Pensacola News Journal from Pensacola, Florida • 23

Lottery "ITPENSACOLA Here are the winning numbers selected Saturday in the Florida Lottery: Cash 3: 8-3-9 rfjL Play 4: 1-4-0-8 fX Fantasy 5: 3-5-1 1-21-31 i Lotto: 15-19-20-28-34-48 I Lottery roundup: 6C Journal www PoncanlaMai www.PensacolaNewsJournal.com SUNDAY, JULY 25, 2004 Information: www.flalotterv.com Section Local Tax-free week starts off stron Injured pelican returns to roost; another heads for the hospital After spending two weeks in the peli-hospital for a "wing job," Mermaids in Paradise has returned to the 300 block of Tarragona Street just in time for its debut in today's Life section. Pelican Brief(s), located at the northwest corner of J. Guinnsaid. Pensacola Junior College students Ashley Privett, 19, and Mary Boutwell, 18, started their shopping spree at Beall's in Milton Plaza Ferdinand, is scheduled to be removed tern- ATI ZT. porarily for repairs i sometime next week.

Vil' Boutwell The pelican's acces- 4 III V4 Michael Stewart and Kris Thoma PensacolaNewsJournal.com The steady "cha-ching" of cash registers could be heard throughout Escambia and Santa Rosa counties Saturday as shoppers mobbed area stores for the first tax-free shopping day. "We're swamped," said Allen Kleback, assistant store manager at the Blue Angel Parkway Wal-Mart "It's busy, busy, busy." Saturday was the first day of a nine-day sales-tax hiatus on most clothes or textbooks priced less than $50 and school supplies less than $10. That's good news for shoppers such as Pensacola resident Annie Hicks, who was shopping Saturday afternoon for school supplies at Target on Bayou Boulevard. "Every little bit helps," Hicks said, expressing hope that the tax break would save her between $60 and $100. When shoppers are happy, so are retailers such as Parisians in Cordova Mall, where store manager Linda Colson said the store was busier Saturday than the first day of the last tax holiday in 2001.

"The last time, we had a pretty steady nine days, and we're are expecting the same this year" Colson said. It's not just clothing and book stores that benefitted. Business was brisk at Picadil-bs Cafeteria at University Mall. By 2:05 p.m, employees had served 100 more customers than they did during the same time last week, store manager Judy sories hat, glasses and briefcase fell prey to vandals. "The pelicans are works of art," said Sheila Reed, director of the Pensacola News Journal's Newspapers In -1 Education program, a litera early Saturday, with plans for stopovers at both Pensacola shopping malls and at Wal-Mart.

"This stun; usually, it's 40 percent oft; but today it's an additional 25 percent off," Boutwell said of the many specials stores are offering in addition to the tax-free holiday. "I think it actually helps a lot. If you're spending $100, you can save quite a bit." Aug. 1 is the last day of the tax break. Kris ThomaPensacolaNewsJoumal.com Mikesha Kyles, 11, shops Saturday with her grandmother, Annie Hicks.

The two were looking for bookbags at a Target store. cy initiative benefiting from the Pelicans in Paradise. "Everyone needs to respect and treat them as they would a piece of art in a gallery. It just happens our gallery is outdoors." Beginning Monday, Pelicans in Paradise posters and T-shirts will be available at the News Journal, 101 E. Romana or by calling 469-8285.

The $5 full-color poster features all 21 birds currently on display. T-shirts, in sizes small through 3X, highlight a selection of pelicans and sell for $15. All proceeds benefit NIE. Low chance of riptides predicted for today I Ll" 1 1 'lllillli III in II II umi II 1 1 I. mil.

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I ft- Sk i DANGER The National Weather Service is predicting a low chance for rip currents at area beaches today. Potentially dangerous rip currents still could develop, especially near inlets, jetties and piers, officials warned Saturday. Today's forecast calls for a high temperature in the low 90s, with a chance of scattered thunderstorms. Smooth conditions are forecast on bays and intercoastal waterways. It is safest to swim where lifeguards are present.

Always ask about surf conditions before entering the Gulf of Mexico. For surf conditions, call 932-SURF. CAUTION ED Rapist dies in prison Wike left 2 girls for dead in 1988 Michael Stewart PensacolaNewsJournal.com Time has done to convicted child murderer Warfield Raymond Wike Jr. what Pensacola resident Marvin Pafford wanted to do almost 16 years ago. Pafford, now 70, vividly remembers the day he sat on a park bench in Milton outside the Santa Rosa County Courthouse and waited for the man who brutally knifed his two granddaughters, killing one and leaving the other for dead.

"I had my .45 handgun, and I was going to cut him down. But they never brought him out," Pafford said Saturday. Wike died July 16 on Death Row at Union Correctional In SAFE John BlackiePensacolaNewsJournal.com Pooches get pampered to benefit Humane Society Nancy Young, left, and Jenny Retterer rinse off one of the dogs that got a bath Saturday at the Humane Society of Pensacola's Doggie Bathe-in fund-raiser. About 90 animals and their owners showed up at the event for dog washes and flea dips to raise money for the Humane Society. If you and your pooch missed your chance Saturday, the next bathe-in is set for 9 a.m.

to 2 p.m. Aug. 21 at the Humane Society, 2480 W. Navy Blvd. It will include groomers and nail trimmers.

Call 432-4250 for details. stitution in Rai-ford of natural causes, according to the Florida Department of Corrections. The victim's Molino home destroyed in fire; no one inj'ured in Friday blaze A fire Friday night destroyed a Molino family's home. No one was inside the home around 9:45 p.m. when neighbors noticed flames shooting through the roof of the single-story, wood-frame home in the 5700 block of Chalker Road.

Firefighters said they could do little to save the home that was fully engulfed in flames. Crews from Molino, Beulah, Cantonment, McDavid and Century responded, Molino Fire Chief Harry Nowlin said. One fireman pulling down a burning wall suffered a fractured foot, Nowlin said. The family who owned the home were playing bingo when the fire started. Family members arrived back at the home while firemen were still there, Nowlin said.

The cause of the fire had not been determined Saturday night. The older home was declared a total loss. Its estimated value was $50,000. The homeowners are staying with relatives, Nowlin said. Corrections The News Journal strives for accuracy and fairness.

We will correct errors or misunderstandings created by stories, headlines or photos. Readers may request a correction by calling 435-8511. For general assistance with news questions and issues, call the Community Announcement Desk at 435-8542. family members learned of his Wike Appraiser discusses beach taxes Have you decided, then, that you won't tax the land as well? No, I haven't made that decision Jones death Saturday. On Sept.

22, 1988, Wike forced his way into a Pensacola apartment, abducted Sayeh Rivazfar, then 8, and her sister, Sara, 6, driving them to a wooded area in Allentown, where he slit the two siblings' throats after raping the older girl repeatedly. "It was a cruel and brutal crime, plain and simple," said John Molchan, an assistant state attorney who was a prosecutor during Wike's penalty phase. Saturday morning the Rivazfar family received a phone call telling them Wike had died. He was 48. "My brother's wife saw it on the (Florida Department of Corrections) Web site and called us," said Ahmad Rivazfar, 48.

Sayeh Rivazfar is 24 years old now. She no longer is See FLORIDA, 8C Online update in tax dollars a year for our schools and county. It's like an IOU. If we win, they will have to pay back taxes. Would non-payers owe interest on back taxes if you win? All of that is Tax Collector Janet Holley's territory.

All we do here is grant exemptions and appraise property. What is Escambia County's millage rate? They haven't set this year's yet. Last year, it was 18.341 mills. Based on last year's millage rates, a resident with a $300,000 home would owe $5,502.30 in property taxes. You can See BEACH, 8C Escambia County Commission and the School Board.

When I make my decision, and if it is to levy beach taxes, I would urge the School Board and the county not to count that money as a budgeted item until it goes through the court process. If there is a lawsuit, taxpayers only have to pay that amount they deem appropriate until the lawsuit is settled. They are going to pay zero. So you expect a lawsuit? Yes. Why not wait until similar lawsuits in Santa Rosa County are settled? The problem with that is: If I don't put them on the tax roll, then 1 stand the chance of losing 10 million Michael Stewart PensacolaNewsJoumal.com Pensacola Beach leaseholders soon could know whether they will be assessed property taxes.

Escambia County Property Appraiser Chris Jones is consulting with attorneys and should reach a decision by the end of this month or the first week in August. Jones sat down with News Journal staff writer Michael Stewart to discuss the issue. What is the taxable value on Pensacola Beach? This is a rough estimate. But if we are just talking about the buildings, you are probably looking at $1 0 million that would be split just about 5050 between the School Board and the county. For the latest local and national news, as well as previews of the next day's headlines, visit the daily News Update at 4 p.m.

weekdays. News Update also features up-to-the-minute business, sports and entertainment news: www.PensacolaNewsJoumal.com yet. That's one of the things I'm discussing with my attorneys. How much additional money would that bring in? It would at least double it. You're looking at between $20 million and $25 million for both the land and the improvements.

With a windfall of that magnitude, is there a chance millage rates could be reduced countywide? That would be up to the To report a story Call Metro Editor Tom Ninestine at 435-8698. You can go home again, and you can do it on the company charge card can only holler "Massachu setts liberal" at Kerry. Let me tell you about 1 ('' some less famous Massachu setts residents guys like Glen Allison, Joseph Bellavia and Brian McPhillips. They're soldiers from Massachusetts who, like so many other American troops, died in Iraq. Our enemies see only Americans.

They don't care Edwards appeals to me. He's from a blue-collar family and made millions by himself, not through marriage or inheritance. 1 The fact that he's a trial lawyer doesn't scare me. Yes, lawyers make life more expensive, but they also make it better. Without them, unsafe cars would be more common, discrimination more pervasive and employers more arrogant.

Still, the Democrats will choose Kerry, and the election will grow even more ugly. Many Democrats back Kerry only because they want someone, anyone, to beat Bush. Some Bush supporters are so inarticulate that they there's more to the Republicans than Halliburton, Newt Gingrich, John Ashcroft and Fox News. The Republicans will strut their stuff next month, when they nominate George W. Bush for re-election.

But first, the Democrats get their turn, with a convention site that sends mixed signals. Boston is the home of Michael Dukakis, the presidential dweeb of 1988; some of the first gay marriages; and a wacky state government dubbed Taxachusetts. But Bostonians have played valuable roles throughout history. chusetts liberals" of yesteryear included Paul Revere, John Adams and brave idealists who fought the British at Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill. Hmmm, if not for Massachusetts liberals, Pensacola might still be getting traded among Spain, France and England, and I might be carrying on a family tradition, picking potatoes in Ireland.

The convention peaks Thursday, when delegates officially nominate John Kerry for president and John Edwards for vice president. I wish it were the other way around. Kerry leaves me cold. He's smart but indecisive, experienced but aloof, Jimmy Carter with big hair. because Northerners and Southerners prefer stereotypes.

Example: Me. I've lived in Pensacola longer than I lived in Boston, and I consider Pensacola my home. Yet some locals will always consider me a Yankee. And in Boston, some people lump Pensacolians in with the voters of South Flori-duh. In any case, I will attend the convention, notebook and expense account in hand, watching some Democrats who make Republicans scream: Al Franken, Ted Kennedy, Hillary Clinton, Gloria Steinem.

There's more to the Democrats than these four, just as So a buddy e-mails my boss and says, "You should send Mark O'Brien to Boston." Other people make this suggestion, but they want to give me a one-way ticket back to Boston, my hometown. My buddy had a nicer purpose: I should write about the Democratic Party's convention, which begins Monday. He knew I would love convention events such as these are true titles "Cocktails, Condoms and Celebrities for a Cause" and the Boston Hip-Hop Summit. He also thought I could explain the North to the South, always difficult AMERiCAM2004 THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENtFoS MARK O'BRIEN Phone: 435-8516; Fax: 435-8633 E-mail: MarkOBrien PensacolaNewsJournal.com whether we're from Massachusetts or Florida. That's the way we should think of ourselves: As Americans first.

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