Florida

Florida Senate puts up $5 million for Pensacola’s effort to acquire old Baptist Hospital

Published

2 years ago

February 1, 2024

Florida Senate puts up million for Pensacola’s effort to acquire old Baptist Hospital

The Florida Legislature appears set to back Pensacola’s effort to redevelop the old Baptist Hospital property with $5 million.

Florida House and Senate committees backed their version of the state’s budget plans — $115.5 billion on the House side and $115.9 billion on the Senate side — and included in the Senate version was $5 million for “Live Local Pensacola” the name of the city effort to acquire and demolish the old Baptist Hospital property.

The city’s working plan is to clear the property and find a developer who can transform the campus into a new mixed-income community with all levels of affordable housing.

Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves’ funding plan to demolish the old hospital in a single year included at least $5 million from the Florida Legislature.

Also included in the Senate version was $2.2 million for funding for Bay Bluffs Park and $1 million for a terminal expansion at the Pensacola International Airport.

The House version of the budget contained $750,000 for funding for the airport.

Reeves thanks Sen. Doug Broxson for the inclusion of the projects in the Senate version of the budget, which was published on Friday.

“This is just the first step in seeing if these projects end up getting funded,” Reeves said. “They have dollar amounts tied to them, but there’s a lot more work yet to come.”

The lack of inclusion of the Baptist Hospital project in the House version of the budget comes after Rep. Alex Andrade, R-Pensacola, said he couldn’t move the project forward because the city had not committed to using the dollars if the state allocated them.

The issue has strained the working relationship between the mayor and Andrade, whose district contains the entire city limits of Pensacola except for the new Baptist Hospital campus on Brent Lane.

Andrade’s view had not changed when he spoke to the News Journal in a text message on Wednesday.

“It shouldn’t have been a surprise I didn’t put money in my budget for it,” Andrade said. “The city didn’t do what I needed them to do to justify putting it into my spreadsheet. I did put money in for the airport because they committed to using it.”

That doesn’t mean Andrade is not supporting the project, however, as the budget is far from final.

Andrade said he still plans to support the project when the House and Senate versions of the budget get to a conference to unify the two spending plans.

“So long as I have the funds, my plan is to match (the Senate’s version) at $5 million when I go into conference negotiations,” Andrade said.

If the funds are approved and survive Gov. Ron DeSantis’ line-item veto, the city will have won a large portion of the $16.4 million it says it needs to accept the property from Baptist Hospital.

Last week, Reeves announced his full funding plan for acquiring the property. It would still require Baptist Health Care to contribute $3 million and Escambia County to contribute $2 million. The Pensacola City Council will vote next week to pledge $1 million to the project.

Proposed funding breakdown:

Pensacola: $1 million
Other grants: Up to $5 million for commercial property
Escambia County: $2 million
Baptist Health Care: $3 million
Sale of land to affordable housing developer Paces Foundation: $2.9 million
Florida: Between $5 million and $8 million
Total: $13.9 million to $16.9 million

Source link

Click to comment

Florida

Snake hunters gather in Florida to kill invasive pythons for $25,000 in prizes

Published

7 hours ago

July 10, 2026

Press Room

Snake hunters gather in Florida to kill invasive pythons for ,000 in prizes

The day has finally arrived. On July 10, hundreds of professional and amateur snake hunters entered the annual Florida Python Challenge, a 10-day race to remove as many of the invasive animals as possible from the Everglades. The person who bags the most snakes will earn a $10,000 first-place prize, while another $15,000 in payouts will go to various other categories, including for the longest snake captured.

Conservationists estimate between 100,000 and 300,000 Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) live across the state’s subtropical regions, where they have thrived as apex predators since their accidental introduction into the wild during the 1970s. Pregnant females can lay upwards of 70 eggs at a time, and each hatchling can reach an adult length of 13-feet long. Despite their population explosion, only around five percent of all pythons are spotted by the average onlooker. That means only one in about 20 snakes are noticed on any given day.

The python hunt ends on July 19. Credit: Joe Raedel via Getty Images

Over 600 people registered to participate in this year’s Florida Python Challenge as of July 7, according to Naples Daily News. Last year saw more than 900 local and international competitors, and the largest snake captured measured nearly 16 feet long. The annual event isn’t a free-for-all, however. Every hunter must complete a safety course prior to scouring for snakes, and while guns are allowed on private land with owner’s permission, all pythons must be euthanized as humanely as possible.

It may come as a surprise, but beheading one of the massive, coiling predators absolutely isn’t an ethical means of disposal. Because the snakes possess extremely slow metabolisms and can survive with very low amounts of oxygen, they can remain conscious (and in immense pain) for a prolonged period of time after decapitation. Instead, hunters are recommended to draw an imaginary line from each eye to the opposite jaw bone, then locate where those paths intersect. Then can then use a sharp rod or screwdriver to impale the top of the head before moving the tool in a multilateral direction to ensure an immediate loss of consciousness and a quick death. No one said python hunting was for the squeamish.

The Florida Python Challenge will end at 5 p.m. EDT on July 19, with champions announced soon afterwards.

Source link

Florida

Florida man accused of driving drunk, causing head-on crash and seriously injuring 2

Published

18 hours ago

July 10, 2026

Press Room

Florida man accused of driving drunk, causing head-on crash and seriously injuring 2

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — A driver accused of driving under the influence caused a head-on crash that sent two people to the hospital before crashing into a fence, abandoning his vehicle and fleeing the scene, authorities said.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, at about 11:42 p.m. Tuesday, Kelly Castleman was driving on Turner Road in Tampa when he crashed into a sedan, causing it to strike an SUV and resulting in a head-on collision. The drivers of the sedan and the SUV were taken to the hospital with serious and critical injuries.

See also: Armed Florida man arrested after setting restaurant on fire with propane tank, police say

Deputies say Castleman’s vehicle continued north before crashing through a fence. According to the sheriff’s office, he stopped in the backyard of a nearby residence and then fled the scene on foot.

Castleman was found about a mile from his apartment and taken into custody. Investigators say he provided breath samples of 0.287 and 0.283.

Castleman is charged with DUI with serious bodily injury, DUI with a breath-alcohol level of 0.15 or higher and property damage, leaving the scene of a crash involving serious bodily injury, and leaving the scene of a crash involving unattended property.

Source link

Florida

Florida Airport Officially Renamed After Trump. Here’s What to Know

Published

1 day ago

July 9, 2026

Press Room

Florida Airport Officially Renamed After Trump. Here’s What to Know

The Palm Beach International Airport was officially renamed to the President Donald J. Trump International Airport on Thursday, becoming the latest place to take on the President’s name since he took office for a second term.

The Florida airport announced the change on social media early Thursday morning, changing its handle on X to bear the new name and saying that staffers were “working behind the scenes to update our physical signage, terminal spaces, and digital channels to our new name.”

The President’s son, Eric Trump, said that his father’s plane, which he was on, was the first flight to land at the newly-branded airport.

“There is no person who has done more for Florida and our country, and no one more deserving of this incredible honor,” Eric Trump said in a post on X. “As a son, and someone who flies out of this airport nearly every day, I will forever be proud to see the initials ‘DJT’ on my boarding pass.”

Here’s what to know about the change.

Why was the airport renamed?

In March, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a bill to rename the Palm Beach airport after Trump, after state lawmakers passed the legislation. The Trump Organization had previously submitted trademark applications for possible airport names.

The President frequently travels through the Palm Beach hub, as it’s close to his Mar-a-Lago estate.

There are a number of airports across the country named after U.S. Presidents, such as New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport. But the Palm Beach rebranding makes Trump the first President to have an airport named after him while in the White House.

When does the name change go into effect?

The airport was officially renamed on Thursday, but it said on its website that “transition activities, including updates to signage, branding and public-facing materials, will occur in phases.”

Will the name change affect airport operations?

The airport said on its website that “airport operations and services will continue without interruption” and that flight routes and schedules will not be impacted by the change. It added that “this is a branding change only,” and that the airport’s ownership and governance will not undergo any changes.

The three-letter identifier that airlines and travelers reference for services related to their flights, such as ticketing and baggage handling, will change from “PBI” to “DJT,” but the airport said on its website that that change will go into effect on Aug. 18. Until that date, travelers should stick to using the original code, “PBI.”

As of Thursday afternoon, some airline booking sites, such as Delta’s portal, recognized both codes, while others, such as American Airlines, only recognized the original PBI identifier.

How much is the rebranding going to cost?

According to the airport’s website, the Palm Beach County Department of Airports predicted that the total cost of rolling out the new name for the travel hub would be roughly $5.5 million. That amount will cover the price of changing airport signage, branding, and printed materials, among other items.

The state has allocated $2.75 million in funding for the rebranding, according to the airport’s website. The rest of the funding for the project will come from the Department of Airports’ operating budget and capital improvement program. The airport said that the rebranding “does not result in a separate fee charged to passengers.”

Source link