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FDOT: This Week’s Road Construction Delays

Drivers will encounter traffic disruptions on the following state roads in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties as crews perform construction and maintenance activities. There will be no lane closures on state roads from 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 3 through 5:59 p.m. Thursday, July 5.
These lane closure restrictions include both construction and maintenance activities.

Escambia County:

• Bayfront Parkway Temporary Closure 4th of July Parade – Bayfront Parkway will be closed from S. Barracks Street to Chase Street from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m. Wednesday, July 4 for the City of Pensacola’s 4th of July Fireworks. Traffic will be detoured. There will be traffic control on site to assist motorists.
• U.S. 29 Widening from Interstate 10 (I-10) to U.S. 90 (Nine Mile Road) – Drivers traveling U.S. 29 and Nine Mile Road will encounter traffic pattern changes from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. through Saturday, July 7
  • Nine Mile Road at the U.S. 29 overpass: North and southbound traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction. 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 through Friday.
  • U.S. 29 between I-10 and 9 1/2 Mile Road: Drivers may experience alternating lane closures as crews continue drainage and paving operations. U.S. 29 lane restrictions are Monday through Saturday.
  • Northbound traffic has been shifted onto the newly constructed bridge section as demolition efforts continue on the northbound span.
  • Due to the increased vertical clearance of the new bridge, the on-ramp has been extended up to the entrances of Emerald Cuts Salon and the Unitarian Universalist Church. This temporary shift will affect access to businesses and residences on the east side of U.S. 29 between 9 Mile Road and 9 1/2 Mile Road. For the next 60 days, motorists seeking access to properties on the east side of U.S. 29 will utilize the northbound on-ramp. Only right turns will be permitted for vehicles exiting driveways from these properties between 9 Mile Road and 9 1/2 Mile Road.
• U.S. 29 Resurfacing between U.S. 90 and Muscogee Road – Paving operations continue  between Muscogee Road and West 9 1⁄2 Mile Road. Lane closures will be in effect from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Monday, July 2 and Thursday, July 5.
• 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 10) from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m.  Monday, July 2, Thursday, July 5.
  • 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.
  • Alternating lane closures on the I-10 westbound exit ramp to U.S. 29 north and south (Exit 10).
• U.S. 98 Pensacola Bay Bridge Replacement – There will be alternating east and westbound lane closures between 14th Avenue in Pensacola and Bay Bridge Drive in Gulf Breeze from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.  Monday, July 2 and Thursday, July 5 as crews perform construction activities.
• S.R. 296 (Bayou Boulevard) Turn Lane Closure – The westbound, right turn lane on Bayou Boulevard, just east of 9th Avenue, remains partially closed until 3:30 p.m. Friday, July 6 as crews install drainage structures for new private commercial businesses.

Century Celebrates Independence Day (With Fireworks Photo Gallery)

The annual Century/Flomaton Independence Day Celebration was held Saturday night in Century with a fireworks show, live entertainment, food and more.

For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery, click here.

The fireworks show and the evening’s events took place at both Anthony Pleasant Park and Showalter Park in Century. The show alternates between Century and Flomaton each year and is jointly funded.

The Century/Flomaton Independence Day Celebration was sponsored in part by NorthEscambia.com

NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

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Firefighter’s Charity Helps Local Fire Victims

A local firefighter’s charity has stepped up to help recent local fire victims.

The Escambia County Professional Fighters Charity donated $500 each to families that were displaced by recent fires in Ensley and Cottage Hill.

One family’s apartment was destroyed early Wednesday morning on Tumbleweed Trail off Fowler Avenue. Another family’s home on Williams Ditch Road was destroyed by fire.

The funds are raised by the charity, the majority at their annual Fire and Ice Gala in the spring. Donations are tax deductible.

NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.

Ransom Teacher Receives Holocaust Education Fellowship

Ransom Middle School teacher Lauren Samoszenko was recently selected as one of 29 Holocaust educators from 12 states, Croatia and Poland, as a 2018 Jewish Foundation for the Righteous (JFR) Alfred Lerner Fellow.

As a newly minted fellow, Samoszenko took part in the JFR’s Summer Institute, an intensive five-day course for Holocaust educators held at Columbia University last week. She was able to explore the complex history of the Holocaust as well as discuss new teaching techniques for introducing the subject of the Holocaust into her classroom.

Teachers selected for the program must be English or social studies teachers at the middle or high school level, have taught at least five years, are at least five years from retirement and currently teach the Holocaust in their classroom.

Participants each come from a region of the country where the JFR operates Holocaust Centers of Excellence in conjunction with a local Holocaust museum or center. International educators were first invited to join the seminar in 2001 at the request of the U.S. State Department. Samoszenko was nominated by the Gulf Coast Center for Holocaust and Human Rights Education.

Former FDLE Agent Found Guilty Of Abusing Young Boys

A former Florida Department of Law Enforcement supervisor was found guilty Saturday of the child sex abuse charges against him.

Charles McMullen was charged with one count of sexual battery of a child under 12, seven counts of lewd and lascivious molestation on a child under 12 and one count of promoting the sexual performance of a child. He will be sentenced at a later date.

McMullen was first arrested in November 2016 after an 8-year boy told investigators that McMullen had been touching him inappropriately on a frequent basis, followed by another 8-year old boy that made similar allegations and also claimed he was forced to touch McMullen.

Two additional victims came forward after seeing McMullen in the news.

McMullen investigated similar cases during his five year employment with the FDLE. He previously worked as Chief of the Cybercrimes Unit for then-Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum and for the Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office.

Pictured top: Charles Calvin McMullen (courtesy WEAR 3). Pictured below: McMullen chats online as a teenage girl during a Florida Attorney General demonstration in 2007. File photos.

Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Can Democrats Turn High Court Blues Into Blue Wave?

The U.S. Supreme Court and the two Republicans duking it out to succeed Gov. Rick Scott unintentionally helped ramp up enthusiasm for Florida Democrats in advance of the Democrats’ big blue bash this weekend.

The court handed down a series of victories for President Donald Trump, including a union-bashing decision that doesn’t directly affect Florida but will shrink the coffers of public-sector unions that typically dump major dollars behind Democratic candidates.

The court also upheld the latest version of Trump’s ban on travel from some predominantly Muslim countries, creating an uproar among civil libertarians and immigration advocates who accuse the president of having declared war on Islam.

But the most chilling news for Democrats was the decision of 81-year-old Justice Anthony Kennedy to retire, giving Trump the power to reshape the Supreme Court for generations to come by locking down a conservative majority with which Kennedy sometimes parted ways.

Kennedy’s most memorable decisions kept abortion rights intact, cemented same-sex marriage in all states and maintained the use of affirmative-action policies at universities. He also voted to do away with excessive sentences for juveniles and people with intellectual disabilities.

Kennedy’s decision to leave the bench “sends a stark message to the tens of millions of Americans who have long turned to the court for the vindication of many of their most cherished rights and protections: Look somewhere else,” editors at The New York Times warned.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee knows where he wants voters to cast their eyes. He’s the head of the Democratic Governors Association and will be the keynote speaker at the Florida Democratic Party’s annual Leadership Blue event this weekend in Hollywood.

“People understand what a threat Donald Trump poses. People understand you can’t depend on the Supreme Court to save us from Donald Trump. You’ve got to have Democratic governors to save us,” Inslee said in a telephone interview.

The Dems have a crowded field of five major candidates vying for the open governor’s seat in Florida, and, like their cohorts throughout the nation, they’ve all made Trump their top target.

Inslee said he doesn’t think that strategy will backfire in November.

“There’s no Republican Party at this point. There’s just the Trump party. We’re not putting this around anybody’s neck. They put the noose around their own neck,” the governor said.

Democrats throughout the country — including in Florida, where Democratic and Republican voter registration is almost evenly split, and independents make up a little more than a quarter of the electorate — “are really, really, intensely, passionately energized about voting” this year, according to Inslee.

Democrats will unite following the primary to support the alternative to GOP gubernatorial candidates Adam Putnam or Ron DeSantis, who Inslee called “Republicans who are going to be slavishly devoted to Donald Trump.”

“Florida’s a big state, and a dynamic state, and a very winnable race. So for all those reasons, this is a very top-tier priority for us,” Inslee said.

PUTTING THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE

Liberals might be lamenting the U.S. Supreme Court’s other decisions this week, but many Floridians are doing the happy dance following a ruling in the Sunshine State’s favor in a long-running “water war” with our neighbor to the north.

The court on Wednesday decided that the nation’s third-largest state should be given another chance to prove its case that overconsumption of water in Georgia is damaging the Apalachicola River system.

The 5-4 decision, written by Justice Stephen Breyer, overturned a 2017 recommendation by a court-appointed special master that found Florida had not proven its case “by clear and convincing evidence” that imposing a cap on Georgia’s water use would benefit Florida water systems, including oyster-rich Apalachicola Bay in Franklin County.

Breyer said the special master had “applied too strict a standard” in rejecting Florida’s claim.

“To require ‘clear and convincing evidence’ about the workability of a (water) decree before the court or a special master has a view about likely harms and likely amelioration is, at least in this case, to put the cart before the horse,” Breyer wrote.

The immediate impact of the decision is to send the case back to Ralph Lancaster, a Maine lawyer who was appointed as a special master by the Supreme Court to oversee the dispute.

Florida filed the lawsuit in 2013, although the case is only the latest iteration of a decades-old battle about the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint river system, which starts in Georgia and flows south to Florida.

Among the key questions Lancaster will have to settle is whether an “equity-based cap” on Georgia’s water consumption in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint system would increase the water flow into the Apalachicola River and whether the amount of that extra water would “significantly redress the economic and ecological harm that Florida has suffered,” the opinion said.

The special master could also seek further findings on his preliminary rulings that Florida had suffered harm from the overconsumption of water by Georgia. And the future deliberations will have to weigh Georgia’s claims that any limits on its water use would undermine its economy, including the growth of the Atlanta area and the state’s agriculture industry in southwestern Georgia.

“We repeat, however, that Florida will be entitled to a decree only if it is shown that ‘the benefits of the (apportionment) substantially outweigh the harm that might result,’ ” the court said.

GOP GLOVES COME OFF

In an exchange focused more on national topics than challenges facing the next Florida governor, DeSantis and Putnam clashed in a televised debate Thursday over their support for Trump and immigration issues.

Early in the hour-long debate, which was broadcast to a national audience by Fox News, the GOP foes quickly turned to the key themes of their campaigns.

“I’m proud to have the endorsement of President Donald Trump in this race,” said DeSantis, a three-term congressman from Palm Coast, while responding to a question about the appointment of a new U.S. Supreme Court justice.

In a question about Trump’s upcoming summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Putnam said he was proud to support Trump’s agenda, including negotiations with foreign leaders, tax cuts and efforts to improve the country’s trade policies.

“But I’m running a Florida first campaign. I care more about the schools in Washington County than what’s going on in Washington, D.C.,” said Putnam, the Florida agriculture commissioner who is also a former congressman and state lawmaker.

Putnam, who supported former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in the presidential primary in 2016, was asked if he would endorse Trump in his 2020 re-election bid.

“Most assuredly. I look forward to campaigning with him as governor of Florida,” Putnam said.

But DeSantis shot back that it “would be the first time you ever campaigned with him,” noting the agriculture commissioner’s absence during Trump’s primary campaign in 2016.

“You couldn’t find Adam Putnam if you had a search warrant,” DeSantis said.

STORY OF THE WEEK: In a 5-4 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court gave Florida another chance to prove its case that Georgia’s overconsumption of water is damaging the Apalachicola River system.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Acceptance of responsibility is not to repeatedly testify before the Hearing Panel that you relied on others and yet voice the magic words, ‘I accept responsibility.’ ” — Lawyers for the Judicial Qualifications Commission, which oversees judges’ behavior, referring to former 7th Judicial Circuit Judge Scott DuPont. The Florida Supreme Court removed DuPont from the bench on Monday.

by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida

Wahoos Stun M-Braves For Seventh Straight Win

The Blue Wahoos rallied from behind with two runs in the eighth inning to beat the Mississippi Braves 2-1 for their seventh straight win in front of a capacity crowd Saturday night and Blue Wahoos Stadium. It was the second consecutive game the Wahoos scored the tying and go-ahead runs in the eighth inning or later.

With the Wahoos trailing 1-0 in the eighth, Brian O’Grady hit a game-tying pinch-hit home run off Kelvin Vazquez (L, 3-1) to tie the game at 1-1. T.J. Friedl followed with a single, and after a stolen base came around to score on Mitch Nay’s double to left-center. Alex Powers (S, entered the ninth and after a leadoff single from Alay Lago, the Wahoos closer carved up the next three M-Braves to secure Pensacola’s seventh consecutive victory.

Saturday’s game was a pitching masterclass headlined by Touki Toussaint and Blue Wahoos starter Seth Varner.  Toussaint was perfect through four innings before plunking Mitch Nay with a curveball to open the fifth inning. Two batters later Narciso Crook notched the Wahoos first hit with a single to right field to put runners at first and second with only one out. However, Crook was picked off by the catcher Alex Jackson and Taylor Sparks flew out to the warning track in center to end the threat. The Wahoos other threat against Toussaint came in the sixth when Pensacola loaded the bases thanks to three Toussaint walks. Nay came to the plate with two outs and Toussaint struck him out for his 11^th strikeout of the night, which tied his career high.

Varner, though not as good as Toussaint, was still brilliant on the mound. The southpaw scattered one run and five hits over his six innings. He ran into trouble in the second inning when Alex Jackson led off the frame with a double and scored on Alay Lago’s RBI single. Varner kept his composure and retired the next three M-Braves in order to keep the score at 1-0. The Cincinnati-native allowed two hits over his final four innings and struck out eight, which was one shy of his season high.

Carlos Navas (W, 3-0) replaced Varner in the seventh and after allowing a leadoff single to Brandon Downes struck out the side in order. The eighth was the exact same as Navas struck out the side after a leadoff double, this time from Luis Valenzuela.

The series rolls along Sunday when RHP Vladimir Gutierrez (4-8, 5.33) duels against RHP Enderson Franco (2-5, 3.68). First pitch is scheduled for 5:05 p.m.

New Budget, Dozens Of New Laws Take Effect Today In Florida

More than 100 bills that Gov. Rick Scott signed into law from the 2018 legislative session will take effect Sunday, including a new state budget that tops $88 billion.

Lawmakers sent 195 bills to Scott from the session that ended in March. The governor vetoed two, while signing the rest.

Of the signed measures, 105 will hit the books Sunday.

Of the remainder, 54 went into effect upon Scott’s signature, with the rest effective in October or in 2019.

Among the measures slated to take effect Sunday:

STATE BUDGET

— HB 5001: Lawmakers passed an $88.7 billion budget for the 2018-2019 fiscal year. The spending plan increases public-school funding by $101.50 per student, though Democrats and many education officials have argued that a far lower amount will be available for basic school expenses.

Among other things, the budget will provide $100.8 million for the Florida Forever land preservation program and offer a $130 million increase in Medicaid funding for nursing homes. Lawmakers also included $3.3 billion in reserves and put money into such issues as Everglades restoration, beach restoration, “pre-eminent” universities and helping universities attract “world class” faculty.

TAX PACKAGE

— HB 7087. A roughly $170 million tax-cut package provides relief for farmers and property owners impacted by Hurricane Irma, provides a sales-tax “holiday” in August for back-to-school shoppers and retroactively covers a disaster-preparedness tax “holiday” in early June that coincided with the start of hurricane season. The package also includes reducing a commercial lease tax from 5.8 percent to 5.7 percent, though that cut will begin Jan. 1.

EDUCATION

— HB 7055: The law expands the use of voucher-like scholarships to send more public-school students to private schools. One program in the bill will let students who face bullying or harassment in public schools transfer to private schools. The so-called “hope scholarships” will be funded by motorists who voluntarily agree to contribute sales taxes they would normally pay on vehicle transactions to fund the scholarships. Among other things, the bill also boosts the Gardiner scholarship program, which pays for services and private-school scholarships for students with disabilities.

CHILD MARRIAGE

— SB 140: The bill will largely block minors from getting married in Florida. In the past, minors ages 16 and 17 have been able to get marriage licenses with parental consent, and judges have had discretion to issue licenses to younger minors if they have children or if pregnancies are involved.

Under the change, marriage will generally be barred for people under age 18, though an exception will be in place for 17-year-olds who have written consent from their parents or guardians. Also, the 17-year-olds will not be able to marry people who are more than two years older than them.

OPIOIDS

— HB 21: With Florida facing an opioid epidemic, the measure is aimed at preventing patients from getting addicted to prescription painkillers and then turning to street drugs such as heroin and fentanyl.

The bill, in part, will place limits on prescriptions that doctors can write for treatment of acute pain. Doctors in many cases would be limited to writing prescriptions for three-day supplies, though they could prescribe up to seven-day supplies of controlled substances if “medically necessary.” Cancer patients, people who are terminally ill, palliative care patients and those who suffer from major trauma would be exempt from the limits. The bill also requires physicians or their staff members to check with a statewide database before prescribing or dispensing controlled substances.

BETHUNE STATUE

— SB 472: Lawmakers approved placing a statue of civil-rights leader and educator Mary McLeod Bethune, the founder of what became Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, in the National Statuary Hall in Washington, D.C.

The statue of Bethune will replace a likeness of Confederate Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith, who has long been one of Florida’s two representatives in the hall at the U.S. Capitol. The state’s other representative is John Gorrie, widely considered the father of air conditioning.

SLAVERY MEMORIAL

— HB 67: The measure will lead to building a memorial on the Capitol grounds to honor the untold number of slaves in Florida history. The bill requires the Department of Management Services to develop a plan and costs for the memorial, with the plan then submitted to the governor and legislative leaders.

DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME

— SB 1013: The measure seeks to place Florida on year-round daylight-saving time. The change, promoted as a way to help Florida tourism, still needs congressional approval.

VETERANS

— HB 29: Named the “Don Hahnfeldt Veteran and Military Family Opportunity Act” after a House Republican who died in December, the measure expands a 2014 law by further reducing professional licensing fees and requirements for certain military members, veterans and their spouses. This bill also designates March 25 each year as “Medal of Honor Day.”

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

— HB 545 and HB 359: One measure (HB 545) will prohibit state agencies and local governments from contracting with companies that boycott Israel. The other (HB 359) bars state agencies from investing in companies doing business with the government of Venezuela, a step intended to put pressure on the regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida

Deputy Receives Minor Injuries In Traffic Crash; Other Driver Cited

An Escambia County deputy received minor injuries in a traffic crash on Olive Road Saturday morning.

The Florida Highway Patrol said Deputy Bambi Sellars was eastbound on Olive Road at Crystal Wells Place with lights and sirens activated on a marked Escambia County Sheriff’s Office vehicle about 6:20 a.m. Sellars attempted to pass a car driven 28-year old Dorianne Dewitte of Pensacola. Dewitte failed to yield and turned left in front of the deputy, the FHP report stated.

The deputy’s vehicle left the roadway, hitting a utility pole, wood fence and brick pillar.

Sellars was transported by Escambia County EMS to Sacred Heart Hospital with minor injuries. Dewitte was not injured.

Dewitte was cited by the FHP for failing to yield while making a left turn.

Photos by Rachel Jordan for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

Cause Of Fire At Jay’s Royal Cafe Under Investigation

There was only minor damage from a fire at the Royal Cafe on South Alabama Street in Jay Friday night.

Firefighters responded to a call about 9:30 p.m. to find a small fire on the restaurant’s porch, according to Jay Fire Chief Tony Simmons. He said the fire was quickly extinguished and did not cause any damage to the interior of the building.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office.

Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

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