Big Spring Books Sale Sunday At The Library
May 1, 2016
Friends of the West Florida Public Library, a non-profit support organization of the West Florida Public Library, is holding its Big Spring Book Sale Sunday at the downtown Main Library, 239 N. Spring Street. Thousands of hardcover, paperback, and collectible books will be available for purchase, plus a variety of DVDs, CDs, puzzles, and other items. Proceeds are used to fund programs and enhancements at WFPL branches including Century and Molino.
Sunday is the final day of the book sale with free admission and the popular $5 Bag Sale from noon to 3 p.m. For just $5, shoppers can purchase as many books as will fit in a brown paper grocery bag. (Oversized bags from home are not permitted.)
Book sale items include thousands of generous donations from the public and some library books retired from circulation, many of them now out-of-print. Novels and mysteries are sorted by author or into genres like science fiction and westerns. Other book categories include arts and entertainment, children’s, cookbooks, history, holidays, home and hobbies, literature, foreign language, military, modern living, nature and gardening, religion, science, sports, technical, and travel. Most prices range from 50 cents for paperbacks to $2 for hardcover. There are also recorded books, magazines, and other media for sale.
The Collector’s Corner will feature an assortment of signed books, pre-1950s books, books by local and Florida authors, and other special books that are great for gifts. These items are priced as marked and must be checked out separately, so shoppers paying by check should bring at least two checks.
Payment by cash or check is preferred. Credit cards are accepted for sales of $20 or more.
Birmingham, Pensacola Split Doubleheader
May 1, 2016
Pensacola right fielder Phillip Ervin scored three times in game two of a doubleheader, including the winning run in the seventh inning, as the Blue Wahoos split a Saturday doubleheader with the Birmingham Barons.
Pensacola won the second game, 5-2, at Regions Field, after dropping its second straight game to Birmingham in the first game, 8-3. Pensacola is now 13-10 and in second place in the Southern League South Division, while Birmingham is 9-14 and in fourth place in the North Division.
Ervin, who played college baseball at Samford University in Birmingham, put on a show for old friends and fans going 3-4, scoring five runs, hitting a solo home run-his second of the season-and stealing his ninth base, which is fourth best in the Southern League. He is now hitting .239 and has a .363 on-base percentage.
When the Cincinnati Reds chose Ervin in the first round in 2013, he became the first baseball player ever drafted out of the private university. The 23-year-old, who is the Cincinnati Reds No. 17 prospect, was born in Mobile and lists his hometown as Leroy, Ala., a town of less than 1,000 residents about 60 miles north of Mobile.
In the second game, Ervin, who stole third, scored when second baseman Zach Vincej hit a soft liner to center field in the fourth inning to put the Blue Wahoos ahead, 1-0.
In the fifth inning, Ervin smacked a solo home run deep to left field to give Pensacola a 2-0 lead.
But Birmingham tied the score, 2-2, in the bottom of the sixth inning when left fielder Eudy Pina singled to shortstop, which scored center fielder Adam Engel. Pina then scored the second run on a ground out by third baseman Trey Michalczewski.
The Baron’s Engel made up for an error in the seventh inning on Ervin’s hit to center field by throwing out Pensacola’s Eric Jagielo at home plate. However, with one out first baseman Brandon Dixon then hit a two-run double to left to score both Ervin, with what turned out to be the winning run, and left fielder Tony Renda to give the Blue Wahoos a 4-2 lead. Dixon stole third base and scored on a wild pitch with two to put Pensacola up, 5-2, which was the final margin of victory.
Blue Wahoos pitcher Rookie Davis continued his hot start this season. He pitched five scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out one and lowered his earned-run average to 0.78.
Pensacola reliever Alejandro Chacin earned his first Double-A victory (1-0) pitching the last 1.1 innings. In his eighth appearance on the year, he gave up two hits and struck out four. He has now struck out 14 hitters in 9.1 innings this year.
In the first game, Birmingham scored the final six runs to win, 8-3, over Pensacola.
Pensacola first baseman Donald Lutz knocked in all three of Pensacola’s runs in the first game of the doubleheader and got on base all three times. Lutz, who’s batting .164 this season, blasted a two-out, two-run home run to center field in top of the second inning. His first dinger of the season came in his 55th at bat this season. Lutz’s homer scored Ervin, who singled to lead off the inning.
Lutz also tripled in the fourth inning with two out to again drive in Ervin, who was hit by a pitch, and put Pensacola ahead, 3-2. It would be the Blue Wahoos last run of the shortened seven-inning game.
Birmingham catcher Jeremy Dowdy led the Baron’s doubling in two runs with the bases loaded in the fourth inning to put Birmingham ahead, 4-2, for good. Dowdy also hit his first homer of the season in the sixth inning that brought in second baseman Joey DeMichele, giving the Baron’s its second consecutive victory in the five-game series. For the game, Dowdy was 2-3 with a double, home run, run scored and four RBIs.
Man Found To Be Stabbed After Cantonment Wreck
April 30, 2016
A man that had been stabbed wrecked his vehicle near International Paper in Cantonment early Saturday morning.
The man reportedly suffered multiple stab wounds during at an altercation at an address on Highway 95A near El Camino Drive before fleeing in a vehicle. He crashed near Tree Street, just south of Muscogee Road, about 1:15 a.m.
The man was transported to an area hospital. His condition was not available.
Further details, including the man’s name, have not yet been released. The incident remains under investigation by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
Molino Mom Sentenced For Husband’s Murder
April 30, 2016
A Molino mom that once claimed a “stand your ground” defense in the murder of her husband 2013 is now headed to state prison.
Rebecca A. Rogers, 45, was sentenced Friday by Judge Thomas Dannheisser to two years in prison, to be followed by 13 years probation. She will receive credit for 42 days that she already served in the county jail. She faced a maximum of 15 years in prison, with sentencing guidelines calling for about nine years behind bars.
Rogers pleaded no contest to manslaughter for shooting her husband, 42-year old Jason Lee Rogers in August 2013. Her attorneys previously made a motion to dismiss the case, saying Rogers acted within the parameters of Florida’s self-defense “stand your ground” law. That motion was denied at the local level and by the Florida First District Court of Appeals.
The ruling from the appeals court last June did not allow her to claim she acted under the “stand you ground” law, but it specifically did not prohibit Rogers from claiming self-defense at trial.
Friday’s sentencing hearing lasted over five hours as Dannheisser reviewed evidence and heard testimony from Rogers and her family.
“I am so sorry that this happened,” Rogers told the judge. “I regret that this happened and I regret that I shot Jason that night.” She said she still loves Jason Rogers and apologized for the pain and suffering caused by her actions. “I am sorry for taking their son, their brother. For taking my children’s father and my grandson’s ‘Grappie’,” she said.
Dannheisser reviewed the 911 recording from the night of the murder, during which Rogers said, “He came after me. He was choking me and he said it was going to be he last night of my life.”
Two of Roger’s four daughters testified about the abuse their mother suffered from their father. “Please don’t take her away from us your honor,” Roger’s oldest daughter Kayla Clear said.
Dannheisser said the evidence did show aggression by Jason Rogers, but he said he believes that deadly force should have been used only as a last resort. He ordered Rogers, who had been free on bond, immediately remanded into custody to begin her sentence.
Rebecca Rogers shot her husband twice in the back and once in the head inside the couple’s home in the 3400 block of Highway 29 in Molino. She told a 911 dispatcher that her husband choked her and then she shot him.
Deputies arrived to find Rebecca Rogers standing outside the home. They found Jason Rogers lying unconscious in the back bedroom of the home on his stomach with a gunshot to his head. He also suffered two other gunshot wounds to the back. He died at a local hospital about two days later.
Murder Suspect Raymond Pruitt Captured In Alabama
April 30, 2016
Murder suspect Raymond Jerome Pruitt. was taken into custody Friday afternoon in Pike County, AL, near Troy, according to the Pike County Sheriff’s Office. He was captured after a high speed chase.
Pruitt has an active arrest warrant for the robbery of A&E Food Mart and homicide of of store owner Chung Lun Chiang also known as “Alan”.
Investigators say Pruitt robbed the A&E Food Mart on Pace Boulevard about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday. During the robbery, he shot and killed Chiang, 53, as he worked behind the counter.
Pruitt’s crime spree began on April 5 in Montgomery when he stabbed his girlfriend and shot her with her own pistol as she tried to escape. Pruitt has since been identified as the prime suspect in five armed robberies occurring in Montgomery, Ozark, Troy, and Prattville, AL.
Wanted Felon Escapes Manhunt, Possibly To Century
April 30, 2016
Authorities are on the lookout for a Flomaton man that may have escaped to Century during a manhunt Friday afternoon.
Flomaton Police responded to the home of Johnny Jermaine Johnson about 2:45 p.m. after receiving a call that he was holding a woman against her will. Officers arrived to find that Johnson had already fled out of a bedroom window.
K-9 units from Fountain Correctional in Atmore and Century Correctional were called to the scene as Flomaton Police established a perimeter along with the Escambia County (AL) Sheriff’s Office. Johnson was tracked through thick woods and brush in the MLK Drive and Vanhoosen Road area, with dogs loosing his scent in the area of MLK and Bell Street. Police received a tip that he had been picked up by a family member and transported to Century.
Johnson has unrelated felony warrants for his arrest for escape and a probation violation, according to Flomaton Police Chief Bryan Davis, who issued a warning to anyone that might harboring Johnson.
“Being that Johnson has multiple felony warrants for his arrest, anyone that is found to assist or hide Johnson can be charged with hindering prosecution, which is a felony,” Davis said.
The female that was reportedly being held against her will was found at Johnson’s residence when officers arrived. Police said she is safe and received minor injuries.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Johnson is asked to call the Flomaton Police Department at (850) 296-5811 or their local law enforcement agency.
Supreme Court To Hear Nine Mile Popeye’s Murder Case
April 30, 2016
The Florida Supreme Court will hear arguments Thursday in a high-profile case that forced an overhaul of the state’s death-penalty sentencing system.
The case involves Timothy Lee Hurst, who was sentenced to death for the 1998 killing of fast-food worker Cynthia Harrison in Pensacola. Harrison, an assistant manager at a Nine Mile Road Popeye’s Fried Chicken restaurant where Hurst worked, was bound, gagged and stabbed more than 60 times. Her body was found in a freezer.
Hurst was the plaintiff in a legal challenge that led to the U.S. Supreme Court finding in January that Florida’s death-penalty sentencing system was unconstitutional because it gave too much power to judges, instead of juries. State lawmakers and Gov. Rick Scott quickly approved changes to the system to try to resolve the constitutional issues.
The arguments Thursday are expected to focus on Hurst’s contention that the Florida Supreme Court should order that he receive a life sentence, instead of facing execution.
In briefs, Hurst’s attorneys have raised a series of arguments related to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, including that Hurst received the death sentence under what was an unconstitutional process.
“The constitutional defect in Hurst’s death sentence is that the judge, rather than a jury, determined ‘each fact necessary to impose a sentence of death,’ ” said part of a brief filed last month, quoting the U.S. Supreme Court. But Attorney General Pam Bondi’s office has argued in court papers that the Florida Supreme Court should reject Hurst’s request for a life sentence, in part contending that any error in his death sentence was “harmless.”
Today’s Your Last Chance To See Free Smithsonian Exhibit In Molino
April 30, 2016
Today is your last chance to see “The Way We Worked,” a Smithsonian Traveling Exhibition for free in Molino.
The exhibition, which celebrates the history of American workers, will be open Saturday from 10 am. until 4 p.m. at the Lillian F. King Museum located in the Molino Community Complex, 6450 Highway 95A North. The exhibit has been open since late March.
For more photos from opening day, click here.
“The Way We Worked” was made possible in Molino by the Florida Humanities Council. “The Way We Worked”, an exhibition created by the National Archives, is part of Museum on Main Street, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and State Humanities Councils nationwide. Support for Museum on Main Street has been provided by the United States Congress.
Pictured: Scenes from the March 19 opening day of “The Way We Worked exhibit in Molino. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: In Conclusion
April 30, 2016
Several things seemed to be winding down in Florida government this week.
At the Capitol, two of the highest-ranking Republicans in the state finally managed to resolve their differences over a hiring decision. Neither man walked away with a complete victory, but that didn’t mean that it didn’t further the idea that one of the participants — Gov. Rick Scott — was losing a little bit of his pull.
Meanwhile, the Florida Supreme Court and an administrative law judge handed down a couple of high-profile rulings, one with a potentially wide-ranging impact on the state’s businesses and another touching on a particularly hot-button social issue.
There were signs that some of the fights that have shaped politics in 2016 would rage on; Democratic Congresswoman Corrine Brown notified a federal court that she would appeal its ruling in a contentious redistricting case to the U.S. Supreme Court. But resolution seemed to be the name of the game, even if it was just to clear the decks for the inevitable battles that lie ahead.
PEACE IN OUR TIMES
The “lame duck” whispers around Scott had already ticked up to a dull roar by the time the Legislature was done giving him few pieces of his legislative agenda during the session that ended in March. Now, it seems that Scott can’t even corral Republican members of the Cabinet to go along with him.
The governor spent the week locked in a continuing showdown with Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater over the state’s next insurance commissioner. And while Atwater didn’t get his first choice for the position, neither did Scott.
The difficulty arose because of a difference between the two men, who have to jointly recommend the head of the Office of Insurance Regulation to Atwater’s two colleagues on the Cabinet: Attorney General Pam Bondi and Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam.
For their parts, Bondi and Putnam tried to stay away from the contretemps.
“Just like on criminal matters, I seem to feel you listen to me,” Bondi said Tuesday. “I would hope that when you two gentlemen come to an agreement — unless I believe someone is woefully inadequate, which I hope I won’t, based on the two of you and your great experience in this field — but hopefully I’ll be able to back your candidate. But I think the two of you need to come to an agreement first.”
Scott backed Jeffrey Bragg, a Palm Harbor resident and former executive director of a U.S. Department of the Treasury terrorism-risk insurance program. After an awkward silence in which his motion Tuesday to hire Bragg for $150,000 a year didn’t get a second, the governor suggested holding a meeting Friday.
Meanwhile, Scott and Atwater also disagreed about how long current Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty could stay on the job. McCarty was originally scheduled to step down May 2, but announced as the split between Scott and Atwater persisted that he would be willing to remain another 45 days.
Scott’s office said McCarty couldn’t do that without a specific vote by the Cabinet. In a memo, Scott lawyer William Spicola said the governor and the Cabinet accepted McCarty’s resignation during a January Cabinet meeting.
“McCarty cannot unilaterally extend his appointment after he, the governor and the Cabinet all mutually agreed that his last day would be on May 2nd,” Spicola wrote.
Atwater issued a statement Wednesday disagreeing.
“I am disappointed that in its eagerness to replace Commissioner McCarty, the governor’s office has chosen to quibble about his resignation letter,” Atwater said in a release. “We should take full advantage of Commissioner McCarty’s gracious offer to continue to provide consistent and knowledgeable leadership during this period, thereby affording the Cabinet the opportunity for a thorough and well considered hiring process.”
But things were resolved by essentially listening to advice from Vanessa Williams: Sometimes the very thing you’re looking for is the one thing you can’t see. Scott and Atwater finally agreed during a special meeting Friday to promote from within, tapping Deputy Commissioner David Altmaier for the job.
As commissioner, Altmaier, who a decade ago was working as a high-school math teacher and track coach in Kentucky, will see his salary increase from $115,000 a year to $165,000 a year.
Scott and Atwater also agreed that McCarty will remain with the state for 60 days beyond his planned departure date to assist in the transition — keeping him around as the hurricane season begins June 1.
“The dynamics of this office are so broad,” Atwater said after Altmaier was chosen. “If something were to come early, (Altmaier) has another set of eyes and ears (in McCarty) that he can be turning to for guidance. But mainly it was for the broad, broad range of responsibilities that he’s now taking on that he can have somebody nearby.”
Altmaier, who since March 2015 has overseen the agency’s Bureau of Property and Casualty Financial Oversight and Product Review, said he is aware of the “magnitude of the position” and he had no problem with two additional months working with McCarty.
“I have learned an incredible amount from Commissioner McCarty during my tenure working with him, and I would welcome 60 more days of learning from him as we transition,” Altmaier said.
Altmaier, who received a degree in mathematics from Western Kentucky University, briefly worked as a high school teacher before going to work for a private insurance agency in 2006. He joined the Office of Insurance Regulation in 2008, where he’s served in a number of positions, including as a reinsurance and financial specialist and as chief analyst.
A BLOW FOR BUSINESS
While Scott and Atwater were tussling over the state’s insurance commissioner, the Florida Supreme Court was dealing with another area of state insurance law — one limiting attorney’s fees in workers-compensation cases.
In a 5-2 ruling, the court struck down the fee law, a victory for attorneys who represent injured workers — and a blow to business groups that have long argued legal fees drive up the costs of workers-compensation insurance. The fee issue will bounce back to the Legislature, where it could spark a fierce debate.
Justice Barbara Pariente, writing for the court’s majority, said the 2009 law is a violation of due-process rights under the Florida Constitution and the U.S. Constitution because it prevents challenges to the “reasonableness” of attorney’s fees awarded in workers-compensation cases. The ruling stemmed from a case in which an attorney was awarded the equivalent of $1.53 an hour in successfully pursuing a claim for benefits for a worker injured in Miami.
Pariente wrote that the goal of the workers-compensation system is to quickly provide benefits to get injured people back on the job at a reasonable cost to employers.
“This case, and many others like it, demonstrate that despite the stated goal, oftentimes the worker experiences delay and resistance either by the employer or the (insurance) carrier,” wrote Pariente, who was joined in the majority by Chief Justice Jorge Labarga and justices R. Fred Lewis, Peggy Quince and James E.C. Perry. “Without the likelihood of an adequate attorney’s fee award, there is little disincentive for a carrier to deny benefits or to raise multiple defenses, as was done here.”
But Justice Charles Canady wrote a dissent that said the law involves a “policy determination” by the Legislature that there should be a relationship between the amount of benefits obtained in workers-compensation cases and the amount of attorney’s fees awarded. The law includes a formula that links benefits and attorney’s fees.
“In reaching the conclusion that the statute violates due process, the majority fails to directly address the actual policy of the statute,” wrote Canady, who was joined in dissent by Justice Ricky Polston. “Instead, the majority assumes — without any reasoned explanation — that due process requires a particular definition of ‘reasonableness’ in the award of statutory attorney’s fees. The definition assumed by the majority categorically precludes the legislative policy requiring a reasonable relationship between the amount of a fee award and the amount of the recovery obtained by the efforts of the attorney. Certainly, this legislative policy may be subject to criticism. But there is no basis in our precedents or federal law for declaring it unconstitutional.”
Business groups weren’t shy about blasting the ruling. Florida Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mark Wilson said in a prepared statement the “potential impact of the high court’s ruling could threaten Florida’s improving business climate. The Florida Chamber remains laser focused on ensuring workers’ comp rates are fair, and we will lead the effort before lawmakers and in the halls of justice to ensure the voices of job creators are heard.”
‘NO TESTIMONY OR DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE’
In a less-sweeping but nevertheless politically charged case, meanwhile, an administrative law judge Thursday rejected a state agency’s arguments that a Gainesville abortion clinic should be fined for performing second-trimester abortions without a proper license.
In a 25-page ruling, Judge Lawrence P. Stevenson concluded that the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration had failed to make its case against Bread & Roses Well Woman Care.
AHCA filed an administrative complaint against Bread and Roses in August, contending that the clinic, which is licensed to perform only first-trimester abortions, had performed five abortions on women who were in the second trimesters of pregnancies.
“AHCA presented no testimony or documentary evidence refuting the credible evidence presented by Bread & Roses that the sonograms show on their face that the pregnancies for each of the five procedures at issue were first trimester pregnancies and within the scope of Bread & Roses’ license,” Stevenson wrote.
The fines would have cost the clinic $500 for each of the five procedures, or $2,500.
Stevenson’s ruling Thursday is a recommended order, which, under administrative law, goes to the agency. The judge recommended that the agency dismiss the complaint against Bread & Roses.
Bread & Roses has also figured in another recent abortion dispute. Last year, the clinic joined a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a state law requiring 24-hour waiting periods before women can have abortions. Last week, the Florida Supreme Court temporarily blocked the law and granted a stay of a lower court’s order allowing the law to take effect.
That allows women to get abortions without a waiting period for the time being, until the constitutional challenge finds its way through the courts.
The battle over abortion clinics, it seems, isn’t truly over just yet.
STORY OF THE WEEK: Gov. Rick Scott and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater agree to recommend Deputy Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier to take over the Office of Insurance Regulation, settling a weeks-long feud.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Under the original Constitution, African-Americans were considered to be three-fifths of a human being. We’ve moved beyond that point, (but) now our first African-American president only gets seven-eighths of a term.”—Democratic Congressman Alan Grayson, in a debate with Republican Congressman David Jolly, a fellow candidate for the U.S. Senate. The Senate’s GOP majority has refused to hold a hearing on Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama’s nominee, because of the upcoming November elections.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Century Man Charged With Stealing $22.7K From Jailed Man’s Account
April 29, 2016
A Century man has been charged in connection with the withdrawal of over $20,000 from a Century man’s bank account while he was in jail.
Cary Johnson, 52, is charged with grand theft and felony fraud. He remained in the Escambia County Jail Friday morning with bond set at $30,000.
Investigators said Johnson was along for the ride as 27-year old Lolita Shantel Thomas went multiple times to a local credit union and withdrew a total of $22,700 without the account holder’s permission..
The victim, according to arrest report, is former jail bunkmate of Thomas’ boyfriend. Thomas was given permission to retrieve the victim’s vehicle from the county impound lot following his arrest, but she was not given permission to withdraw funds. Thomas was caught on credit union surveillance video with Johnson cashing checks at a drive-thru window.
Thomas was arrested about a month ago on similar charges and is awaiting trial.
The withdrawals were made over a period of two months in 2015.