Scott Honors Local Veterans; Signs Veterans Legislation
April 8, 2016
Gov. Rick Scott honored veterans in Escambia County Thursday morning and signed legislation aimed at saving money for veterans and active-duty military members.
Scott ceremonially signed SB 222 which provides free parking at public airports for disabled veterans and HB 7023 which qualifies additional deployed service members for an ad valorem tax exemption. Governor Scott also awarded 122 veterans in Pensacola with the Governor’s Veterans Service Award for their service to Florida and the nation.
“Beginning now, when any of our fellow Floridians are away from home defending our country in operational theatres they and their families won’t have to pay property taxes. This is yet another way for us to show military families who live, worship and work alongside us that we care about them, we understand the stress of separation during deployments and we want them here strengthening our neighborhoods, schools and communities,” Sen. Don Gaetz, sponsor of the property tax bill, said.
Scott said, “Today, I am proud to join many of Florida’s veterans to ceremonially sign several pieces of legislation to support our nation’s heroes. We can never thank our brave veterans and military members enough for their service, and I hope these important measures we signed into law will show how incredibly grateful we are for the countless sacrifices they have made to defend freedom here and around the world. I want to thank Senator Don Gaetz, Representative Trumbull, Representative Matt Gaetz, and other members of the Florida Legislature for their work on this legislation.”
Major General Michael Calhoun said, “I want to thank Governor Scott for signing military-friendly legislation to help us better support our veterans and military members in Florida. We want Florida to be the best place in the country for our American heroes to live and raise a family.”
While at the National Guard Armory in Pensacola, Scott awarded 122 veterans with his Veterans Service Award.
Pictured: Gov. Rick Scott greets veterans in Pensacola Thursday morning. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Colonial Story Time Saturday At Molino Library
April 8, 2016
The West Florida Public Libraries and the Molino Mid-County Historical Society present a story time about the way Colonials in Pensacola worked. Join reader Sandra Pettis, a retired Ferry Pass Elementary librarian and a costumed member of the UWF Historic Trust for a story, demonstrations and hands-on activities about work in Colonial times. This event, intended for youth and families will be held at multiple locations:
- April 9 at 1 p.m. at the Molino Community Complex, 6450 Highway 95-A North
- April 14 at 6 p.m. at the Pensacola Library, 239 N Spring Street
- April 16 at 1 p.m. at the Tryon Branch Library, 1200 Langley Avenue
- April 21 at 6 p.m. at the Century Branch Library, 7991 N Century Blvd.
Along with the Colonial Story Time, be sure to check out “The Way We Worked,” a Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition, which celebrates the history of our nation’s diverse workers and industries. This exhibit is on display at the Lillian F. King Museum, located in the Molino Community Complex until April 30. Viewing hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekly, closed Sundays.
Wahoos Earn Season-Opening Win Over Braves
April 8, 2016
Phillip Ervin wanted to prove that getting in shape this offseason would improve his game. He shed 10 pounds to 205 and the Pensacola Blue Wahoos left fielder said he could feel a big difference.
Ervin hit a triple and double in four at bats and scored Pensacola’s first run as the Blue Wahoos defeated the Mississippi Braves, 3-1, at Trustmark Park in Pearl, Miss. The Cincinnati Reds No. 12 prospect according to Baseball America, had two of the team’s four hits.
The victory was Pensacola’s fourth in its five opening season games since its inaugural year in the Southern League in 2012.
The Blue Wahoos took the lead over Mississippi in the fourth when Ervin led off the inning with a triple on a fly ball just left of dead centerfield. Ervin scored when Donald Lutz followed him with a deep fly out to left.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Mississippi loaded the bases with no outs against Pensacola right-hander Nick Travieso. Dustin Peterson doubled, Jacob Schrader walked and Carlos Franco singled to left field. But Travieso struck out Matt Lipka and forced Willians Astudillo to ground out into a double play to end the threat.
Travieso, the Cincinnati Reds No. 7 prospect according to Baseball America, pitched five shutout innings in his Double-A debut with Pensacola. He allowed four hits by walking two and striking out five.
Pensacola scored two more runs in the top of the seventh to go ahead, 3-0, when second baseman Brandon Dixon scored on a ground out into a double play by pinch hitter Pin-Chieh Chen. Blue Wahoos centerfielder Beau Amaral then hit a two-out single to left field that scored right fielder Sebastian Elizalde from third base.
Mississippi got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the seventh when Jordy Lara singled in Johan Comargo to trail Pensacola, 3-1.
The Braves did strike out 13 Pensacola hitters with starter Lucas Sims leading the way with nine in his five innings of one-hit, one-earned-run ball.
Calten Daal started the game at shortstop for Pensacola but the third pitch to him in the first inning by Mississippi’s Sims clocked him in the helmet. Zach Vincej replaced Daal, the No. 23 prospect in the Reds organization.
It’s No Longer Illegal To ‘Shack Up’ In Florida
April 7, 2016
For the first time since shortly after the Civil War, it is no longer a crime for unmarried men and women to shack up in the Sunshine State.
Gov. Rick Scott signed 20 bills into law Wednesday, including a long-discussed repeal of the state’s rarely enforced ban on unmarried men and women living together.
The repeal became law with Scott’s approval.
The signing (SB 498) leaves Michigan and Mississippi as the only states that make cohabitation illegal, according to a Senate analysis of the bill, which was approved during this year’s legislative session without opposition in the Senate and with only five dissenting votes in the House.
Rep. Richard Stark, a Weston Democrat who co-sponsored the repeal, argued on the House floor that the ban had impacted seniors as well as younger singles.
“I represent communities of seniors, where a lot of them are technically not married,” Stark said. “They are living together, but it makes more sense financially or for whatever reason like Social Security to not be married. I don’t think that they want to be considered to be violating the law.”
Opposing the repeal were Republicans Janet Adkins of Fernandina Beach, Brad Drake of Eucheeanna, Mike Hill of Pensacola Beach, Jennifer Sullivan of Mount Dora and Charles Van Zant of Keystone Heights.
A House staff analysis noted the cohabitation law has rarely been used to bring criminal charges, but it has been used in other ways. As an example, the analysis said the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation suspended a company’s liquor license in 1979 after finding that six people tied to the company were in violation of the law.
Enacted in 1868, the law declared it illegal for men and women to “lewdly and lasciviously associate and cohabit together” without being married. Violators could face second-degree misdemeanor charges.
The measure signed by Scott does not impact another part of state statute on lewd and lascivious behavior, maintaining the misdemeanor charge for men and women, married or unmarried, who engage in “open and gross lewdness.”
Among the other bills signed into law Wednesday was a wide-ranging measure (SB 698) that, in part, will allow the state Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco to issue alcoholic beverage licenses to the owners of railroad transit stations that are used for passenger service between two or more cities.
Another new law (SB 218) will make it a first-degree misdemeanor to have two or more electronic benefit transfer cards and to sell or attempt to sell one of the cards. A second offense would be a third-degree felony. The intent of the law, which goes on the books Oct. 1, is to crack down on the trafficking of EBT cards, which help provide food assistance to low-income Floridians.
Also, starting July 1, a new law (SB 1202) will require county and municipal parks to offer full or partial entry-fee discounts to current members of the military and honorably discharged veterans. Also, the discounts will apply to spouses and parents of members of the military who died in combat, and spouses and parents of emergency first responders who died in the line of duty.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Career Academies, Students Honored
April 7, 2016
The school districts of Escambia and Santa Rosa counties recently recognized the best of their career academies and their students.
Career academies are small learning communities where students complete a rigorous program of study within a career pathway. The academies produce students ready for college and careers. With the guidance of teachers and business partners, students develop knowledge around a given industry while they are provided with opportunities to earn industry credentials relevant to their chosen career path and to participate in related work-based learning.
The following winners of outstanding business partners, students, teachers and academies categories were recognized at the Seventh Annual Career Academy Awards Luncheon:
Healthcare Industry Partner:
Arcadia Health and Rehabilitation Center – Mary Reid
Information Technology Industry Partner:
University of West Florida – Anthony Pinto
Agriscience Industry Partner:
Veterinary Emergency Referral Center – Dr. David Bordelon & Catheryn Grantham
Aviation Industry Partner:
Unmanned Safety Institute – Alex Mirot
Marketing and Entrepreneur Industry Partner:
University of West Florida, Freelance Photography – Sabrina McLaughlin
Middle School Career Academy Student of the Year:
Shaleyah Carter – Bellview Middle School, Information Technology Academy
Alexis King – Woodlawn Middle School, Microsoft IT Academy
Middle School Career Academy Teacher of the Year:
Jonathan Cordier – Woodham Middle School, Information Technology Academy
Martha Fricks – Gulf Breeze Middle School, CAPE
Middle School Career Academy of the Year:
Information Technology Academy, Bellview Middle School
Santa Rosa Medical Center IT Academy, Hobbs Middle School
High School Career Academy Student of the Year:
Gabby Gordon – Escambia High School, Digital Design Academy
Andrew “Chase” Durbin – Milton High School, Aviation and Manufacturing Academy
High School Career Academy Scholar of the Year:
Kiana Celestino – Escambia High School, Digital Design Academy
Mary Katherine Ashford – Pace High School, Pace HS Communication and Graphic Arts
High School Career Academy Intern of the year:
Mariah McMullen – West Florida High School, Multimedia Academy
Athena Crawford – Navarre High School, Navarre High School Construction Academy
High School Career Academy Teacher of the Year:
Amy Hendrix – B.T. Washington High School, Sports Medicine Academy
Celene Sessions – Pace High School, YEA Academy
High School Career Academy of the Year:
Multimedia Academy, West Florida High School of Advanced Technology
Biotechnology Academy, Pace High School
Final RESTORE Project Rankings Listed, North Escambia Projects Score Low
April 7, 2016
The Escambia County RESTORE Act Advisory Committee will present their rankings of all 124 RESTORE applications to the Escambia County Commission late today. Five project specifically benefiting some part of the North Escambia area general scored low in the rankings.
The rankings are the final recommendation for the allocation of component funds, ending three years of work by the committee.
The direct component funding, or pot one of RESTORE money, is just part of the approximately $70 million Escambia County is expected to receive over the next 16 years as part of the final settlement of the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Escambia will also be eligible to apply for other sources of oil spill funding.
Once the commission selects the projects to receive RESTORE direct component funding, the county will draft a Multi-Year Implementation Plan and initiate a 45-day public comment period. Public input will be reviewed and necessary updates will be made before the MYIP is submitted to the U.S. Treasury Department for final review and acceptance.
The top 15-ranked project from the committee were (listed in ranked order with total cost):
- Eleven Mile Creek Stream Restoration $12,929,908
- Forest Creek Apartment Complex Acquisition/Demolition & Jones Creek Floodplain Restoration Project $2,029,200
- Perdido Key Gulf of Mexico Public Access $1,648,000
- Carpenter Creek and Bayou Texar Economic and Environmental Revitalization Plan $2,440,000
- Perdido Key Gulf of Mexico Public Access $1,648,000
- Port Pensacola Maritime Infrastructure Berth 6 Restoration $3,750,000
- Project Universal Access (promotion of tourism and fishing) $3,350,000
- White Island Restoration $169,000
- 11 Mile Creek Basin $4,024,000
- Hollice T. Williams Park -Stormwater Management/Recreational Facilities Project $3,764,000
- Lake Charlene/BridleTrail $1,000,000
- OLF8 Commerce Park Improvements $19,037,790
- Woodlands -UWF Scenic Hills–St Luke’s Church Neighborhood Partnership Stream Restoration & Flood Protection $3,753,466
- Escambia Wood Treating Superfund Redevelopment Master Plan $500,000
-
Sanders Beach Park Addition / Beach Restoration $17,268,246
Five projects specifically benefiting some portion of the North Escambia area (north of Muscogee Road) were submitted. Those projects (listed with rank and total cost) were:
31. Town of Century Water Quality Improvements $486,000
70. Cantonment Community Center $2,000,000
90. Lambert Bridge Road $500,000
97. Cottage Hill Water Works Infrastructure Update and System Improvements $3,700,000
116. Cantonment Sportsplex $50,000
For the complete project listings:
- Click here to view the scored and ranked list of 124 RESTORE project applications.
- Click here to view the RESTORE project applications separated by category.
Pictured top: A RESTORE project information meeting held during October 2015 in Cantonment. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge
Justices To Decide On Higher Taxes For Satellite TV Than Cable
April 7, 2016
The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday waded into a constitutional fight about a higher state tax rate for satellite-television companies than for their cable TV competitors.
The Florida Department of Revenue and a cable industry group asked justices to overturn an appeals-court ruling last year that sided with satellite companies DirecTV and Dish Network. In a 2-1 decision, a panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal found that the differing tax rates were discriminatory and violated the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Supreme Court justices questioned attorneys on both sides Wednesday and, as is customary, did not indicate when they will rule. But along with affecting cable and satellite companies, the outcome of the case could have major financial ramifications for the state — in part because the appeals court raised the prospect of providing refunds to satellite companies.
Jonathan Williams, an attorney for the Department of Revenue, told justices that there is no evidence the Legislature intended to discriminate when it set the tax rates. The issue centers on the state’s communications-services tax.
“Florida’s communications-services tax does not discriminate against interstate commerce,” Williams said, alluding to the federal constitutional issue.
But the satellite industry argues that the difference in tax rates violates what is known as the “dormant” Commerce Clause. The industry, in a brief filed last year, described the tax difference as “economic protectionism” that benefits cable companies over satellite firms that generate their services out of state.
“We have a situation in which the signal difference between cable and satellite is where they perform this critical activity of assembling and distributing pay TV service,” satellite industry attorney Eric Shumsky told the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
(Disclosure: The News Service of Florida and the Florida Cable Telecommunications Association, an industry group that is a party in the case, have a partnership for the Capital Dateline Online news show.)
The communications-services tax dates to 2000 and is actually paid by customers, though cable and satellite companies collect the money and remit it. The state tax rate for cable services is 4.92 percent, while the rate for satellite services is 9.07 percent.
Cable customers also face local communications-services taxes that do not apply to satellite TV. A Department of Revenue brief in the case said those local tax rates are typically about 5 percent, though they vary.
Williams argued Wednesday that the combined state and local taxes ultimately create higher rates for the cable industry than for satellite providers.
“In every single year examined in this case, satellite providers enjoyed a tax advantage over the pay-TV competitor cable,” he said. “Plainly, satellite is not the victim of discrimination against interstate commerce in this case.”
But Shumsky drew a distinction between the state and local taxes, saying that cable companies use local rights of way for their equipment. He said Congress provided an exemption on local taxes to satellite companies.
“The reason it (Congress) gave is, this is national industry that does not use public rights of way,” Shumsky said.
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Man Gets 30 Years For Child Sex Abuse
April 7, 2016
An Escambia County man has been sentenced to 30 years in station prison after pleading to child sexual abuse charges.
Robert Whitehead, 29, entered a plea to lewd or lascivious molestation and battery of a child.
The case involved an ongoing pattern of sexual abuse by Whitehead on a young child.
Escambia County Circuit Judge Gary Bergosh sentenced Whitehead to 30 years state prison. After his release from prison, Whitehead will be on lifetime sexual offender probation. Whitehead will be required to register as sexual predator and comply with all statutory requirements.
Tate High Drama To Present ‘The Bully Plays’
April 7, 2016
The Tate High School Drama Department will present “The Bully Plays” at 7:00 each night Friday and Saturday in the school cafetorium. Tickets will be sold in advance and at the door for $5..
The Bully Plays was commissioned in response to the growing epidemic of bullying and the all-too-often tragic results. The anthology includes 10-minute plays that are touching, imaginative, powerful, uplifting and funny. A botched chemistry experiment creates a horde of homophobic teenage zombie bullies. Three dinosaurs at a museum surprise three bickering kids on a school outing. A bully is forced to confront his victim “on the other side.” A girl on an anti-bullying crusade must face her own bullying. High-school kids discuss the heartbreak of realizing they contributed to a classmate’s death by remaining bystanders. A mother and brother try to come to terms with the suicide of their “technicolor” son and brother.
The trickle-down effect of bullying is explored in several plays, along with the dangers of cyber-bullying.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Food Stamp Recipients Face Work Requirement
April 7, 2016
About 300,000 Floridians who qualified for food stamps now face a work requirement that went into effect Jan. 1 — and the possibility of at least temporarily losing benefits if they don’t meet the guidelines.
As of the first of the year, able-bodied, childless adults ages 18 to 49 were required to work, get job training or volunteer 20 hours a week to receive food stamps through what is formally known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Otherwise, they’re limited to three months of food assistance in each 36-month period.
Similar requirements also took effect in 21 other states. Gov. Rick Scott’s administration pointed to job opportunities in the state, but Sen. Bill Montford, a Tallahassee Democrat who represents a massive swath of rural communities, said food-stamp beneficiaries can’t find work in some areas.
“Especially in North Florida, in these rural counties that I represent, they have not felt this economic revival that people talk about,” Montford said. “Unemployment is still high. The jobs are not there. … The needs the SNAP program meets, I would say the needs in these rural counties are just as great as they were in 2009.”
The work requirement dates back to a 1996 welfare overhaul, but the federal government waived it in 2009 during the economic recession. Now, after unemployment rates have dropped, states are resuming the use of the work requirement.
The left-leaning Center for Budget and Policy Priorities said 21 Florida counties have jobless rates high enough and sustained enough to qualify for an exemption from the work mandate from the federal government.
“A few Southeastern states are electing to re-implement the time limit statewide even though some or all of the state qualifies for a waiver,” the center reported last month, noting that 500,000 to 1 million people will lose their food stamps in 2016. “Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi and North Carolina will be particularly hard hit.”
Scott’s administration sees a brighter picture because of the economy, and people will be able to continue receiving food stamps if they meet the work requirements.
Department of Children and Families spokeswoman Michelle Glady said in an email that the state’s unemployment rate is at an eight-year low of 4.9 percent.
“No Floridian currently receiving benefits will lose their eligibility,” Glady said. “However, they must meet minimum federal requirements for work, volunteering or active job search activities.”
Department of Economic Opportunity spokeswoman Morgan McCord echoed Glady and also said the state is trying to help people meet the requirements.
“In every county around the state, Florida’s CareerSource centers are working to help beneficiaries meet those requirements,” McCord wrote in an email. “Since January 1, 2016, 106,129 people have been placed into new jobs by the state’s 24 CareerSource locations.”
But others, such as Montford, say the state is diverse, and economic conditions vary.
For instance, in the district of Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, people have been coming to his office for help after losing their food-stamp benefits. He said many are working, but their low-wage jobs don’t add up to 20 hours a week.
“They’re being penalized even though they’re trying, even though their effort is good,” Bullard said.
What’s more, tens of thousands of Floridians were sanctioned for not complying with the mandate in the first month.
“If you don’t comply, what will happen is that you will immediately be sanctioned and lose your food stamps, even though you haven’t yet used up your three-month time limit,” said Cindy Huddleston of Florida Legal Services.
In January, 67,982 Floridians were sanctioned for not meeting the work requirement, thereby losing their food stamps “for a minimum of one month or until they comply with the work requirement, whichever is longer,” according to a letter sent to beneficiaries by the state. For a second act of noncompliance, the penalty is the loss of benefits for at least three months.
“By the nature of the work requirements and the exemptions and exceptions to the work requirements, it’s really mostly affecting the most vulnerable people that don’t have any other social safety net in place,” said Liam McGivern of Legal Services of Greater Miami.
Food-stamp benefits are typically worth $150 to $170 per month. The potential loss of benefits does not apply to people who have children or disabilities or to seniors.
The Department of Children and Families could ask the federal government to waive the work mandate. But a budget bill passed during a special legislative session last June would require the department to get legislative authority before applying for such a waiver.
“I would certainly encourage DCF to approach the Legislature, get permission, and request another waiver,” Montford said.
Debra Susie, executive director of Florida Impact, which works to reduce hunger and poverty, said the group is also concerned about what will happen to food banks and other non-profits that were already stretched thin by the recession.
by Margie Menzel, The News Service of Florida