Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: New Faces, Tough Issues And Irma
October 15, 2017
A few new faces, and some familiar ones that sprouted hipster beards over the summer, joined the hubbub in the Capitol for the first week of committee meetings before the legislative session kicks off in January.
Even apart from the newbies this week, a bustling downtown Tallahassee bore a somewhat different aura than it has over the past few years as lobbyists, lawmakers, aides and onlookers prepared for the 60-day crush looming on the horizon.
Visitors are forced to pick their way across a Capitol courtyard maze scarred by what feels like a perpetual makeover with no end in sight.
Hurricane Irma put the kibosh on a multi-year run in which the state was flush with cash, setting up budget-related food fights.
Horror stories about the state’s opioid epidemic — including one about a toddler left alone for days in an apartment with his dead mother, who had overdosed — dominated meetings where lawmakers struggled to come up with fixes for what one doctor called “chemical warfare.”
Legislators also delved into another grim policy issue, sparked by the deaths of 14 seniors who had been residents of a Broward County nursing home that turned into a hot box after Hurricane Irma knocked out air conditioning last month.
And they explored even more fallout from storms — literally, in the case of citrus farmers.
But even the dreary wasn’t all bad. The fresh round of committee meetings presented an opportunity to remedy the state’s woes.
The Brazilian poet Ana Lins dos Guimaraes Peixoto, who wrote under the pseudonym Cora Coralina, offered some great advice for a fresh start that could serve as a guide as the 2018 legislative session heats up.
“Recreate your life, always, always. Remove the stones, plant rose bushes and make sweets,” she wrote. “Begin again.”
STORM SETS STAGE FOR STATE SPENDING
Irma’s taken its toll in myriad ways throughout the state, and the tab for the storm is climbing.
So far, hurricane recovery efforts have cost the state budget more than $141 million and are likely to increase, the Senate budget committee learned Thursday.
“The news isn’t good,” Senate Appropriations Chairman Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, said. “And I don’t think it’s fake news either.”
Gov. Rick Scott authorized extra spending in a series of budget amendments, using his emergency powers invoked because of Hurricane Irma.
The amendments include money spent on the Florida National Guard; food, ice, water and transportation; debris removal; mosquito control; and the operation of the state Division of Emergency Management.
Additionally, Scott has authorized a $25 million interest-free loan program for citrus farmers, whose crops were devastated by the storm, and another $10 million “bridge” loan program.
Growers reported crop losses of 40 percent to 100 percent after Irma swept through the state a month ago, resulting in what Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam called “a double kick in the gut.”
Scott and Putnam met with Florida’s congressional delegation in Washington, D.C., this week, seeking federal help for the citrus industry, which suffered an estimated $761 million in losses from the storm.
“If you were to go into an orange grove in Florida right now, you could stand there and hear fruit hitting the ground,” Putnam said.
FUROR OVER NURSING HOMES UNABATED
The heat over nursing homes and air conditioners escalated this week, in the Capitol and in the courts.
Long-term care providers squared off Thursday against the Scott administration in a legal challenge to emergency rules that require nursing homes and assisted living facilities to have generators that can power air-conditioning systems for as long as four days.
Industry groups LeadingAge Florida, the Florida Assisted Living Association and Florida Argentum challenged the validity of the emergency rules, which were issued after eight residents of a sweltering Broward County nursing home died last month. Six more residents died later after being evacuated.
Hurricane Irma knocked out the air conditioning at the nursing home, The Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills, which did not have a backup generator for the cooling system.
“The emergency rules simply require these licensed facilities to take the steps necessary to ensure that they can shelter in place their frail and elderly residents and patients at temperatures at or below 80 degrees for 96 hours,” Steve Ecenia, a private lawyer representing the Scott administration, said in an opening statement.
But the industry groups have argued that the emergency rules are unrealistic, in part because the regulations would require installation of generators within 60 days.
“There is no emergency that requires the imposition of an impossible deadline and the imminent revocation and imposition of fines on assisted living facility and nursing home licenses throughout the state,” LeadingAge Florida attorneys Seann Frazier and Marc Ito wrote in the organization’s challenge.
Meanwhile, state Sen. Dennis Baxley, a funeral director, was forced to issue an apology Thursday for questioning whether the nursing home deaths were related to Hurricane Irma or were an inevitability given the residents’ advancing ages.
“Look at the population. You’re dealing with the 90-somethings. Some of these deaths would naturally occur, storm or no storm,” Baxley, R-Ocala, said Wednesday at the Senate Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee, adding “eventually everyone who was in that nursing home will die. But we don’t need to attribute those all to the storm and bad policy.”
After an outcry from Senate Democrats and others, Baxley apologized, saying he has spent his “entire adult life working with families who are grieving the loss of a loved one.”
“Many of the funeral services we coordinate involve elder members of our community, and I take great pride in the opportunity to ensure their lives are honored and celebrated. No family member should have to fear that their loved one is suffering in a nursing home, particularly during a natural disaster,” Baxley said.
But Jeff Nova, whose 71-year-old mother, Gail Nova, was a resident of the Broward nursing home and died Sept. 13, wasn’t comforted by Baxley’s prepared apology.
“His first comments were the real comments. That’s what he thought of, and naturally that’s what you’re going to take to heart,” Nova said in a telephone interview with The News Service of Florida. “You can say you are sorry, but it doesn’t take back what you actually said because it’s committed to memory now and it’s in print.”
LAWMAKERS TAKE ON `CHEMICAL WARFARE’
Emergency doctors, treatment providers, law enforcement officials and insurance company executives appeared at Senate meetings this week and laid out a litany of woes detailing the severity and complexity of the opioid epidemic in Florida.
Testimony from the experts made a chilling impression.
Abuse of prescription painkillers, fake street pills and street drugs such as heroin and the synthetic opioid fentanyl — and the deaths associated with the drugs — have skyrocketed since lawmakers cracked down on “pill mills” six years ago.
There aren’t enough treatment beds. Access to medically assisted treatment — where addicts receive drugs and other services, such as cognitive behavioral therapy — is limited. A stigma associated with addiction keeps many users in the shadows. The system is disjointed, making it difficult for addicts and their families to navigate.
And nearly all the entities involved — physicians, treatment providers and sheriffs and police departments — are struggling to make do with scarce resources as the number of addicts continues to soar.
Heroin overdoses jumped by 1,000 percent between 2007 and 2015, and most experts agree the number of deaths is much higher than what is being reported by the state’s medical examiners.
Overdoses related to fentanyl, which is often mixed with heroin, are also climbing.
“Currently, it’s much easier to get high than it is to get help in Florida,” Aaron Wohl, an emergency room physician from Lee County, told the Senate Health Policy Committee.
The opioid epidemic prompted Scott to declare a public emergency, and he’s asking for $50 million to address the crisis next year.
Substance-abuse treatment providers on Thursday also asked Latvala’s committee for $50 million to deal with what at least one doctor called “chemical warfare.”
STORY OF THE WEEK: Lawmakers held the first full week of committee meetings in advance of the 2018 legislative session, focusing on the budget, Hurricane Irma and the state’s opioid epidemic.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Nobody’s dying because oranges fell off of a tree.” — Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater, asking Gov. Rick Scott to release $20 million in emergency funds to address the state’s opioid crisis. Scott recently authorized $25 million in emergency loans for citrus farmers impacted by Hurricane Irma.
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
Inmate’s Family Sues DOC, Warden Over Stabbing Death At Century CI
October 14, 2017
The Florida Department of Corrections is being sued in federal court by the family of inmate that was stabbed to death in June at Century Correctional Institution.
The family of Jorge Slaughter, 33, filed the negligence-wrongful death lawsuit this week against the DOC and Century CI Warden Randall Bryant, claiming that Slaughter was not adequately protected from being stabbed. Inmate Robert Hunt, 26, had been charged with stabbing Slaughter on June 19 in a Century CI common area.
“On June 19, 2017, at approximately 10:54 p.m., the claimant was notified by an employee of Century Correctional Institution that her son, Jorge Slaughter was involved in an altercation and was deceased. The employee for Century Correctional Institution provided no further information and Century Correctional Institution has been uncooperative in communicating with the claimant,” the suit states. “Information was later gathered from another source that there was no attempt by any correctional officer or employee of Century Correctional Institution to prevent or stop a fight…”
The suit alleges Hunt “held a reputation as a white supremacist, not only by association or gang affiliation, but also by identity”, and numerous tattoos including a swastika on his arm. As such, the FDOC should have taken steps to prevent any conflicts, the suit states, including keeping Hunt under close supervision within an armed perimeter or under direct armed supervision.
“It is clear that Mr. Hunt was allowed to walk about freely within Century Correctional Institution with a metal weapon prior to stabbing Mr. Slaughter multiple times in the abdomen, killing him. A search by Defendants FDOC and Bryant’s correctional staff of Mr. Hunt’s person while clothed…could have been conducted to prevent Mr. Slaughter’s murder,” the lawsuit states.
The Florida Department of Corrections would not comment on the pending lawsuit.
“The health and safety of our inmates is a top priority of the Department. As this is active litigation, we are unable to provide information at this time,” Ashley Cook, press secretary for DOC, told NorthEscambia.com in an email.
Hunt was arrested and charged with homicide on August 3. He remains in the Escambia County Jail. The federal lawsuit references an August 5 NorthEscambia.com article as providing the latest information available to the public at that time.
The family is seeking funeral and burial expenses, loss of earnings and claims his mother, Anice Slaughter, has lost the “support and services” of her son, suffers mental pain, and suffered the funeral expenses of her son.
In an August press release, the FDOC said Hunt stabbed inmate Slaughter multiple times in the abdomen with a metal weapon inside the G Dorm. The entire incident was captured on video by security cameras inside the dorm. Inmates who witnessed the incident identified Hunt as Slaughter’s attacker. Witnesses also told the FDLE that Hunt attacked slaughter over an unspecified debt that Slaughter owned Hunt.
Slaughter, 30, was serving a 30 year sentence out of Miami-Dade for armed burglary, grand theft and robbery. Hunt was serving a 15 year sentence out of Polk County for attempted robbery with a gun or deadly weapon. He had previously served a year and a half for aggravated assault with a weapon and methamphetamine possession.
Celeste North Named NHS Homecoming Queen (With Photo Gallery)
October 14, 2017
Celeste North was named Northview High School’s homecoming queen for 2017 Friday night.
Pictured below are Freshman Maid Franki Daw, Junior Maid Madison Sherouse, First Runner-up Anna Nelson, Homecoming Queen Celeste North, Second Runner-up Bailee Hinote and Sophomore Maid Chloe Smith.
For homecoming parade info, click here.
For homecoming game info, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Over 1,300 Volunteer During United Way’s Day Of Caring
October 14, 2017
Over 1,300 volunteers fanned out across Escambia County Friday for United Way’s 25th Annual Day of Caring.
It was 25-years ago that the United Way of Escambia County introduced the Day of Caring as, a community-wide initiative to connect volunteers and resources with local agencies and schools in need of support. Since 1993, the Day of Caring has coordinated nearly 26,000 volunteers insuccessfully completing 2,294 projects across Escambia County.
Pictured: CDAC Behavioral Healthcare helps organize teacher planning materials at Jim Allen Elementary School during the Day of Caring on Friday. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Catholic Cruises Past The Northview Chiefs (With Photo Gallery)
October 14, 2017
The 1A Northview Chiefs lost their homecoming game to the 3A Catholic Crusaders 41-22 Friday night in Bratt.
The Chiefs scored on their opening drive….a 10 and a half minute drive capped by a two-yard touchdown run from sophomore Trent Peebles. With a missed extra point, the Chiefs held a 6-0 lead in Tommy Weaver Memorial Stadium.
“I though we had a great first drive,” Northview head coach Derek Marshman said.
But remainder of the second half was not as kind to the Chiefs as Catholic fought back to a 35-6 lead at the half.
The Chiefs scored with 3:30 to go in the third when junior Daniel Merit recovered a Crusaders fumble and ran it in from 30-yards out, and scored again in the fourth when Jayden Jackson was in from 3 yards out.
“I thought we moved the ball well; I though we dominated upfront on the line of scrimmage. We had a few problems backside but that is gonna be fixed. This is the first time we have run this offense in a while so it was good to be able to move the football, but there are still things we’ve gotta fix and things we need to improved. We have a bye week next week to work on that,” Marshman said. “We continue to fight. It’s just a process and I know the kids are tired of hearing ‘a process’, I thought we finished great. We won the second half against a big school, probably one of the best schools we are going to play this year. They are a 3A but they are traditionally a power house in Pensacola.”
The Northview Chiefs are off next week. The Chiefs (1-7) will hope for a huge 1A upset on October 27 in Bratt as they host the Baker Gators (7-0).
For a game action photo gallery, click here.
For homecoming court photos, click here.
For homecoming parade photos, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Northview Celebrates Homecoming With Parade (Photo Gallery)
October 14, 2017
The Northview High School Homecoming Parade rolled through Bratt Saturday afternoon.
For a photo gallery, click here.
For homecoming court info, click here.
For homecoming game info, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Escambia Gators Bite Tate (With Photo Gallery)
October 14, 2017
The Escambia Gators beat the Tate Aggies 53-10 Friday night at Emmitt Smith Field.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Gators would take a 19-0 lead in the second. The Aggies would find their first half performance was limited to just scoring on a 27-yard field goal from Matt Johnson with eight seconds to go in the half. It was 19-3 Escambia headed into the lockers.
Escambia added a third quarter touchdown before Tate answered early in the fourth on a 2-yard touchdown run from Hunter Riggan to make it 26-10. with 11:09 in the game. The Gators would bite back with two more fourth quarter touchdowns of their own.
Tate (4-2, 1-1) will travel to Pace (1-5, 0-2) next Friday night.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Photos by Jennifer Repine for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Escambia Rep. Frank White Files For Florida Attorney General
October 14, 2017
Republican state Rep. Frank White of Pensacola, a general counsel and chief financial officer for a group of auto dealerships, announced Friday he will run for state attorney general in 2018.
White, who was first elected to the House in 2016, joins a GOP primary battle that includes state Rep. Jay Fant of Jacksonville and former Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Ashley Moody. White touted his conservative credentials for the statewide seat.
“In our hometowns, our state, and across the nation, liberals in the courts and our government are working to erode the rights given us by the Creator,” White said in a prepared statement Friday.
The Cabinet post is open next year because term limits prevent Attorney General Pam Bond from seeking reelection.
Democrat Ryan Torrens, an attorney from Hillsborough County, has also filed to run for the seat. Moody has raised more than $1 million for the race through her campaign account and a political committee known as “Friends of Ashley Moody.” Fant has nearly matched Moody’s total by infusing his campaign with $750,000 of his own money.
White’s announcement should open up the state House District 2 contest next year in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.White is the only Republican who had opened a campaign account for the seat. Pensacola Democrat Raymond Guillory has also filed to run. White, who raised $83,600 for the re-election effort, defeated Guillory by more than 20 percentage points in 2016.
Cantonment Firefighters Share Fire Safety Info At Gonzalez Child Center
October 14, 2017
For National Fire Safety Week, crew members of Engine 419 of the Cantonment Station of Escambia Fire Rescue visited and shared fire safety tips with the children of the Gonzalez Methodist Child Enrichment Center. Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Friday Night Finals
October 14, 2017
Here are Friday night finals from across the area tonight:
FLORIDA
Catholic 41, Northview 22 [Read more...]
Escambia 52, Tate 10 [Read more...]
Pine Forest 21, Washington 13
West Florida 49, Panama City Bay 14
Pensacola 41, Panama City Arnold 27
Navarre 28, Milton 7
Gulf Breeze 44, Pace 40
OPEN: Jay
ALABAMA
Thomasville 45, Escambia County (Atmore) 22
T.R. Miller 38, Flomaton 26
UMS-Wright 42, W.S. Neal 17
NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.