Both Sides Pressure Scott On Schools Bill
June 14, 2017
With a controversial and wide-ranging education bill now on his desk, Gov. Rick Scott faces intense pressure from both sides as he weighs whether to sign or veto the legislation.
Rumors have begun floating that Scott will sign HB 7069 later this week, but officially the governor maintains that he hasn’t made a final decision.
Scott received the bill late Monday; he has until June 27 to sign the proposal, veto it or allow it to become law without his signature.
The 278-page bill, which emerged in the closing days of the regular legislative session, deals with everything from charter schools and standardized tests to sunscreen and school uniforms.
The legislation was a priority of House Speaker Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, and opponents fear that Scott agreed to sign the bill in exchange for having his priorities approved during a special session last week.
But at an event Tuesday to celebrate the outcome of the special session, Scott told reporters he was still considering the measure.
“We all want school choice,” Scott said. “We want to make sure our kids go to the best schools. … With regard to 7069, I’m still reviewing it. I know the speaker’s very passionate about it. It was something that was very important to him.”
The Legislature’s passage of the bill was greeted by a firestorm of protest from school boards, superintendents, the state’s main teachers and other education advocates. Scott even made comments that hinted that he was considering a veto.
Critics of the bill said provisions meant to help charter schools move into neighborhoods with academically struggling schools, as well as a portion of the bill that would allow charter schools to tap local property-tax dollars for school construction, would lead to the privatization of Florida’s education system. They also slammed the last-minute appearance of the legislation, which folded together a slate of education bills that had been debated separately.
In recent weeks, though, supporters of the legislation have cranked up their efforts to promote the bill. Some conservative groups and school-choice supporters have worked to get parents of students served by choice programs involved in the fight.
They point to the proposal’s more popular components, like teacher bonuses and mandatory recess for elementary students.
Backers also emphasize that, while charter schools are often operated by private groups, they are public schools that might help turn around troubled school districts.
The result has been a deluge of tens of thousands of messages for and against the bill pouring into Scott’s office. As of Tuesday afternoon, the governor’s office said it had received 23,440 phone calls, emails, letters or petition signatures backing the legislation. Opponents had generated 22,734 messages against it.
Opponents have dominated in phone calls and emails, while supporters of the bill seem to favor letters, perhaps because of letter-writing campaigns by schools that would be helped by the legislation.
Those who support the bill concede that they were slower than opponents to organize for the legislation.
Shawn Frost, president of the conservative Florida Coalition of School Board Members, said supporters have now managed to rally parents affected by the legislation.
“What I’ve seen is, parents have been alerted to the fact of what it would mean to them. … I think a big part has been educating parent groups about the truth of 7069,” said Frost, whose group supports the measure.
The LIBRE Initiative, a conservative Hispanic group tied to the Koch brothers, has launched an online email drive and sent out mail pieces in English and Spanish promoting the bill. In a statement last month, the group’s coalitions director, Cesar Grajales, said the bill “aims to free Florida’s neediest students from this unacceptable education status-quo.”
“We urge Gov. Scott to quickly sign this bill and remove unnecessary barriers to new charter schools so our students don’t have to remain stuck in schools that are failing to provide a quality education,” Grajales said.
Those fighting the bill question the outpouring of support, suggesting that misinformation and so-called “astroturfing” efforts might be behind some of it. They also highlight reports that some charter schools have offered extra credit or other benefits for families that sent messages of support for the bill to Scott.
“I think that what we’re seeing is sort of a manufactured situation,” said Kathleen Oropeza, co-founder of the advocacy group Fund Education Now, which opposes the measure.
And opponents have not backed off. Two Democratic lawmakers issued letters Monday renewing calls for Scott to veto the bill.
“While there are small pockets of good policy hidden within this bill, it is a monstrosity when coupled with the multitude of bad policies that have been included,” wrote Sen. Gary Farmer, D-Fort Lauderdale.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
ECUA Helps Prepare 4-H Students For Mock Legislative Session
June 14, 2017
Escambia County 4-H students are scheduled to take part in a mock legislative program at the state capitol late this month. In preparation for that week, Larry Walker, ECUA District 5 board member, hosted the students Tuesday in the ECUA board room to allow the students to practice their legislative skills in a governmental chamber environment.
The training prepared the students for the upcoming 4-H Legislature and gain an understanding of board proceedings similar to legislative committees that happen in organizations in all forms of government and private corporate enterprise.
The local students have participated in an intensive five-part training program, which was directed by 4-H agents and adult volunteers, who contributed their knowledge of parliamentary procedure, research, debating, the art of persuasion, and formal presentation in committee and chamber sessions.
This year’s 4-H Legislature is set for Monday, June 26 through Friday, June 30.
The civic education event allows students to write bills, act as lobbyists, pass the bills through various committees and debate the potential laws on the Capitol House and/or Senate Floor as acting representatives and senators. This exercise provides the 4-H’ers an opportunity to debate issues and experience the legislative process first-hand.
Pictured: Escambia County 4-H mock legislative students practice their skills in the ECUA board room Tuesday. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Wahoos Beat The Braves
June 14, 2017
Baseball experts may want to rethink sticking Pensacola Blue Wahoos hurler Luis Castillo in the bullpen.
All he did Tuesday was throw a two-hitter over eight scoreless innings, walk one and strike out a career-high 13 as Pensacola beat the Mississippi Braves, 5-0, in front of 3,989 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
The Blue Wahoos captured the series, 4-1, by earning its eighth shutout of the season. It was Pensacola’s seventh consecutive series win, which ties a franchise record.
Pensacola manager Pat Kelly said the pitching coach Danny Darwin is good at teaching the slider, which Castillo attested to after Tuesday’s game through Blue Wahoos catcher Adrian Nieto who served as the interpreter for the Dominican right-hander.
“He’s been traded a couple times and we wonder why?” Kelly said. “The Marlins told us they didn’t think he was a starter that he was a reliever. That (slider) is going to make the difference. He can start in any league.”
Castillo laughed and said “hands down” that he wants to be a starter, not a reliever. The Cincinnati Reds picked him up from the Miami Marlins in January after he was named that organization’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2016.
“I’m very happy about it,” he said about his outing Tuesday. “I felt locked in from the beginning with all my pitches working. I was very focused on having a good outing.”
Castillo, ranked by MLB Pipeline.com as the seventh best prospect in the Cincinnati Reds organization, struck out five hitters in a row at one point. Pensacola’s record for strikeouts in a game is 15, which Tony Cingrani did June 27, 2012 against the Jackson Generals.
The 24-year-old Castillo, who retired 15 of the first 16 batters he faced, won his third start in a row to improve to 4-3 and lowered his ERA to 2.68.
In his last three starts, Castillo has now struck out 31 and walked four over 19 innings. He jumped from 11th in strikeouts in the Southern League to fifth with 76 total this season.
Castillo displayed hitting and running skills, too. He is 3-14 this season and scored his first run of the year. He knocked a ground ball back up the middle — the second hit off of Mississippi starter Luiz Gohara — and hustled from second to score on a single slapped into right field by third baseman Josh VanMeter to give Penacola a 1-0 lead in the fifth inning.
“He’s deceptively very athletic,” Kelly said. “People don’t realize it. But he runs well shagging balls in the outfield (during batting practice).”
Pensacola ended up batting around in the fifth inning to go ahead, 3-0, getting three walks and two singles. Blue Wahoos center fielder Gabriel Guerrero hit a tapper to shortstop and left fielder Tyler Goeddel beat the throw to home for the second run. The final run in the fifth came when VanMeter scored when second baseman Alex Blandino walked with the bases loaded.
The Blue Wahoos added two more runs in the seventh inning when left-handed hitting first baseman Eric Jagielo jacked a two-run shot to the opposite field. He now has five home runs and 19 RBIs on the season.
Mississippi’s Gohara, who is from Tupa, Brazil, earned the loss to fall to 0-1 in his fourth start in Double-A. The 20-year-old, who Baseball America ranked the No. 3 prospect last year in the Seattle Mariners organization, gave up three runs on three hits and four walks in 4.1 innings and struck out three.
Mississippi couldn’t generate any runs off the Blue Wahoos pitching staff in the five-game series, which featured MLB rehab starts by Cincinnati Reds starters Homer Bailey and Brandon Finnegan. The scored six runs in five games.
One key was keeping the hot-hitting 19-year-old Mississippi outfielder Ronald Acuna off the bases. He entered the series batting .354 but went 2-20 and struck out 10 times as the Blue Wahoos pitching pounded fastballs outside. His average fell to .316.
Pensacola, which has the top team ERA in the Southern League at 2.79, travel to play the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp for the last five-game series of the first half.
The Blue Wahoos are 38-27 and are up four games with five to go in the Southern League South Division. Pensacola hopes to clinch the first half crown and join the Tennessee Smokies who won four consecutive halves from 2009 to 2011.
“These guys have worked exceptionally hard,” Kelly said about his team that he has coached the past three years. “I think they deserve it.”
Putnam Leads Money Chase In State Races
June 14, 2017
Candidates seeking to follow Gov. Rick Scott are off to a fast fundraising start, with new reports showing Adam Putnam holding a money advantage in the 2018 governor’s race.
Putnam, the two-term Republican state agriculture commissioner who kicked off his campaign May 10 in Bartow, raised nearly $1.2 million through the end of May for his campaign account, according to a report filed Monday with the state Division of Elections.
His political committee, Florida Grown, raised another $1 million in May, bringing the total to $12.35 million for the fund, which Putnam created after his re-election to the Cabinet in 2014.
Between the two accounts, Putnam had about $10 million in cash available to spend on his campaign as of May 31.
Major contributors to his political committee in May included $100,000 from A. Duda and Sons, an Oviedo-based agriculture company, $100,000 from the Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association and $50,000 from the phosphate industry.
Also, Florida Grown in May received a transfer of more than $221,000 from a prior fund, SSLP Political Committee, records show.
On the Democratic side, former U.S. Rep. Gwen Graham of Tallahassee piled up about $1.6 million after she joined the governor’s race in May.
She raised more than $435,000 for her campaign account and another $1.16 million for her political committee, Our Florida, bringing the fund’s total above $1.8 million, records show. After expenditures, Graham had about $1.9 million to spend on her campaign.
Her political committee was bolstered by a transfer last month of $950,000 from a prior congressional campaign fund, records show. Major contributors to Graham have included $100,000 from James Finch, a Lynn Haven developer, and $50,000 from Wayne Hogan, a Jacksonville trial lawyer.
Andrew Gillum, the Democratic mayor of Tallahassee, raised $97,000 for his gubernatorial campaign fund in May, bringing the total to $499,000. He had raised a total of $662,000 for his political committee, Forward Florida.
Gillum had about $763,000 to spend on his campaign. Major contributors have included $150,000 from George and Alex Soros and $50,000 from television producer Norman Lear.
Chris King, a Winter Park businessman, raised some $221,000 for his Democratic gubernatorial campaign in May, records show. It included $100,000 for his campaign account, bringing the total to nearly $1.5 million. King previously made a $1 million personal donation to his campaign account.
His political committee, Rise and Lead, raised $121,000 in May, bringing its total to about $544,000. King had about $1.6 million to spend on his campaign, records show.
His largest contributor in May was $100,000 from Sam of Heathrow, an Orlando development company. Prior major contributions included $179,000 from Paul Morgan, one of King’s business partners, and $166,000 from David King, his father who is a Winter Park attorney.
State candidates and political committees were required to file updated campaign-finance reports by a Monday night deadline. The 2018 election cycle is expected to be costly, at least in part because the governor’s office and three Cabinet seats will be on the ballot.
In the race to replace Putnam as agriculture commissioner, state Sen. Denise Grimsley, R-Sebring, raised nearly $50,000 for her campaign in May, bringing her total to $384,000. Her political committee, Saving Florida’s Heartland, has raised more than $1 million. She had about $722,000 available to spend on her campaign as of May 31, records show.
Rep. Matt Caldwell, R-North Fort Myers, raised about $102,000 for his agriculture commissioner campaign in May, the first month of his campaign, records show. His political committee, Friends of Matt Caldwell, had raised a total of $763,000. He had about $720,000 in cash on hand.
Paul Paulson, an Orlando businessman and another agriculture commissioner candidate, had raised $396,000 for his Republican campaign, including $393,000 in loans, records show. He had spent $108,000.
Former state Rep. Baxter Troutman, R-Winter Haven, entered the agriculture commissioner’s race this week. Although he hasn’t filed a report yet, his campaign announced he would loan $2.5 million to the campaign.
On the Democratic side, Michael Christine, a University of Miami law student, had raised $3,559 for his agriculture commissioner campaign.
In the race to succeed Attorney General Pam Bondi, state Rep. Jay Fant, R-Jacksonville, raised about $80,000 in May, the first month of his campaign, records show.
His political committee, Pledge This Day, had raised nearly $226,000 through the end of May, with the largest recent contribution of $9,000 coming from J.B. Coxwell Contracting in Jacksonville. He had a total of $157,000 to spend on his campaign.
Republican Ashley Moody, a former Hillsborough County circuit judge who has the backing of Bondi, was not required to file a report this week because she opened her campaign account June 1, the day after the end of the reporting period.
Democrat Ryan Torrens, an attorney from Hillsborough County who opened his campaign account on May 22, raised $3,618, records show.
In the race for chief financial officer, former Democratic state Sen. Jeremy Ring, who opened his campaign account on May 30, reported no financial activity. But a political committee affiliated with Ring, Florida Action Fund PC, reported raising $18,500 last month and spending $12,000, records show.
by Lloyd Dunkelberger, The News Service of Florida
Morning Fire Damages Home
June 13, 2017
Fire damaged a home off East Ten Mile Road Tuesday morning.
The fire near the intersection of Motley Court and Bison Street resulted in smoke and water damage throughout the single story brick home. It appeared the heaviest damage may have been in the attached garage, where two vehicles were also damaged.
The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office. There were no injuries reported.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Man Charged With Stealing ATV From Molino
June 13, 2017
An Escambia County man was charged with stealing an ATV from Molino after he tried to register the stolen vehicle with the tax collector before trading it for a boat.
Adam Eugene Taylor, 36, was charged with two felonies — burglary of an occupied structure and grand theft of a motor vehicle. He was later released from the Escambia County Jail on a $40,000 bond.
Taylor allegedly entered a secured metal building in the 2000 block of Molino Road and took a 2015 Polaris Ranger 900 valued at $20,000. A few days later, he tried to register the Polaris at the tax collector’s office in Pace, but he was advised by employees to check the VIN because the VIN on the bill of sale he presented had been reported stolen. Taylor then changed one digit on the VIN label and drove to the Milton tax collector’s office where he tried again to register the Polaris.
A few days later, the owner of the Polaris contacted authorities and advised he had found it listed for sale on Craigslist. Local authorities determined that the listing was from Enterprise, AL. A meeting was set up between the Craigslist seller and officers from the Enterprise Police Department. The Polaris was recovered.
The seller gave police information where he had traded a 1987 Gambler bass boat for the Polaris Ranger. The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office located the bass boat parked in front of Taylor’s residence on Roberts Circle.
Legal Battle Over ‘Docs Vs Glocks’ Ends
June 13, 2017
Six years after Florida lawmakers tried to stop doctors from asking patients about guns, health-care providers have emerged victorious in a legal battle as the state did not appeal a federal-court ruling striking down major parts of the 2011 law.
The controversial measure, dubbed the “docs vs. glocks” law and supported by the National Rifle Association, included a series of restrictions on doctors and other health providers. For example, it sought to prevent physicians from entering information about gun ownership into medical records if the physicians knew the information was not “relevant” to patients’ medical care or safety or to the safety of other people.
Also, the 2011 law said doctors should refrain from asking about gun ownership by patients or family members unless the doctors believed in “good faith” that the information was relevant to medical care or safety. And the law sought to prevent doctors from discriminating against patients or “harassing” them because of owning firearms.
“This law is dead,” Tom Julin, a First Amendment lawyer who represented a coalition of medical groups and others who took part in the case as “friends of the court,” told The News Service of Florida in a telephone interview.
The plaintiffs in the case, including individual doctors, argued that the restrictions were a violation of their First Amendment rights. A federal district judge agreed with them and blocked the law from going into effect. A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the constitutionality of the law in three separate rulings, but the ban keeping the law from going into effect remained in place.
A February ruling by the full appellate court — in a 90-page decision comprised of two majority opinions authored by different judges, as well as a dissent — struck down the law. Florida officials did not appeal that ruling before a deadline last month, Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office confirmed.
“Florida may generally believe that doctors and medical professionals should not ask about, nor express views hostile to, firearm ownership, but it ‘may not burden the speech of others in order to tilt public debate in a preferred direction,’ ” appeals-court Judge Adalberto Jordan wrote in one of two majority opinions on Feb. 17.
Bondi’s office referred questions about the case to state health officials, who, along with Gov. Rick Scott, were the defendants in the case.
Scott’s office also acknowledged the deadline had passed but did not say why the state decided not to appeal.
“As a strong supporter of (the) Second Amendment, Governor Scott is glad that a vast majority of this law was never challenged and upheld in court,” Scott spokeswoman Lauren Schenone said in an email last week.
The court found that the record-keeping, inquiry and anti-harassment provisions of the law are unconstitutional, but upheld the portion of the law that bars doctors from discriminating against patients who have guns.
The law — the first of its kind in the country — also prohibits insurers from discriminating against gun owners, an element of the statute that was not challenged.
Howard Simon, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, called the state’s decision not to appeal a major victory for free speech and the medical community. The ACLU organized a coalition of medical groups, including children’s health-care groups, who, represented by Julin and others, joined the legal challenge.
“What is important is that every doctor in Florida knows that the First Amendment right guaranteeing freedom of speech once again provides protection for the medical community to honor its mission to protect the health and lives of patients. And this includes counseling patients who own guns to ensure that they are safely stored so as to prevent suicides and out of the reach of children to prevent tragic accidental shootings,” Simon said.
The Florida case was especially significant because it was considered a test case, Simon said.
But for the appellate decision striking down the statute, the NRA would have “had this dangerous law introduced in every state,” Simon predicted.
A number of Republican legislators pushed the law, entitled the “Firearms Owners’ Privacy Act,” in 2011 after learning that a pediatrician told an Ocala mother to find a new doctor because she refused to answer questions about guns in the family home.
Lawmakers learned of five other anecdotes, in which doctors asked patients about gun ownership, before passing the law, signed by Scott, according to court records.
State Sen. Dennis Baxley, an Ocala Republican who was one of the House sponsors of the measure, said the law may have done its job, even if it was ultimately stricken from the books.
“I think we certainly made our point,” Baxley, who has frequently sponsored NRA-backed proposals, told The News Service. “If you’ve been able to present your case and move the hearts of people, sometimes you’ve won and you don’t know it.”
Baxley said it was too soon to tell whether lawmakers would revisit the measure.
“I don’t assume that we’ll abandon the issue. If there’s already been an impact made by bringing this issue forward, it may have worked itself out. We’ll see,” he said.
The litigation may have informed the Legislature — and the medical community — about balancing First and Second Amendment rights, Baxley said.
“I don’t think anything’s ever finished here. It’s an ongoing conversation for 20 million people about how these various issues fit together,” he said.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Block By Block: Summer Reading Program Continues At Library
June 13, 2017
The Summer Reading Program continues at local library branches this week as the Pensacola MESS Hall will present “Block by Block” as follows:
- Tuesday, June 13, 11 a.m. – Southwest Branch Library (Held at Big Lagoon State Park, 12301 Gulf Beach Highway)
- Wednesday, June 14, 11 a.m. – Century Branch Library
- Wednesday, June 14, 3 p.m. – Pensacola Library
- Thursday, June 15, 11 a.m. – Molino Branch Library
- Thursday, June 15, 3 p.m. – Tryon Branch Library
In “Block by Block”, a young girl outsmarts the king in this adaptation of “One Grain of Rice” using Legos. Students will get a concrete sense of exponential growth as they discover how quickly the Legos multiply.
Former Teacher, Coach Facing More Child Sex Abuse Charges
June 13, 2017
A former high school teacher and coach accused of sexual misconduct with a student has been arrested again on additional sexual abuse charges.
Jason Paul Blaney, age 38 of 4884 Highway 4 in Jay, is back in custody and facing three more felony charges of attempted sodomy first degree, sexual abuse first degre and enticing a child. He is being held in the Escambia County (AL) Detention Center in Brewton with bond set at $120,000.
The new charges were filed after another victim came forward alleging sexual abuse against him.
Blaney was hired a W.S. Neal in 2009 after leaving Milton High School, to teach math and coach volleyball. He became softball head coach in February 2016. He resigned his teaching and coaching positions on April 12, shortly after the first allegations were made against him on March 30.
Woman Charged With Pawning A Rented TV
June 13, 2017
A woman is facing multiple felony charges after pawning a television that she was renting from a Pensacola business.
Naja Hanifah Shavers, who provided an Atmore address when arrested, allegedly rented a 65-inch Visio Smart LED TV from Rent A Center on Mobile Highway in Pensacola. She then pawned the TV at Cash America Pawn on Mobile Highway, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Shavers, 28, was charged with proving false information to a pawn broker, dealing in stolen property and grand theft. She remained in the Escambia County Jail Tuesday morning with bond set at $4,500.