Trump To Hold Rally In Escambia County This Week
October 29, 2018
President Donald Trump will hold a Make America Great Again rally next Saturday in Escambia County.
The rally will be held at 6:30 p.m. at the Pensacola International Airport. Doors will open at 3:30 p.m.
For free tickets, click here.
This will be Trump’s fourth stop in Pensacola since 2015.
Pictured: President Donald Trump during a December 2017 visit to Pensacola. NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Mostly Sunny, About 80
October 29, 2018
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Today: Sunny, with a high near 81. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the afternoon.
Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 55. Calm wind.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 81. Light and variable wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 63. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Wednesday: A 20 percent chance of showers before 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 82. Light southeast wind becoming south 5 to 10 mph in the morning.
Wednesday Night: A slight chance of showers, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Thursday: Showers and thunderstorms before 1pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 1pm. High near 77. South wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 100%.
Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 53. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 68. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 42.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 69.
Saturday Night: Clear, with a low around 43.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 71.
Firefighters Visit Camp Fire Kids
October 29, 2018
The Century Station of Escambia County Fire Rescue visited Camp Fire Century this week. The firefighters talked about fire safety with the children and showed them firefighting equipment. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Bonus Gallery: Northview Band, NJROTC, Cheerleaders
October 29, 2018
For an action gallery and game summary, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
FDOT: Weekly Traffic Alerts – Where To Expect Delays
October 29, 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:
- U.S. 29 Widening from Interstate 10 (I-10) to U.S. 90 (Nine Mile Road) – The following traffic impacts will take place from Sunday, Oct. 28 through Saturday, Nov. 3. Work requiring lane restrictions will take place from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.
- Nine Mile Road at the U.S. 29 Overpass: Alternating traffic shifts will direct all traffic onto the westbound or eastbound lanes as crews continue construction of the new center bridge deck. Nine Mile Road lane restrictions are Sunday through Friday.
- U.S. 29 between I-10 and 9 1/2 Mile Road: Drainage and paving operations continue. Drivers can expect alternating lane closures Monday through Saturday.
- U.S. 98 Pensacola Bay Bridge Replacement – Construction activities continue. Drivers will encounter alternating lane closures between 14th Avenue in Pensacola and Bay Bridge Drive in Gulf Breeze from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 28 through Sunday, Nov. 4
- State Road (S.R.) 750 (Airport Boulevard) from S.R. 291 (Davis Highway) to S.R. 289 (9th Avenue) – Paving operations continue between Davis Highway and 9th Avenue. Lane closures will be in effect from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 28 through Thursday, Nov. 1
- U.S. 98 (Lillian Highway) Resurfacing from the Perdido Bay Bridge to Dog Track Road– Paving operations continue from the Perdido Bay Bridge to Dog Track Road. Lane closures will be in effect from 8 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 28 through Sunday, Nov. 4.
Santa Rosa County:
- I-10 Widening from the Escambia Bay Bridge to S.R. 281 (Avalon Boulevard/Exit 22) – Drivers traveling I-10 and Avalon Boulevard will encounter the following traffic impacts from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 28 through Thursday, Nov. 1:
- U.S. 98 Pensacola Bay Bridge Replacement – Construction activities continue. Drivers will encounter alternating lane closures between 14th Avenue in Pensacola and Bay Bridge Drive in Gulf Breeze from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 28 through Sunday, Nov. 4.
- Alternating lane closures on Avalon Boulevard near the I-10 interchange as crews perform construction activities.
- Alternating lane closures on I-10 from the Escambia Bay Bridge to east of Avalon Boulevard as crews widen the roadway.
- Drivers will encounter new traffic patterns on I-10 east and westbound as crews reconstruct the inside and outside shoulders. This work will continue throughout the fall.
- S.R. 87 Multilane from Eglin AFB boundary to C.R. 184 (Hickory Hammock Road) – Traffic between Hickory Hammock Road and the Eglin AFB boundary will continue to be restricted to loads less than 11-feet wide. The restriction will be in place until the project is completed.
- U.S. 98 Safety Improvements at Constitution Drive and Navarre School Road-Construction activities at the intersection of Constitution Drive and Navarre School Road are scheduled to begin the week of Monday, Oct. 29. Improvements will include new turn lanes, drainage upgrades, new curb and gutter, and resurfacing and widening Navarre School Road near the U.S. 98 intersection. Motorists can expect lane closures to occur between 8 p.m. and 5:30 a.m.
All activities are weather dependent and may be delayed or rescheduled 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.
Pictured: Road construction on Highway 29 at Nine Mile Road. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
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.
