Century Could Add 10% Tax To Gas, Water, Electric Bills; Charge Others 25% More
February 6, 2018
The Century Town Council held discussion Monday night about a new tax up to 10 percent that could be levied on electricity, municipal water, propane and natural gas within the town limits.
Consultant Buz Eddy, former Gulf Breeze city manager, explained the revenue opportunities available to the town under the Municipal Public Service Tax (MPST) The tax can be implemented in any amount up to 10 percent, Eddy said.
“It’s always good to stabilize and diversify your tax base,” Eddy told the council. He said Gulf Breeze once collected a 4.5 percent but now collects 7 percent. That he said amounts to about $20 per month on his personal water, natural gas and electric bills.
In addition, the town council learned they could an additional 25 percent premium to the bills of those outside the town limits that use town water or natural gas services, and the ability to add up to a 5 percent communications tax to phone and internet bills.
Implementation of a MPST would require and ordinance and 120 days notice to the Florida Department of Revenue, with a possible implementation date by July.
Eddy said the tax revenue would be available to the town in their general fund.
The town council took no action on Eddy’s recommendations.
Pictured above and below: Consultant Buz Eddy explains possible new tax revenue to the Century Town Council Monday night. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Appeals Court Upholds Life Sentence For Nine Mile Road Armed Robber
February 6, 2018
Florida’s First District Court of Appeal has upheld the conviction of a man received a life sentence for the 2016 armed robbery of a Nine Mile Road convenience store.
Cheney was charged with the armed robbery of the a Raceway Gas Station on Nine Mile Road. The robbery was captured by the store’s security cameras and the video showed Cheney pointing a handgun at the store clerk, demanding and receiving money from the register, and discharging the gun into the floor during the robbery. Cheney admitted in an interview with deputies that he committed the robbery, but he claimed that the gun discharged accidentally.
At a pre-trial hearing, Cheney made a request to represent himself. He explained that he wanted to represent himself so he could pursue an insanity defense that his court-appointed counsel had refused to raise. Cheney’s lawyer told the judge that he did not believe there was a good faith basis to raise this defense and that he was concerned that asserting the defense would allow the state to bring in evidence of another robbery committed by Cheney about a week earlier. Circuit Judge Edward P. Nickinson expressed concerns about Cheney’s ability to represent himself, but started the process and ordered an evaluation to determine whether Cheney was insane at the time of the robbery.
Cheney agreed to allow his attorney to continue representation as he explored insanity defense.
The evaluation concluded that, although Cheney’s capacity to appreciate the criminal nature of his conduct “was likely greatly impaired,” he was not insane at the time of the armed robbery in this case. The case thereafter proceeded to a nonjury trial at which Cheney was represented by his court-appointed counsel. Cheney did not at any point after the evaluation object to counsel’s continued representation, nor did he again request to represent himself.
The judge found Cheney guilty as charged. Then, after a sentencing hearing at which Cheney’s counsel relied on the insanity evaluation report for mitigation, the judge sentenced Cheney to life in prison.
During the appeal, Cheney unsuccessfully contended that he did not abandon his request to represent himself.
Cheney’s accomplice, Joseph Donald Reynolds, was sentenced to 20 years in state prison.
Constitution Revision Commission Begins Public Hearings, Including Pensacola
February 6, 2018
After considering more than 100 proposals in committees, the Florida Constitution Revision Commission is ready to move into its next phase, starting with a public hearing Tuesday in Fort Lauderdale.
The scheduled six-hour hearing, which starts at 1 p.m. at Nova Southeastern University, is the first of five public hearings that will be held across the state by the 37-member commission, which meets every 20 years and has the ability to place constitutional amendments on the 2018 general election ballot.
The commission will meet at the University of West Florida from 1-7 p.m. on February 27.
Over the past few months, 10 committees have been reviewing most of the 103 proposals filed by members of the commission.
After Friday, which was the last scheduled day for committee hearings, some 37 proposals have been forwarded to the full commission. Another 30 proposals were withdrawn, and will not be considered again, and 27 proposals were rejected in committee votes.
Under commission rules, a rejected proposal could be revived by a majority vote of the full commission.
Another nine so-called “shell” proposals, which are void of specific language but pertain to general areas like education or local government, are pending in the committees. Those measures could be advanced to the floor, where they could be amended with specific proposals.
Among the measures moving to the commission floor are Proposal 72, sponsored by Commissioner Fred Karlinsky of Weston, that would require two-thirds votes by the Legislature before raising taxes or fees. The proposal, which is also being considered in the ongoing legislative session, is a top priority for Gov. Rick Scott and House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’Lakes.
Other measures moving to the full commission include:
— Proposal 4, by Commissioner Roberto Martinez of Coral Gables, that would remove the state Constitution’s so-called “no-aid” provision, which relates to public spending on religiously affiliated groups.
— Proposal 33, by Commissioner Erika Donalds of Naples, that would require all school superintendents to be appointed.
— Proposal 43, by Donalds, that would impose an eight-year term limit on school board members.
— Proposal 29, by Commissioner Rich Newsome of Orlando, that would require businesses licensed in the state to use E-Verify or a similar system to prevent hiring undocumented immigrants.
— Proposal 41, by Commissioner Bill Schifino of Tampa, that would increase the mandatory retirement age for judges to 75, up from the current 70.
— Proposal 54, by Commissioner Frank Kruppenbacher of Orlando, that would eliminate the “certificate of need” regulatory process, which can restrict construction of hospitals, nursing homes and hospice facilities.
— Proposal 65, by Commissioner Lisa Carlton of Sarasota, that would ban vaping in workplaces, similar to the state’s workplace smoking ban.
— Proposal 67, by Commissioner Tom Lee of Thonotosassa, that would ban live greyhound racing.
— Proposal 83, by Commissioner Nicole Washington of Miami Beach, that would provide constitutional authority for the state college system, while keeping the colleges under the supervision of the state Board of Education.
After the last of the five public hearings, which is scheduled March 13 in St. Petersburg, the commission’s Rules and Administration Committee, chaired by Commissioner Tim Cerio of Tallahassee, will begin setting a calendar for floor sessions that will start sometime in March.
Proposals on the floor must receive at least a majority vote to advance to the commission’s Style and Drafting Committee, chaired by Commissioner Brecht Heuchan of Tallahassee.
The style and drafting panel will play a key role in refining the proposals and creating ballot titles. The committee will also decide whether to let proposals stand as individual items or to group several proposals into a single ballot items.
Proposals approved by the Style and Drafting Committee will return to the full commission where they must receive at least 22 votes from the 37-member group to be placed on the November 2018 ballot.
Proposals placed on the ballot will need support from at least 60 percent of the voters to be enacted.
The Constitution Revision Commission has a May 10 deadline to finish its work.
by Lloyd Dunkelberger, The News Service of Florida
Sheriff David Morgan Has Got Your Goat…Just Bid On Him (The Goat) In Molino
February 6, 2018
Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan has got your goat..and you can bid on him (the goat, not the sheriff) Thursday morning in Molino.
The small brown male goat was found last month in the area of the 100 block of North Old Corry Field, and now he’s up for auction to the highest bidder with cash in hand. The auction will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Substation at 5844 North Highway 29 in Molino.
Northview High NJROTC Cadets Attend Military Ball (With Photo Gallery)
February 6, 2018
The Northview High School NJROTC held its annual military ball Saturday at the Mustin Beach Officer’s Club onboard Naval Air Station Pensacola.
Northview’s NJROTC joined NJROTC untis from Washington and Pine Forest high schools for a night of food, dancing, camaraderie, as well as poignant moments such as the setting of the POW/MIA table. Over 270 cadets and their dates attended the event. The meal was catered by the culinary departments from Pine Forest and Washington high schools.
Northview’s military ball court was:
Freshman: Prince David Lamb and Princess Ayiana Courtney;
Sophomore: Prince Keaton Brown and Princess Melissa Sunday;
Junior: Prince Maxwell Odom and Princess Rebekah Amerson;
Senior: King Oscar Rodriguez and Queen Victoria Grammar.
The outgoing senior Naval Science 3 and 4 cadets were recognized for their outstanding performance and dedication to the NJROTC program and extra-curriculum activities at Northview. The cadets recognized at the ball were Oscar Rodriguez, company commander; Haley Ward, public affairs officer; Mya Henderson, operations officer; and Victoria Grammar, command master chief.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia Jail Inmate Found Unresponsive, Dies At Local Hospital
February 6, 2018
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death of a county inmate Monday night.
The Escambia County Jail inmate died at a local hospital after being transported to the the emergency room.
The 38-year-old male was discovered unresponsive in a general population unit of the main jail located at 1700 W Leonard Street, according to a county spokesperson.
EMS was dispatched and arrived at the jail at 6:37 p.m. Medical Director Dr. Paul Henning also responded to the call and rode with the patient in the ambulance to administer care while in transit. The ambulance reached the hospital at 7:03 p.m.
The name of the inmate is not being released at this time pending notification of next of kin.
Killer Of UWF Student Appeals Death Sentence To State Supreme Court
February 6, 2018
With a scheduled execution little more than two weeks away, attorneys for Death Row inmate Eric Scott Branch appealed to the Florida Supreme Court on Monday after an Escambia County circuit judge refused a request for a stay.
Branch, now 46, was sentenced to death in the 1993 sexual assault and murder of University of West Florida student Susan Morris.
Gov. Rick Scott last month scheduled Branch’s execution for February 22.
In seeking the stay in circuit court, Branch’s attorneys argued, in part, that Branch was 21 at the time of the murder and that brain development continues into the mid-20s.
They argued people in their early 20s are “cognitively comparable to juveniles under the age of 18,” Judge Edward P. Nickinson III wrote Thursday in an order denying the motion for a stay.
The argument was based on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that barred the death penalty for people under age 18 because it would violate an Eighth Amendment ban on cruel and unusual punishment. But Nickinson wrote that the U.S. Supreme Court ruling had established a “bright line” of age 18.
“This Court must construe the prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment in conformity with decisions of the United States Supreme Court,” Nickinson wrote.
Branch’s attorneys last week also asked the Florida Supreme Court for a stay of execution while he appeals another issue to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Florida Supreme Court had not ruled on that request as of late Monday.
Barrineau Park 4-H Club Hosts Pig Palooza
February 6, 2018
The Barrineau Park 4-H Club hosted a Pig Palooza this weekend.
Over 55 youth and adults learned about pigs — including how to show their balloon pigs, breeds, and parts of the pig. They also learned about how to care for the animal and produce the best possible pork.
The event was in preperation for the GCA & NRYO Livestock Show to be held at the 4-H Livestock Property at 5701 South Highway 99 in Molino on March 24.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
GOP Candidates For Attorney General Are Already Battling
February 6, 2018
Expect the animosity to grow in Florida’s four-way Republican primary for attorney general.
Rancor between candidates was on full display Saturday during a forum held by The Federalist Society, one of nation’s most influential organizations involving conservative and libertarian legal minds, at Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resort.
Ashley Moody, a former Hillsborough County judge who has been endorsed by term-limited Attorney General Pam Bondi, called out Rep. Jay Fant, R-Jacksonville, for political-committee mailers painting her a “liberal,” which she called “misleading,” “unjustified” and “unworthy of the office.”
Fant — one of four members of the Florida House running for the state Cabinet office — replied to Moody that “issues matter, and just because the issues make you feel uncomfortable doesn’t mean you’re being attacked.”
“These campaigns get difficult, they won’t get easier from here when the grassroots gets out there,” he said, adding she supported Democrat Bill McBride over Republican Jeb Bush in the 2002 gubernatorial election, and her family was involved in a 2009 lawsuit against President Donald Trump.
The Moodys were among 54 plaintiffs who claimed “negligent misrepresentations” by Trump and the Trump Organization about investments in a proposed development along the Hillsborough River that never got built. The case was settled with a confidential agreement.
Fant also said mailers Moody called “attacks” didn’t come from his campaign or political committee. However, Fant’s campaign has repeatedly referred to Moody as being a “Clinton liberal” and even called for her to be prohibited from attending a recent Republican Party of Florida event. She wasn’t excluded from the event.
Meanwhile, Rep. Ross Spano, a Dover Republican, showed Saturday he’s going to make courtroom experience a way to distinguish himself from two of the four Republicans running for the office: Fant and Rep. Frank White, R-Pensacola.
Span, in a question to Fant, noted that he’s litigated “well over 500 cases.”
Fant and White both pointed to their executive leadership positions.
“This is the attorney general position, not the solicitor position,” replied Fant, an attorney who works for his family-owned financial-service companies. Fant added that the statewide office requires executive and policy experience.
White, when asked by Moody if he’s ever served as a lead counsel who’s brought a case to verdict, replied there are “many paths to be an effective attorney general.”
White, an attorney who serves as general counsel and chief financial officer for the chain of Sandy Sansing auto dealerships, pointed out that Scott Pruitt, the administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, previously served as attorney general in Oklahoma.
Pruitt, who was a speaker before The Federalist Society on Friday night, included in his pre-election background the state Legislature and co-ownership of a minor league baseball team.
Pruitt “took that skill set and zealously advocated for the rights of Oklahomans and also set standards and, along with General Bondi, to lead nationally in fighting the Obama administration,” White said.
White, whose political committee United Conservatives has sent a mailer calling Moody a “liberal judge” for having once registered as a Democrat, questioned her stance on Second Amendment rights involving private property, including college campuses.
Moody, who abandoned her Democratic affiliation by 1999 when she was appointed a student representative on the Florida university system Board of Regents, replied that “people have a natural right to defend themselves,” while not directly addressing private property.
The Republicans will battle in an Aug. 28 primary, with the winner moving on to the Nov. 6 general election. Two Democrats — state Rep. Sean Shaw of Tampa and Hillsborough County attorney Ryan Torrens — are running.
The exchanges between White and Moody weren’t as sharp as her banter with Fant.
Such exchanges were able to occur due to the event format.
The Federalist Society initially gave each of the four GOP candidates and Torrens a chance to introduce themselves and explain differences on issues. Shaw did not attend.
Initial topics included the Second Amendment, future U.S. Supreme Court selections, the use of outside counsel in the attorney general’s office and how they’d respond to issues such as tort reform and marijuana enforcement.
Other than Torrens, there were few noticeable differences in individual stances.
Before concluding the event, the panelists were given a pair of rounds in which they each got to directly ask another panelist a question. For each round, no panelist could be the recipient of more than one question.
Fant, blocked in the first round from going after Moody, asked Torrens how he and Moody were similar.
Torrens declined to take the bait.
“I know there is debate and discussion in this Republican primary about who the real conservative is, but I’m here running on the Democratic slate with my own proposals,” Torrens replied.
Torrens had earlier drawn laughs from the crowd when ask who he’d recommend to the U.S. Supreme Court if asked by Trump.
“I know you’re going to love this,” Torres opened, before declaring he’d suggest former President Barack Obama.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Private Investigator Murder Suspect Released On Bond
February 5, 2018
A woman charged with the murder of a private investigator was released on bond from the Escambia County Jail Monday afternoon.
Ashley McArthur is facing a first degree murder charge for the death of 33-year old Taylor Wright, a private investigator and former police officer. Wright’s body was found off Britt Road, just west of County Road 97 near Muscogee Road in Cantonment.
McArthur was released at 3:37 p.m. on a $400,000 bond and is required to wear a GPS tracking device. Under the terms of her bond, she must live with her mother in Gulf Breeze and must stay within Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. She cannot posses a firearm, and she is forbidden from returning to the property on Britt Road in Cantnoment.
On September 14, 2017, Wright’s girlfriend reported that she was missing. The girlfriend gave a sworn statement to Pensacola Police that Wright had not been seen or heard from since September 8. Prior to her disappearance, Wright had told her girlfriend that she had placed a large amount of money in a safe deposit box that belonged to McArthur, her friend. Wright said she had tried to get her money back from McArthur several times with no success. Wright was trying to get the money back from McArthur for court proceedings related to Wright’s pending divorce.
On September 8, Wright and McArthur met so Wright could get her money. Wright and the girlfriend communicated back and forth via text until about 11:20 a.m. When the girlfriend did not hear back from Wright after numerous texts, she called McArthur. McArthur answered and said Wright could not come to the phone because she was riding a horse.
The girlfriend continued to try to communicate with Wright with no success until 7:58 p.m. when she received a text from Wright’s phone stating that she needed time to think and get her life on track.
On September 18, McArthur met with a Pensacola Police detective. She told the detective that she had picked Wright up on the morning of September 8 and they drove to various locations during the day before going to McArthur’s family property in East Milton to ride horses. She said they were there for about an hour before heading back to McArthur’s residence in the Pensacola city limits about 4:45 p.m. McArthur claimed that she went inside her house, and when came back out shortly, Wright was gone.
During the investigation, McArthur’s bank records and cell phone records were obtained. Bank records show that on August 16, McArthur deposited a cashier’s check in Wright’s name for the amount of $34,000 into McArthur’s personal checking account. The money has since been spent.
On September 14, Wright’s girlfriend reported that she was missing. The girlfriend gave a sworn statement to Pensacola Police that Wright had not been seen or heard from since September 8. Prior to her disappearance, Wright had told her girlfriend that she had placed a large amount of money in a safe deposit box that belonged to McArthur, her friend. Wright said she had tried to get her money back from McArthur several times with no success. Wright was trying to get the money back from McArthur for court proceedings related to Wright’s pending divorce.
On September 8, Wright and McArthur met so Wright could get her money. Wright and the girlfriend communicated back and forth via text until about 11:20 a.m. When the girlfriend did not hear back from Wright after numerous texts, she called McArthur. McArthur answered and said Wright could not come to the phone because she was riding a horse.
The girlfriend continued to try to communicate with Wright with no success until 7:58 p.m. when she received a text from Wright’s phone stating that she needed time to think and get her life on track.
On September 18, McArthur met with a Pensacola Police detective. She told the detective that she had picked Wright up on the morning of September 8 and they drove to various locations during the day before going to McArthur’s family property in East Milton to ride horses. She said they were there for about an hour before heading back to McArthur’s residence in the Pensacola city limits about 4:45 p.m. McArthur claimed that she went inside her house, and when came back out shortly, Wright was gone.
During the investigation, McArthur’s bank records and cell phone records were obtained. Bank records show that on August 16, McArthur deposited a cashier’s check in Wright’s name for the amount of $34,000 into McArthur’s personal checking account. They money has since been spent.
McArthur’s phone records never showed her in the area of the family property in East Milton, instead her phone showed her in the area of Beulah on September 8 from 11:52 a.m. until 1:44 p.m. and again from 2:40 p.m. until 3:33 p.m. Police discovered that McArthur’s family has property at 2201 Britt Road, in the same area as her phone indicated.
Pictured top and bottom: Taylor Wright. Pictured mugshot, inset: Ashley McArthur.
