FDOT: Weekly Traffic Alerts
July 5, 2016
Drivers will encounter traffic disruptions on the following state roads in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties as crews perform construction and maintenance activities.
Escambia County:
- I-10 Widening – Intermittent and alternating lane closures on I-10, between Davis Highway (Exit 13) and U.S. 90 (Scenic Highway/Exit 17), from 7 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. the week of Tuesday, July 5 as crews perform striping work.
Santa Rosa County:
- S.R. 87 and S.R. 89 from S.R. 4 to the Alabama line – Intermittent and alternating lane closures and slow moving operations from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. continuing through Sunday, July 31 as crews perform striping operations.
- I-10 Widening – Alternating lane closures, between the Escambia Bay Bridge and State Road (S.R.) 281 (Avalon Boulevard/Exit 22), Tuesday, July 5 through Thursday, July 7 from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. as crews continue widening work. In addition, alternating lane closures on Avalon Boulevard near the I-10 interchange for bridge work.
- S.R. 281 (Avalon Boulevard)- Intermittent lane closures and slow moving operations from U.S. 98 to the toll bridge from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. continuing through Thursday, July 28 as crews perform striping operations.
- U.S. 98 – Crews will perform striping operations and install raised pavement markers (RPMs) from the Pensacola Bay Bridge to Central Parkway (approximately nine miles) Sunday through Thursday nights through Sunday, July 31. Motorists may encounter minor traffic delays from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.
All activities are weather dependent and may be delayed or re-scheduled in the event of inclement weather. Drivers are reminded to use caution, especially at night, when traveling in a work zone and to watch for construction workers and equipment entering and exiting the roadway.
Wahoos Lose Third Straight
July 5, 2016
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos lost its third straight game to the Mobile BayBears, 7-3, on Independence Day at Hank Aaron Stadium.
Mobile gave veteran minor league pitcher Ryan Kussmaul his first start for the BayBears and the 42nd round draft pick by the Florida Marlins in 2006 delivered.
The 6-foot-4 righty, who has played for independent and Mexican League teams gave up one run in 5.1 innings on five hits and two walks, while striking out six. He is now 1-0 with a 1.69 ERA.
Meanwhile, Tyler Mahle earned his first loss in three starts to drop to 2-1 with a 4.91 earned-run average. The Cincinnati Reds No. 11 prospect according to MLB.com pitched 4.2 innings, giving up five runs to Mobile on six hits and two walks, while striking out three.
Mahle entered the game 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA with 16 strikeouts in two five inning starts.
Mobile scored first in the second inning when its third baseman Travis Denker walked to start the inning and moved to third on a single to right field by second baseman Jamie Westbrook. He put the BayBears ahead, 1-0, when right fielder Stewart Ijames grounded out into a force play.
Denker, who was 0-1, walked three times and scored each time for Mobile.
Mobile added two more runs in the third inning, with the rally starting when shortstop Ildemaro Vargas singled on a bunt back to the mound. Then with two outs, Mobile first baseman Kevin Cron smacked a two-run homer to left field, his 12th homer of the season, to put the BayBears up, 3-0.
Vargas finished the game 4-5 scored once and drove in one run.
Mobile pitcher Kussmaul then helped himself by hitting a double to right field that drove in Ijames to give Mobile a 4-0 lead.
That lead increased to 5-0 in the fifth inning when Mobile’s Iljames singled to right field to score Denker a second time.
In the sixth inning, Pensacola got a run back to make the score, 5-1, when first baseman Eric Jagielo singled in center fielder Brandon Dixon. Jagielo went 3-4 and now has 18 RBIs for Pensacola.
The Blue Wahoos scored two more runs in the seventh inning. Blue Wahoos left fielder Phillip Ervin singled to center field, right fielder Sebastian Elizalde singled to right field, then third baseman Taylor Sparks singled to center field to score Ervin that pulled Pensacola within, 5-2. Pensacola second baseman Alex
Blandino then lifted a sacrifice fly to center field to score Elizalde and make the score, 5-3.
Mobile, though, added another run in the bottom of the seventh inning when pinch hitter Rudy Flories tripled with two outs to drive in Denker for a third time in the game, putting the BayBears up, 6-3.
Vargas singled in right fielder Tom Belza for the BayBears final run in the eighth inning, 7-3.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: The Fireworks Before The Fourth
July 5, 2016
As the Independence Day holiday approached, many of the fireworks surrounding Florida politics were in the courtroom, where a sweeping state law on abortion came under a judge’s harsh scrutiny.
Aside from that and the usual handful of statements about American freedom and the like, most of state government was relatively quiet. Gov. Rick Scott and Enterprise Florida hacked away at that state agency, blaming job reductions and other trims on the Legislature’s refusal to set aside $250 million for economic development incentives. And legislative Democrats forced a poll on whether to hold a special session on gun legislation following the deadly massacre at Pulse nightclub in Orlando. (Spoiler alert: It won’t happen.)
Otherwise, the news void that often descends in the days before barbecues and sparklers remained in place, a final calm before the conventions in July and the sprint to the fall elections that follow. The literal fireworks will be set off on Monday, but the metaphorical ones will continue to light up the state long after that.
‘OWN TIME AND DIME’
At the beginning of the week, the clearest thing about the Florida impact of a U.S. Supreme Court decision limiting how far states could go in restricting abortion was that it was unclear. And while that was still being debated as the week closed, a federal judge put the most controversial elements in the state’s new law about abortion on hold.
Hours before the law was set to take effect, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle issued a preliminary injunction barring the state from refusing to provide funding to abortion providers for other medical services or from dramatically increasing its inspections of abortion records.
The decision, issued late Thursday, was largely a victory for Planned Parenthood affiliates who had fought the law, approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by Gov. Rick Scott earlier this year.
“As a result of today’s decision, thousands of people across Florida have the peace of mind that comes with knowing they can access essential reproductive health care, such as cancer screenings, birth control, and well-woman exams. This ruling also sends an unmistakable message to politicians to quit playing politics with women’s health,” said Lillian A. Tamayo, president of Planned Parenthood of South, East and North Florida.
In his 25-page ruling, Hinkle noted that there has been a long-held prohibition against using public funds to pay for abortions.
But the Florida law goes further and “refuses to fund services that are wholly unrelated to abortions,” Hinkle wrote of the part of the law that would block public funds from going to abortion providers.
“The provision does this based not on any objection to how the funds are being spent — on things like testing for sexually transmitted disease or dropout prevention — and not based on any objection to the quality of the services being provided, but solely because the recipients of the funds choose to provide abortions separate and apart from any public funding — as the Supreme Court has put it, on their ‘own time and dime,’” he wrote.
Hinkle didn’t grant the affiliates’ request to keep the state from using a revised definition of the first trimester of a pregnancy, but he warned the state to “take note” that his decision was based on its attorneys’ representation that the new definition of first trimester was no different than that which has been used for decades.
Supporters of the bill were outraged. State Sen. Kelli Stargel, a Lakeland Republican who sponsored the 2016 law, blasted Hinkle’s ruling as “a clear infringement on both the Legislature’s constitutional authority to appropriate taxpayer dollars, and our responsibility to properly regulate medical facilities.”
“Under our constitution, it is the people’s elected representatives, not appointed federal judges, who are tasked with making decisions about what entities should be receiving limited taxpayer dollars,” Stargel said in a statement. “The people of Florida have consistently elected legislative and executive leaders who oppose the use of taxpayer dollars to fund abortion and today’s ruling is yet another example of the pro-abortion movement utilizing the courtroom to fight battles it cannot win at the ballot box.”
Hinkle’s opinion didn’t lean heavily on the earlier decision by the Supreme Court, which voted 5-3 to void a Texas law that justices said went too far in limiting access to the procedure. But advocates for legalized abortion said they hoped the high court’s ruling would give them a way to fight continuing efforts from social conservatives to restrict abortion.
“We’ve seen an increase every year in the number of bills filed, but also in the extremist content of their nature,” said Laura Goodhue, executive director of the Florida Alliance of Planned Parenthood Affiliates. “So we’ve seen these attacks escalate, and we fully anticipate that we’ll have to continue this fight.”
A SMALLER ENTERPRISE
The lingering fallout of a battle between Scott and the Legislature over funding for economic development incentives will be felt by nearly a dozen employees at Enterprise Florida, as the board of directors voted this week to ax 26 positions at the agency — which will translate to 11 people losing their jobs.
The Enterprise Florida Board of Directors voted Friday to accept a committee recommendation, made earlier in the week, to eliminate the positions and also tighten up on its office space. The jobs cuts will be minimized by not filling 15 positions that will open up because of retirements and resignations.
The main driver behind the decision was the Legislature’s refusal to back Scott’s call for $250 million that EFI could have used to lure economic development projects to Florida. Instead, the $82 billion state budget that went into effect Friday contains $23.7 million for the agency.
Following that rejection — one of the biggest defeats Scott suffered in the 2016 legislative session — the governor called for a review of the agency.
“All of us would have loved the Legislature to fully fund Enterprise Florida, but they didn’t,” he said this week.
The job cuts aren’t the only changes the board decided to make. Enterprise Florida will reduce office-space leases in Miami, Tallahassee and Orlando while closing outposts in China and South Africa. Operations in Canada will be trimmed, and the contract with the state’s office in Japan will be renegotiated.
Some initiatives that used to fall under Enterprise Florida, meanwhile, will be shifted to the control of the Department of Economic Opportunity.
POLL POSITION
The likelihood of any crackdown on gun sales in Florida following the June 12 mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando was never very high, but Florida Democrats will make Republicans vote on firearm restrictions in another way, by taking a poll on whether to hold a special session on the topic.
The minority party had little trouble rounding up enough members to force the poll — that only requires a fifth of the Legislature — but faces an almost impossible task in getting enough GOP lawmakers to vote over the next week to travel back to Tallahassee for a special meeting, especially in an election year.
In all, 46 House and Senate members requested the poll, representing a vast majority of the Democrats in the Legislature. But a similar effort to revise the state’s self-defense laws following the shooting death of Trayvon Martin in 2013 fell flat. It will take another 50 signatures, including dozens of Republicans, to call the session.
“The key is we’ve requested at the very least (that) we review reforms we all support, such as banning people … who are on the terrorist FBI watch list” from buying guns, said state Sen. Darren Soto, an Orlando Democrat who is running for a Central Florida congressional seat.
The push for the special session comes in the wake of the massacre at Pulse, a gay nightclub, during which a gunman killed 49 people and wounded more than 50 others before he was killed by police. The attack is the worst mass shooting in the nation’s history.
Republican leaders left little doubt about where they stood. House Speaker Steve Crisafulli issued a statement Tuesday encouraging each member to “follow their conscience,” while quickly saying he won’t vote for a session “motivated by partisan politics.”
“I know I speak for representatives of both parties when I say that if there was a meaningful, constitutional, and implementable state law to prevent future terrorist attacks, we would certainly pass it,” said Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island. “I strongly support a ban on terrorists’ ability to purchase firearms. Since the list is maintained at the federal level, the state cannot pass an effective or constitutional law implementing such a ban.”
STORY OF THE WEEK: A federal judge blocked a sweeping new Florida law on abortion just hours before it was set to take effect. The decision came days after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a key ruling on how far states can go in restricting the procedure.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “That last drought we had — if we get just half of that, this bay may never be able to rebuild itself.” —Shannon Hartsfield, president of the Franklin County Seafood Workers’ Association, on conditions at Apalachicola Bay. Florida blames water consumption in Georgia for lowering flows to the bay, which has impacted the region’s seafood industry.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Century, Flomaton Celebrate The Fourth With A Bang (With Photo Gallery)
July 4, 2016
Fireworks lit up the night Sunday with an early celebration at Century’s Showalter Park.
The fireworks show was a joint effort of both the Town of Flomaton and the Town of Century. The towns alternate hosting the festivities each year; next year’s show will be back at Hurricane Park in Flomaton.
For a photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Residents Report Large ‘Explosion’, Broken Windows
July 4, 2016
Escambia County 911 operators received numerous calls reporting an explosion in the Cottage Hill area Sunday night. An exact cause was never found.
The calls came in just before 8:30 p.m. Several units from Escambia Fire Rescue and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office responded, but nothing was found except a trash fire on Shoemo Estate Lane. First responders did not believe the trash fire was the cause of the reported explosion.
The majority of the reports received were in the Stacey Road, Quintette Road, Coweta Road and Highway 95A area, including an unconfirmed report that windows were broken in one home.
On Facebook, NorthEscambia.com readers also reported hearing a feeling the explosion.
“Heard a very loud, deep sounding boom that shook our house real hard. neighbors said some had windows blown out,” one reader on Stacey Road wrote. “On Highway 196. We thought a plane might have crashed it shook our house,” another said.
Other comments included:
- “We heard it and our dog did too!! We are near the Winn Dixie on Hwy 29.”
- “It was loud sounded like a bomb going off on Newcastle off of Ashland.”
- “Heard it an felt it at the end of Williams Ditch.”
- “The windows and house shook a mile down McKenzie Road.”
- “Yes we felt it off Barrineau Park road. Shook our whole house…I thought a plane might of crashed it was so loud and shook so hard. It was crazy!!!!”
Residents reported that they did not believe the explosion to be fireworks; most reported something stronger and louder.
Two Motorcyclists Involved In Escambia River Bridge Crash
July 4, 2016
There were no serious injuries in a crash involving at least two motorcycles and possibly a car Sunday night on the Highway 4 Escambia River Bridge just inside Santa Rosa County.
One motorcyclist said he and two others were riding their motorcycles westbound when a car approached them from behind at a high rate of speed. The motorcyclist said the car rear-ended one of the motorcycles, causing one rider to collide with another and a concrete barrier. The driver of the car stopped to check on the riders before fleeing the scene, the motorcyclist said.
Injuries and damage to the motorcycles were both very minor.
The accident remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol; exact details have not yet been released.
The Century Station of Escambia Fire Rescue, Escambia County EMS and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the crash.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Fourth Of July Cookout Costs Slightly More This Year
July 4, 2016
A cookout of Americans’ favorite foods for the Fourth of July, including hot dogs, cheeseburgers, pork spare ribs, potato salad, baked beans, lemonade and chocolate milk, will cost slightly more this year but still comes in at less than $6 per person, says the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Although the cost for the cookout is up slightly (less than 1 percent), “Prices in the meat case are starting to look better from the consumers’ perspective,” said Veronica Nigh, an AFBF economist. “Retail ground round prices are trending lower,” she noted, pointing to the nation’s cattle inventory and commercial beef production, which continue to rebound from dramatically low levels in 2014 and 2015.
In addition, “On the pork side, commercial production also continues to grow and is at the highest level in 25 years,” Nigh said. Spare rib prices are about the same as a year ago, while the amount of product in cold storage is up 121 percent, Nigh pointed out. “This is helping mediate the normal seasonal upswing in spare rib prices we typically see around the July 4th festivities,” she said.
AFBF’s summer cookout menu for 10 people consists of hot dogs and buns, cheeseburgers and buns, pork spare ribs, deli potato salad, baked beans, corn chips, lemonade, chocolate milk, ketchup, mustard and watermelon for dessert.
Commenting on factors driving the slight increase in retail watermelon prices, Nigh said, “While watermelons are grown across the U.S., most come from four states – Texas, Florida, Georgia and California – which together produce approximately 44 percent of the U.S. crop. Shipments of watermelons are down nearly 8 percent compared to the same time period last year,” she said.
U.S. milk production is up 1 percent compared to the same period last year. During the first quarter of 2016 (January-March), U.S. milk production reached historic levels, putting significant downward pressure on the price farmers receive for their milk.
Nigh said the increase in the price of cheese slices highlights the spread in prices that often occurs between values at the farm, wholesale, and retail stages of the production and marketing chain.
Farm Bureau members (volunteer shoppers) in 26 states checked retail prices for summer cookout foods in mid-June at their local grocery stores for this informal survey.
The summer cookout survey is part of the Farm Bureau marketbasket series, which also includes the popular annual Thanksgiving Dinner Cost Survey and two additional surveys of common food staples Americans use to prepare meals at home.
The year-to-year direction of the marketbasket survey tracks closely with the federal government’s Consumer Price Index report for food at home. As retail grocery prices have increased gradually over time, the share of the average food dollar that America’s farm and ranch families receive has dropped.
“Through the mid-1970s, farmers received about one-third of consumer retail food expenditures for food eaten at home and away from home, on average. Since then, that figure has decreased steadily and is now about 17 percent, according to the Agriculture Department’s revised Food Dollar Series,” Nigh said.
Using the “food at home and away from home” percentage across-the-board, the farmer’s share of this $56.06 marketbasket would be $9.53.
Escambia Extension Urges Smart Grilling For Food Safety
July 4, 2016
Safety is an important consideration when operating a grill. Improper use can cause a fire or explosion. Keep the area around a lighted grill clear of combustible materials, and never use a grill in an enclosed area such as a sheltered patio or a garage. Avoid wearing loose-fitting clothing that may catch fire. The cooking grids should be cleaned after every cookout. The last thing you want to do is cause someone to become ill due to improper cleaning or unsafe food preparation practices.
Wash your hands with hot soapy water for at least 20 seconds before starting to prepare any foods, and wash your hands again if you do anything else—change a diaper, pet an animal, or blow your nose, for example. Cover any cuts or sores on your hands with a bandage, or use plastic gloves. If you sneeze or cough while preparing foods, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue and turn your face away, or cough into your sleeve. Always wash your hands afterwards.
Bacteria multiply rapidly at room temperature. Most food-borne illness-causing bacteria cannot grow well at temperatures below 40°F or above 140°F. Thaw foods in the refrigerator or in the microwave. Never leave foods out at room temperature.
Keep everything that touches food clean. Bacteria can hitch rides around your kitchen on all sorts of things—plates and cutting boards, dirty utensils, dish rags and sponges, unwashed hands.
Never chop fresh vegetables or salad ingredients on a cutting board that was used for raw meat without properly cleaning it first. If possible, keep a separate cutting board just for the preparation of raw meat, poultry, and fish.
Wash cutting boards thoroughly with hot soapy water, and then sanitize with a solution of household bleach and water.
Keep raw meat, poultry, fish, and their juices from coming into contact with other foods during preparation, especially foods that will not be cooked. Wash all utensils and your hands with hot soapy water after contact with raw meat.
Marinate meat, poultry and seafood in the refrigerator in a covered, non-metal container. Throw away any leftover marinade.
Grill food to a safe internal temperature. Use a meat thermometer to assure correct doneness of the food being grilled.
Safe minimum internal temperatures:
- Poultry (whole, ground, and breasts): 165°F
- Hamburgers, beef: 160°F
- Beef, veal, and lamb (steaks, roasts and chops):
- Medium rare: 145°F
- Medium: 160°F.
- All cuts of pork: 160°F.
Hold meat at 140°F until served. Use a clean platter for transferring cooked meat from grill to serving table.
Summer is the time for getting together with friends and family and cooking outdoors. Make your outdoor grilling experience safe and enjoyable.
For further information regarding food safety and other related topics, go to the University of Florida’s Solutions for Your Life website: http://www.solutionsforyourlife.com.
Dorothy C. Lee, CFCS, is an Extension Agent II, Family & Consumer Sciences with the Escambia County Extension Service. Reference: Safe Food Handling Fact Sheet, United States Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Series.
Firefighters Battle Hay Bale Fire For Hours
July 4, 2016
Firefighters spent a couple of hours Sunday, battling heat at humidity, working to put out a hay fire.
The fire was reported about 4:30 on Morgan Road, south of Arthur Brown Road. About 20 large round bales of hay were stacked next to each other and burning. Equipment was used to separate the smolder bales in order to work toward extinguishing the fire.
There were no injuries and no property damage reported.
The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue responded to the fire.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
4th Weekend Recipe: Yankee Doodle Dandy Treats
July 4, 2016
Looking to spend some time with the kids in the kitchen? Yankee Doodle Dandy Treats are a fun, easy and patriotic way to celebrate.
The recipe is not only easy, but it also lots of fun. It’s terrific for a “just-because” snack or as a sweet way to finish off a family picnic. And kids of all ages can help – from pouring and stirring to dipping and decorating, there’s something everyone can do.
Yankee Doodle Dandy Treats
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
- 1 package (10 ounces, about 40) regular marshmallows OR 4 cups miniature marshmallows
- 6 cups Kellogg’s® Rice Krispies® cereal OR 6 cups Kellogg’s® Cocoa Krispies® cereal
- 1 1/2 cups white chocolate morsels
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
- Red-, white- and blue-colored sprinkles
Preparation
- In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.
- Add cereal. Stir until well coated.
- Using buttered spatula or wax paper, evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cool. Crosswise cut in half, forming two 9 x 6 1/2-inch rectangles.
- Meanwhile, in small saucepan melt white chocolate morsels over low heat, stirring frequently. Stir in oil. Add powdered sugar, stirring until combined. Add water. Stir until smooth.
- Spread chocolate mixture over one cereal rectangle. Top with second rectangle. Sprinkle with red, white and blue sprinkles, pressing lightly into cereal mixture. Refrigerate about 30 minutes or until set. Cut into 3 1/4 x 1-inch strips. Best if served the same day.
Serves
Servings 18
Preparation Time:
30 minutes
Total Time:
1 hour