Health Emergency Declared: Zika Case Confirmed In Santa Rosa County
February 3, 2016
A case of the Zika has been confirmed in Santa Rosa County, bringing the total number of travel-related cases to nine that have been reported in Florida. Wednesday, Gov. Rick Scott declared a public health emergency in Santa Rosa County due to the Zika virus.
Six of the cases are new this week. Travel-related cases are defined as disease believed to be contracted outside of the state.
Zika fever is a mild febrile illness caused by a mosquito-borne virus similar to those that cause dengue and West Nile virus infection. It has been identified in several countries in Central and South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean since 2015.
“Today I am directing Surgeon General Dr. John Armstrong to declare a public health emergency in the four counties that have individuals with the Zika virus. Although Florida’s current nine Zika cases were travel-related, we have to ensure Florida is prepared and stays ahead of the spread of the Zika virus in our state. Our Department of Health will continue to be in constant communication with all county health offices, hospitals and the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We know that we must be prepared for the worst even as we hope for the best,” Scott said Wednesday.
Scott’s order directs the Surgeon General to immediately notify the Commissioner of Agriculture of this threat to public health and outlines that statute authorizes the Commissioner of Agriculture to issue a mosquito declaration in Miami-Dade, Hillsborough, Lee and Santa Rosa counties. The executive order also says that special attention for mosquito sprays shall be paid to residential areas, as CDC guidance indicates that backpack mosquito spray measures may be most effective.
While the CDC has not identified Florida as an area of local Zika risk, the Florida Department of Health is closely monitoring imported disease. None of the confirmed cases involve pregnant women. Yesterday, Governor Rick Scott and State Surgeon General and Secretary of Health Dr. John Armstrong were briefed by the CDC on the status of Zika virus.
“Florida has many years of success in containing other mosquito-borne diseases and emerging health threats,” said State Surgeon General and Secretary of Health Dr. John Armstrong. “Through these experiences, the department remains ready to protect residents and visitors from the Zika virus.”
More Information on CDC precautions and DOH monitoring of Zika:
- According to the CDC, Zika fever illness is generally mild with a rash, fever and joint pain. CDC researchers are examining a possible link between the virus and unborn babies exposed during pregnancy.
- Florida’s public health laboratory has a developed capacity to test for infections. The department works closely with health care providers in the state to offer testing to individuals that meet CDC testing criteria.
- DOH has a robust mosquito-borne illness surveillance system and is working with the CDC, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and local county mosquito control boards to ensure that the proper precautions are being taken to protect Florida residents and visitors.
- DOH encourages Florida residents and visitors to protect themselves from all mosquito-borne illnesses by draining standing water; covering their skin with repellent and clothing; covering windows with screens; and other basic precautions.
Zika fever is acquired through the bite of an infected mosquito, including the same mosquitoes that can transmit dengue and chikungunya. Perinatal and sexual transmission have also been reported.
Federal, State Agencies Raid Pharmacies In Jay, Pace, Pensacola
February 3, 2016
State and federal agencies raided three pharmacies in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties Tuesday morning — one in Jay, one in Pace and one in Pensacola.
A spokesperson for the FBI confirmed that the FBI was assisting the U.S. Attorney’s Office and other agencies in a raid at the Jay Pharmacy in the Jay Medical Complex, next to the local hospital. Armed agents could be seen entering and exiting the building into the early afternoon Tuesday.
Agents from the Department of Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the FBI, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement were among those on scene in Jay.
A similar raid was conducted at the office of two Jay doctors that share office space in the complex back in 2011. Neither doctor was directly accused of any crime and were both cleared of any possible wrongdoing. Dr. David Smith told NorthEscambia.com Tuesday morning that he was unaware of what was taking place at Jay Pharmacy. He said that he and his physician son have no ownership interest in the pharmacy.
A second federal and state raid occurred Tueesday morning at the Burklow Pharmacy on Woodbine Road in Pace. Federal and state authorities raided the business shortly after it opened Tuesday morning.
Investigators from the FBI as well as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement moved into Physician Specialty Pharmacy in Pensacola Tuesday morning. They could be seen hauling out boxes from the businesses and loading them into trucks and trailers.
Authorities have not released any further detail on any of the raids.
Pictured: Agents outside the Jay Pharmacy Tuesday. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
House Panel Approves Death Penalty Fix
February 3, 2016
A House panel on Tuesday approved proposed changes to the state’s death-penalty law in an effort to address a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down Florida’s capital-sentencing structure as unconstitutional.
The House Criminal Justice Subcommittee’s 11-2 vote on the measure (PCB CRJS 16-07) came less than two hours after the Florida Supreme Court issued an indefinite stay of execution for Cary Michael Lambrix, who had been scheduled to die on Feb. 11. The court heard oral arguments in the case Tuesday morning.
Lawmakers in both chambers are hurriedly preparing legislation in response to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, issued on the opening day of the 2016 session, in a case known as Hurst v. Florida. The Jan. 12 ruling overturned the state’s capital felony sentencing system, which gives judges — and not juries — the power to impose the death penalty.
The high court’s decision came in the appeal of convicted murderer 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 Popeye’s Fried Chicken restaurant on Nine Mile Road where Hurst worked, was bound, gagged and stabbed more than 60 times. Her body was found in a freezer.
The 8-1 decision focused on what are known as “aggravating” circumstances that must be determined before defendants can be sentenced to death. A 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, in a case known as Ring v. Arizona, requires that determination of such aggravating circumstances be made by juries, not judges.
Under Florida law, juries make recommendations regarding the death penalty, based on a review of aggravating and mitigating circumstances, but judges ultimately decide whether defendants should be put to death or sentenced to life in prison.
The House would allow death sentences to be imposed only if juries — after weighing aggravating and mitigating factors — unanimously decide that at least one aggravating factor exists. The proposal would also require at least nine jurors to vote for the death penalty. The legislation is based on the recommendations of state attorneys.
Of the 31 states with the death penalty, Florida is one of only three that do not require unanimous jury decisions about imposing death sentences. Florida law only requires a simple majority of the jury to recommend death. The only other two states that do not require unanimous decisions — Alabama and Delaware — require at least nine jurors to vote in favor of capital punishment.
Whether death-penalty jury verdicts should be unanimous has been a major source of debate during discussions about the Hurst ruling, which did not specifically address the issue. Nearly all experts — with the exception of prosecutors — recommend that the state adopt a unanimous jury requirement to avoid the risk that Florida’s sentencing system could be struck down again in the future.
“The question arises, do you look simply at the narrow issue that Hurst addressed or do you look at the whole body of cases that the United States Supreme Court has talked about?” 10th Judicial Circuit Public Defender Rex Dimmig told the panel Tuesday.
But prosecutor Brad King argued that the measure goes “well beyond the dictates” of the Supreme Court’s order. And King, the state attorney for the 5th Judicial Circuit, said it is impossible to predict how the court will rule in years to come.
“To think we can sit here today and presume to understand what the U.S. Supreme Court can do … in the future is honestly a pipe dream,” he said.
Requiring unanimous decisions on death-penalty sentences would allow a single juror “to hold hostage the entire process,” King argued, pointing out that some of Florida’s most-notorious crimes failed to result in unanimous jury recommendations for the death penalty.
But University of Miami Law Professor Scott Sundby, who trains Florida judges in the death penalty, said research shows that 92 percent of juries that voted 9-3 in favor of the death penalty returned the same result if required to reach a unanimous decision.
“In other words, in 92 percent of the cases, when they deliberated to unanimity, they still came out as death,” Sundby said.
Not requiring a unanimous decision would put Florida in danger of having its law struck down again, he predicted.
“I promise you this would invite a lot of constitutional litigation, and the odds of it being reversed by the (U.S.) Supreme Court are quite high,” Sundby told the committee.
The House panel rejected an attempt by Rep. Randolph Bracy, D-Orlando, to amend the bill to require unanimity on death sentences.
“There is great racial and gender and geographical discrimination in how the death penalty is applied,” Bracy, who is black, said. For example, “no white person has ever been sentenced to death for killing a black person” in Florida, Bracy said. In contrast, murders involving white women are 6.5 times more likely to result in the death penalty.
“One way to reduce the bias is require unanimous juries,” said Bracy, one of two Democrats on the subcommittee who opposed the bill.
But Chairman Carlos Trujillo, a former prosecutor, said Bracy’s concerns rested more with the application of the death penalty than with the sentencing phase.
And, he said, the proposal is far from a done deal.
“By no way, I think, is this a 100 percent finished product,” Trujillo, R-Miami, said. “I’m sure all of these recommendations will come to play at some point.”
Senate President Andy Gardiner told reporters Tuesday that “there a lot of members in our chamber that would prefer a unanimous decision.”
But the Senate may cede to the House’s 9-3 position to finalize a bill before the session ends next month.
“What’s important is that we get an agreement done, and we pass something this session to address what’s been brought forward by the U.S. Supreme Court. And I think we’re on track to do that,” Gardiner, R-Orlando, said.
Lawmakers Look To Curb Unemployment Fraud
February 3, 2016
A House panel on Monday unanimously approved a measure aimed at cracking down on unemployment fraud based on identity theft — a practice lawmakers say is spiraling out of control.
In fact, House Economic Development & Tourism Chairman Frank Artiles said he’d been the victim of such a crime himself.
“I actually had my ID stolen, and we had unemployment benefits that were sent to the state (to establish a claim) under my name,” the Miami Republican said. “This is rampant throughout the nation, as well as in the state of Florida.”
Artiles’ subcommittee approved the measure (HB 1017), filed by Rep. Mike La Rosa, R-St. Cloud, who said it would save millions of dollars for Florida taxpayers.
“Over the years, (the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity) has begun receiving reports that criminals were turning to unemployment insurance — in our state called reemployment assistance — as a new front for identity theft-based fraud,” La Rosa told the panel.
The bill says “identity theft is especially problematic in this state, which the Federal Trade Commission reports has the highest per capita rate of identity theft in the nation.”
A special unit within the Department of Economic Opportunity has detected and prevented more than 146,000 fraudulent claims totaling $603 million since its inception in 2014, according to the agency.
Department Executive Director Cissy Proctor said the attempted fraud is a threat to people who need unemployment benefits — and to those who pay for them.
“We’re seeing an incredible amount of identity-theft crime coming into the system, and we are focused, through our anti-fraud measures, to keep those criminals out and to keep the trust fund healthy, to make sure the money is there for those that are eligible for the benefits,” she told The News Service of Florida on Friday. “Also, it keeps (unemployment) taxes low for businesses across the state that pay the money that goes into the trust fund.”
La Rosa’s bill takes several steps to beef up enforcement and penalties for cyber-crimes centered on public-benefits fraud.
It would give the Department of Economic Opportunity access to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles’ database of driver’s licenses — including photos and signatures — to validate claims for reemployment assistance.
It would increase penalties for people who fraudulently apply for unemployment benefits. The penalties would go from one year to five years for a first offense and would be 10 years for a second offense and a lifetime ban for a third offense.
Also, the bill would amend the definition of “racketeering activity” to include unemployment-benefits fraud under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt (RICO) Organization Act.
Monday was the first time the department-backed bill has been heard in committee. La Rosa removed parts of the bill that sought to allow the department to hire sworn law-enforcement officers and recover overpayments by garnishing wages.
“The department will continue to seek criminal investigators in its budget and will continue to build cases statewide with local law enforcement,” La Rosa said.
Rep. Clay Ingram, R-Pensacola, thanked La Rosa for the changes, saying he’d had concerns about “sworn law enforcement officers working for a department where that had never been done before.”
A Senate version of the bill (SB 1216), filed by Sen. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, has been sent to four committees.
by Margie Menzel, The News Service of Florida
Tate High Hosting Souper Bowl And Student Gallery Night
February 3, 2016
The Tate High School Art Department is hosting a Student Gallery Night and Souper Bowl Thursday from 5-7 p.m. in the Art Building. Students will be selling their own art work as well as hand-crafted ceramic bowls and soup or chili. All proceeds from the sale of the bowls and food will benefit their ceramics classes, with 10 percent going to the Manna Food Bank.
The cost is $10 to purchase a handmade bowl plus food and drink, or $5 to purchase just food and drink. The public is invited to join in and support the arts at Tate High School.
Pictured above and below: Some of the bowls available during the Souper Bowl event at Tate High School. Pictured bottom: Some of the student art pieces that will be for sale. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Woman Charged In Fiery DUI Crash
February 3, 2016
An Escambia County woman has been charged in connection with a fiery DUI crash on North Davis Highway.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 53-year old Kathryn Pearson on Pensacola was traveling northbound on North Davis Highway near the intersection of Copter Road when she failed to slow or stop and eared-ended a 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix stopped at a traffic signal early Tuesday morning.
The Grand Prix, driven by 31-year old Dawn Willis, was knocked off the roadway and caught fire. Willis and three passengers — 27 year old Janay Matthews, 15-year old Celeste Waldroup and 13-year old Joseph Moorer were transported to Sacred Heart Hospital.
Pearson was under the influence of an unknown drug and fled the scene to West Florida Hospital, according to the FHP. Pearson was charged with DUI with serious bodily injuries, leaving the scene of a crash involving injuries and careless driving.
Pictured: A car burst to flames following an DUI crash early Tuesday morning. Volunteer and career firefighters from the Ferry Pass Station of Escambia Fire Rescue were on scene in just minutes and quickly able to extinguish the fire. Reader submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Nine Mile Dollar General Robbed At Gunpoint
February 3, 2016
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a suspect in the armed robbery of Dollar General Store on Nine Mile Road Monday night.
The Dollar General at 100 East Nine Mile Road was robbed at gunpoint just before 10 p.m. The suspect pointed a gun at the clerk and escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash, according to Amber Southard, spokesperson for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. The clerk was not injured.
The suspect was described only as tall, wearing all dark clothes and having a covered face. K-9 units were called to the scene and conducted an unsuccessful search for the suspect.
Anyone with information on the robbery is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP or the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620.
Pictured: It was business as usual Tuesday at the Dollar General at 100 East Nine Mile Road, hours after the store was robbed at gunpoint Monday night. NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Price, click to enlarge.
No Serious Injuries In Highway 97 Crash
February 2, 2016
There were no serious injuries in a two vehicle crash on Highway 97 just south of Pine Forest Road Tuesday afternoon. The cause of the 4:20 p.m. accident remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol; further details have not been released. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
An Early Spring? North Escambia Weather Ducks Miss Shadow
February 2, 2016
On this Groundhog Day, Punxsutawney Phil, the world famous groundhog, did not see his shadow and predicted an early spring. Our local weather guys, the NorthEscambia.com Weather Ducks, also missed their shadow Tuesday morning and predicted an early spring from Walnut Hill, FL.
Forklore says that if the groundhog sees his shadow on Groundhog Day, it means six more weeks of winter. We did not have a groundhog handy for a photo, but we did have the NorthEscambia.com Weather Ducks.
For those that might be a little unsure as to the weather ducks’ ability, we offer the two photographs below showing the weather ducks predicting six more weeks of winter on Groundhog Day 2010 and 10 days later with their snowman in Atmore.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Change Begins For Landline Phone Users In Walnut Hill, Bratt, Molino
February 2, 2016
Frontier Communications landline users in Walnut Hill, Bratt and Molino can begin using a new dialing method that will become mandatory in two months.
The new dialing procedure requires Molino and Walnut Hill callers to dial all local calls using 10 digits ( the area code plus the regular telephone number). Previously, these numbers were dialed using seven digits.
For example, when calling Northview High School, customers in the 327 and 587 phone exchanges previously dialed 327-6681, but with the change will now dial (850) 327-6681.
Beginning now, customers in Molino and Walnut Hill can start using the new 10-digit dialing procedure whenever they place a call from the 850 area code. However, during a two-month transitional phase, dialing just seven digits will continue to successfully complete customers’ calls.
As of April 1, the new 10-digit dialing procedure will be required. After this date, any calls placed without using the new 10-digit dialing procedure will not be completed, and a recording will instruct customers to hang up and dial again.
Frontier reminds customers to reprogram all services and automatic dialing equipment that are set to dial a seven-digit number to include the area code after February 1. Examples include life-safety systems or medical devices, PBXs, fax machines, Internet dial-up numbers, alarm and security systems/gates, speed dialers, mobile phone contact lists, call-forwarding settings and voicemail services.
Customers should also check their websites, business stationery, advertising materials, personal and business checks, contact information and personal/pet identification tags to ensure that the area code is included.
The change is due to the addition of a new telephone exchange number in McCullough, AL, and Pensacola that is owned by Cingular Wireless.