More Hot And Humid Weather With A Chance Of Rain
August 13, 2017
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Monday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 91. Heat index values as high as 105. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Monday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 75. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Tuesday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 89. Southwest wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Tuesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 75. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Wednesday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 89. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 75. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Thursday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 90.
Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 75.
Friday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 90.
Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 75.
Saturday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 89.
Escambia County Meetings This Week
August 13, 2017
Here is a schedule of Escambia County meeting during the next week:
Monday, Aug. 14
Marine Advisory Committee, Escambia County Central Office Complex, 3363 West Park Place, 5:30 p.m. (Agenda)
Tuesday, Aug. 15
Environmental Enforcement Special Magistrate, Ernie Lee Magaha Government Building, 221 Palafox Place, 1:30 p.m. (Agenda)
Pensacola-Escambia Promotion and Development Commission, 418 West Garden St., 2 p.m.
Wednesday, Aug. 16
Escambia Soil and Water Conservation District Board, 151 Highway 97, Molino, 8 a.m.
Board of Adjustment, Escambia County Central Office Complex, 3363 West Park Place, 8:30 a.m. (Agenda)
Development Review Committee, Escambia County Central Office Complex, 3363 West Park Place,1 p.m.
Thursday, Aug. 17
Community Redevelopment Agency, Ernie Lee Magaha Government Building, 221 Palafox Place, 9 a.m.
Board of County Commissioners Agenda Review Session, Ernie Lee Magaha Government Building, 221 Palafox Place, 9:05 a.m.
Board of Electrical Examiners, Escambia County Central Office Complex, 3363 West Park Place, 3 p.m. (Agenda)
Board of County Commissioners Public Forum, Ernie Lee Magaha Government Building, 221 Palafox Place, 4:30 p.m.
Board of County Commissioners Regular Meeting, Ernie Lee Magaha Government Building, 221 Palafox Place, 5:30 p.m.
New Traffic Pattern Begins Tonight On I-10 At Highway 29
August 13, 2017
Drivers will encounter a new traffic pattern on I-10 eastbound near the Highway 29 exit beginning Sunday night. The wider bridge and travel lanes will open, removing the eastbound left merge lane onto I-10 from U.S. 29 south. Motorists will encounter intermittent lane closures between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. as crews perform operations to transition traffic to the new configuration.
“The construction team worked diligently to complete this part of the project and eliminate the left-side merge,” said Senior Project Engineer Erica Jernigan. “The measure will benefit the many commuters who travel the route daily.”
In the new configuration, three I-10 eastbound travel lanes will merge with the current three lanes just east of the I-10/U.S. 29 interchange. Drivers traveling from U.S. 29 north to I-10 eastbound will have a standard right-side merge onto I-10 eastbound.
All construction activities are weather dependent and may be delayed or re-scheduled in the event of inclement weather.
Graphic source: FDOT
PSC Student Tiffany Daniels Missing For Four Years
August 13, 2017
Saturday marked four years since 25-year old Tiffany Daniels went missing, last seen leaving Pensacola State College where she worked as a theater technician.
Her 1999 Toyota 4Runner was found August 20, 2013, in a parking lot of Park West, near Ft. Pickens, on Pensacola beach. Her bicycle and phone were in the vehicle. Extensive searches were conducted in the area near where her vehicle was found.
“It’s like she literally vanished,” her mother Cindy Daniels said at the time.
Daniels is 5-feet 7-inches tall with blond hair and blue eyes. She has tattoos of plants growing from seeds on the top of both feet. Anyone who may have information on Daniels’ location, or her activities before, during and after her disappearance are asked to contact the Pensacola Police Department at (850)435-1900 or their local law enforcement agency.
Pictured above and below. Search and rescue volunteers prepare to search Pensacola Beach near Fort Pickens for Tiffany Daniels in August 2013. File photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Getting Ready To Really Heat Up
August 13, 2017
Florida is creeping through the middle of a sweltering summer in a non-election year.
Yet things may soon get hotter in the halls of government.
Kids are heading back to school. College football will soon dominate Saturday afternoons. And state lawmakers will start holding committee meetings, as bill filing got underway this week for the 2018 session. Among the early bills filed: proposals to expand gun rights and ban texting while driving.
This week was more about anticipation for the political crowd. But Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, answered one of the lingering questions Friday, when he opened a campaign account to run for governor.
That could be a sign of a heated legislative season ahead, as Latvala, Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam and possibly House Speaker Richard Corcoran look to move into the governor’s mansion.
TAKING AIM AT OPIOID CRISIS
Latvala has toured the state in recent weeks, at least in part to gather information in advance of the 2018 session.
He included a roundtable appearance Tuesday in Palm Beach County with lawmakers, local leaders and public-safety officials to address Florida’s raging opioid crisis.
Palm Beach County is one of the epicenters of the epidemic.
During this spring’s legislative session, state lawmakers passed bills to address what are known as “sober homes” — a major issue in Palm Beach County — and to crack down on people who traffic in fentanyl, a deadly painkiller sometimes mixed with heroin.
From January through May of this year, the county had 311 opioid overdoses, compared to 258 over the same period in 2016, according to numbers from Latvala’s office. The county totaled 592 opioid-related deaths in 2016.
Palm Beach County Vice Mayor Melissa McKinlay said the county had spent more than $200,000 on Narcan, an opiate antidote used in emergency situations.
“The epidemic is impacting the manufacturing industry and business communities,” McKinlay said. “People cannot pass drug tests because of this. The bigger picture is that addiction is a disease. We want to break the stigma of addicts because nobody wakes up one day and chooses to become an addict.”
The timing of the roundtable couldn’t have been better.
President Donald Trump, a part-time Florida man with a home in Palm Beach, announced two days later he’s ready to officially declare the opioid crisis a “national emergency,” with ramped-up government efforts.
“We’re going to spend a lot of time, a lot of effort and a lot of money on the opioid crisis,” Trump told reporters at his golf course in Bedminster, N.J. “It is a serious problem, the likes of which we’ve never had.”
GOODSON, FORMER LAWMAKERS MAKE PSC SHORTLIST
If restaurateur and former legislator Jimmy Patronis could do it …
A nominating council this week settled on a short list of 14 candidates who will be interviewed for three open seats on the state Public Service Commission, and the list is littered with familiar names in the Capitol.
Among the candidates for the utility-regulatory commission who will be interviewed next week are state Rep. Tom Goodson of Rockledge, former Rep. Rich Glorioso of Plant City, former Rep. Ken Littlefield of Wesley Chapel, former Sen. Greg Evers of Baker, and former Rep. Ritch Workman of Melbourne.
All are Republicans.
Also slated to be interviewed for the $131,036-a-year positions on the Public Service Commission are two current commissioners, Ronald Brise and Art Graham, whose terms expire at the end of the year.
Gov. Rick Scott will eventually get to make the appointments based on the nominating council’s recommendations.
The third seat has been vacant since the governor appointed Patronis, a former state House member whose family owns the landmark Capt. Anderson’s Restaurant in Panama City, to serve as state chief financial officer in June.
The nominating council is chaired by state Rep. Mike La Rosa, R-St. Cloud, and its members include Sen. Bobby Powell, D-West Palm Beach, Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, Sen. Kathleen Passidomo, R-Naples, Rep. Mike Miller, R-Orlando, and House Minority Leader Janet Cruz, D-Tampa.
Not everyone with ties to the Capitol got invited to the interview round.
Without comment from the council, former state Comptroller Bob Milligan failed to receive a single vote to move on to the next round, and former Rep. Dave Murzin, R-Pensacola, received only a single vote.
At least four votes were needed to advance.
SCOTT’S QUIET BUSINESS TRIP
With little fanfare or public notice, Scott embarked this week on a two-day business fishing trip to Tennessee.
Scott held “business development” meetings with Tractor Supply Co. in Brentwood on Wednesday before heading to Nashville, where he had similar sit-downs with electronics company Griffin Technology, tire company Bridgestone Americas, and building materials manufacturer Louisiana-Pacific Corp.
Similar to a July 21 trip to Las Vegas for meetings with Allegiant Air, online shoe retailer Zappos and the company GigaCrete, the governor’s office did not make a prior announcement of the Tennessee trip.
As with Nevada, Tennessee has a Republican governor.
That contrasts with past business-development trips to Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, California and Kentucky, states that all had Democratic governors at the time of the trips.
Before some of those higher-profile trips, the economic-development agency Enterprise Florida ran radio ads in the targeted state touting the benefits of Florida.
STORY OF THE WEEK: A Leon County grand jury cleared Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum after an investigation into whether software purchased with tax dollars was used for political purposes. The 11-page grand jury report, dated Monday, ends a months-long probe involving Gillum’s actions as Tallahassee mayor. Still, the city government continues to be embroiled in a broader, unrelated FBI investigation that threatens to damage Gillum’s gubernatorial bid.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Let me be very clear: Quotas have no place within the Florida Highway Patrol. Getting in the black and tan to patrol the roadways is expected. Helping to educate and assist motorists is expected. Protecting lives is expected. Quotas are not part of our mission operationally or legally.” — Terry Rhodes, executive director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, in response to a report that Maj. Mark Welch of Troop H in Tallahassee had sent an email to troopers requesting “two citations each hour.”
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Leadership Training Offered For PTAs, PTSAs, Boosters and Non-profits
August 13, 2017
The Escambia County Council of PTA/PTSAs (ECCPTA) is hosting their Annual Leadership Training Event and Vendor Fair on Aug. 19, 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Pensacola State College Library and Arena, 1000 College Boulevard.
“While the event is geared toward PTAs operating their individual units, we are also encouraging all of our schools’ Booster Clubs to attend as well, so that they can learn how to maintain compliance with ECSD’s Outside Support Organization procedures,” said ECCPTA President Michelle Salzman.
ECCPTA is also inviting local, non-profit, community based organizations to attend, so that they may also participate in training sessions covering leadership topics ranging from: creating a budget, taking minutes at meetings, filing 990 taxes, using simple Roberts Rules of Order, fund raising, creating meaningful programs, advocating for a cause, and many more!
The event will launch at 7:30 a.m. with a light breakfast and a welcome from the FLA State PTA President, as well as Escambia County’s School District Superintendent, Malcolm Thomas. Training will begin immediately following their greetings with over a dozen classes offered with three different class periods and time for break-out sessions, as well as time to network and brainstorm in between.
“We are excited to include boosters clubs and other non-profits this year, and to do this, we are also working with Pensacola State College for the first time. The morning’s kick off and training sessions will take place in the PSC Library, Building 20,” added Salzman. “After classes end, we will head over to Building 3 for lunch and a vendor fair with about 70 vendors from non-profit organizations as well as fund raising companies.”
The vendors will introduce attendees to many great and free program ideas, as well as the latest and greatest fund raising opportunities.
Salzman explained some other fun details about the day including a free breakfast and lunch for every per-registered attendee and a free tote bag with freebies from the event’s sponsors, as well as a training binder that has information from every class.
“We know that each person will not be able to attend every training session, so we are asking all facilitators to provide printable materials for a training notebook that everyone can take back to their schools or organization to have as a reference,” added Salzman. “During the vendor fair, we will give away thousands of dollars in prizes from our sponsors!”
The specific class schedule and list of vendors will be updated as the training date gets closer. State PTA representatives will be teaching several of the classes to be offered. Register today to receive email updates with specific information, as well as a Web Based Interface (Phone Application) with all event information. Daycare will be available free of charge with preregistration, for children who are potty trained.
For more information, contact: Michelle Salzman, president, at president@escambiapta.org
Wahoos Homer Times Four In Loss To Mobile
August 13, 2017
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos’ much maligned offense achieved a rare feat Saturday — it crushed three home runs for four runs in the sixth inning to tie the Mobile BayBears, 7-7.
It is particularly unusual since even with the Blue Wahoos four home run outburst Saturday, they rank ninth out of 10 teams in the Southern League with 69 total this season.
But for the second straight game, Mobile rallied in the ninth when leadoff batter Brennon Lund drilled a solo shot to right field that bounced off the column below the scoreboard for an 8-7 victory in front of a sellout crowd of 5,038 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
Pensacola has slipped into a tailspin, losing four straight games and eight of its last nine. Mobile clinched the five-game series, 3-0, and lead their rival Blue Wahoos 10-8 in games this season.
Trailing Mobile, 7-3, Blue Wahoos left fielder Josh VanMeter sparked the sixth inning home run trots. The 22-year-old smacked a line drive two-run home run into the Hill-Kelly Hill in right field with third baseman Nick Senzel on base and no outs pulling Pensacola within, 7-5.
Pensacola right fielder Aristides Aquino launched the second bomb of the inning to left center field with one out for his team-leading 13th homer to make it a one-run game, 7-6.
Finally, first baseman Brian O’Grady yanked a deep fly ball to right field off the bottom right-hand corner of the scoreboard to make it a tie game, 7-7.
“All of a sudden Pensacola has become Coors Field,” said Pensacola manager Pat Kelly, referring to the home-run prone Colorado Rockies stadium. “Balls were jumping out of here.”
Kelly’s favorite long ball was smacked by O’Grady, who hit his seventh homer this season but is batting .167.
“None of those were cheapies,” Kelly said. “They were all good but O’Grady’s was the game’s biggest one. He’s been struggling a little bit. It was nice to see him break out.”
Pensacola also got a dinger out of center fielder Gabriel Guerrero. The Southern League All-Star clobbered a three-run homer to left field in the third inning with second baseman Alberti Chavez and shortstop Blake Trahan on base, which put the Blue Wahoos on top, 3-1. It was his fifth homer of the season.
Mobile seemed to blow the game wide open with its four-run sixth inning to take a 7-3 lead. BayBears shortstop Zach Houchins leadoff with his fourth triple this year into the right field corner. Mobile right fielder Zach Gibbons hit a chopper that Pensacola first baseman Brian O’Grady muffed to allow Houchins to score for a 4-3 Mobile lead. BayBears catcher Jose Briceno then tripled off the top of the wall in left field to drive in Gibbons making it, 5-3. It was his third RBI of the game and he now has 40 this season. Bo Way smacked a sharp line drive to centerfield that drove in Briceno for a 6-3 BayBears lead. The final run scored when Brennon Lund hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score Way for a 7-3 Mobile lead.
All four runs, two of which were earned, came off Pensacola reliever Robert Stock.
“(Mobile) can hit the fastball,” Kelly said. “It took Stock six hitters to figure out they were swinging at the first pitch.”
“We showed a lot of character coming back to put a four-spot against them,” Kelly said. “I liked our approach tonight. We’re getting ready to turn the corner.”
Besides left fielder Lund’s game-winning homer, Mobile catcher Jose Briceno tagged a bullet to left field for a two-out, two-run home run with Houchins on base to knot the game, 3-3 in the fourth inning. It was Briceno’s second homer in three games against the Blue Wahoos giving him eight on the season.
Nothing prepared onlookers for the home run parade. The game was tied, 3-3, after five innings.
Pensacola starter Jesus Reyes pitched five innings gave up three runs on six hits and two walks and struck out three.
“I thought he battled,” Kelly said.
Mobile leads the Southern Division with a 26-22 record in the second half, while Pensacola, which won the first half, dropped to 21-27.
Double Homicide Investigation After Two Found Shot In Flomaton
August 12, 2017
UPDATE: Victims have been identified by Flomaton Police Chief Bryan Davis as husband and wife Timothy Adams, age 50, and Susan Adams, age 61, both of 1455 College Street in Flomaton, the address where their bodies were found Saturday afternoon.
A double homicide investigation is underway after two people were found shot to death inside a Flomaton mobile home this afternoon.
Flomaton Police and the Flomaton Fire Department conducted a welfare check at the mobile home at 1455 College Street about 2:30 Saturday afternoon after a call that the people inside would not answer the door. Forcible entry was made into the home when there was no answer at the door.
“We discovered two deceased persons inside,” Police Chief Bryan Davis said. “Right now, we are doing an active death investigation scene. We have called in the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office to assist us, as well as the State Bureau of Investigation, ALEA….It’s going to be a lengthy investigation.”
Davis said both people suffered gunshot wounds. Davis did not release the names of the deceased because full next of kin notification has not been made. He said the relationship between the male and female victim was not immediately known.
He said the victims were last seen alive sometime Saturday morning.
“We have a lot of witnesses to talk with and to interview…so it is going to take us some time before we have a lot more answers.”
Davis (pictured left) said his department is looking for any leads at this time. He said police are looking for a possible suspect, but they are not releasing the name at this time.
More details will be posted as they become available here on NorthEscambia.com.
Raw video from Chief Davis’ statement is available on the NorthEscambia.com Facebook page.
Pictured above and below: The scene of a death investigation in Flomaton Saturday afternoon. Pictured immediately below: The Escambia County (AL) Medical Examiner arrives at the scene. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
No Injuries In Early Morning Front Yard Crash
August 12, 2017
A driver refused medical treatment after a single vehicle crash early Saturday morning.
A passerby noticed the wrecked vehicle in the front yard of a home in the 2000 block of Old Chemstrand Road about 12:45 a.m. Saturday.
The accident remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Escambia To Settle Auto Accident Claim With Cantonment Man For $90K
August 12, 2017
Escambia County is set to approve a settlement next week with a Cantonment man injured in a 2015 traffic crash caused by a tire that fell out of the cargo area of a county truck.
Daniel Cain was driving a jeep and trailer east on on Muscogee Road near Beulah Road on April 21, 2015.
At that time, an Escambia County Roads and Bridges truck carrying waste tires was traveling in the opposite direction of Cain’s vehicle. A tire became dislodged from the bed of the county truck and bounced into the lane of travel of Cain’s vehicle. In his attempt to avoid collision with the tire, Cain lost control of his Jeep and collided with a Waste Management Solid Waste vehicle. Cain’s Jeep rolled over and partially ejected him.
Cain sustained facial injuries and lacerations in addition to injuries to his neck, thoracic spine and right shoulder. He still has scars on his forehead. After treatment, he was given a permanent impairment rating of 8% of the body as a whole. He continues to have pain in his neck, back and right shoulder, according to county documents.
Cain was airlifted to the hospital, with the LifeFlight bill totaling $59,657.64. Cain currently has liens to his health insurance company, medical payments coverage to his auto insurance and medical providers totaling over $40,000.
As the primary at-fault party in the accident, county attorneys have estimated that a jury verdict could exceed $200,000.
The county attorney’s office will recommend Thursday that the Escambia County Commission approve a settlement with Cain and his wife, Peggy Diane Cain, for $90,000.