “Those hard-fought freedoms include freedom of speech, and free speech does include protest. But nowhere in the Constitution does it say that Americans are required to subsidize disrespect for America, or to have their tax dollars wasted on corporate welfare to sports teams. Tax reform is currently the top priority of Congress. We must close this loophole in the tax code, and end taxpayer subsidies for professional athletics. If players want to protest, they have that right — but they should do it on their own time, and on their own dime.”
In 2016, the Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that this bill would bring in approximately 150 million dollars in new revenue over ten years.
Job Fair: School District Hiring Support Personnel
September 27, 2017
The Escambia County School District will hold a job fair Thursday for educational support personnel (ESPs).
ESP positions include school bus providers (CDL training provided), teacher’s assistants, substitute teacher’s assistants, food service assisstants, maintenance workers and more.
The job fair will be held from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Thursday at 30 East Texar Drive in Pensacola.
These jobs are great positions for parents who would like their work schedule to be similar to their child’s schedule because fall break, winter break and spring break dates would match, according to the school district.
Multiple positions are available at schools in the North Escambia area.
Nursing Homes Look For Answers On Generator Costs
September 27, 2017
With time running out to comply with what could be a $240 million generator mandate handed down by Gov Rick Scott, nursing-home administrators and long-term care lobbyists left a Tuesday meeting without an indication of what, if anything the state will do to help offset the costs.
Members of a nursing-home payment workgroup may have to wait until November before state Medicaid officials discuss generators and whether the facilities can be reimbursed under an existing cost-based reimbursement system that has been in effect for more than 20 years or through a prospective payment system that starts in October 2018. Under a prospective payment system, facilities receive prepaid fixed amounts.
Scott this month directed the Agency for Health Care Administration and the Department of Elder Affairs to issue emergency rules requiring every nursing home and assisted living facility to have a generator that can power air conditioning for 96 hours. He made the move after the deaths of residents of a Broward County nursing home, where Hurricane Irma knocked out the air-conditioning system.
Florida Health Care Association chief lobbyist Bob Azstalos asked Medicaid staff during Tuesday’s meeting to provide the workgroup members with background information that shows how generators would be reimbursed under the existing cost-based system compared to under the prospective payment system, which was passed by the Legislature during the 2017 session.
“I would kind of like some background understanding,” Azstalos told Tom Wallace, the Agency for Health Care Administration’s interim assistant deputy secretary for Medicaid finance and analytics.
Wallace made no promises but said Medicaid officials would “talk internally” and see what could be done.
In opening remarks, Medicaid Director Beth Kidder told members of the Nursing Home Prospective Payment Working Group that while generators may be on their minds, they need to focus on a legislative requirement to submit a report to the governor and legislative leaders with recommendations about how to best transition to the new payment system.
“I know there is a lot of post-mortem going on and there’s issues with generators that are focusing a lot of your time, a lot of your thoughts; so it’s kind of hard to drag your attention back to something that seems like it was years ago, but I do appreciate you all being here so soon after getting through this event,” she said.
Lorne Simmons, with the accounting and consulting firm Moore Stephens Lovelace PA, told industry officials last week that it would cost an estimated $350,000 for a 120-bed nursing home to add a generator. In all, he estimated a tab of $240 million.
The mandate came in the aftermath of the deaths of eight residents of The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills in Broward County. Three more seniors who had been residents of the facility died last week.
The nursing home lost its air conditioning system Sept. 10 when Hurricane Irma knocked out a transformer. The air conditioning had not been restored three days later when the eight deaths occurred and the rest of the facility’s residents were evacuated.
Under the emergency rules ordered by Scott, nursing homes and assisted-living facilities have 45 days to submit plans that would include acquiring generators to ensure temperatures could be maintained at 80 degrees or cooler for 96 hours after losing electricity. Nursing homes and assisted-living facilities would have to carry out the plans within 60 days.
Under state law, emergency rules are designed to be in effect for only 90 days. But lawmakers are already preparing to consider the generator issue during the 2018 legislative session, which starts in January.
The prospective payment workgroup was established after a bitter intra-industry legislative fight over how Medicaid reimburses nursing home providers. The Florida Health Care Association pressed hard for adoption of a prospective payment system and an underlying formula used to help determine how the money is spent and had the support of the Florida Senate.
LeadingAge Florida, which represents smaller nursing homes and senior retirement facilities, tried to beat back the move, arguing that the underlying formula shifted money from high-quality nursing homes and directed it to lower quality nursing homes. Ultimately the Legislature agreed to approve the prospective payment system but delayed implementation for a year.
The Legislature established a workgroup and directed it to review the formula and to recommend any adjustments, if necessary, to the agency, the governor, the Senate president and the House speaker by Dec. 1.
The workgroup was supposed to meet earlier this month, but the Agency for Health Care Administration had to reschedule the meeting because of Hurricane Irma.
In all, it will meet three times before finalizing a report. The next scheduled meeting is Oct. 19 in Tallahassee.
by Christine Sexton, The News Service of Florida
Century Business Fire Under Investigation
September 26, 2017
The cause of a commercial building fire in Century Monday night is under investigation.
Passersby reported smoke and flames to be coming from the roof and door of the former used car lot building at the corner of North Century Boulevard and East Cottage Street about 9:50 p.m. The fire was quickly brought under control with moderate damage to the 1,080 square foot building.
There were no injuries reported.
The Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office was called to investigate the cause of the fire.
The building now houses a used merchandise business.
The Century and McDavid stations of Escambia Fire Rescue, the Jay Fire Department, Flomaton Fire Department, Atmore Fire Department, Escambia County (FL) EMS, Escambia County (FL) Sheriff’s Office and the Flomaton Police Department were among the agencies responding.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
A Few Showers Today
September 26, 2017
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms.Mostly sunny, with a high near 90. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.
Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 69. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 91. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph.
Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 69. Calm wind.
Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 91. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph in the morning.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 69. North wind around 5 mph.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 88. North wind around 5 mph.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 66. North wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 85.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 65.
Sunday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 82.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 64.
Monday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 81.
Mintz Lane In Cantonment To Be Closed Thursday
September 26, 2017
Mintz Lane at Muscogee Road in Cantonment will be closed to all traffic Thursday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Construction will consist of upgrading the existing drainage facilities under Mintz Lane, in association with the Muscogee Road widening and drainage improvement project.
Traffic will be detoured via Pace Parkway. The closures/detours are expected to remain in effect for approximately one day.
Every effort will be made to expedite construction efforts to reopen the roads in a timely manner. If other lane or roadway closures are necessary beyond the anticipated time period, another notice will be issued.
October 1-7 Proclaimed As National 4-H Week In Escambia County
September 26, 2017
The Escambia County Commission recently proclaimed October 1-7 as National 4-H Week in Escambia County. The commission’s proclamation also encourages all citizens to recognize the 4-H organization “for the significant impact it has made and continues to make by empowering youth with the skills they need to lead for a lifetime”.
Hurricane Irma Claims Mount — Including 90 Claims In Escambia County
September 26, 2017
Property-insurance claims from Hurricane Irma continue to mount, nearing $3.6 billion in estimated insured losses as of a weekend count — including 90 claims for damage in Escambia County.
As of Saturday night, 562,262 claims had been filed, with the estimated losses at $3,579,859,034, according to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. The largest number of claims, 63,823, had been filed in Miami-Dade County, the state website said. Others with large numbers included Orange County, with 48,505 claims; Broward County, with 43,845 claims; and Lee County, with 41,799 claims.
Hurricane Irma struck the Florida Keys on Sept. 10 and then made a second landfall in Collier County, moving up the entire length of the state before exiting as a tropical storm on September 11. The insurance claims show the heaviest property losses appear to be in the southern portion of the state, where the storm was in its most powerful stages.
Of the 90 claims filed in Escambia County to date, 21 claims have been paid, nine have been closed with no payment and 60 remain open.