Scott: Pensacola Area Employment Ticks Upward
July 23, 2016
Governor Rick Scott announced today that the Pensacola area added 1,700 new private-sector jobs over the year in June. The area’s unemployment rate was 5.1 percent, dropping by 0.4 percentage point in the last year.
Governor Scott said, “Florida is laser focused on creating the best environment for businesses and families to succeed, and I am proud to announce today that the Pensacola area added 1,700 new jobs over the year. We will continue to do all we can to cut taxes and encourage business growth so Florida can be first for jobs.”
The industry with the most job growth in the Pensacola area over the year was education and health services with 600 new jobs. The Pensacola area had 4,620 job openings in June, of which 1,234 were openings for high-wage, high-skill STEM occupations.
District 5 Commissioner To Hold Town Hall Meeting
July 23, 2016
Escambia County District 5 Commissioner Steven Barry will host a town hall meeting on Monday at 5:30 p.m. at the Langley Bell 4-H Youth Center at 3730 Stefani Road in Cantonment. The open forum meeting will provide residents an opportunity to get updated information about community issues and voice their concerns or questions.
Cantonment Man Gets 15 Years For Robbery
July 23, 2016
A Cantonment man was sentenced to prison Friday for a robbery and fleeing from police.
Daniel Ferry Lee, III, 31, entered a plea of guilty to robbery and fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement at high speed. He was sentenced to 15 years in station prison as a prison releasee reoffender.
On November 10, 2015, Lee entered the Underwood Food Mart in Navarre while holding a kitchen knife. He was wearing flip flops, and his clothing was covered by a large black garbage bag. His face was covered with a hoodie, a green costume mask, and a white bandana. Video surveillance later revealed that Lee was also wearing khaki shorts underneath the trash bag. Lee demanded that the clerk empty the cash register and give him a bag full of energy shots that were behind the counter. Lee left the store with $363 in cash and approximately $220 worth of energy shots. The entire robbery lasted less than one minute.
Lee entered a vehicle he had parked next to the store and quickly departed north on Highway 87. Law enforcement caught up with Lee as he approached I-10 and pursued him as he headed westbound on I-10. While on I-10, Lee threw multiple items from the vehicle. The garbage bag, which had arm holes cut out, and a white bandana were recovered along the interstate. Lee then exited I-10 at Ward Basin Road and headed south, but he came to a dead end and turned around. Lee was able to get back on I-10 but this time headed eastbound and was able to elude law enforcement. During all parts of the chase, Lee drove in excess of 100 mph.
Shortly thereafter, a suspicious vehicle without a tag and matching the description of Lee’s vehicle was reported abandoned behind a building in Holt. The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office located Lee walking along the side of Highway 90 in Holt and took him into custody. Lee was wearing flip flops and khaki shorts when he was arrested. He later admitted that a gray hoodie sweater located in nearby woods, which matched what was worn during the robbery, was his. Authorities also discovered that green pieces of fuzz, which appeared to match the green mask worn in the robbery, were located inside the hood of the gray sweater.
Lee was released from prison in October 2013. making him a prison releasee reoffender that must serve the full 15 years of his sentence without the possibility of gain time.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Not Exactly A ‘Conventional Convention’
July 23, 2016
It wasn’t exactly a scripted lovefest. Unless the scripting was done by the folks who put on professional wrestling matches.
The Republican National Convention this week offered drama, shouting, villains and even a little suspected skullduggery. But in the end, Donald Trump was still standing.
Now, Trump faces the challenge of pulling together enough voters to wrest Florida and other critical states away from Democrat Hillary Clinton — who, it almost goes without saying, was the villain of all villains during the convention in Cleveland.
If there is anything that unites Republicans this year, it is a desire to keep Clinton out of the White House.
“There’s only two people on the ballot: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. … The party needs to unify. Everybody needs to support Donald Trump, and we need to have a big win in November,” Scott told reporters in Cleveland.
But Clinton isn’t backing away from the fight. As Democrats prepare to hold their convention next week in Philadelphia, Clinton traveled Friday to Orlando and Tampa to try to rally support in Florida’s crucial “I-4 corridor.”
Just moments after taking the stage for a rally in Tampa, she drew laughter and cheers when she noted all the attention she got during the GOP convention.
“It was kind of perversely flattering,” she quipped.
CRUZ MISSILE
The Trump campaign has roiled Republican politics for the past year. Some GOP leaders, including former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, couldn’t bring themselves to go to Cleveland and support the billionaire businessman. Of course, it didn’t help that Trump demolished Bush and the rest of the field in the presidential primaries.
But any hopes that the convention would go smoothly didn’t last long.
On Monday afternoon, the first day of the gathering, the question of whether the convention would approve rules on a voice vote or through a roll call vote — the outcome was not really in doubt — led to a boisterous scene on the floor. Delegates traded chants over the fight, and the convention essentially ground to a standstill at one point for 10 minutes.
The highlight of the first day for Trump’s campaign seemed to be a speech by his wife, Melania, meant to highlight the softer side of Trump. But within hours, allegations were bubbling up that portions of the speech appeared to have been lifted from a similar convention address by First Lady Michelle Obama.
As might be expected, Democratic leaders were gleeful.
“Day 1 of the Republican convention was a mess on so many levels,” said Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Florida congresswoman. “We heard a lot of anger, a lot of yelling, but no substance — just empty rhetoric and divisive language.”
GOP leaders tried to brush off the initial problems. Asked Tuesday about the situation, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam reacted with exasperation.
“You guys can’t have it both ways,” he told reporters. “You know, you bemoan the sterile, scripted conventions and then you get a very unscripted moment yesterday, and you’re complaining about that. This is anything but a conventional convention.”
The idea of a conventional convention, however, largely evaporated Wednesday night when Texas Sen. Ted Cruz — another of Trump’s vanquished primary opponents — refused to explicitly endorse the GOP nominee during a prime-time speech. Cruz’s move drew heavy booing from the convention floor and led to him being vilified by many delegates.
Other Republican candidates who lost to Trump, including U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, backed the nominee during convention speeches.
“There was a sharp contrast between our senator from the great state of Florida, Marco Rubio, and the comments made by the senator from Texas,” Florida GOP Chairman Blaise Ingoglia said Thursday.
Ingoglia, who is also a state House member from Spring Hill, said Cruz’s comments were “unfortunate” and suggested the implied snub of Trump and the reaction to it might have been what Cruz had in mind.
“I don’t know if that was intended,” Ingoglia said. “But if that was what was intended, I would say that it was extremely unstatesmanlike.”
FLORIDA IN FOCUS
Clinton’s trip Friday to Orlando and Tampa reinforced Florida’s critical role in the November election. It was her chance to quickly fire back after the GOP convention and to try to gain momentum before the Democratic convention.
But Trump enjoys enthusiastic backing from Scott and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, both of whom received speaking slots Wednesday night at the convention. At least in part, they followed Trump’s line of attack against Clinton and President Barack Obama.
Scott, for example, cast in stark terms the stakes of the choice between Trump and Clinton.
“But this election is not actually about Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton,” he said. “In fact, it’s not the election of you or me. This election is about the very survival of the American Dream.”
Bondi, in part, touched on the future of the U.S. Supreme Court, something aimed at rallying social conservatives behind Trump. The next president could fill a seat left vacant by the death of conservative stalwart Antonin Scalia and likely will replace some other current justices on the court.
“Hillary will stack the Supreme Court with liberal justices who will allow government to continue its rampage against our individual rights, with utter contempt for our Second Amendment,” Bondi said. “I know Donald, and I am proud to know Donald. He will appoint conservative justices who will defend rather than rewrite our Constitution.”
Not all of the Florida politicking at the convention, however, involved Trump’s bid for the White House. Speculation also swirled about the futures of other Florida political figures such as Putnam, who is widely expected to run for governor in 2018.
Former Republican Congressman Allen West addressed Putnam’s future when he stepped to the podium for the opening prayer at a delegation breakfast Tuesday. West began by talking about how Putnam got him an opportunity to speak before the U.S. House GOP caucus when West was considering a run for Congress.
“I want to tell you right now, when you decide to run for governor, I’ll be right there supporting you,” West told Putnam, setting off applause from the crowd.
Putnam, however, was hardly the only GOP official weighing his future. Scott is reportedly thinking about a campaign for a U.S. Senate seat in 2018. And potential down-ballot candidates are also starting to consider what to do.
Outgoing House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, said Tuesday he would make a decision “over the next several months” about what his future in public office might be — with one likely option being a run to replace Putnam as agriculture commissioner. Crisafulli comes from a family with deep roots in the state’s citrus industry.
For now, Crisafulli said he’s looking to finish his administrative duties as speaker before leaving office in November.
“I’ll have that opportunity to go home and speak more with my family about it,” he said of a future run. “There’s no secret that the commissioner of agriculture position is something that I’ve taken some interest in just because of my family background and history.”
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Everyone knows that we are the most important swing state in the nation. And you’re seeing that not only in the speakers that are here, the speakers that are on the main stage, but how the state of Florida is being treated.” — Republican Party of Florida Chairman Blaise Ingoglia.
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
Biloxi Beats The Wahoos
July 23, 2016
The Biloxi Shuckers got the better of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos lineup Friday, allowing just two hits in a 3-2 victory over Pensacola in front of 4,612 fans at Blue Wahoos Stadium. The Shuckers snapped a five-game losing streak with the win.
The Blue Wahoos had the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth inning and were down by just one run with its leading home run hitter, Brandon Dixon, at the plate.
However, he whiffed, and Pensacola was unable to extend its franchise record eight walk-offs to nine in the ninth inning, going down 1-2-3.
Pensacola manager Pat Kelly said he had confidence Dixon would get a hit.
“I’ll take my chances with Dixon and the bases loaded,” Kelly said. “The eighth inning was a huge chance to win the game.”
But the best chance in the game to score for the Blue Wahoos, who earned just two hits in the game, was a missed opportunity. Dixon is now 1-7 with three strikeouts this season with the bases loaded.
Pensacola dropped to 14-14 in the second half and the first half South Division champions are 55-43 overall.
Biloxi starting lefty Wei-Chung Wang started the game by striking out the first five Blue Wahoos hitters he faced. He ended up striking out a career-high nine in 6.1 innings. He gave up just two hits and one walk and allowed one run on a solo blast by Pensacola catcher Joe Hudson.
Wang has now won three of four games against Pensacola this season. The native of Taiwan improved to 5-5 in 17 starts for the Shuckers and lowered his ERA to 3.61.
“He’s very deceptive,” Kelly said. “He changes speeds. His fastball ranges from 87-to-94 (mph). I don’t think he gets the credit for being very good. He has better stuff than people think.”
Meanwhile, Jackson Stephens, who dropped to 6-9 this year, also threw a solid start. He gave up two solo homers among seven hits allowed, walked two and struck out four in six innings pitched.
“Two solo home runs usually don’t beat you,” Kelly said.
One of those homers was by center fielder Brett Phillips, who snapped a 0-27 skid Friday, by going 3-5 with a run scored, stolen base and two RBIs. He also hit a two-out single in the seventh to drive in left fielder Johnny Davis for Biloxi’s third run of the game. The other homer was hit by second baseman Tom Belza.
“He’s a good hitter,” Kelly said about Phillips. “You’re not going to hold him down forever. He made some adjustments. He widened his stance with two strikes. Now, we have to make some adjustments to him.”
Pensacola took advantage of four walks in the eighth inning. Blue Wahoos center fielder Beau Amaral drove in the only other run on a sacrifice fly near the warning track in center field with the bases loaded that scored right fielder Jeff Gelalich and advanced the other two runners on base.
FHP Searching For Driver That Hit 15-Year Old
July 22, 2016
The Florida Highway Patrol is looking for a hit and run drive that struck a juvenile pedestrian early this morning.
Brianna Nicole Marks, 15, was crossing Pine Forest Road at Citation Drive about 4:25 a.m. when she was struck by a northbound vehicle that fled the scene. The vehicle should have extensive front end damage according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Marks was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital where she remained in critical condition. The FHP has not said why Marks was out at 4:25 a.m.
Anyone with information on the crash is asked to call the Florida Highway Patrol at (850) 484-5000.
Too Drunk To Run: Cantonment Man Charged With Attempted Stabbing
July 22, 2016
A Cantonment man too drunk to run from deputies is facing multiple felony charges after allegedly stealing a pack of cigarettes and trying to stab a man, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Donnie Ivory Padgett, 68, was allegedly at a house on Robinson Street when he was asked by acquaintances to leave because he began “acting crazy because he can’t handle his liquor,” an arrest report states. He then allegedly stole a pack of Newport cigarettes, pulled out a long kitchen knife and ran toward the victim in an attempt to stab him.
Responding deputies located Padgett at the intersection of Washington and Callaway streets. A deputy reported that Padgett attempted to run, but he stumbled and fell to the ground due to intoxicated state, according to the report. Deputies found the Newports, the knife and a white rock that field tested positive for cocaine on Padgett’s person.
Padgett was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, cocaine possession and possession of drug paraphernalia. He remained in the Escambia County Jail Friday morning with bond set at $31,000.
Inmate Labor Saves Healthy Start $1,700
July 22, 2016
The Healthy Start Program in Century saved an estimated $1,700 by using inmate labor.
The county-owned Healthy Start location on Church Street was damaged in the February 15 E-3 tornado that struck Century. The program was moved next door to another county-owned building, and now the original building has been restored.
Over the last few days. five inmates from the Century Correctional Work Camp put together several desks and chairs and placed them in the repaired building. The also moved equipment and supplies from the temporary building back to the renovated building.
Using the Florida Department of Corrections standard formula, the cost saving to Healthy Start was $1,724.
The Century Healthy Start program will hold an open house next Thursday, July 28 from 9 a.m. until noon.
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Century Continues Budget Setting Process
July 22, 2016
The Town of Century continued a series of budget workshops Thursday afternoon as they work toward preparing their fiscal year 2016-17 budget. The next budget workshop is scheduled for Thursday, July 28 with additional workshops to be scheduled. Pictured: (clockwise, from left) Council President Ben Boutwell; council members Sandra McMurray Jackson, Ann Brooks, Annie Savage; Clerk of Finance Kristina Wood; Town Clerk Leslie Gonzalez and accountant Robert Hudson. Century Mayor Freddie McCall was also present at the meeting. Pictured left: Hudson reviews financial documents. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Trump Delivers Message: ‘I Am With You’
July 22, 2016
[Cleveland, OH] Accepting perhaps the most unlikely major-party nomination in American history, Donald Trump used his prime time address Thursday at the Republican National Convention to frame an alternately bleak and optimistic argument of where the nation is, and where it could go.
Playing off of Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton’s “I’m With Her” catchphrase, the billionaire real-estate developer turned reality-television star promised to stand up for everyday Americans.
“I am your voice,” Trump said. “So to every parent who dreams for their child, and every child who dreams for their future, I say these words to you tonight: I am with you, I will fight for you, and I will win for you.”
Trump’s speech, which lasted about an hour and 15 minutes and closed the four-day convention in Cleveland, was largely devoid of the personal insults and wandering thoughts that helped draw attention during his charge to the GOP nomination. But he still lacerated President Barack Obama and Clinton, a former senator and secretary of state, for increasing the danger faced by Americans.
Trump condemned policies supported by Clinton as sowing chaos in the Middle East, from the rise of the self-proclaimed Islamic State terrorist organization to turmoil in Egypt and Iraq.
“This is the legacy of Hillary Clinton: death, destruction, terrorism and weakness,” Trump said. “But Hillary Clinton’s legacy does not have to be America’s legacy.”
Trump didn’t unveil any completely new policies in his speech. He ripped existing free-trade agreements and promised to renegotiate them. Trump claimed the mantle of “the law and order candidate” and reiterated a relatively new idea to work to roll back restrictions on the political speech of tax-exempt organizations.
The new nominee also repeated his pledge to build a border wall — though he didn’t promise that Mexico would pay for it, as he has before — and said the United States should temporarily suspend immigration from nations “compromised by terrorism.” That is a curtailed version of his proposal to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States.
Trump also tried to soften the edges of his proposals, which have prompted Democrats and opponents to accuse him of racism and bigotry.
“We will be a country of generosity and warmth,” Trump said. “But we will also be a country of law and order.”
Trump also showed some of his famous disdain for political correctness. After talking about his proposal to block immigrants from some nations until vetting could be strengthened, he ad libbed: “We don’t want them in our country.”
John Podesta, who chairs Clinton’s campaign, blasted Trump for his portrayal of the country and the prescriptions for its problems.
“Tonight, Donald Trump painted a dark picture of an America in decline,” Podesta said. “And his answer — more fear, more division, more anger, more hate — was yet another reminder that he is temperamentally unfit and totally unqualified to be president of the United States.”
Even before Trump delivered the speech, which was leaked to the media ahead of his appearance, other critics were accusing him of distorting the facts. The Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law said Trump was cherry-picking or exaggerating the statistics he used to argue that crime is on the rise.
“Overall, crime rates remain at historic lows,” Ames Grawert, a counsel in the center’s justice program, said in a prepared statement. “Fear-inducing soundbites are counterproductive, and distract from nuanced, data-driven, and solution-oriented conversations on how to build a smarter criminal justice system in America.”
Grawert said it’s “too early to say” whether an increase in homicides in some cities signifies a national trend.
Trump’s speech capped off one of the more memorable political conventions in years. Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal, became the first openly gay person to speak to a Republican convention.
Other surprising moments, though, were chaotic.
The first day of the event was dominated by an arcane fight over party rules and a speech by Trump’s wife, Melania, which was later revealed to have included some passages from a similar address by First Lady Michelle Obama.
On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas — who was the strongest challenger to Trump in a bitter primary fight — was booed harshly when he refused to explicitly endorse Trump against Clinton.
“It’s everything we expected and a lot of things that we didn’t want,” said Rico Petrocelli, Florida state committeeman for the Broward County GOP.
Party leaders, though, tried to play down the idea that Trump’s rise and the convention had badly divided Republicans. Former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich said this year’s gathering was “a very mild convention” when looked at against the fights of the 1960s and 1970s. Gingrich, though, conceded it was unique in an era when conventions have become televised set pieces.
“The fact is he won the nomination by being very smart, using social media in a way that nobody ever had before,” Gingrich said. “And this is a genuine change. It’s a very dramatic change. Well, guess what? Very dramatic changes have very dramatic side effects.”
And while Gingrich suggested Cruz shouldn’t have delivered the speech Wednesday without making an endorsement, he said the reaction showed how unified the party is.
“It also proved … that this is a party which has now decided that Donald Trump is its leader and this is a party that wants to win the presidency,” he said.
Republicans are hoping that the dynamics of a badly polarized electorate can help the party in the fall. Clinton long ago achieved a sort of arch-villain status among conservatives.
Trump has vowed to appoint conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, a key promise to social conservatives who had previously been wary of the thrice-married casino owner.
The next president could have an opportunity to fill the vacancy created this year by the death of Antonin Scalia, and a handful of older current justices could also retire. Republican voters won’t want Clinton to name their replacements, Florida GOP Chairman Blaise Ingoglia said.
“The prospect of not having a 7-2 liberal Supreme Court will be motivating factor enough. And then some,” said Ingoglia, who is also a state House member from Spring Hill.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida