Celebrate National Park and Recreation Month in Escambia County
July 8, 2018
Escambia County is celebrating National Park and Recreation Month in July by inviting residents and visitors to get out and explore everything your local parks have to offer, from athletic fields and playgrounds to nature trails and beach accesses. Escambia County Parks and Recreation maintains parks throughout the county for the public to enjoy, with park properties from Century in the north all the way south to Pensacola Beach, west to Perdido Key and scattered in between.
An initiative of the National Recreation and Park Association, National Park and Recreation Month aims to highlight recreation opportunities and encourage the public to support local parks and recreation.
In celebration of Park and Recreation Month, Escambia County’s Parks and Recreation Department is highlighting one park in each commission district, with several featuring new or recently upgraded amenities:
District 5 – Molino Community Center Playground: Located behind the popular Molino Community Center, this playground offers a fun place for children to play near the community center and Molino Library. Along with the playground, there is a new .24-mile walking path, pavilion and picnic tables. There is also a newly-renovated school cafeteria that is available for the public to rent, featuring a full kitchen and seating for up to 100 people. Call 850-679-4817 for pavilion or cafeteria rental information. For information about renting a room at the Molino Community Center or auditorium, contact the Molino Mid-County Historical Society at 850-587-5011.
District 1 – Beulah Regional Park: Located off Mobile Highway near the Escambia County Equestrian Center, this park truly offers something for everyone and is one of the busiest parks in the county. Beulah Regional Park has basketball and tennis courts, dog park, .33-mile walking path and a pavilion that can be rented for birthday parties and special events. To rent the pavilion, please call 850-475-5220.
District 2 – Civitan Park: This 2-acre neighborhood park in Warrington is a beautiful waterfront park with a covered pavilion, playground and a fishing pier. Tremendous upgrades have been made recently at the park, including a new .22-mile walking path, workout equipment and a new pavilion. To rent the pavilion, please call 850-475-5220.
District 3 – Brownsville Community Center Playground: A brand new playground unit was recently added outside of the Brownsville Community Center, offering a fun place for children to play in the Brownsville area. The playground features slides, monkey bars and more. Since opening in May 2017, the Brownsville Community Center has hosted dozens of community events, including town hall meetings, festivals, expos and holiday celebrations. To rent the community center, please call 850-595-3130 for scheduling information.
District 4 – Regency Park: Spread over 10 acres, Regency Park is one of the largest parks in Escambia County. It features a .33-mile walking path, dog park and plenty of open space for recreational activities. It also offers a basketball court, practice baseball backstop, security lights and a picnic area for residents of all ages to enjoy. A pavilion is available to rent for special events; call 850-475-5220 for more information.
Pictured: The playground at the Molino Community Complex. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Weed Wars
July 8, 2018
Folks in Florida might think their pot-smoking pals in Massachusetts are a bunch of crybabies.
Six months after marijuana became legal in the Bay State, purveyors of pot and their advocates are kvetching after a July 1 rollout date, self-imposed by Massachusetts officials, came and went without the advent of retail sales for recreational use.
But, by Sunshine State standards, a six-month turnaround seems pretty speedy.
Florida voters in November 2016 passed a constitutional amendment that broadly legalized medical marijuana. But an October 2017 deadline to license new vendors — a deadline later modified by state lawmakers — elapsed nine months ago, and Florida pot czar Christian Bax has yet to begin processing new applications from medical marijuana firms.
Bax and other state health officials are fending off nearly a dozen administrative and legal challenges as interested parties seek to plant a footprint or defend their territory in Florida’s blossoming marijuana industry — estimated by some market analysts to generate $1 billion by 2020.
Carl Sagan, the astronomer who was the gateway to the cosmos for amateur astronomers and the generally curious public, also earned a reputation as a marijuana advocate in an era when the legalization of cannabis seemed as far off as the “billions and billions” of stars Sagan brought into the living rooms of television viewers.
“The illegality of cannabis is outrageous, an impediment to full utilization of a drug which helps produce the serenity and insight, sensitivity and fellowship so desperately needed in this increasingly mad and dangerous world,” Sagan, then 35, observed in 1969.
Nearly fifty years later, this “mad and dangerous world” could use serenity, insight, sensitivity and fellowship more than ever.
UP IN SMOKE
In what seems to be the never-ending weed wars in Florida, an appellate court this week snuffed out the possibility of sick patients being able to smoke their cannabis treatment any time soon.
The ruling by a three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal came in a lawsuit initiated by Orlando trial attorney John Morgan and others who maintain that a Florida law barring patients from smoking their treatment runs afoul of the 2016 constitutional amendment.
The appeals court chided a Tallahassee judge who sided with patients, saying plaintiffs likely won’t win on the merits of the case and refused to allow smokable medical marijuana while the legal fight continues.
Leon County Circuit Judge Karen Gievers in May agreed with Morgan, who largely bankrolled the constitutional amendment, and plaintiffs in the case. The state appealed, touching off legal maneuvering that led to the appellate panel Tuesday issuing a five-page decision that effectively blocked Gievers’ ruling while the case continues.
“I respect the 1st DCA immensely, but no matter what, this goes to the Supreme Court, so why not now,” Morgan, who has repeatedly called on Gov. Rick Scott to drop the state’s appeal, said in an email Tuesday. “It is just a waste of time and taxpayer money. Cathy Jordan may die as this snails its way through the system. All of this proves why people don’t trust politicians. They know what they voted for.”
Cathy Jordan, one of the plaintiffs in the case, credits a daily regimen of smoking marijuana with keeping her alive decades after doctors predicted she would die from Lou Gehrig’s disease. Jordan, who grows her own pot, testified that smoking marijuana treats a variety of life-threatening side effects of the disease and that other forms of ingestion don’t have the same positive impact.
Gievers agreed with lawyers representing Jordan and the other plaintiffs. They contended that it was understood that the constitutional amendment allowed smoking, though the measure did not expressly authorize it.
State health officials, who answer to Scott, immediately appealed Gievers’ May 25 ruling, automatically putting her decision on hold. On June 5, Gievers lifted the stay, saying Jordan and Diana Dodson, a plaintiff who has neuralgia associated with HIV, would suffer without having access to smokable marijuana.
But the appeals court Tuesday quashed Gievers’ decision to lift the stay and directly contradicted the circuit judge. Appellate judges Joseph Lewis, Lori Rowe and M. Kemmerly Thomas found that the plaintiffs “failed to demonstrate that they will suffer irreparable harm if the automatic stay is reinstated.”
Noting that a trial court may vacate an automatic stay only “under the most compelling circumstances,” the judges also scolded Gievers, saying “it was an abuse of discretion for the circuit court” to lift the stay.
Even more, the panel signaled bleak prospects for Morgan and the plaintiffs, at least as far as the appellate court — which also rejected a request to rush the case to the Florida Supreme Court — is concerned.
“Here, after the panel’s preliminary review of the wording of the medical marijuana amendment and the statute prohibiting the use of medical marijuana in a smokable form, we conclude that appellees (the plaintiffs) have not sufficiently demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits as required to justify vacating the automatic stay,” the judges wrote.
WHEN “DIRT” IS A “FACILITY”
Meanwhile, an orchid grower and investors who spent nearly $800,000 to purchase property in Pinellas County they believed would give them a leg up in obtaining a highly sought-after medical marijuana license may be experiencing buyers’ remorse, thanks to state health officials.
One of the owners of Louis Del Favero Orchids told a state judge Monday he now believes the business would have been better off keeping the cash, due to what his lawyers are calling a faulty rule proposed by the Department of Health.
The orchid grower is challenging the proposed rule, which is based on a law passed last year implementing the medical-marijuana constitutional amendment. The orchid grower argues the proposal fails to properly carry out the law, which includes giving preference for up to two medical marijuana licenses to applicants who own facilities that were used to process citrus.
Ormond Beach lawyer David Vukelja, who owns 20 percent of Del Favero, told Administrative Law Judge R. Bruce McKibben on Monday he and other investors closed on the property because they believed it would give them an edge when applying for a marijuana license.
“We looked at the statute,” Vukelja said. “We took it at face value.”
According to the Department of Health, however, there’s nothing in the law that requires a “facility” to be a structure.
But Seann Frazier, a lawyer representing Del Favero, asked if that meant that a tent, erected where a structure previously was used to process citrus, would make an applicant eligible for the citrus preference.
“You’re saying the facility is the tent. It could also be the space it’s in. So how they will convert that space. They could put a building on it,” state Office of Medical Marijuana Use Deputy Director Courtney Coppola said.
“The facility could be dirt. Unimproved dirt, that somebody could promise to put a $1 million processing plant on top of it, they would still meet the citrus preference. Is that true?” Frazier asked.
Coppola agreed.
TEACHERS UNION: SCHOOL LAW A TRAIN WRECK
In other court action this week, Florida teachers and unions filed a lawsuit Monday challenging the constitutionality of a new law that requires local unions to represent 50 percent or more of instructional personnel.
The law, which passed during this year’s legislative session and took effect Sunday, enacted a series of major changes in the public-school system.
Known as House Bill 7055, the measure created a new “Hope” scholarship program that will allow students who are bullied to transfer to private schools. The law — known as a legislative “train” — included expanded financial support for Gardiner scholarships, which provide aid to disabled students. And it raised evidentiary standards for school boards trying to terminate charter schools.
But the lawsuit, which was filed by the Florida Education Association, nine local teachers’ unions, eight teachers and eight local union representatives, is aimed at a specific provision in the law that would result in local unions losing their certification if membership falls below 50 percent of the employees they represent in the collective-bargaining process.
The new law “contains multiple subjects that have little relationship to one another and absolutely no relationship to the recertification requirement contained” in the measure, the lawsuit said.
“There is no natural or logical connection between education and union density or requiring a public employee union to recertify its status as the exclusive bargaining unit for members of the instructional staff of a school district,” the lawsuit said.
STORY OF THE WEEK: Florida teachers and unions filed a lawsuit Monday challenging the constitutionality of a new law that requires local unions to represent 50 percent or more of instructional personnel.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “I’m sure I’m one of a long list of people who feels they’re being screwed by the Department of Health. Yeah, that thought has crossed my mind.” — David Vukelja, one of the owners of a Tampa-based orchid grower challenging a proposed health department rule dealing with a citrus industry preference for a medical marijuana license.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Wahoos Win Sixth Consecutive Series
July 8, 2018
No amount of rain could cool down Vladimir Gutierrez (W, 6-8) on Saturday night. After a two-hour rain delay, Gutierrez took a no-hit bid in the sixth inning and held the Biscuits to one-run over seven innings as Pensacola won the series finale at Riverwalk Stadium by a 3-2 final.
It was another fabulous outing for Pensacola’s starter. He retired the first eight batters of the game before Jake Cronenworth walked with two outs in the third inning. That didn’t phase Gutierrez as retired the next batter to end the inning. The right-hander cruised through the fourth and the fifth without allowing a hit before Cronenworth wrecked the no-no bid with a one-out single. The shutout bid evaporated soon after when Tommy Milone singled, Gutierrez threw a wild pitch, and Peter Maris hit an RBI groundout to make it 3-1. However, that was all the Biscuits could muster against Gutierrez, who finished his night allowing three hits, one walk, and three strikeouts.
Offensively, the Wahoos jumped ahead early thanks to Mitch Nay’s solo home run in the first inning for a quick 1-0 lead. Pensacola doubled their advantage in the fifth after Luis Gonzalez singled, advanced to third on Chris Okey’s double, and scored on T.J. Friedl’s groundout to the second baseman Nick Solak.
The Wahoos third and final run came in the seventh after Gonzalez reached with his second hit of the night. The shortstop then stole second base and eventually came home on two wild pitches from Biscuits starter Sam McWilliams (L, 3-5).
Jesus Reyes (S, 2) replaced Gutierrez in the eighth and had to work early trouble. With one out and a runner at first, Milone hit what appeared to be a double-play ball, but Nay—in his first start at second base for the Wahoos—threw errantly to Gonzalez and the ball rolled into left field. That put Biscuits at second and third, and after a sac fly from Peter Maris to make it 3-2, Solak fouled out to Okey to end the threat.
The ninth inning was far less dramatic, with Reyes working around a two-out single from Nathan Lukes to earn his second save of the season. The Wahoos have now 12 of their last 14 games and six consecutive series, which is one shy of the franchise record set by last season’s team.
Pensacola returns home for another edition of the Battle of the Bay. The Wahoos and BayBears will play a quick four-game series with the teams having split the first 10 meetings this season. RHP Tony Santillan will make his Double-A debut tomorrow for the Wahoos and will be opposed by RHP Jason Alexander (0-1, 2.70). Santillan is the #4 prospect in the Reds organization according to MLB.com, and prior to his promotion was 6-4 with a 2.70 ERA in 15 starts. He was third in the Florida State League in both ERA and innings pitched (86.2).
Search Continues For Intruder Found By Woman In Her Closet
July 7, 2018
Authorities are still searching for an intruder a Cantonment woman found hiding in her closet Thursday afternoon.
The woman had been outside her mobile home on Rose Petal Lane, and noticed something was amiss when she returned inside. She found a a black male dressed in all black inside her closet. She used pepper spray on the man. They got into a struggle, and she received a minor scratch on her arm before he fled the mobile home on foot.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded, and a manhunt followed. Deputies established a perimeter and used a K-9 in their search, but they were unable to catch up with the suspect.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Rose Petal Lane is located between Well Line Road and Neal Road, just west of Highway 29.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Fall Football Registration Underway For NWE Chiefs, Cantonment Cowboys
July 7, 2018
Fall football registration is underway for the Northwest Escambia Chiefs and the Cantonment Cowboys.
The Cantonment Cowboys are holding registration each Tuesday and Wednesday from 6-7 p.m. at the Cantonment Sportsplex at 681 Well Line Road. The Cowboys are also seeking dedicated cheer coaches.
NWE Chiefs players can register at www.nwechiefsfootball.com. The deadline to register July 20, or when the team maximum of 30 players is reached. Registration fee is $50 with NWE providing all necessary equipment and uniforms, except cleats. Call (251) 234-4716 for more information.
Century Mayor, Council Member Recognized
July 7, 2018
Century Mayor Henry Hawkins and council member Luis Gomez were recognized recently by the John Scott Dailey Florida Institute for Government and the Florida League of Cities for completing the Advanced Institute for Elected Municipal Officials in Tampa.
This educational program is specially designed for newly elected officials and those with less than one term in office. The primary objective of the IEMO is to provide elected municipal officials with an intensive academic program that will assist them in effectively meeting the requirements of their elected role. The program offers a comprehensive overview of Florida municipal government, presented by a faculty of top professionals in the field.
Pictured: Century Mayor Henry Hawkins (left) and council member Luis Gomez. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
July Gardening Tips
July 7, 2018
The heat, humidity and frequent rains of July are great for tropical plants. Gardeners, however, take a bit of a beating. Remember to keep the sunscreen, insect repellant and iced tea handy as you venture out into your garden to perform some needed summer maintenance.
A midsummer application of fertilizer is usually required, especially on annual flowers, lawns, shrub beds and vegetable gardens. This is a supplemental application, so don’t overdo it. A 15-0-15 slow-release fertilizer is a good general purpose landscape fertilizer for most plants.
Major pruning jobs should have been done earlier, but there is still some maintenance pruning that should be done. Deadhead, or clip old flowers, from summer flowering shrubs as soon as they fade to help insure an extended season of bloom. Crape myrtles, hibiscus, hydrangeas and althea are examples of shrubs that will bloom repeatedly if light, selective pruning is done.
Flowering annuals also respond well to deadheading. Snip off old flowers and flower spikes before they have an opportunity to form seed. Allowing annual flowers to set seed can shorten their blooming season considerably.
Inspect your lawn and shrub plantings frequently in order to identify pest problems as early as possible. The most severe damage from pest insects normally begins in July. Be on the lookout for chinch bugs in St. Augustine grass; spittlebugs in centipede grass; sod webworm in all lawns-especially new ones; lacebug and caterpillars on azaleas; whiteflies on gardenia and spider mites on lots of different types of shrubs.
Sod webworms often attack lawns in the summer. They eat the grass blades producing areas that look as if they have been mowed too short. Close inspection will reveal that the blades have not been cleanly cut as with a mower blade but have been chewed along their edges and tips. These caterpillars feed at night and rest during the day down among the runners and in the thatch.
Once an insect pest is found, evaluate the damage and determine if control is necessary. If it is, choose the least toxic option. If only a few caterpillars are found, hand picking might be the choice. Aphids and spider mites can often be controlled by spraying with an insecticidal soap solution. Chemical insecticides are sometimes required. Before choosing one be sure that the insect pest has been properly identified and that the insecticide is labeled for that purpose For vegetable gardeners that have problems with nematodes, soil borne diseases and extensive weed problems, July is a great time to try soil solarization.
Prepare the soil as you normally would for a vegetable garden including adding organic matter. Moisten the area and cover with clear plastic, not black plastic. Clear plastic will produce the highest temperatures. Be sure to weigh down the edges of the plastic so that it doesn’t blow up. Allow the soil to bake in the sun for four to six weeks. The sun will raise the soil temperature high enough to kill many soil borne problems.
Tip of the Week: The nice thing about tomatoes is that you have the option of harvesting when the fruit is green if needed. Tomatoes will ripen indoors at room temperature. To ensure even ripening, place the tomato with the stem up. The ideal time to harvest tomatoes is when they are fully colored but still firm.
In general, it is best to harvest vegetables early in the mornings while the moisture content is higher. The overall quality will quickly diminish as vegetables are exposed to hotter temperatures later in the day.
School Bells Ring Early For Florida Students
July 7, 2018
In a little more than a month, tens of thousands of Florida students will return to their classrooms.
Nineteen of the 67 school districts will open their doors on August 10, according to the state Department of Education’s 2018-2019 school district calendar. Another 40 districts, including Escambia County, will be open by August 13, meaning nearly nine out of every 10 districts statewide will be operating by mid-August, well ahead of the September 3 Labor Day holiday.
Miami-Dade County, which is the largest district with some 350,000 students, and Hamilton County, which is one of the smallest with fewer than 1,700 students, will both open on August 20, the latest date to start the new school year. Both of those districts will end their academic years on June 6, the latest date to conclude the year. In general, school, districts that start classes early will also release students earlier in the spring.
Sixteen districts including Escambia County, will conclude their school years on May 24, ahead of the May 27 Memorial Day holiday. Teachers will return to their classrooms ahead of the students, with teachers in Bay, Calhoun, Holmes and Madison counties set to return on August 1, the earliest return date for teachers. Escambia County teachers will return August 3.
Florida schools, which generally operate on a 180-day school year, are projected to serve nearly 2.85 million students in the new academic year.
by The News Service of Florida with contribution from NorthEscambia.com
Wahoos Win in 11
July 7, 2018
After a sluggish performance Thursday night, the Wahoos showed their grit with a hard-fought, 8-7 win in Friday’s 11-inning contest at Riverwalk Stadium.
After neither team was able to score in the 10th inning, T.J. Friedl broke a 6-6 tie with an RBI triple that put the Wahoos ahead. He later scored on Brian O’Grady foul sacrifice fly that extended Pensacola’s lead to 8-6.
The bottom of the 11th was not without drama. Montgomery began with a runner on second base, and Victor Payano was brought in the game to try and close out the win. After Dalton Kelly grounded out, Peter Maris tallied a RBI single to make it 7-6 Pensacola. After Nick Solak flew out to center, Payano had a 1-1 count on Nate Lowe before grimacing on the mound. He was looked at by the Wahoos athletic trainer before lifted from the game. Alejandro Chacin became the fifth relief pitcher used by Jody Davis and was able to induce Lowe to foul out to Cassidy Brown to end a wild game.
Pensacola got off to a dream start against one of the premier pitching prospects in the Rays system in Genesis Cabrera. Friedl opened the game with a single, and after a walk to Jose Siri, Shed Long drove home Friedl with an RBI single to center. The Wahoos doubled their advantage after Narciso Crook’s sac fly to center scored Siri.
Seth Varner took the hill in the first inning with a 2-0 lead and did not squander it. Despite not having his “best” stuff, the Cincinnati-native battled his way through five innings and only yielded one run. Michael Brosseau tagged Varner with a triple in the fourth inning and later scored on David Rodriguez’s sac fly to make it 3-1.
The Wahoos quickly countered with three runs in the fifth. Crook picked up his second RBI with a single that brought home Siri, and after a wild pitch from Matt Krook, Taylor Sparks delivered a two-out RBI single that made it 6-1 Wahoos.
Montgomery slowly chipped at away the Wahoos lead over the final four innings. They scored one run in the sixth, and three runs in the seventh all of Rafael De Paula, which cut the Wahoos lead to 6-5. There was a scary moment in the top of the seventh inning when Long was hit in the helmet with a pitch from Matt Krook. After being checked by the athletic trainer for several minutes, Long was helped off the field and replaced by O’Grady.
Alex Powers entered the game in the ninth inning with a chance to wrap up his ninth save of the year, but he and the Wahoos watched their one-run lead evaporate with Nick Solak’s twelfth home run of the season that tied the game at 6-6.
The series concludes Saturday with the Wahoos hoping to clinch their sixth consecutive series win. RHP Vladimir Gutierrez (5-8, 4.95) has been stellar as of late for Pensacola and he will be opposed by RHP Sam McWilliams (3-4, 4.57)
Pine Forest Road Crash Claims One Life, Two ECUA Workers Seriously Injured
July 6, 2018
One person died in a traffic crash on Pine Forest Road near 9 1/2 Mile Road Friday morning, and two ECUA workers were seriously injured.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 32-year old Blake Emory Wartenbe was southbound on Pine Forest Road when he traveled into the northbound lane in a no passing zone in an attempt to pass. His 2009 Audi S5 collided head-on with an ECUA sanitation pickup truck driven by 47-year old Robert Bodiford of Pensacola.
Wartenbe was pronounced deceased. Bodiford and his passenger, 62-year old Horace Green, were transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in serious condition.
The accident remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.
Pictured: The scene of a fatal crash Friday morning on Pine Forest Road. Photo below for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge. Photo above courtesy WEAR 3 for NorthEscambia.com.
