Florida GOP Leaders Urge Focus As Mid-Terms Gear Up
January 8, 2018
Florida Republican leaders Saturday talked of the need to drown out media chatter amid predictions of Democratic gains in this year’s mid-term elections and attacks on the GOP’s unconventional president.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio told members of the Republican Party of Florida gathered for an annual meeting in Orlando to stick with the game plan of policy and tax reform and judicial appointments pushed by President Donald Trump.
“All the headlines in the year to come are going to be about how Republicans are going to get wiped out because in a mid-term election, the president’s party always loses seats. But I would just say this is not a conventional president,” Rubio said to applause. “I think if we’ve learned anything in the last year-and-a-half is that Americans have changed a lot in the way they view politics and in the way they consume news and information. And the country is facing some real stark choices.”
Party Chairman Blaise Ingoglia, a state representative from Spring Hill, advised members to maintain “grassroots” efforts that worked in 2016, as the GOP tries this year to keep the governor’s mansion and state Cabinet in “capable Republican hands” and to “finally send (Democratic U.S. Sen.) Bill Nelson into a final retirement.”
“Then we (can) put the final nail in the coffin of the Florida Democratic Party,” Ingoglia added.
Still, the two-day conference was not all about rallying the troops and harmony.
In a surprisingly divisive contest among “Trump Republicans,” Kathleen King was elected to complete the final two years of the term of former Florida Republican National Committeewoman Sharon Day.
Day, a former co-chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, stepped down last year when she was named by Trump as ambassador to Costa Rica.
King, the Manatee County Republican chairwoman, was appointed in the fall as an interim replacement for Day. She received 128 votes Saturday from among 177 state party members to defeat Karen Giorno of West Palm Beach.
Giorno served as Trump’s state director during the 2016 primary. But she was moved out of that role during a campaign shakeup in September 2016 that saw veteran campaign strategist Susie Wiles become the new Florida director, a matter that was played up in support of King on social media prior to Saturday’s vote.
Tony Ledbetter, chairman of the Volusia County Republican Executive Committee who backed Giorno, denounced the online attacks against his candidate’s lack of party credentials as “fake news.”
“For 25 years (Giorno’s) been working presidential campaigns,” Ledbetter said of Giorno while both candidates met with various party caucuses Friday night.
Giorno said Saturday it was “not fair” to call her an outsider, pointing to her resume as a strategist for national Republican figures and existing relationships with Trump and Gov. Rick Scott.
She had criticized King as an “establishment figure” with no national political experience.
The party’s committeewoman, committeeman and party chairman represent the state on the Republican National Committee.
Saturday’s meeting also came on the heels of U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, a Republican from Palm Coast, vowing to “drain the swamp in Tallahassee” as he formally jumped into the gubernatorial contest on Friday.
Rival candidate Adam Putnam, who was among a number of statewide candidates making the rounds at the conference Friday night, dismissed the notion that the Republican-dominated state Capitol resembles the Washington quagmire.
“Washington is a swamp. A big part of the reason I left was to come home where you can make a difference, you make an impact, you can drive an agenda,” said Putnam, a congressman before getting elected in 2010 to the first of his two terms as state agriculture commissioner. “And that’s exactly what we’ve done. We’ve transformed the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in the last seven years. And with Gov. Scott we have brought Florida back from the brink. I think you can pull any random 20 people out of a Circle K and ask them where the real swamp is and all of them would know that it is Washington.”
DeSantis, who on Saturday gave a partisan overview of where Congress is going in 2018, told reporters that his “swamp” comparison was more in reference to a culture where sexual harassment and entitlement behavior are rampant in both locations.
“I think the thing that we’ve seen in Tallahassee is a lot of people having to resign from the Legislature. A lot of bad conduct has come out. I think there are problems with harassment that need to be addressed,” DeSantis said. “In Washington, the bureaucracy really doesn’t change when Republican get in there. It’s a permanent bureaucracy. So, it’s a little bit different.”
A number of this year’s statewide candidates addressed different caucuses Friday, with some hosting ice cream socials.
State Rep. Jay Fant of Jacksonville, running for attorney general on a platform of “God and family, the United States Constitution and free enterprise,” vowed to prosecute elected officials who support “sanctuary cities” and told party members that “you want to see Planned Parenthood go away. I want to see them go away the very first day I’m attorney general.”
Former Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Ashley Moody, also running to replace term-limited Attorney General Pam Bondi, pointed to courtroom experience on issues ranging from the opioid epidemic to human trafficking and senior abuse.
“These are complicated prosecutions,” Moody said. “You need somebody who has handled these in the past. This is not time for Florida to elect an attorney general who is a politician. We need a practitioner.”
While Ingoglia noted statewide candidates in attendance, he acknowledged that some state lawmakers were excusably absent on Saturday, as this was the final weekend to raise money before Tuesday’s start of the 2018 legislative session. Legislators are prohibited from fundraising during the 60-day session.
Scott, meanwhile, is widely expected to challenge Nelson for the U.S. Senate seat, though he has not declared his candidacy. Scott was not in attendance at the party meeting.
A schedule released by the governor’s office had him in Hollywood on Saturday afternoon to attend services for Broward County Sheriff’s Deputy Michael David Ryan, who died Dec. 31 after collapsing outside a jail.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
PR Guro Wants To Declare UCF Football Dominance
January 8, 2018
Tallahassee public-relations guru Kevin Cate has pushed Florida lawmakers the past couple years to acknowledge the existence of his alma mater, Alabama’s Auburn University, through a specialty license plate.
Now he is trying to round up legislators to proclaim the University of Central Florida as college football national champions after the Knights beat Auburn last Monday to complete an undefeated season.
“I think a resolution by the Florida Legislature declaring @UCF Football national champions is in order this #flsession.” Cate tweeted after UCF’s 34-27 win in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.
Rep. Amber Mariano, a Hudson Republican and 2017 UCF grad, replied “Let’s do it!!”
Rep. Bob Cortes, R-Altamonte Springs, along with Rep. Kionne McGhee, D-Miami, and Senate Minority Leader Oscar Braynon, D-Miami Gardens, have also offered to back the proposal — although, McGhee added a caveat to his support.
“If Alabama wins the Championship, we will begin the debate that @UCF_Football is our National Champ!” McGhee tweeted, referring to the championship game between SEC rivals Alabama and Georgia.
Undefeated and unacknowledged is apparently something Auburn fans know all too well, having twice finished with perfect records — in 1993 and in 2004 — without landing a No. 1 national ranking.
“I’m normally an apologist for the #SEC, but my last football season at @AuburnU, we were undefeated and denied a shot at the national title,” Cate tweeted. “Not fun.”
But this love for the Knights could also be a ploy, as Cate hasn’t given up on the Auburn specialty license-plate dream he shares with Rep. James Grant, a Tampa Republican and fellow Auburn alum.
“Late filed amendment: require @CFBPlayoff to include 10 teams, plus we still get our @AuburnU license plate,” Cate tweeted.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Smoke Leads To Evacuation Of The Homestead Lounge
January 7, 2018
An early morning fire led the evacuation of the Homestead Lounge and Package Store in the 3600 block of Highway 29 north of Cantonment.
An extinguished fire in a restroom was reported about 12:45 a.m. Sunday. The fire fighters arriving on scene reported a light smokey haze in the building, but reported the fire was out.
The exact cause of the smoke was not immediately available.
There were no injuries and no major damage reported.
The Molino, Cantonment, Ensley, Ferry Pass and Bellview stations of Escambia Fire Rescue, and the Pace Fire Department were dispatched to the fire.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
FDOT: Weekly Traffic Alerts
January 7, 2018
Drivers will encounter traffic disruptions on the following state roads in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties as crews perform construction and maintenance activities
Escambia County:
- State Road (S.R.) 87 South (Holly Navarre) Driveway Construction- Intermittent lane restrictions on S.R. 87 just north of Bob Tolbert Road from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 6 as crews perform driveway work.
- S.R. 742 (Creighton Road) Construction Improvement Project from east of Davis Highway to Scenic Highway – Intermittent and alternating lane closures between Davis Highway and Scenic Highway from 8:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 7 through Saturday, Jan. 13 continue as crews perform milling, paving, sidewalk and curb replacement.
- Interstate 10 (I-10) / U.S. 29 Interchange Improvements Phase I – The following traffic impacts are planned on I-10 and U.S. 29 near the interchange (Exits 10A and 10B) from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 7 through Thursday, Jan. 11:
- Alternating lane closures on I-10 east and westbound and U.S. 29 north and southbound.
- The U.S. 29 on-ramps to I-10 eastbound will be intermittently closed. Traffic will be detoured on U.S. 29 to access I-10 eastbound.
- The exit ramp from I-10 westbound to U.S. 29 south (Exit 10A) will be intermittently closed. Traffic will be detoured to U.S. 29 north (Exit 10B).
- Alternating lane closures on the I-10 westbound exit ramp to U.S. 29 north (Exit 10B).
- I-10 Widening from Davis Highway to the Escambia Bay Bridge – Intermittent and alternating lane closures on I-10, between Davis Highway (Exit 13) and Scenic Highway (Exit 17), and on Scenic Highway, between Whisper Way and Northpointe Parkway, from 7 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 7 through Thursday, Jan. 11 as crews perform construction activities. The speed limit on I-10 will be reduced to 60 mph during nighttime lane closures.
- I-110 Speed Limit Increase from Gregory Street to I-10 Sign Maintenance- Crews will begin replacing north and southbound speed limit signs on I-110 Monday, Jan. 8. Operations are anticipated to be complete by Friday, Jan. 12. Drivers are reminded to watch for construction vehicles and workers entering and exiting the roadway.
- U.S. 98 (S.R. 30) Pensacola Bay Bridge Replacement: Alternating lane closures on U.S. 98 east and westbound, from 14th Avenue in Pensacola to Bay Bridge Drive in Gulf Breeze, from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday, Jan. 8 through Tuesday, Jan. 16 as crews perform construction activities.
- U.S. 29 Widening from I-10 to Nine Mile Road – Drivers traveling U.S. 29 and Nine Mile Road will encounter traffic pattern changes from 8 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 7 through Saturday, Jan. 13 as follows:
- Nine Mile Road at the U.S. 29 overpass: Eastbound traffic will be shifted to the westbound inside travel lane nightly as crews prepare the area for construction of the support column for the new center bridge deck. Lane restrictions are Sundays through Thursdays.
- U.S. 29 between I-10 and 9 1/2 Mile Road: Drivers may experience alternating lane closures as crews perform drainage operations.
- Southbound U.S. 29 at Broad Street: Motorists will encounter traffic shifts from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday, Jan. 8 through Thursday, Jan. 11 as a crew places pipe across southbound U.S. 29.
- Broad Street at U.S. 29: Broad Street will be closed on the west side of the U.S. 29 intersection from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday, Jan. 8 through Thursday, Jan. 11 to accommodate drainage work. Detroit Boulevard and Untreiner Avenue will serve as alternate routes. Detour signs and variable message boards are in place to alert drivers of the temporary road closure and detour routes.
Santa Rosa County:
- I-10 Widening from Escambia Bay Bridge to Avalon Boulevard (S.R. 281/Exit 22) – Alternating lane closures on I-10, from the Escambia Bay Bridge to east of S.R. 281 (Avalon Boulevard/Exit 22), from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 7 through Friday, Jan. 12 as crews work to widen the roadway. In addition, alternating lane closures on Avalon Boulevard, near the I-10 interchange, as crews reconstruct the overpass.
- U.S. 98 at Joybrook Road in Navarre Turn Lane Construction and Traffic Signal- Motorists will encounter east and westbound lane closures from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday, Jan. 8 through Thursday, Jan. 9 as crews install a new traffic signal and turn lanes at Joy Brook Road. The traffic signal on U.S. 98 at Joybrook Road in Navarre will become operational at approximately 10 a.m. Tuesday, January 9. The new signal is mounted on horizontal mast arms. Since the signal is in the horizontal position, motorists with color weakness problems will need to remember red is on the left and green on the right. The signal is currently in flash mode to acquaint motorists with the new location.
- U.S. 98 (S.R. 30) Pensacola Bay Bridge Replacement: Alternating lane closures on U.S. 98 east and westbound, from 14th Avenue in Pensacola to Bay Bridge Drive in Gulf Breeze, from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday, Jan. 8 through Tuesday, Jan. 16 as crews perform construction activities.
- S.R. 87 Pipe Maintenance from Laredo Street to Nevada Street- Drivers can expect intermittent lane restrictions from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. through Wednesday, Feb. 28 as crews continue to seal and line existing pipes.
- U.S. 90 Pavement Marking Operations between Shadow Oak Lane and Spears Street in Pace- The westbound outside, right lane of U.S. 90 between Shadow Oak Lane and Spears Street in Pace will be closed from 8 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 10 to 5 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 11 as crews install pavement marking in a new right turn lane.
- S.R. 87 Multilane from Eglin AFB boundary to Hickory Hammock Road – Traffic between County Road 184 (Hickory Hammock Road) and the Eglin AFB boundary is restricted to loads less than 11-feet wide. The restriction will be in place until the project is complete.
All activities are weather dependent and may be delayed or re-scheduled in the event of inclement weather. Drivers are reminded to use caution, especially at night, when traveling through a work zone and to watch for construction workers and equipment entering and exiting the roadway.
Increasing Clouds Today, Rain For Sunday Night And Monday
January 7, 2018
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 55. Southeast wind around 10 mph.
Tonight: Showers likely, mainly after midnight. Cloudy, with a temperature falling to near 44 by 8pm, then rising to around 51 during the remainder of the night. East wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Monday: Showers. High near 58. East wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between 1 and 2 inches possible.
Monday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Cloudy, with a low around 51. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of showers before noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 66. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 53. East wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 68. East wind 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 58. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
Thursday: A 40 percent chance of showers, mainly after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 71. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday Night: Showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 56. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Friday: A 50 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 62.
Friday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 39.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 53.
Open Gaetz Day, Town Hall With The Congressman Set For Jan. 22
January 7, 2018
Mark your calendars…Congressman Matt Gaetz will hold an “Open Gaetz Day” and a town hall meeting on January 22.
The Town Hall will be held from 6:30 until 8 p.m. on January 22 at Navy Federal Credit Union at 5510 Heritage Oaks Drive. The Congressman will be available to take questions and hear from constituents. His staff will also be available to assist any constituents who may be experiencing an issue with a federal agency.
The town hall will follow a day of events in Cantonment and Ensley beginning with a 9 a.m. visit to Tate High School. Gaetz will hold Mobile Office Hours from 10:30 until 1:00 at PenAir Federal Credit Union on Nine Mile Road — call (850) 479-1183 to schedule an appointment with Gaetz.
Gaetz will tour Ascend Performance Materials at 1:15 p.m., visit Home Depot in Nine Mile Road at 2:30 p.m., and visit with community residents door to door in Cantonment and Ensley from 3:30 until 5:45 p.m. before attending the town hall meeting.
Suspect Confesses To Burglaries In Perdido, Nokomis
January 7, 2018
A Bay Minette man has been arrested for multiple burglaries from Bay Minette to Perdido to Nokomis, AL.
Lewis Lamar Clayton Jr. of Bay Minette was booked into the Baldwin County Detention Center on five counts of burglary third degree. He was being held without bond.
The Baldwin County Sheriffs Office said the burlgaries involved forced entry into residences and garages. On January 2, game camera photographs were recovered from a victim’s residence off Highway 31 in Bay Minette showing a tall slender built white male suspect. Later in the day, Bay Minette Police officers observed a white male matching the description of the burglary suspect and performed a traffic stop on the suspect, later identified as Clayton. At the time of the traffic stop, he was wearing the same clothing as in the game camera photos.
Deputies said Clayton confessed to five reported burglaries, two unreported burglaries, and a burglary in Nokomis (Escambia County, AL). He confessed to knocking on the doors of residences to ensure that no one was home before breaking in. He primarily stole guns, TV’s and Christmas presents from under Christmas trees.
Clayton provided information regarding the locations of the stolen property from all of the offences. Sheriff’s investigators traveled to several residential and commercial locations and recovered 13 firearms, multiple items of lawn equipment, power tools and one television. Attempts to identify additional victims will be made and could result in additional charges.
If anyone has additional information about Clayton, contact Corporal Rob Lindell of the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office at (251) 972-8589 option 2.
Berry Named Escambia Employee Of The Month For January
January 7, 2018
Thressa “Terri” Berry, a project coordinator in the Escambia County Public Works Department Engineering Division, has been selected as Escambia County’s January Employee of the Month. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Ten Issues To Watch In Florida’s 2018 Legislative Session
January 7, 2018
Florida lawmakers will start the 2018 legislative session Tuesday, with Gov. Rick Scott giving his annual State of the State address.
During the subsequent two months, the House and Senate will negotiate a state budget and consider hundreds of bills. Here are 10 big issues to watch as the session moves forward:
BUDGET: Scott has proposed an $87.4 billion spending plan for the fiscal year that starts July 1. The proposal includes politically popular ideas such as boosting education funding and providing tax cuts. But the proposal is only a starting point for lawmakers, who are expected to face a tight budget. A September analysis estimated a slim $52 million surplus for the coming year — and that did not account for the state’s costs from Hurricane Irma.
ENVIRONMENT: Eyeing money from a 2014 constitutional amendment about land and water conservation, lawmakers will consider a series of proposals that could shield property from development and restore waterways. For example, Senate budget chief Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, has proposed spending $100 million a year on the Florida Forever program and wants to set aside $50 million a year for the restoration of the St. Johns River, its tributaries and the Keystone Heights lake region in North Florida.
HEALTH CARE: House Republican leaders likely will renew a push to ease health-care regulations, an effort they say would help increase access to care and lower costs. Examples include eliminating the “certificate of need” approval process for hospital building projects and ending a restriction on patients staying overnight at ambulatory surgical centers. Such proposals, however, have died in recent years in the Senate amid opposition from parts of the hospital industry.
HIGHER EDUCATION: Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, has made a top priority of revamping the higher-education system and will continue seeking changes during his final term. Senators are expected to quickly approve a bill that would make permanent an expansion of Bright Futures scholarships and take steps to further bolster need-based aid. Negron also wants changes such as holding universities to a four-year graduation standard in performance funding.
HURRICANE IRMA: When Hurricane Irma smashed into Florida on Sept. 10, it reset priorities for the 2018 legislative session. Lawmakers are considering dozens of ideas for responding to Irma and preparing for future storms. For instance, they are looking at possibly providing financial help to the agriculture industry, which took at least a $2.5 billion hit in Irma. They also will grapple with Scott’s push to require long-term care facilities to have generators and fuel to keep buildings cool when electricity goes out.
INSURANCE: Insurance lobbyists will try to persuade lawmakers to revamp laws dealing with a controversial practice known as “assignment of benefits,” which the industry blames for increased property-insurance costs. The practice involves policyholders signing over benefits to contractors, who then pursue payment from insurers — often leading to disputes and lawsuits. Lawmakers also will consider renewed proposals to eliminate the state’s no-fault auto insurance system.
K-12 EDUCATION: House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, has made clear he wants to continue expanding school-choice programs, which draw opposition from Democrats and many public-school officials. The House has started moving forward with a bill that would offer voucher-like scholarships to students who are bullied in public schools. Meanwhile, the House and Senate face a key budget disagreement on the use of increased property-tax revenues in funding public schools.
OPIOID EPIDEMIC: With overdoses skyrocketing and families being torn apart, lawmakers will look for ways to address the state’s opioid epidemic. Scott wants to spend $53 million to address the issue, with much of the money going to substance-abuse treatment. Scott and lawmakers also could place limits on initial opioid prescriptions that doctors write for patients. The idea is to prevent patients from getting hooked on prescription painkillers and then moving onto potentially deadly street drugs.
TAX CUTS: Since taking office in 2011, Scott has made cutting taxes a hallmark of his administration. As he enters his final legislative session, Scott has proposed $180 million in tax and fee cuts. The proposal, however, does not include major changes in the tax system. Instead, it includes a 10-day sales tax “holiday” for back-to-school shoppers and reductions in motorist-related fees, including fees for obtaining and renewing driver’s licenses.
TEXTING WHILE DRIVING: Lawmakers in recent years have repeatedly rejected efforts to toughen the state’s ban on texting while driving. But the issue has a better chance of passing during the 2018 session after Corcoran announced that he supports making texting while driving a “primary” offense. Currently, it is a “secondary” offense, meaning motorists can only be cited if they are pulled over for other reasons. But if it is a primary offense, police would be able to stop motorists for texting behind the wheel.
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
Knight Graduates From Basic Military Training
January 7, 2018
U.S. Air Force Reserve Airman 1st Class Eric M. Knight graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas.
The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills.
Airmen who complete basic training also earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force.
Knight is the son of Sharon Knight and Larry Knight Jr. of Cantonment.
He is a 2017 graduate of Pensacola High School.