Event: Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for Escambia County Central Office Complex

The new 79,000 square foot Escambia County Central Office Complex (ECCOC) located at 3363 West Park Place will be officially opened at a ribbon cutting ceremony on Monday, November 15 at 2:00 p.m.  The new complex houses members of the Escambia County Building Inspections, Environmental Enforcement, Fire Safety, Community and Environmental Services, Geographic Information System, Animal Control, Engineering, Development Services and Transportation offices.  The consolidation of these services that were once housed in three separate buildings provides a “one stop” complex that meets the public’s needs.  Now residents and business owners can have their plans reviewed by the necessary entities and pull a permit all under one roof.   

The complex, Escambia County’s first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certified building, has one of the largest green roof systems in the State of Florida.  In addition, the building boasts pervious concrete paving, energy-efficient construction and natural light that, according to studies, improves employee productivity.  It is estimated that the building will use 22 percent less energy and 38 percent less water than current building codes allow.


The building also has bicycle racks to encourage residents and employees to ride their bikes instead of driving a car, special parking for low-emitting and fuel efficient vehicles and native vegetation that require no irrigation.  Thirty-four percent of materials used to construct the building were purchased from regional vendors and 43 percent of the total value of materials installed were manufactured from recycled content.

The construction of the new ECCOC was funded through grants from Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Florida Division of  Emergency Management and the Department of Environmental Protection at a cost of approximately $11 million.     

For more information, contact the Public Information Office at 595-3476.

One stop building, eco-friendly  PNJ

New Memory loss book - Caregiver Tools

Derek Ferebee, one of our most esteemed members is an author. Believe it or not he's authored three books. A children's book and two that involve helping people with memory loss. His latest work is entitled "Caregiver Tools: Bridging Memories".

It's a new memory loss adult read out loud book available at Books as Bridges.

It offers a great way for caregivers to communicate with persons with memory loss issues. This book allows the caregiver to sit down with their loved one and reminisce by looking at very memorable photos and asking questions that will spark memories.

To contact Derek about this book or about his other businesses, visit his website.

Tune into Cat Country 98.7 on Monday November 15 at 9am, Mary Beth Sloan and Derek Ferebee will be interviewed about their new book, Caregiver Tools.

Event: Public Forum - Oil Spill Recovery and Restoration

As part of its ongoing commitment to keep Floridians informed about the recovery and restoration after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, BP has planned a number of public forums across the Panhandle during November.

Anyone can attend these meetings.  Topics to be covered include:

• Beach cleaning activities:  Shoreline clean up, monitoring and maintenance, and subsurface assessment.

• Seafood quality:  What testing has been done, what are the results, who's done the testing, future plans for testing.

• Wildlife and natural resources:  What have the wildlife impacts been here in Florida, updates on animal rescues, future projects.

Representatives from BP, the United States Coast Guard, the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Fish & Wildlife, GCIMT - Environmental Advisors, and Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Protection have been invited to attend and participate in the forum.

See the list of forum dates, times, and locations below:

Walton County

Date:	Thursday, November 11, 2010
Location:	Walton County Sheriff's Sun Station 133 Sheriff Drive Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32439
Time:	6 pm (CST)

Okaloosa County

Date:	Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Location:	Destin City Hall Annex 4100 Indian Bayou Trail Destin, FL 32541
Time:	5:50 pm (CST)

Escambia County

Date:	Thursday, November 18, 2010
Location:	County Chambers 221 Palafox, #400 Pensacola, FL 32502
Time:	2:00 (CST)

Event: The Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival

Derek Ferebee, one of our distinguished members, would like everyone to know one of the biggest and most well attended events for young and old and everyone in between will be going on this weekend right in downtown Pensacola's historic district. Derek has authored and published several books and has even had his photographs circulated around the globe!


The festival will be going on Friday and Saturday 9am - 5pm and Sunday 9am - 4pm.


For more on the festival

Festival is an annual pinnacle for visual arts in Pensacola

 For more information on Derek's participation

Event: Another solution to the cost of Health Care?

Paul Lukkar of Gulf Coast Financial wants to let everyone know there are alternatives to rising Health Care costs. Another one of the many benefits of spending time in Costa Rica.

A online seminar Tuesday, November 9th 2010 at 9pm CST.

Register here

 

Join Hacienda Matapalo Executive Vice President Brian Albury, as he gives an overview of Health Care in Costa Rica.

Learn why the universal health care system in Costa Rica is considered one of the best health care systems in the Americas and why the cost of health care in the small Central American nation can be as much as 50% less than what you will find in the U.S.

Learn why large pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers are setting up in Costa Rica and what the changing face of health insurance (for the better) is for expats living in the land of Pura Vida.

If you would like to know more about the benefits and opportunities of owning property or the businesses of Costa Rica, please call Paul.