Century Approves Lower Budget, Higher Property Tax Revenue
September 18, 2018
The Century Town Council gave approval Monday night to a $3.43 million budget for the next fiscal year and a property tax higher than the rollback rate.
The budget is $1.17 million lower than the town’s previous year budget.
The council also approved a millage rate of .9204, which a 7.3 percent increase over the rollback rate of 0.8578. The rollback rate is the tax rate that would generate the same amount of property tax revenue as approved for the prior year.
The new budget year begins October 1.
Pictured: The Century Town Council Monday night. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Robots, BizKids, Minecraft, Book Clubs At The Molino And Century Libraries
September 18, 2018
There are several special events coming up during the rest of September at the branch libraries in Century and Molino:
Robots with STEAM at WFPL– Molino
—Tuesday, Sept. 18, 6 p.m. – Molino Branch Library
Robots! STEAM staff members will bring robots to the library branches for you to learn and play. Come join in the fun as you explore what these robots can do. Each session begins with an introduction to coding principles and will include a challenge for you to work through with your robot.
Digitization Day – Century
—Tuesday, Sept. 18, noon – 4:30 p.m. – Century Branch Library
When you have only one copy of an important family document or photo, your family history becomes vulnerable to damage. Library staff can help you make digital copies of your family records and photos. Each patron will receive a half-hour help session and a flash drive containing the digital files they made. Reservations are available by phone at (850) 435-5067. Drop-ins are welcome on a first-come, first-served basis.
BizKids at Century and Molino
—Tuesday, Sept. 18, 5:30 p.m. – Century Branch Library
—Thursday, Sept. 20, 5:30 p.m. – Molino Branch Library
—Thursday, Sept. 27, 5:30 p.m. – Molino Branch Library
Youth age six and up are invited to come make things, sell them for play money and learn about financial literacy. Money plays an important part in every person’s life and learning how to make and manage it an be fun for almost anyone.
Minecraft at Molino Branch Library
—Saturday, Sept. 29, 10:30 a.m. – Molino Branch Library
Come get your build on and play Minecraft, hosted by West Florida Public Libraries. Beginners are welcome. Laptops and iPads will be provided.
Molino Book Club – Molino
—Monday, Sept. 24, 6 p.m. – Molino Branch Library
Local Author Katherine Youngblood visits the Molino Library to discuss her book “Cast Away
Stones.” A historical novel set in 1848 era Louisiana.
Two Injured In Highway 29 Crash Near IP
September 18, 2018
Two people were injured in a two vehicle accident Monday just before 6:30 p.m. on Highway 29 near Tree Street, in front of International Paper.
One was person was transported to an area hospital by Escambia EMS, and one other person also suffered minor injuries. The accident remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. The Cantonment station of Escambia Fire Rescue also responded.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Three Injured In Cantonment Rollover Accident
September 18, 2018
Three people reportedly suffered non-life threatening injuries in single vehicle rollover accident about 8:10 p.m. Monday on Devine Farm Road in Cantonment. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Portion Of Hwy 4 Dedicated As The ‘Senator Greg Evers Memorial Highway’
September 18, 2018
A stretch of road in Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties was official dedicated Monday as “Senator Greg Evers Memorial Highway.” Evers, 62, died last summer in a single-vehicle accident near his home in Okaloosa County.
The memorial designation is on part of State Road 4 between Munson Highway and State Road 189 in Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties.
Evers, a Republican, served nine years in the Florida House before his election to the Senate in 2010. Evers left his Senate seat in 2016 to make a bid for the U.S. House but lost the Republican primary to U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz.
Grand Jury Report On ECUA Allegations Remains Secret Two Months Later
September 18, 2018
Today marks two months since an an Escambia County grand jury completed its review into complaints and allegations involving the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority. But that report still has not been released.
The grand jury report was sealed by the court and will remained secret until a court orders its release.
“All matters contained in this report are required to remain secret until released by the Court,” a press release from the State Attorney’s Office said on July 18. “For these reasons no further information may be provided by this office regarding this matter.”
Century Blackcats Show Off New Uniforms
September 18, 2018
The Century Sports Association president stopped by the Century Town Council meeting Monday night to show off the teams’ new uniforms, and to thank the council for their support.
In July, the town council voted to contribute $1,600 towards the purchase of 75 new uniforms. The total purchase price was $4,860.
Century Sports President Amanuel Dobose said program is a positive influence for Century’s youth.
Century’s games begin at 5 p.m. as below for the remainder of the season:
· Sept. 22 – Century at Castleberry
· Sept. 29 – Repton at Century (Homecoming)
· Oct. 6 – Frisco City at Century
· Oct. 13- Century at Georgiana
· Oct. 20 – Beatrice at Century
· Oct. 27 – Jamboree, location TBA
Pictured: Century Sports President Amanuel Dobose gives the Century Town Council a look at new Blackcats uniforms. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
What Fall? Still Feels Like Summer
September 18, 2018
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tuesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 1pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 94. Calm wind.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 72. Calm wind.
Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 92. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph in the morning.
Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 72. Calm wind.
Thursday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 72. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Friday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 90. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph.
Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 71. Calm wind.
Saturday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 89.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 70.
Sunday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 88.
Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 71.
Monday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 88.
Pictured: Monday’s North Escambia sunset. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Blood Drives This Week At Tate, Northview And UWF
September 18, 2018
Blood drives will be held this week at Tate and Nothview high schools and the University of West Florida.
The Big Red Bus will be at the:
- Tate High School on Wednesday from 9 a.m. until 2:30 p.m.
- Northview High School on Wednesday from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m.
OneBlood welcomes blood donations from donors 16 years old and older. Donors that are 16 years old must present a signed permission form from their parent or a guardian before the donation.
Pictured: The OneBlood Big Red Bus earlier this month at the Molino Branch Library. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
State Asks Justices To Clear Way For Amendments
September 18, 2018
Saying First Amendment arguments raised by opponents are “irreconcilable with our constitutional history,” Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office Monday asked the Florida Supreme Court to overturn a ruling that could block at least three proposed constitutional amendments from going on the November ballot.
Bondi’s office filed a 44-page brief in a battle focused on proposed amendments that the Florida Constitution Revision Commission approved this spring. Leon County Circuit Judge Karen Gievers ruled Sept. 5 that the proposals should not go on the ballot because they improperly “bundled” unrelated issues.
In doing so, Gievers sided with arguments raised by former Supreme Court Justice Harry Lee Anstead and fellow plaintiff Robert J. Barnas, who contend the bundled proposals would violate voters’ First Amendment rights. That contention stems from voters potentially having conflicting opinions about issues in the same proposal.
But the brief Monday assailed that argument, describing it as a “novel constitutional theory.” The brief pointed, for example, to state and federal constitutional changes that bundled different issues.
“In short, our constitutional history is replete with examples of situations in which voters have been asked to vote up or down on bundled provisions addressing distinct rights and issues — including the ratification of the Constitution and the First Amendment,” the brief said. “This longstanding historical practice militates against any suggestion that the First Amendment requires arguably unrelated provisions to be adopted on a piecemeal basis.”
Anstead and Barnas last month challenged six proposed amendments approved by the Constitution Revision Commission, a 37-member panel that meets every 20 years and has unique power to place measures on the ballot. Gievers’ decision in the case focused on three amendments because the other three were subjects of separate challenges at the Supreme Court.
But the brief filed Monday by Bondi’s office indicates the case could lead to invalidating more than the three amendments addressed by Gievers. A footnote in Gievers’ ruling said her findings “apply to all 6 of the proposed amendments” but that because of the other challenges “(no) further opinion will issue here as to those amendments.”
The three proposals blocked by Gievers included a measure that would ask voters to ban offshore oil drilling and vaping or the use of electronic cigarettes in workplaces. Gievers rejected the suggestion that the oil-drilling and vaping proposals could be considered related.
“The court is unconvinced by the respondent’s (state’s) argument that offshore oil and gas drilling and vaping are germane as they are both environmentally related,” she wrote. “These measures are independent and unrelated and do not constitute a comprehensive plan of revision and cannot be imposed upon the voters as a unit. Voters cannot reasonably answer the statutorily required yes or no question … without potentially being deprived of their First Amendment constitutional right to cast a meaningful vote on each independent and unrelated proposal.”
Along with the proposal on oil drilling and vaping, Gievers struck from the ballot a measure that deals with governance of the state-college system and death benefits for survivors of first responders and military members. Also, she struck a measure that would remove constitutional language that prohibits “aliens ineligible for citizenship” from owning property and would revise language to make clear the repeal of criminal statutes does not affect the prosecution of crimes committed before the repeal.
With vote-by-mail ballots going out to some voters this week — and the Nov. 6 election less than two months — the Supreme Court is moving quickly in the case. The state appealed Gievers’ ruling to the 1st District Court of Appeal, which passed it along to the Supreme Court.
The state’s brief Monday raised a series of legal issues in addition to arguing that the First Amendment should not block the proposed amendments. Among those arguments was that Anstead and Barnas waited too long to file the challenge.
The Supreme Court this month rejected one of the other constitutional amendments that Anstead and Barnas challenged, though the legal issues in the cases differed. That amendment dealt with charter schools and other education subjects.
Justices, however, upheld the other two measures that Anstead and Barnas challenged — again, in cases that involved other legal issues. Those measures deal with crime victims’ rights and charter county governments.
by Jim Sanders The News Service of Florida