 freeze milton pensacola 35 40 for the primary how officials are testing the equipment before voters cast their ballots wear news at six starts now  Good evening and thank you for joining us. Northwest Florida Schools celebrating a great report card after the state releasing grades today. Both Okaloosa and Santa Rosa counties received A grades. Escambia County received a B for the fifth straight year. Escambia Public School Superintendent Keith Leonard says the latest report is the biggest improvement they have seen since 2011. And he spoke with our Brent Carney. And Brent, to what does he attribute this success?  Yeah, Bob, the superintendent says the teachers and support staff worked extra hard last year, making sure students came prepared to class. Now, this year, grades for Escambia show 13 schools scored an A, 12 schools with a B, and 25 schools with a C. Now, last year, Escambia had eight schools that were given an F. Each improved to at least a C this year. Leonard says this year the state increased its standards, making it more difficult to achieve higher scores.  The hard part will be this coming school year. You know, when you celebrate a victory, you know there's another game coming down the road. And this next school year gets started with our teachers returning on August 2nd. And then those 37,000... And Santa Rosa County and Okaloosa County schools celebrated their A ratings. Santa Rosa County Superintendent Karen Barber thanked the teachers and staff for their hard work. She touted that Santa Rosa schools are currently ranked 8th.  eighth in the state. Now coming up a little bit later on tonight at 10, Warrington Prep Academy, which converted from a failing public school to a charter school, improved their scores as well. We'll tell you how they did coming up in the studio. Brent Carney, WER News. And if you'd like to see your child's school grades, you can head to our website, weartv.com. Just search Florida school grades to see the full list.  The city of Milton is considering a proposal that would end its recycling program. City officials say the program is costing too much money. WEAR's Sade Ray joins us. Sade, there are two main factors driving that proposal. Bob, Sue, the assistant city manager says right now most of the recyclables are contaminated and go to the county landfill. Or there's not enough buyers at the recycle site, which still sends it to the landfill. He says that isn't sustainable.  The city of Milton started a recycling program in 2015. Jimmy Messick is one of those customers. We were one of the original users of the recycling program when they started it.  And I think that it's a good program. Now, the city says the recycling program is getting too expensive. There's a proposal to end it. The program costs us approximately $150,000, but the cost of that is wrapped up in our sanitation budget, where the sanitation employees, the...  maintenance and repair of the vehicles, the tipping fees, which are about $9,000 just for the recycling, if it has to go to the landfill. The program, as far as the fee, only generates about $25,000 a year. Ed Spears is Milton's assistant city manager. He says there hasn't been a load accepted into the recycling plant in more than two years.  You are the greatest recycler in the world. You wash out your glass. You have the right kind of plastic. There's no food contamination. There's no other household garbage in there. And it's collected, and your next-door neighbor or the neighbors down the street are using it for garbage, and it gets into that recycling truck by accident or simply we collect it. The load gets contaminated. Another reason... Also, if we have a perfectly clean...  A set of recycling that we've collected from the community, everything's as it should be. If there's no buyer at the recycling facility for that, no paper buyer, no glass buyer, no plastic buyer, the whole load, as clean as it may be, goes to the landfill. Spears says this adds work for the employees who have to go back to pick up those loads. Messick says he's sad about the city recycling possibly ending, but can understand the argument.  I'm a businessman, and if only 300 out of 11,000 are using it, and if they're not keeping their recycling clean, and most of it's going to the dump anyway, that's a negative against the program.  City Council will talk about this proposal during their next fiscal budget meeting in September. If approved, the city will push out cancellation notices starting October. Live in the studio, Shadi Ray, WAR News.  A Pensacola man is now charged with murdering his wife and killing a dog. 51-year-old Timothy Kramer was arrested by Milton police last night. He's now in the Santa Rosa County Jail, charged with homicide and animal cruelty in Escambia County. The Escambia Sheriff's Office says Kramer shot and killed his wife, Rosa Maria Kramer. Deputies found her body in a home shot to death on Hillcrest Avenue. They also found a dog with a gunshot wound. It also died. The Sheriff's Office says Kramer will be extradited back to Escambia County to face charges.  Four men facing drug charges after a destined home was raided by Okaloosa County Multi-Agency Drug Task Force. Richard Welch Jr., Joseph Warren, Russell Wilkes, and Richard Mandolini. They were all arrested yesterday. Deputies executed a narcotics and explosive search warrant at a home on Whippoorwill Lane. They found drugs and drug paraphernalia. They also found other evidence related to a separate ongoing criminal investigation. All of the men being held without bond.  The Florida Highway Patrol says it was an 18-year-old motorcyclist who was seriously injured in that crash on Interstate 10 yesterday afternoon. FHP says the motorcycle was traveling at a high rate of speed when an SUV changed lanes and crashed into it. Debris from that crash was then thrown into the eastbound lanes, striking a second SUV. Neither of the SUV drivers was injured. We have no update, though, on the motorcyclist's condition. First Morning Weather, sponsored by Pensacola State College.  The tropical Atlantic Basin continues to be nice and calm for now. And the Saharan dust forecast does show more across the Atlantic Basin, which actually is on our side. That helps to inhibit tropical activity. So we've been looking good there, but things will change. We'll let you know when it does. Pretty hearty thunderstorm that's rolled in from Escambia County.  Now is over areas of Pace and Milton. This one's dumping some heavy rain, a few lightning strikes here and there with that storm as well. So some spots getting some heavy rain while some areas along the coast still enjoying some sunshine. Looks good for tonight's baseball game at Blue Wahoos Stadium. Next few days, that rain chance is a bit on the high side. We'll find out the weekend rain chances in the full report.  Download the WEAR First Warning Weather App now. Sponsored by Hill-Kelley Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram.  Well, we are less than a month away from Florida's primary election. Escambia County tested its polling machines today for accuracy. A supervisor of elections invited WEAR News for a behind-the-scenes look at how it all works. And WEAR's Karis Harmon was there today for what they call logic and accuracy testing. Yeah, which was really like a mini-election, using test ballots to make sure the machines work correctly and are accurate.  Escambia County Supervisor of Elections Robert Bender is expecting heavy foot traffic to the polls. We expect high turnout for the general. We're probably going to look at about 35-40% for the primary. We did have our books closing so the last day for people to register or change their party has already passed. They can still request to vote by mail ballots. We've had about 26,000 ballots go out already.  Which is why it was so important for the county to test its polling machines. We test the equipment that will be deployed for the election, making sure that it all works properly, but really to make sure that a vote for Robert gets counted as a vote for Robert. And so we run all the actual ballots that we'll be using on election day, and again, make sure that those votes are counted accurately.  Going through all of the possible scenarios that could happen on election day, like if a ballot is duplicated or spoiled. Deputy Supervisor of Election Sonia Daniel gave us an example using a test ballot. This is a vote-by-mail ballot, and we know it's a vote-by-mail ballot because it has the V up at the top of it. So this machine should reject that ballot because it was intended for vote-by-mail. Ballots can go in head first, feet first, face up, face down, any way that's sideways.  After the 2020 presidential election, there were some who believed votes were not accurate or not counted at all. Bender says accuracy is of the utmost importance. The core of our democracy is what we do in elections, right? It's not connected to the Internet. They've just been connected to power to count those votes and then make sure that the results are accurately uploaded, consolidated, and then upload that master list to the state. So, again, this is almost like a mini-election that we're running.  If you need a vote-by-mail ballot, your deadline to request one is August 8th. Election day is August 20th. The polls are open from 7 a.m. till 7 p.m. In the studio, Karis Harmon, WEAR News.  You can help make sure children in our communities are ready for the new school year. We're partnering with the United Way of West Florida for the Stuff the Bus campaign, a school supply drive. That is tomorrow. You can drop off supplies at the Walmart stores on Mobile Highway, Blue Angel Parkway, and Creighton Road in Escambia County. In the Walmart stores in Pea Ridge, Tiger Point, and Navarre in Santa Rosa County.  But it's the pretty standard stuff, pencils, erasers, notebooks, binders, all the things that make the day easier for teachers to manage their classrooms and to teach our students.  Stuff the Bus runs from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. Except for the Navarre location, they'll start collecting stuff at 8 a.m. Melissa County School District also hosting their annual Stuff the Bus. It is August 3rd from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Walmart locations in Niceville, Crestview, and Fort Walton Beach. Coming up, a CPR device that's improving the game for first responders.  Download the WEAR News app now. Sponsored by Forrest Jordan and Associates.  Pensacola Morning News with Andrew McKay. Joining me here in studio today, we have Chief Deputy Tommy Leiter for the Escambia County Sheriff's Office, former PPD Chief. Chief, welcome back to the Pensacola Morning News, sir. Hey, thanks for having me. It's kind of been quiet this week. It's not necessarily newsworthy. We made some great narcotics arrests, traffic stop narcotics arrests, but that's just a small fraction of what we're going on. There's 721 employees, 430. Pensacola Morning News with Andrew McKay. Mornings 5 till 9. News Radio Pensacola. Informative, local, dependable.  local and national news, sports and pop culture, with traffic and weather on the fives, and your texts. It's Pensacola right now.  And we welcome you to hour number three on a Wednesday. Pensacola Right Now with Joe and Austin. News Radio Pensacola, informative, local, and dependable. Thanks so much for tuning in and, of course, making us a small part of your afternoon drive home each and every day. We certainly appreciate it. Text line 850-437-1620 and the traffic line 2626-111.  As we get started with our number three, taking a look at our top three stories today. President Biden, about an hour from now, give or take a few minutes, is set to address the nation in his first on-camera appearance since he dropped out of the presidential race. Biden telling his campaign workers over the phone Monday that dropping out was the right thing to do. His speech is set for 8 p.m. Eastern, 7 o'clock Central Time. It'll be a little after that.  allowing time for the national networks to get their bearings and do the preamble and all that. So a little after 7 o'clock and, of course, carrying that right here on NewsRadio Pensacola. Kamala Harris's presidential campaign is vetting running mates.  The campaign has requested vetting materials from several potential running mates, including Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly. Today, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the war in Gaza is a clash between barbarism and civilization.  He addressed a joint meeting of Congress today. They dragged 255 people, both living and dead, into the dark dungeons of Gaza. Israel has already brought home 135 of these hostages, including seven who were freed and during rescue operations.  He added the intense efforts to free the remaining hostages are ongoing. His visit was met with large demonstrations of thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters. Also, dozens of Democrats boycotted the speech. That's a look at our top three stories. Traffic and weather. We'll start with Alan.  We continue to be in a weather pattern where a shower or a thunderstorm could pop up at about any time, day or night. So look for rain to be scattered across the area at times. Of course, it will be warm and humid with highs running in the upper 80s to low 90s. Overnight lows will generally be down between about 75 and 80 degrees. Jumping ahead to the weekend, we've got a 50% chance for rain both on Saturday and Sunday. I'm meteorologist Alan Strom with your first warning WEAR News weather forecast.  As for the roads here, kind of building off of what Alan Strum said, we did have a shower that was pretty aggressive, kind of kick in last hour. And it looks like this may be another shower or maybe that storm is on the move a little bit. It does look like we have some pretty long-reaching congestion on I-10. This is in both east and westbound lanes. As you're passing over Avalon Boulevard, it's not severe. It just reaches for a while, and there's no confirmation of an accident. So if I had to guess...  Just a guess. It's probably rainfall in that area that is causing people to just slow down over there. Hopefully that's all it is. We'll keep an eye on it nonetheless, though. Also, just a couple more of the usual spots. Navarre Parkway traveling westbound towards Highway 87 and Caroline Street traveling westbound coming over Blackwater River and heading into downtown Milton. Excuse me.  All righty. This traffic and weather update is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Progressive Insurance offers you auto, home, and commercial auto insurance, plus a variety of business insurance options. You can visit Progressive.com today for more information on that. Again, that is Progressive.com. Joe? All right.  6.15 here, taking a look at our local headlines today. Pensacola man now in custody accused of fatally shooting both his wife and dog. 51-year-old Timothy Kramer arrested by Milton police today, booked into the Santa Rosa County Jail on charges of homicide and animal cruelty. The Escambia Sheriff's Office last night issued a missing persons alert on 47-year-old Rosa Kramer.  Sheriff's office says her body was later found inside a home on Hillcrest Avenue. A dog also found at the scene shot and then later died from its injuries at the vet. Pensacola woman accused in a fatal hit-and-run crash last year.  has been extradited back to Escambia County. 41-year-old Jessica Hendrickson was arrested in Kentucky last week. On Monday, she was booked at Escambia County Jail, released yesterday after posting bond. FHP troopers say back in June of last year, she was driving on Sorrento Road when she ran into bicyclist Jeff Nichols from behind and then fled the scene. She's next scheduled to appear in court on July 30th.  Escambia schools celebrating positive results from the annual school district report cards. They were released earlier this week by the State Board of Education. Escambia County receiving a B grade for the fifth straight year despite rising state standards. And for the first time in several years, the district had no schools receive an F. Here is Assistant Superintendent Denny Wilson. We just have really, really good leadership in the district across the board right now. There's just some really high quality leadership.  administrators and I think we're starting to see a shift in the stability of our teaching staff.  And meanwhile, Santa Rosa County received an A for the sixth straight year. Okaloosa for the ninth straight year. So congratulations to all of the districts. ECUA board is proposing a rate increase for next year. Operating expenses are up almost 8%. However, we did a lot of belt tightening and cut expenses in several locations. Took on some new initiatives to tighten our belts.  Even though the CPI is pushing 3.5% to 4% the last several months, our recommended rate increase for next year is a flat even 3%. Executive Director Bruce Woody there.  He says the increase would be for water, wastewater, and sanitation. Public hearings will be held next month, and the increase will still need final approval from the board at a future meeting. Let's see. Santa Rosa County on Thursday may be buying two homes that have been damaged by multiple floods. The military families that live in the home say they've been dealing with water issues for years now.  So if we were to increase the drainage just to try to relieve them, we're not sure that we would get it without that elevation of that property, which would be an additional cost. So after you do all this analysis and you look at the cost-benefit, it's better that we would...  pay the $638,000 for the two residents. County Administrator Brad Baker there, he says the two homes likely will be demolished. The lots would be used for an open green space that obviously would not be damaged by repeat flooding there. 619, we'll take a break. State and National News coming up next on Pensacola Right Now.  We need your help. It's the Cat Country Cares for Kids Radiothon for the Studer Family Children's Hospital. The sixth annual Cat Country Cares for Kids Radiothon is Friday, August 16th in the lobby of the Studer Family Children's Hospital presented by Hanto and Clark.  Hear stories of bravery and inspiration from local kids and families who have benefited from the care and expertise of the hospital's highly trained physicians and staff. All the money stays right here. Special thank you to miracle sponsor, Florida Blue. Our hope sponsors include Autumn Beck Blackledge, PLLC.  Bill Sheffield Realty. Escambia County Sheriff's Office. International Paper. And Penn Air Credit Union. Thank you. This year, help us raise money for the NICU's Angel Eye cameras. You can get more at catcountrycares.com or text KIDS to 850-430-1987. Proudly supporting your kids at the Cat Country Cares for Kids Radiothon.  Join Stephan Schmidt, Marine Service Technology Instructor at Georgetown Technical College for Boat Smart on the Pensacola Expert Panel this Friday at 10 a.m. Key Marine sponsoring the show. When Key Marine needs to hire Marine Service technicians, they hire students from Georgetown Technical College. Have a boating question for Stephan? Then give us a call at 437-1620. It's a dream team, so join them this Friday at 10 a.m. The Pensacola Expert Panel, 9 to 11 weekdays on News Radio 92.3 a.m. 1620.  When America needed a hero, we turned to conservative Aaron Dimmock. A decorated combat pilot, Dimmock led missions against cartels in the Gulf. He'll take that fight to Biden's open border chaos. He's pro-life, pro-gun, and pro-Trump. Because Aaron Dimmock's a conservative fighter we can be proud of. Florida Patriots Pack paid for and is responsible for the content of this advertising. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. FloridaPatriotsPack.com  We can inspect, clean, and treat your AC system so you'll feel great.  If you have dust issues or health problems that you feel are related to your home or office building, you should give us a call. We'll share the tips and secrets you need to know for a comfortable, healthy indoor environment. Gulf Coast Air Care is at 850-934-2768. Our service will extend the life of your air conditioner, and your system will be much more energy efficient, too. Let us help you by cleaning the most neglected system in your home or workplace.  At Gulf Coast Air Care, we take pride in the certifications and the licenses that we hold. If you want the best quality and award-winning customer service, you can find us on the web at gulfcoastaircare.com. And it's Sarah. Serious cleaning, Gulf Coast Air Care.  Join Tim Ireland from Forrest Jordan & Associates, The Generator Guys, tomorrow at 9 a.m. on the Pensacola Expert Panel. Tim will be sharing his expertise on home generators and what's involved in getting one for your home, information on why you would need one, system costs, and what a home generator can do for your home, and answer questions on how they work.  The Pensacola Expert Panel on News Radio 92.3 and AM 1620. Text or call with your questions. 850-437-1620. Did you know you can get your prescriptions for less at your local pharmacy? You can with GoodRx. It's the free app that can save you money on your medications.  Just search for your prescription, choose the pharmacy and the price that works best for you, and then show your GoodRx coupon to your pharmacist at the drop-off counter. GoodRx works at over 70,000 pharmacies, including Walmart, Rite Aid, and Walgreens, and it works whether you have insurance or not. It's easy to save. Next time you drop off your prescription, check GoodRx. To start saving today, go to GoodRx.com. GoodRx is not insurance.  No matter how you listen, you can rely on NewsRadio Pensacola to keep you informed and safe when storms strike. You can listen on our mobile app. You can go your own way. Go your own way. You can call it another lonely day.  Pensacola right now on News Radio Pensacola. Just about 625 here. We'll get another quick check of the roads and weather. We have some congestion on I-10 traveling both east and westbound. This is if you're either passing Avalon Boulevard or approaching it. This is what we saw earlier, but it was a bit further west. So it is moving. I'm assuming there is some rain in that area.  That is causing some people to slow down because I know it's thundering a lot where we are. But once again, it's something we'll keep an eye on because we don't have confirmation of that from what I believe. But no accident report though, luckily. It's nothing like that. Also, we do have some minor backups on Navarre Parkway if you're traveling westbound approaching Highway 87. But that has gotten increasingly minor as the evening has progressed. So outside of those couple of spots, there's not much holding you up at this time.  Yeah, I think it is pretty heavy rain there. That's what's going on. Let's see. Oh, let's get weather here. Speaking of, here's Alan.  The high rain chance continues and a shower or a thunderstorm could pop up at about any time. Look for that to be in the daytime hours or at night. As we look ahead, we've got a 50% chance for rain Saturday and Sunday. And our highs will continue to be in the upper 80s to low 90s with overnight lows mainly in the upper 70s. I'm meteorologist Alan Strom with your first warning WEAR News weather forecast.  All right, thank you. State headlines today, the big story in Florida is that Board of Education approving a bylaw allowing high school athletes to profit off NIL. We have an allegation process. We're on our website. General public can go on our website and click the allegation form and submit an allegation to our office. Our member schools will be watching. I can promise you that they watch for things that they feel other member schools are doing that are inappropriate.  So the board unanimously approved the NIL rule change that was approved by the FHSAA in June. Education Commissioner Manny Diaz says the FHSAA will provide schools with specific instructions on the rule changes.  trial underway in manatee county opening statements were made yesterday in the black swan murder trial former ballerina ashley benfield is accused of killing her 54 year old estranged husband four years ago in lakewood ranch the case got national attention when it was featured in an episode of 48 hours the 32 year old charged with second degree murder she claims self-defense but prosecutors say that she shot her husband to get custody of their daughter  FDLE is celebrating the anniversary of a critical tool that's helped find hundreds of missing residents. They say it launched the Florida Purple Alert two years ago as a way to help find missing adults who suffer from mental, cognitive, or developmental disabilities. So far, the system has helped locate nearly 440 people.  And with summer in full swing, Attorney General Ashley Moody warning Floridians about short-term rental scams. Moody says that fraudsters can turn dream vacations into nightmares, which is why she's urging people to use caution when booking places to stay online. Scammers can post fake listings for properties on websites and social media platforms to try to entice visitors. Moody says it is always important to research the property, read the contract, and verify potential bookings that appear too good to be true.  FBI Director Christopher Wray providing testimony on the assassination attempt on Donald Trump. During testimony, Wray told the House Judiciary Committee that a week before the rally, the shooter searched for how far away Lee Harvey Oswald was when he shot President Kennedy in 1963.  We are investigating the shooter both to determine his motive and his preparations and activities before the shooting, but also to make sure whether or not there are any co-conspirators, accomplices.  And he also detailed how the shooter flew a drone about 200 yards from the stage for around 11 minutes, just two hours before Trump took to the stage. And Vote.org says it's seen a dramatic jump in voter registrations since President Biden announced that he will no longer seek re-election.  The organization said it helped register more than 38,500 voters in just two days after Biden's announcement. That's the largest number of new voters that it's registered in a two-day period dis-election cycle. Vote.org also noted that 83% of the newly registered voters are young people between the ages of 18 and 34. In Iowa, the law that bans abortions at around six weeks is set to take effect on Monday.  A judge gave the order to dissolve the temporary injunction after the state Supreme Court denied a hearing request by Planned Parenthood and the ACLU of Iowa.  The law will ban abortions after embryonic cardiac activity is detected. And Fox News proposing a debate between Vice President Harris and former President Trump. The network has suggested the debate be held September 17th in Pennsylvania. Trump had been scheduled to face President Biden in a second debate on September 10th hosted by ABC News before Biden decided to drop out of the race.  And on Wall Street, stocks closing sharply lower today. The Dow Jones falling 504 points to 39,853. S&P 500 dropped 128 to 5427. And the Nasdaq fell by 654 points to 17,342.  Austin, quick update on what's going on around sports here. Well, we had the Braves-Reds game that was supposed to start at 5 o'clock being postponed, which is funny because it was a doubleheader, or at least it was supposed to be because of a previous postponement. However, the first game today, the Reds beat the Braves 9-4.  Currently in the middle of the fourth inning here as they head into the bottom of the fourth. Orioles and Marlins tied at zero. And Blue Jays are beating the Tampa Bay Rays one to nothing in the top of the second. Just some trending headlines here. The locker belonging to Kobe Bryant is being auctioned off through August 2nd on Sotheby's. The winning bidder will also get a scrapbook and a poster from his last career NBA game in 2016.  Also, today's July 24th, so we are one month away from week zero of the college football season. So I'm sure you'll hear a lot of heel clicking from me over the next few weeks. Also, the opening ceremony for the Olympics isn't until Friday, but they are getting underway today. First soccer and rugby matches have been being played in the U.S. men's soccer team playing France this afternoon. Meanwhile, the U.S. men's rugby team started play this morning facing off against the host nation as well.  Tennis star Coco Gauff, Team USA's female flag bearer at the Olympics. She is the first U.S. tennis player to receive the honor of being flag bearer, which is decided by a vote of Team USA athletes. And the Winter Games, returning to Salt Lake City.