Tate Alumni Group Presents $500 Donation To The Tate High FFA
May 10, 2018
The Tate High School Alumni Group presented $500 to the Tate High School FFA Wednesday. The group previosly donated $500 to the Tate High Showband of the South for their trip to Hawaii and $500 to the Tate High cheerleaders to travel to competition.
The Tate High Alumni Group meets at 11:30 a.m. on the second Wednesday of each month at King’s Buffet on Nine Mile Road.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Century Lakeview Center Set For Remodel, Building Expansion
May 10, 2018
Improvements are planned for Lakeview Center in Century, including a building additional for Community Health of Northwest Florida, formerly known as the Escambia Community Clinics
Work will include renovation of the current building on Industrial Drive and new space for additional medical exam rooms, a new dental suite and an expanded lobby. The new building will be constructed to the north of the current 4,700 square foot building, which was constructed in 1995.
The Town of Century has proposed $7,963.34 in tap fees and deposits to provide utility service to the new construction.
NorthEcambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Progress Report: New Escambia County Jail
May 10, 2018
A building permit for the a new 720-bed Escambia County jail is expected to be issued by the middle of June.
Permits have been approved by the Florida Department of Transportation, ECUA approval is in progress and the development order was issued on April 25.
Test pilings are in progress and the first concrete purchase has been made, according to county documents. Final construction documents are due by June 18, with the full building permit anticipated by June 16.
The new jail will be constructed at the site of the McDonald Shopping Center on the southeast corner of Fairfield Drive and Pace Boulevard, adjacent to the current 1980’s jail. The two facilities will be connected.
Tate’s Taylor Rouchon Signs Full Cheerleading Scholarship With Coastal Alabama
May 10, 2018
Tate High School’s Taylor Rouchon signed a full cheerleading scholarship to Coastal Alabama Community College on Wednesday. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Court: Don’t Hide The Words On Your Florida License Plate
May 10, 2018
A state appeals court Wednesday said a police officer was allowed to stop a Miami-Dade County motorist because the word “Florida” on the car’s license plate was obscured by a metal frame.
While expressing concern about its ruling, a panel of the 3rd District Court of Appeal overturned a lower-court decision that suppressed evidence obtained in a 2015 traffic stop of motorist Marcelo Pena. A search of the car led to the discovery of a bag that contained alprazolam pills and a drug charge against Pena, the ruling said.
Pena’s car had a rear license plate with a metal frame that obscured the words “MyFlorida.com” from the top part of the plate and “Sunshine State” from the bottom part. Pena was not the subject of an investigation at the time, but Officer Carl Sanabria stopped the car to issue a citation because of a violation of a state license-plate law.
The frame — described as being similar to frames provided by auto dealers — did not obscure the identification or decal numbers on the license plate. But after the officer made the stop, he arrested Pena for driving with a suspended license. Also, thinking he smelled marijuana, the officer searched the car and found the pills, the ruling said.
A Miami-Dade County circuit judge said the traffic stop was illegal and granted a motion by Pena to suppress statements and the evidence found in the car.
But the appeals court said the Legislature in 2005 changed a law to require that the word “Florida” on license plates to be unobscured. As a result, it said the evidence should not have been suppressed.
“Here, the suppression hearing evidence was undisputed that the word ‘Florida’ was obscured by the frame on Pena’s tag,” said the eight-page ruling, written by Judge Robert Luck and joined by Chief Judge Leslie Rothenberg and Judge Vance Salter. “The word ‘Florida’ on Pena’s tag was not clear and distinct and free from obscuring matter.”
Nevertheless, the court expressed apprehension about the issue. Partially quoting from another court’s ruling, it said that “license plate rims and frames are ‘a common practice of long-standing among the citizens of our state;’ ‘are frequently supplied by car dealers;’ and ‘many otherwise law-abiding citizens install them specifically to show allegiance to a club, fraternity, college or sports team or, as a means of other self-expression.’ But the Legislature gets to make the laws that govern our public roads and highways.”
In a footnote to Wednesday’s ruling, the court said the Legislature as of Jan. 1, 2016, changed the law to effectively eliminate the requirement that the word “Florida” be unobscured on license plates. But it said that was too late for Pena.
“Of course, the probable cause determination is made based on the facts and law at the time of the arrest … so we only look to the 2015 version … for purposes of determining whether Detective Sanabria’s stop of Pena’s car was lawful,” the footnote said.
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
Work Progressing On Highway 97 Temporary Bridge
May 10, 2018
Construction work is underway on Highway 97 in Walnut Hill as crews replace the current bridge over Sandy Hollow Creek, about a mile south of Highway 4. Wednesday crews were working to pave the approaches to a temporary detour bridge west of the existing structure.
The existing wooden-support bridge constructed in 1940 will be replaced with a new concrete structure with 12-foot travel lanes, eight-foot shoulders and a solid concrete barrier railing. The bridge approaches will also be milled and resurfaced.
The speed limit in the area has been reduced to 45 mph.
The bridge has an average daily traffic count of about 5,000 vehicles. The project is expected to cost $5 million.
Pictured: Lane closures and work Wednesday on a temporary bridge on Highway 97 south of Highway 4. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Corcoran Drops Bid For Governor, Tosses Support To Putnam
May 10, 2018
House Speaker Richard Corcoran on Wednesday dropped his potential bid for governor and endorsed Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam in the Republican primary.
Corcoran, a four-term House member from Land O’Lakes, said he re-evaluated his long-speculated bid to succeed outgoing Gov. Rick Scott and decided against running.
“Florida is an expensive state. It costs a lot of money to run,” Corcoran said during an appearance with Putnam in Tallahassee. “I don’t think we had the resources to move forward.”
Through the end of March, Corcoran’s Watchdog PAC political committee had raised $6.86 million and spent $4.6 million, with $3.7 million spent in the first three months of this year. Despite the spending, which included a controversial television ad on so-called “sanctuary cities,” Corcoran never gained much traction in the GOP race with Putnam and U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis of Palm Coast.
Corcoran said he would adhere to his pledge to either run for governor “or go home,” ruling out a move to another statewide race, such as the contest for attorney general. He also said he would not serve as Putnam’s lieutenant governor if asked to join the ticket.
“I’ve passionately said for the last year that I was going to run for governor or go home. And I’m proud to say that that decision is clearly that we’re going home,” Corcoran said.
Corcoran said he decided to endorse Putnam because he believes the two-term state Cabinet member will continue and extend the conservative legacy of the Scott administration, including on tax cuts and educational reforms.
“Adam is sincere. He is authentic. He is principled. He is passionate. He loves this state,” Corcoran said.
Putnam welcomed Corcoran’s backing.
“To have the endorsement, to have the support of someone who knows Florida so well and is so passionate about Florida’s future and is such a principled conservative means everything in the world to me,” Putnam said.
But signaling a contentious Aug. 28 primary, the DeSantis campaign characterized the endorsement as an “insider” deal between two long-time members of the Tallahassee establishment, noting Corcoran and Putnam have disagreed on issues, including immigration.
“Career politician, Adam Putnam, will now get the two-man race he’s been fearing for a year,” DeSantis spokesman David Vasquez said in a statement. “A conservative Iraq veteran (DeSantis) endorsed by Donald Trump versus a ‘Never Trump’ career politician who supported amnesty for illegal aliens. We like our odds.”
Corcoran and Putnam deflected the criticism, underscoring their familiarity with issues facing Florida versus DeSantis’ frequent appearances before national audiences on Fox News.
“Was it from a studio in New York?” Corcoran asked about the DeSantis statement.
“Richard and I know Florida. We have been through every corner of this state,” Putnam said. “Floridians want someone who will lead our state with passion and conviction, with high character, someone who knows our state and will always put Florida first.”
Democrats also criticized the endorsement. Christian Ulvert, a strategist for former Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine’s gubernatorial campaign, said Putnam was embracing Corcoran’s “divisive politics of attacking public school teachers and his effort to drain resources from our public schools,” referring to legislation that expanded the use of charter schools and private-school scholarships.
With more than $2 million left in his political committee as of March, Corcoran said he would use the remaining funds to help Republicans maintain control of the state House and Senate in the 2018 elections.
“We’re going to make sure the House comes back with a super-majority and the Senate comes back with a majority,” said Corcoran, who will leave the House in November because of term limits.
by Lloyd Dunkelberger, The News Service of Florida
Northview’s Flag Football Team Celebrates Inaugural Season
May 10, 2018
Northview High School recently recognized their flag football team, the first in school history.
“Thanks to this group of young ladies for accepting the challenge to be the first members of the team. This season was full of excitement and a lot of fun. We are looking forward to bigger and better things to come in the future,” Coach Obreonne Smith said.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Flomaton-Century Fireworks Show Will Be Held June 30
May 10, 2018
Mark your calendars – a date has been set for this year’s joint Flomaton-Century fireworks show to celebrate Independence Day.
The celebration will be held June 30 at the adjoining Showalter Park and Anthony Pleasant Park in Century. The fireworks will be held just after dark, but the day will begin will activities and entertainment. Those events are expected to begin about 3 p.m.; an official schedule and time will be announced soon.
The show alternates between the two towns each year and is jointly funded.
Pictured: The 2016 fireworks show in Century. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Barons Fillet Wahoos 16-3
May 10, 2018
The Birmingham Barons scored early and often in a 16-3 win over the Pensacola Blue Wahoos on Wednesday afternoon at Regions Field. The Barons came out of the gate swinging for the second straight game. The home team plated five first-inning runs against Blue Wahoos starter Jesus Reyes (L, 0-6) and were on cruise control the rest of the way.
The Barons did the first-inning damage with five hits, including two doubles and used an error. Eloy Jimenez belted a two-run double to start the barrage before they chipped in three more runs by sending 10 men to the plate. After a two-run homer from Seby Zavala in the second and a solo blast from Danny Mendick in the third, the Barons were up 8-0 against Reyes. The Wahoos starter was charged with eight runs (seven earned) on seven hits over three innings in the loss.
Pensacola got on the board with a two-run blast high off the left field scoreboard from Gavin LaValley. It was his fourth homer of the year. The Blue Wahoos got another homer the next inning from Luis Gonzalez, his second, for the only Pensacola runs of the game.
The Barons batted around as part of a five-run seventh. They sent 10 to the plate again in that rally, before batting around one more time in the eighth inning as part of a three-run rally against Blue Wahoos utility man Alberti Chavez. The Barons finished the game with seven mutli-hit performances.
Jordan Stephens (W, 4-3) ended up picking up the win after going six shutout innings and allowing just two hits with eight strikeouts.
Pensacola will try to rebound and snap its three-game skid against the Barons in the fourth game of the series Thursday night. The Blue Wahoos will send RHP Vladimir Gutierrez (0-5, 5.91) to the mound against LHP Jordon Guerrero (1-3, 6.49).