Update – 6:45 am: EXTREMELY DANGEROUS CATEGORY 3 HURRICANE IDALIA MAKES LANDFALL IN THE FLORIDA BIG BEND… ….
The media reports it made landfall near Keaton Beach in Taylor County.
Escambia County Public Safety Director Eric Gilmore will call in to “Real News” this morning. He is in the Lafayette County EOC, east of Taylor County.
The 5 a.m. ET bulletin from the NOAA Hurricane Center has Hurricane Idalia at a Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 135 mph. Read bulletin.
- The storm is expected to make landfall within hours in the Big Bend area.
- Idalia could continue to strengthen before it reaches the Big Bend coast of Florida in a few hours.
- While Idalia should weaken after landfall, it is likely to still be a hurricane while moving across southern Georgia, and near the coast of Georgia or southern South Carolina late today.
- Idalia should emerge off the southeastern United States coast early on Thursday and move eastward through late week.
WATCHES AND WARNINGS
——————–
CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY:
A Hurricane Warning has been issued for the east coast of the
United States from Altamaha Sound Georgia to Edisto Beach South
Carolina.
A Storm Surge Warning has been issued from St. Catherine’s Sound to
South Santee River.
A Hurricane Watch has been issued from Edisto Beach South Carolina
to South Santee River South Carolina.
A Tropical Storm Warning has been issued from North of Surf City
North Carolina to the North Carolina/Virginia border, and Pamlico
and Albemarle Sounds.
The Tropical Storm Warning for the west coast of Florida from
Bonita Beach southward is discontinued.
SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT:
A Storm Surge Warning is in effect for…
* Englewood northward to Indian Pass, including Tampa Bay
* St. Catherine’s Sound to South Santee River
A Hurricane Warning is in effect for…
* Middle of Longboat Key northward to Indian Pass, including Tampa
Bay
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for…
* Chokoloskee northward to the Middle of Longboat Key
* West of Indian Pass to Mexico Beach
* Sebastian Inlet Florida to Surf City North Carolina
A Storm Surge Watch is in effect for…
* Bonita Beach northward to Englewood, including Charlotte Harbour
* Mouth of the St. Mary’s River to St. Catherine’s Sound Georgia
* Beaufort Inlet to Drum Inlet North Carolina
* Neuse and Pamlico Rivers North Carolina
A Hurricane Watch is in effect for…
* Mouth of the St. Mary’s River to Altamaha Sound
* Edisto Beach to South Santee River
Baker Act Facilities Coming
When the Mental Health Task Force of Northwest Florida last met in May, the most significant announcement made was that Sen. Doug Broxson and State Rep. Alex Andrade had secured funding for centralized receiving facilities at Baptist and Lakeview to handle Baker Act patients.
- The issue arose a year ago when HCA Florida West Hospital announced it would no longer receive Baker Act patients.
Dig Deeper:
Efforts to establish separate central receiving facilities are in the execution phase. Baptist will remain in its role as the hub for adolescents. Baptist is the only facility with adolescent inpatient beds from here to Panama City.
Law enforcement will take adult patients to Lakeview for assessment. The adult patients will then either remain at Lakeview or be transported to HCA Florida West Hospital.
- The Baker Act is a Florida law that enables families and loved ones to provide emergency mental health services and temporary detention for people impaired due to mental illness and unable to determine their needs for treatment. The act allows the court, doctors or law enforcement officials to involuntarily commit the patient for at least 72 hours for a mental health evaluation.
LifeView Group CEO Allison Hill said Lakeview is renovating existing space to serve as the adult central receiving facility and plans to fill about 50 full-time positions to provide patients with the best possible care.
Funding will come from $4.7 million received in recurring state appropriations on July 1 and a local match involving Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
Exactly when the Lakeview facility will be operational is uncertain. Hill described the renovations and hiring process as “quite time intensive.” The process of writing operating policies and procedures is similarly time-consuming. Stakeholders offering input include hospitals, law enforcement, courts, and the managing entity.
“We are narrowing in on the exact timeline,” Hill said. “We realize that it can’t happen soon enough to bring the right care to those who are seeking services in the emergency departments. However, there are many factors that have an impact on opening day.”
- Baker Act patients, in particular, are on the rise as society has become more attuned to behavioral health issues. Baptist sees an average of about 100 Baker Act patients a week and Florida West sees about 70. Emergency services are already taxed with occasionally transporting patients to centers in Fort Walton Beach or Panama City due
Chromebook Glut
Models have shot up in price in the past four years. Constant repairs add to the cost. Google imposes expiration dates, even if the hardware still works. This year, Google ceases support for 13 models. Next year, 51 models will expire.
Why this matters: Chromebooks played a major role in former Escambia County School Superintendent Malcolm Thomas’s Vision 2020 plan that put Chromebooks in the hands of every student by the end of 2016.
- An audit in 2019 reported that the district had purchased over 41,000 Chromebooks.
Deeper Dive: The cheap, minimalist laptops were out of favor with many school districts when Thomas announced the initiative. As we know, test scores haven’t improved in the past seven years. Read more.
- The Vision 2020 plan was announced in 2015 as Thomas was seeking re-election for a third term.