Escambia County Weekly Meeting Schedule
October 29, 2018
Here is a schedule of Escambia County public meetings this week:
Tuesday, Oct. 30
Environmental Enforcement Special Magistrate – 1:30 p.m., Escambia County Central Office Complex, 3363 West Park Place, Room 104
Wednesday, Oct. 31
Development Review Committee – 1 p.m., Escambia County Central Office Complex, 3363 West Park Place
Thursday, Nov. 1
Board of County Commissioners Agenda Review Session – 9 a.m., Ernie Lee Magaha Government Building, 221 Palafox Place, Board Chambers
BCC Public Forum – 4 p.m., Ernie Lee Magaha Government Building, 221 Palafox Place, Board Chambers
BCC Regular Meeting (Clerk’s Report, County Administrator’s Report, County
Attorney’s Report) – 5 p.m., Ernie Lee Magaha Government Building, 221 Palafox Place, Board Chambers
BCC Regular Meeting (Proclamations/Public Hearings/Growth Management Report) – 5:30 p.m., Ernie Lee Magaha Government Building, 221 Palafox Place, Board Chambers
The Miracle League: Where Everyone Wins
October 28, 2018
The Tate High School Cheerleaders volunteered as buddies Saturday morning at the Miracle League, where everyone wins.
In a park where hundreds of Escambia County area athletes play baseball, softball and t-ball every year, one set of baseball diamonds stands out from the rest. A rubber surface covers what would normally be clay and grass on three of the fields at the county-owned John R. Jones Jr. Athletic Complex on Nine Mile Road, providing a safe, fun place for everyone who wants to play ball.
And for the Miracle League of Pensacola, “everyone” truly means everyone.
It’s a place where every player plays, hits, gets on base, scores and wins – every game. Operating out of the John R. Jones Jr. Athletic Complex, the Miracle League of Pensacola provides physically and mentally challenged children and adults an opportunity to play baseball, softball and t-ball just like anyone else, all in a spirited and secure environment.
The Miracle League of Pensacola relies on its many volunteers or “buddies” to keep the program going.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Amendment 9: Combining Vaping, Drilling Ban Draws Criticism
October 28, 2018
A move to expand the state’s 16-year ban on smoking in indoor workplaces to include electronic cigarettes and vaping is drawing opposition.
But unlike in 2002 when the smoking ban passed, the opposition is not coming from a campaign by Florida restaurants to kill the proposal.
Instead, the measure is facing criticism, including from some newspaper editorial boards, because of the process used by the 37-member Florida Constitution Revision Commission to put what is known as Amendment 9 on the Nov. 6 ballot.
Rather than allowing the vaping ban to stand on its own as a proposed constitutional amendment, the commission coupled it with a proposed ban on offshore oil drilling in Florida waters, describing the combination as an environmental amendment.
The Florida Supreme Court said the commission followed the rules, but the decision to combine the proposals might turn at least some voters against what otherwise could be popular ideas.
Constitution Revision Commission member Lisa Carlton, a key supporter of Amendment 9, is asking voters to reflect before possibly voting against the measure because of the process.
“For this election, look at all the amendments on the ballot. Study them and decide, based on substance, whether they fit into what you think Florida should look like for the next generation,” said Carlton, a former state lawmaker who was the commission’s primary sponsor of the proposed vaping ban and a co-sponsor of the oil drilling ban.
Carlton steadfastly defends the process and said the two issues were rolled into an amendment that addresses the environment.
She also noted that the Supreme Court sided with the commission and against opponents who tried to remove Amendment 9 and other amendments from the ballot because the proposals combined different issues. A lawsuit filed by former Supreme Court Justice Harry Lee Anstead and another plaintiff unsuccessfully argued that including various subjects in single ballot measures —- a practice known as “logrolling” — violated the First Amendment, but the Supreme Court rejected the lawsuit.
Retired University of South Florida political-science professor Susan MacManus said, however, that of all the amendments, voters are most perplexed about the coupling of the issues in Amendment 9.
“It makes no sense to the average voter why they were put together,” MacManus told The News Service of Florida in an interview. “Yet the people who wrote it said it was logical.”
Questions about process aside, Amendment 9 — and other amendments on the ballot — could face an uphill battle, McManus said, because of voters skipping items at the bottom of the ballot. In all, voters will face decisions on 12 proposed constitutional amendments, which were placed on the ballot by the Constitution Revision Commission, the Legislature and through petition drives.
The amendments appear on the ballot behind several high-profile races, including races for governor and U.S. senator. McManus said that in past elections, voter “roll-off” — skipping items at the bottom of the ballot — has been as high as 15 percent, but it could be as high as 25 percent this year.
Constitutional amendments must receive 60 percent support from voters to pass.
Amendment 9, in part, would expand a 2002 constitutional amendment that overwhelmingly passed to ban smoking in most workplaces, including restaurants.
In addition to drawing a legal challenge, the way Amendment 9 was put together has drawn opposition such as in a Tampa Bay Times editorial that encouraged readers to vote against the proposal. That move caught Carlton’s ire, leading her to write a letter to the Tampa Bay Times and other media outlets, including The News Service of Florida.
Carlton said the editorial “shocked” her.
“I was completely shocked that a newspaper — which from the news side and the editorial side that has written so much about offshore oil drilling and how horrible it is for our environment and our state and our tourist economy and our sea life — would not look at this as an opportunity for Floridians to make a strong statement to the rest of the country on our thoughts on offshore oil drilling,” Carlton said.
But David Mica, executive director of the Florida Petroleum Council, said he’s not surprised the amendment has drawn criticism.
“It’s not rocket science these are two topics that are totally unrelated,” said Mica, whose group opposes the amendment and maintains that a current state law about drilling in state waters is sufficient. “This issue is the poster child with what was wrong with the bundling that was done. The court said it was legal, but it doesn’t make it right.”
The American Lung Association issued a statement last week supporting Amendment 9, with Chief Mission Officer Deb Brown saying the amendment “will protect Floridians from the dangers of e-cigarette aerosols in our state’s workplaces and public places where smoking is already prohibited.”
And while the restaurant industry lobbied against the 2002 smoking ban, the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association is supporting Amendment 9.
Samantha Padgett, general counsel for the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association, said the group thinks the ban on electronic cigarettes and vaping in workplaces should be added to the Constitution for consistency.
“That ship has sailed,” she said of the original opposition to the workplace smoking ban, adding “this is how they regulate now.”
by Christine Sexton, The News Service of Florida
NWE Sophomores And Freshmen Advance To ERC Championships
October 28, 2018
The NWE Freshmen and Sophomore Chiefs are headed to the ERC championships after wins Saturday in Bratt.
The freshmen championship game will be next Saturday at 1 p.m. at Poarch; the sophomore game will kick off at 2:30.
Here are Saturday’s finals:
Seniors
- Brewton 50, Neal 15
- Excel 35, Baker 0
Juniors
- Brewton 35, Baker 0
- Poarch 27, Baker 6
Sophomores
- NWE 20, Brewton 0
- Jay 27, Poarch 6
Freshmen
- NWE 6, Brewton 0
- Excel 27, Baker 0
Hundred Attend Atmore’s Williams Station Day (With Gallery)
October 28, 2018
Hundreds of people attended the annual Williams Station Day in Atmore Saturday.
Williams Station Day takes its name from Atmore’s early history when in 1866 the community was a supply stop along the Mobile and Great Northern railroad.
Festival-goers enjoyed plenty of good food, a variety of musical entertainment and lots of arts and crafts.
For a photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Warm Fall Days Near 80 Ahead
October 28, 2018
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 80. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Sunday Night: Clear, with a low around 60. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming west after midnight.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 80. North wind around 5 mph becoming east in the afternoon.
Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 55. Calm wind.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 81. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the morning.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 63. South wind around 5 mph.
Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 80. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Wednesday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63. South wind around 10 mph becoming west after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Thursday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 72. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 49.
Friday: Sunny, with a high near 70.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 46.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 69.
Chapman Named Pine Meadow Teacher Of The Year
October 28, 2018
Pine Meadow Elementary School has named Susan Chapman as their Teach of the Year. She teaches third grade. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview Grad Doremus Graduates From Marine Boot Camp
October 28, 2018
Logan Michael Doremus, a 2018 graduate of Northview High School, graduated from the United States Marine Corps boot camp at Parris Island, SC, recently. He will go on to become an aviation mechanic with the USMC.
What Is Florida’s Favorite Halloween Candy?
October 28, 2018
The Florida Retail Federation (FRF) says Florida has new favorite candy for Halloween and fall events.
Snickers beat out last year’s winner Skittles followed by Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. This year, the FRF estimates more than 661,000 pounds of Snickers will be bought in Florida for Halloween, 579,000 pounds of Skittles and 214,000 pounds of Reese’s Cups. The top five favorite candies nationally are Skittles, M&Ms, Snickers, Reese’s Cups and Starburst.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: DeSantis, Gillum Drop The Gloves
October 28, 2018
“I went to a fight the other night and a gubernatorial debate broke out.”
With apologies to comedian Rodney Dangerfield’s famous line about hockey games, that seems like an apt characterization of the two debates this week between Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum and Republican nominee Ron DeSantis.
The fighting began Sunday night with a debate on CNN and concluded Wednesday evening with a televised debate at Broward College. If they watched, Floridians witnessed no-holds-barred exchanges, where character attacks obscured debate over the stark policy differences between the two candidates.
DeSantis slammed the ethics and honesty of Gillum, questioning whether he has been telling the truth about his role in an ongoing FBI investigation in Tallahassee, where Gillum is mayor.
DeSantis’ allegations have been bolstered by the release of documents related to a state ethics investigation. The documents raise questions about how Gillum paid for a pricey ticket to the hit musical “Hamilton” and a Costa Rica vacation.
Gillum, seeking to be the first African-American governor in Florida, hammered DeSantis over his association with people who have been called racists and for DeSantis’ comment that Gillum would “monkey this up” — referring to the state’s success under outgoing Gov. Rick Scott — if elected.
Gillum stopped just short of calling DeSantis a racist but said “racists believe he is a racist.”
While the back-and-forth drew headlines, the vitriolic debates may not have much impact on the outcome of the election for several reasons.
One is that most voters have made up their minds about the two candidates seeking to succeed Scott. A Quinnipiac University poll released this week showed only 2 percent of the voters were undecided and only 4 percent said they might change their minds.
That could be expected in what is viewed as a “base” election with both candidates targeting and trying to energize their most loyal supporters.
A second factor likely to diminish volatility in the final days of the campaign is that many Floridians have already cast ballots or will do so before Election Day on Nov. 6. As of Friday, more than 2 million of the 13.3 million registered voters had already cast their votes, either through mail-in ballots or at early-voting sites.
GILLUM VS. DESANTIS, ROUND ONE
Gillum and DeSantis shredded each other Sunday night during their first debate, which was hosted in Tampa by CNN’s Jake Tapper.
Gillum, who is backed by prominent progressives across the country, and DeSantis, a former congressman whose pedigree boasts of a Harvard law degree and a stint as a Navy attorney, couldn’t be farther apart on the political spectrum, or on their stances on issues.
They sniped throughout the debate about the environment, health care, and, of course, President Donald Trump, whose support helped boost DeSantis to a GOP primary victory in August.
Tapper asked about DeSantis’ opposition to a sweeping state law, passed after the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County. The law raised the minimum age from 18 to 21 to purchase all guns and banned the sale of “bump stocks,” devices that can be placed on semi-automatic firearms to make them fire more rapidly.
“The congressman was against the piece of legislation because he’s wholly owned by the NRA,” Gillum said. “He’s not going to stand up to the National Rifle Association. That’s why they’re running all these ads against me, because they want the man that they bought.”
But DeSantis countered by raising the issue of Tallahassee’s crime rate, a point he hammered throughout the match-up.
“His record as mayor is one presiding over a city that’s out of control in terms of crime,” DeSantis said, citing a report that found Tallahassee had a historically high murder rate last year.
“All right, well, Ron is being Don. And that’s Donald Trump, neglecting all sense of reason and facts,” Gillum retorted, insisting that Tallahassee is experiencing a five-year low in crime.
Tapper also raised the specter of racism, asking DeSantis about a donor “who called Obama the N-word” and about the phrase “monkey this up,” which DeSantis said the day after the Aug. 28 primary.
DeSantis pointed to his past work as a prosecutor and said the race of victims was irrelevant.
“Floridians can know that I’ll be a governor for all Floridians. If we disagree tomorrow, maybe two weeks later we’ll find some common ground,” he said.
But Gillum pushed back, saying DeSantis “let us know exactly where he was going to take this race the day after the election” with the “monkey up” comment.
“The truth is I’m black. I’ve been black all my life. So far as I know I will die black,” he said, adding that “the only color people care about is the blue-green algae” and red tide contaminating Florida waterways.
DESANTIS VS. GILLUM, ROUND TWO
The second debate at Broward College followed with plenty of hostile exchanges between the candidates.
During one of the most explosive moments, DeSantis, who was on the attack throughout the night, lost his cool after being questioned by moderator Todd McDermott of WPBF-TV about the former congressman’s affiliation with conservative author David Horowitz.
“Are you going to play the McCarthy-ite game?” DeSantis interrupted McDermott.
McDermott persisted, saying Horowitz had questioned the oppression of black Americans because there is not an exodus of blacks from the country. DeSantis had praised Horowitz as someone who “shoots straight” and “tells the American people the truth,” McDermott pointed out, sparking an outburst from DeSantis,
“How the hell am I supposed to know every single statement everybody makes?” he exploded, saying that as a soldier in Iraq “we worked together as a team regardless of race.”
DeSantis reiterated that, as a prosecutor, he “stood up for victims of every race, color and creed” and will “represent all the people” as governor.
“Everyone will get a fair shake. But I’m not going to bow down to the altar of political correctness. I’m not going to let the media smear me,” he angrily continued.
DeSantis repeatedly hammered Gillum about the recently released documents the Republican contends demonstrate that Gillum lied about who footed the bill for tickets to see “Hamilton” two years ago during a trip to New York.
“Andrew was getting things he shouldn’t have gotten, and they got a $2 million contract from the city of Tallahassee. That is what corruption is. When you get something you shouldn’t have had, and you give something to people who were trying to influence you. That is wrong, and he has not told the truth about any of that,” DeSantis said.
The documents were released to the public this week by Chris Kise, a lawyer representing Adam Corey, a Tallahassee lobbyist and entrepreneur at the heart of a federal corruption probe involving the city of Tallahassee.
Corey and Gillum were longtime friends whose global travels were part of the 150 pages of texts, emails and other documents released by Kise.
Gillum has steadfastly maintained he is innocent of any wrongdoing and has publicly severed ties with Corey. The documents show that Corey told Gillum the Hamilton tickets were provided by “Mike Miller,” an undercover FBI agent who also arranged a boat cruise for Corey, Gillum, and the mayor’s brother, Marcus.
Gillum has said he received the ticket for the show from his brother, and that the Broadway tickets were swapped for a Jay-Z show.
“The problem I have is that I should have asked more questions … to ensure that everything was above board,” Gillum said Wednesday night.
STORY OF THE WEEK: Republican Ron DeSantis and Democrat Andrew Gillum spent nearly an hour Wednesday ripping each other apart on charges of corruption and racism in their final gubernatorial debate.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Now, I’m not calling Mr. DeSantis a racist. I’m simply saying the racists believe he’s a racist.” — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum during the Wednesday debate at Broward College.
by Lloyd Dunkelberger, The News Service of Florida