No Serious Injuries When Driver Flips SUV Into Building
December 10, 2015
One person was injured when a SUV flipped into a building Wednesday evening.
The driver of Ford Expedition lost control in the 10000 block of Chemstrand Road and overturned into the parking lot of Southern Bingo. The SUV caused minor damage to the building. There was not word on the condition of the driver, but their injuries were not considered life threatening.
The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol; further details have not been released.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Price, click to enlarge.
Man Gets 20 Years For Beating Baby
December 10, 2015
A Santa Rosa County man is headed to prison for the next two decades for beating a baby.
Joseph Shawn Walker, 28, of Milton, was convicted of a aggravated child abuse and sentencedto 20 years in state prison followed by five year probation by Judge John F. Simon.
On June 3, 2014, Walker committed acts of physical abuse against a six-month old child. Walker fractured the baby’s skull, caused extensive bruising to both sides of her head and the orbits of both eyes, as well bruising to her lip, jaw, ears, chest and abdomen.
Walker initially told Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office investigators that the child was injured when a baby swing fell on her. However, Walker later admitted that he struck the child and injured her when he became irate because she was irritable. The child has improved and is continuing to receive physical therapy as a result of the injuries she sustained.
Two Children Drink Acid At Meth House; Two Arrested
December 10, 2015
Two young children are recovering in the hospital after ingesting acid from a Santa Rosa County meth lab.
A three-year old and another young child were transported to an area hospital with injuries related to the ingestion of a liquid, according to the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office. They said the chemical was consistent with the manufacturing of methamphetamine.
A search warrant was executed at their home on Fleetwood Drive, with deputies recovering numerous items that indicated meth was being produced.
Amber Nicole Cooley, 24, and Kyle Joseph Cooley 27,. were charged with child neglect with great bodily harm, manufacture of methamphetamines with children present, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, possession of drug equipment and possession of listed chemicals. Both are being held without bond.
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office has not released the condition of the children.
Chamber Announced Legislative Priorities At Annual Luncheon
December 10, 2015
The Greater Pensacola Chamber – along with the Gulf Breeze Area Chamber of Commerce, Gulf Coast African American Chamber of Commerce, Pensacola Beach Chamber of Commerce, Perdido Key Chamber of Commerce and Santa Rosa County Legislative Coalition – held its Legislative Luncheon in front of 250 community, business, state and regional representatives in downtown Pensacola Wednesday.
The Greater Pensacola Chamber released its priorities for the 2016 legislative year, which are broken into three categories: Creating a Better Business Environment, Cutting the Cost of Doing Business and Hometown Heroes.
1. To help create a better business environment, the Greater Pensacola Chamber recommends that state and local government officials act diligently when making economic development decisions and to streamline permitting and regulatory processes that sometimes hinder business opportunities. The Chamber also asks the Florida Legislature to be prepared to respond to any adverse judicial decision that might cause workers’ compensation rates in Florida to rise.
2. The Greater Pensacola Chamber endorses the entirety of Governor Rick Scott’s $1 billion tax cut proposal. Specifically, the Chamber calls for a 1 percent cut in the Florida Business Rent Tax, as well as elimination of the Income Tax on Manufacturing and Retail Businesses and the Sales Tax on Manufacturing Machinery and Equipment. The Chamber also fully supports the proposed increase in the amount of income exempt from the Florida Corporate Income Tax from $50,000 to $75,000.
3. To help improve the lives of our hometown heroes, the Greater Pensacola Chamber announces its support for two pieces of pro-veteran legislation. The Chamber urges the passage of HB 269, which would require the Florida Department of Children and Families to establish the Florida Combat Veterans Care Coordination Program. This program would provide combat veterans and their families with behavioral healthcare referral and care coordination services. The Chamber also supports SB 404, which would create the Veterans Employment Small Business Grant Program within the Department of Veterans Affairs. This program would offer small businesses in Florida a one-time grant of $3,000 for each veteran hired, or $5,000 for each disabled veteran hired.
“The Greater Pensacola Chamber supports these common sense proposals that will help grow our local businesses while creating a better quality of life for our hometown heroes,” said Todd Thomson, Executive Director of Public Affairs for the Greater Pensacola Chamber.
Pictured top: Rep. Clay Ingram kicks offs questions with the Legislative Delegation. Pictured below: The chamber luncheon. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Byrneville Students Enjoy Story Time At Century Library; Santa Visits Next Week
December 10, 2015
Kindergarten students from Byrneville Elementary School visited the Century Branch Library for a special Christmas story time. They also had the opportunity to learn about the parts of a book, and enjoy the different parts of the library. Santa will make a special appearance at the Century Branch Library on Tuesday, December 15 at 5 p.m. Santa will also be at the Molino Branch Library on Monday, December 14 at 6 p.m. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Florida’s Orange Crop In ‘Free Fall’
December 10, 2015
The outlook for production of Florida oranges, the state’s signature crop, continues to drop.
For the second consecutive month, the Florida orange-harvest forecast for the 2015-2016 growing season was adjusted down Wednesday by the National Agricultural Statistics Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
“It’s essentially in free fall,” Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam said Wednesday while outlining some of his priorities for the 2016 legislative session.
Among those priorities, Putnam reaffirmed a request that state lawmakers invest $8.5 million to research citrus diseases that are impacting Florida’s crops. He also continued to push for the federal government to provide additional research funding.
Putnam said the federal funding is appropriate because different diseases that have impacted the agricultural industry —citrus greening, citrus canker, Asian citrus psyllid and laurel wilt fungus — were able to enter the state through federal checkpoints.
“The ports of entry, the gateway areas was where the breakdown occurred,” Putnam said.
Some members of Congress have taken steps to try to address the issues.
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., and U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Fla., introduced legislation last month that would provide tax incentives to farmers who cannot afford to replace trees affected by citrus greening.
If the citrus forecast holds, Florida orange production will be down nearly 30 percent over last season, the Florida Department of Citrus said in a release.
“It is still early in the season and we have learned that forecasts can be fluid,” Department of Citrus Executive Director Shannon Shepp said.
The season’s outlook was already dire when the initial forecast was made for the growing season.
In mid-October, the USDA service predicted Florida’s orange crop would fill 80 million 90-pound boxes, a 17 percent drop from 96.8 million boxes filled in the prior season.
A month ago the forecast was lowered to 74 million boxes. On Wednesday that figure was dropped to 69 million boxes.
The USDA service noted that the forecast season would be the worst for Florida since 1963-1964.
Seasonal production peaked in the 1997-1998 season when 244 million boxes were filled.
The USDA service has also decreased the projection for grapefruit production in Florida from 12.2 million boxes in November to 11.5 million boxes.
The state Department of Citrus said the grapefruit production reflects what officials are hearing from farmers.
“As peak season approaches, growers continue to be very happy with the eating quality of this year’s grapefruit crop and the department remains dedicated to promoting their signature product to consumers around the world,” Michael Schadler, the department’s director of international marketing, said in a prepared statement.
Before the 2015 legislative session, Putnam, who grew up in the citrus and cattle industry in Polk County, asked the Legislature for $18 million to address the citrus industry’s needs, which included growing clean citrus stock and planting new trees where diseased trees had been removed.
Lawmakers responded by giving him $8 million, which was an increase from the $4 million in 2014.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Pot Copter Saves The Day For Nursery
December 10, 2015
In what sounds like a line out of a Jimmy Buffett song, one of the state’s soon-to-be medical marijuana purveyors used a helicopter and a landing at a golf course to squeak in minutes before a 5 p.m. deadline Wednesday to prove he had nailed down a requisite $5 million bond.
Bruce Knox, an owner of Lake Mary-based Knox Nursery, was the last of the five cannabis dispensing organizations — picked by a Department of Health panel late last month — to post a surety bond required by state law for licenses to go into effect.
Knox delivered the necessary paperwork to health officials at 4:58 p.m., the nursery’s lobbyist, Jorge Chamizo, told The News Service of Florida shortly afterwards.
Department of Health spokeswoman Mara Gambineri confirmed Wednesday evening that all of the five licensees, including Central Florida region winner Knox, had met the deadline to prove they had the bonds. The other four applicants had filed their paperwork by Monday evening.
Knox boarded a friend’s helicopter in Lake Mary, where the nursery is located and where he and his family live, late Wednesday afternoon after a delay in securing the bond.
The helicopter landed at a golf course and Knox jumped into a waiting car to rush the documents to the nearby Department of Health headquarters as the clock ran down.
“They zipped over to the department, and he handed it in there to Christian and thanked them for their patience and did a big exhale,” Chamizo said.
Christian Bax is the executive director of the health department’s Office of Compassionate Use, which last month chose the five winning dispensing organizations from more than two dozen applicants hoping to grow, process and distribute non-euphoric marijuana legalized last year.
Under the 2014 law, nurseries that have been in operation for at least 30 consecutive years in Florida and grow a minimum of 400,000 plants at the time they applied were eligible to seek the coveted licenses.
Challenges to the law and the rules implementing it delayed the awarding of the licenses. Some nursery owners — and their teams of pot and investors — spent millions of dollars preparing lengthy applications, acquiring equipment and securing dispensing facilities to start growing types of marijuana low in euphoria-inducing tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, and high in cannabadiol, or CBD. Parents of children with severe forms of epilepsy pushed for the law, believing the low-THC marijuana can end or dramatically reduce life-threatening seizures. Doctors can order the treatment for patients with severe muscle spasms or cancer.
But even after beating out the competition for the licenses, acquiring the requisite bonds proved sticky for some of the dispensing organizations, spurring the last-minute filing by Knox.
Knox’s bonding company required 100 percent collateralization, Chamizo said, meaning the nursery had to come up with $5 million in collateral before 5 p.m. Wednesday.
“The issue was with the different investors. They were trying to renegotiate some of the terms of the deal at the last minute,” Chamizo said.
It was unclear whether the Lake Mary nursery owner would get in before the clock ran out, Chamizo said.
“I was freaking out. To have gotten this far and not be able to get it because you miss a deadline that would have been huge,” Chamizo said, sighing deeply. “I’m ready for a glass of wine.”
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
‘Things Are Not Going Well’ – Century’s Last Doctor Continues Fight Against State To Stay
December 9, 2015
“Things are not going well.”
That’s how Century’s only doctor, Christian Bachman, sums up progress in his fight against a state agency to continue his medical practice from the old Century Hospital. In a letter dated August 26, Century Health Care Access (CHCA) and Dr. Bachman, president of CHCA and physician for Mayo Street Medical, were ordered to vacate the facility by September 30 by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, current owners of 25,000 square foot building on Mayo Street.
The eviction date passed, with Bachman and his medical practice receiving much media attention that began with a NorthEscambia.com story. As a result, Bachman said, DEP shifted their position, which at first seemed like a positive breakthrough. But with time, he said he’s realized it appears the DEP has simply changed their strategy to making “impossible demands”.
Bachman said a subsequent letter from DEP gave his practice 60 days to fix a series of issues, some of which such as sprinkler and alarm panel inspections, were reasonable and are underway.
“Unfortunately the 60 day letter also includes a few issues which are almost impossible to surmount, including getting rid of the medical clinic sublease and also our research lab, both of which are the whole purpose of our mission in Century,” Bachman said. “This makes the entire letter a hollow gesture.”
The Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office is also demanding changes that the doctor says are impracticable to impossible. Demands in include repairs to large areas of ceilings that were patched by DEP or their contractors in the 1990’s to install a new fire sprinkler system. He said it would not be possible to obtain the permits for the work in a short time period, much less make the costly repairs.
“We have written the DEP asking for permits and permission to fix these defects that they themselves were responsible for. They have not responded. Additionally we have sent correspondence begging them to allow the medical practice sublease to continue but we have not even received permission for this,” he said.
“It also bears mentioning that this building was inspected yearly for decades and these issues were never documented. The rules have not changed but the agenda has,” Bachman said.
Bachman maintains that a group of a businessmen from Jay took interest in the building and pulled political strings that has DEP set on evicting him from the building, finding any and all faults along the way.
“We, our patients, and the town of Century deserve better. We intend to fight to the very end, using every legal means to get simple justice – despite these great odds. We should not be held hostage by this kind of dirty politics. We also intend to eventually expose the questionable and possibly illegal process behind this unhappy saga,” he said. “The entire medical staff is determined to continue serving this community, from this building, until or unlessthey are removed by force. We just want to be left in peace, to continue our mission – as we have for the last decade.”
Century Health Care Access acquired the lease for the Old Century Hospital in 2006 when a concerned group of citizens from Century formed a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing medical care to the community of Century and surrounding areas. They now host Mayo Street Medical, a family medical clinic which opened in late 2014 with Dr. Bachman at the helm, and previously hosted Century Family Practice, which closed in late 2013.
Bachman said the practice now provides primary medical services for hundreds of patients throughout Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. He has a reputation for seeing patients regardless of their ability to pay, and he’s even known for making house calls.
While Bachman is the only doctor that practices in town on a regular basis, Baptist Medical Group, formally Century Medical Center, operates a primary care facility in Century that is staffed by nurse practitioner Georgia W. Agrait.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Gambling Deal Met With Scrutiny, Skepticism
December 9, 2015
Far from a sure bet, Gov. Rick Scott’s $3.1 billion gambling deal with the Seminole Tribe of Florida is getting a tepid response from some legislative leaders, virtually guaranteeing that the proposal could require major changes to win enough support for passage.
The agreement, signed by Scott and tribal Chairman James Billie on Monday, equates to a major expansion of gambling in Florida, bringing to the state craps and roulette for Seminole casinos and opening the door for slots and blackjack in areas where a previous agreement prohibited the games.
House Speaker Steve Crisafulli on Tuesday said legislative approval, required for the pact to take effect, would be a “heavy lift.”
Senate President Andy Gardiner told reporters “there are no guarantees” that lawmakers will sign off on the deal, known as a “compact.”
Scott said the compact, months in the making, “is a first step.”
Even the Seminoles’ chief negotiator, Jim Allen, called Monday’s signed contract “the boundaries of an agreement.”
Some lawmakers were more dubious about the proposal’s future.
“I suspect that this compact is DOA,” said Sen. Jack Latvala, R-Clearwater. “Because there are so many issues in it that different people are going to find problems with.”
Under the 20-year compact signed Monday, the Seminoles could add craps and roulette to their seven casinos in exchange for $3.1 billion in payments to the state over seven years. The Seminoles could also expand blackjack games, now limited to five of their facilities, to all of their casinos.
The compact would also allow slot machines at the Palm Beach Kennel Club and at a new location in Miami-Dade County. And it would also permit horse and dog tracks to stop racing altogether — known as “decoupling” — while still maintaining cardroom or slot machine operations.
The agreement would also permit lawmakers to lower the tax rate on slot machines for Broward and Miami-Dade pari-mutuels and would allow those “racinos” to add blackjack, something now limited to tribal casinos, although on a small scale. The racinos would only be allowed to have a maximum of 15 blackjack tables, and bets would be capped at $15.
But, as they once did for slots, voters would have to sign off on the card games for the Miami-Dade and Broward county facilities.
The proposal also envisions a new, voter-approved gambling facility with slot machines in Miami-Dade County. Lawmakers plan to require a bid process to determine who would get the new gambling license, said House Regulatory Affairs Chairman Jose Felix Diaz, the chamber’s chief negotiator on the compact.
The Miami lawyer also called Monday’s agreement a framework for future discussions.
“There’s still a lot to get this in a position for the Legislature to make a decision,” Diaz said. “This bill sets parameters, but it doesn’t define them.”
In the signed compact, the Seminoles also pledge “to make significant investments” — $1.8 billion — in their gambling facilities, which Allen said would mostly be spent on non-gaming construction like hotel rooms.
Speaking to reporters after a Cabinet meeting Tuesday morning, Scott praised the deal, which is triple the current $1 billion the Seminoles agreed to pay in 2010 in exchange for exclusive rights to “banked” card games like blackjack.
But the governor conceded that the plan may morph before lawmakers leave their imprint on it.
“I’m just the first part of the process. Now it goes to the Legislature. I respect the decision of President Gardiner and Speaker Crisafulli. It goes to them,” Scott said.
As lawmakers scrutinized the plan Tuesday, it became almost certain that the proposal would require what could be a major overhaul to get the requisite support from the GOP-dominated Legislature, including the historically gambling-averse House.
Key issues that could bog down passage of the compact — which would also allow lottery tickets to be sold at gas pumps — include allowing the Palm Beach County dog track to add slots, considered a snub to five other counties where voters have given slots a thumbs-up.
“I just have a problem picking one winner and five losers. I don’t know how we can do that,” Latvala said.
Sen. Garrett Richter, R-Naples, two years ago headed a committee charged with considering an ill-fated bill that could have paved the way for at least one “destination resort”-style casino in Florida.
More than 60 percent of voters in Lee County, which Richter represents, approved the addition of slots at the dog track in Bonita Springs. But the Seminoles could consider the Lee County facility a threat to their Immokalee casino.
The agreement inked by Scott is a “starting line,” Richter said.
“I know that no matter where this ball stops rolling, wherever it stops rolling, somebody’s going to be unhappy,” he said. “And right now, where it started rolling , I’m unhappy that the Bonita Springs-Naples dog track doesn’t have casinos.”
By early Tuesday, lobbyists were already arming themselves for a major turf war when the legislative session kicks off on Jan. 12.
Ron Book, who represents tracks owned by the Havenick family in Bonita Springs and Miami, was outraged that the compact gave preference to “rich” Palm Beach County over more financially strapped regions, such as Gretna Racing in Gadsden County, operated by the Poarch Creek Indians of Atmore.
“If anybody thinks we’re laying down our arms and going to sleep …. with something in there for rich Palm Beach County to the detriment of poor little Lee County and poor little Gretna, they’re mistaken,” Book said.
In a telephone interview Tuesday, Seminole Gaming CEO Allen, the tribe’s chief negotiator, said the Seminoles “are receptive to concerns” that lawmakers may have regarding the compact, but would not specify which components the tribe would be willing to negotiate.
“I think it’s very, very important not to negotiate anything on an individual basis. But once we have a cumulative list of concerns, at that particular time I would be able to have a comment on what we may or may not be able to find some flexibility for the state,” Allen said. “We certainly understand that the process is not completed and there’s a tremendous amount of work to navigate through the committees, and, eventually, all the leadership and all of the elected officials of the state.”
The proposal would cap the number of slot machines the Seminoles are allowed to have at 6,000 at any one facility, with an average of 3,500 among its seven locations. Tables for banked card games, such as blackjack, would be capped at an average of 150, with a maximum of 300 at any one facility. Allen said none of the tribe’s current casinos are at those maximums.
Scott and tribal leaders — along with high-ranking GOP lawmakers — have been negotiating for months, spurred by a component of a 2010 compact that gave the Seminoles exclusive rights to operate banked card games at most of their casinos. The card games portion of the larger, 20-year deal, expired this summer, but the Seminoles have continued to run the games.
As they did five years ago, lawmakers expect to handle the issue in two separate pieces of legislation — one dealing with the compact and another focused on provisions related to the state’s pari-mutuel industry.
Lawmakers in 2010 sued then-Gov. Charlie Crist for entering an agreement with the Seminoles without their approval, and the Florida Supreme Court decided that such a deal requires ratification by the Legislature.
Any deal between the tribe and the state also requires approval from the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees Indian gaming.
Gardiner cautioned that the agreement is anything but a done deal.
“As (Scott) knows, there are no guarantees in this process. We’ll just have to wait and see, to see what happens,” Gardiner told reporters Tuesday morning. “Certainly, the compact piece is important. But … it’s what else is there that potentially needs to be looked at.”
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Escambia Man Charged With Sexual Battery Of A Minor
December 9, 2015
An Escambia County man has been charged with the sexual battery of a minor.
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office said 38-year old Kenyada Danurael Travis was arrested Tuesday following a three-month long investigation. Travis is charged with one count of sexual battery of a minor over the age of 12. Investigators said additional charges are pending.
Travis was booked into the Escambia County Jail without bond.