Woman Charged With Weekend Homicide
June 23, 2015
An Escambia County woman has been arrested on a homicide charge in connection with a weekend shooting.
Frances A. Deacon, age 33 of Pine Forest Road, was booked into the Escambia County Monday night with bond set at $100,000.
She’s accused in a shooting about 5 p.m. Saturday on Grandview Avenue off Mobile Highway. Deputies responded to a shots fired call to find Jerry Elder of Pensacola dead in a back room of the home
Rep. Doug Broxson: Jay Medical Raid Shows Need For Oversight, Government Accountability
June 23, 2015
submitted by Rep. Doug Broxson
When I first ran for office in 2010, I was advised that if I wanted any credibility in northern Santa Rosa County, then I needed to get to know Dr. David Smith of Jay, FL. Doctor Smith is a pillar of the community in northern Santa Rosa and Escambia Counties. During his career as a physician in Jay, he gained a reputation for serving the rural areas that are often disconnected from quality health care and providing free or reduced care to those in need.
However, in July of 2011, federal and state law enforcement officers stormed Dr. Smith’s practice. With weapons in tow, law enforcement ordered physicians, staff, and others to surrender all medical records and were forbidden to communicate with anyone during the raid. After three hours, authorities seized thousands of patient files and medical records and transferred the confidential material to a storage facility in Pensacola, where they were held under lock and key.
While they were not arrested, Dr. Smith and his son, Dr. Michael Smith, were forced to surrender their DEA prescription licenses. During that time, their patients had to find new physicians to treat them and were forced to travel to Pensacola in order to gain access to their own personal medical files that were held by the authorities. Neither doctor has any public complaint on file with the Florida Department of Health, and Dr. David Smith was recognized with a lifetime achievement award by the Florida Rural Health Association. However, for the last four years, federal and state law enforcement agencies have held the livelihood and reputation of these two doctors in their hands while conducting their secret investigation.
Finally, the U.S. Attorney cleared Drs. David and Michael Smith earlier this month, and both doctors will be able to reapply for their DEA licenses again soon. Unfortunately, the damage has already been done to their careers and reputations. Additionally, in a rural area that is critically underserved by the healthcare industry, the loss of these doctors caused an even greater access to care problem.
In Congress, the subject of personal rights in regard to national security is being fiercely debated. While there were no national security questions involved in this investigation, it is alarming to think that our government has the ability to persecute its citizens without any regard to transparency or due process. The lives of Drs. David and Michael Smith, along with the lives of their patients, have suffered by the heavy-handed acts of our own government. Over the last four years, my office has made numerous requests to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to find out why this investigation was taking so long without any charges being filed. However, the agency refused to respond to me and would not give any reason as to why the rights of these doctors were suspended. Frankly, if there were wrongful acts committed, then charges should be filed and the public should be informed. I do not believe justice is served by allowing for a prolonged fishing expedition without bringing charges in a timely manner.
I hope what happened to these doctors will serve to show that we need additional oversight to hold our government accountable when it resorts to this type of intimidation and persecution. I have asked the Florida Attorney General’s office to help me craft legislation that will help enforce due process and require charges to be either filed or dropped after an appropriate amount of time in order to prevent future government investigations to continue indefinitely. I await their response.
- Rep. Doug Broxson
NorthEscambia.com file photo.
The opinions expressed in this submitted article are those of the author and not necessarily those of NorthEscambia.com.
Citizens Insurance Proposes Rate Hikes For Coastal Customers
June 23, 2015
More than half of Citizens Property Insurance customers will face rate increases next year, under a proposal going before the insurer’s Board of Governors on Wednesday. The biggest increases are expected to hit coastal policyholders.
“The overall increase is being fueled by a continued spike in water loss claims in Southeast Florida and the fact that most coastal policies with nearly adequate rates have found coverage with private market insurance companies,” a release from the state-backed insurer said Monday.
Overall, Citizens is proposing an average rate increase of 3.2 percent for personal lines policyholders. However, the actual amount will vary depending on location and home. The proposal includes an average increase of 8.6 percent on coastal multi-peril homeowner policies, which the release from Citizens says reflects “both the historical inadequacy of coastal rates and the higher risks associated with living along the coast.”
For inland policyholders, a 1 percent drop is proposed in multi-peril rates. Of the approximately 573,000 personal lines customers now with Citizens, about 255,000 should get lower rates, the release from the insurer said.
by The News Service of Florida
Scott’s ‘Tax Cut Victory Tour’ Wraps In Escambia County
June 23, 2015
Gov. Rick Scott wrapped up a whirlwind seven-city “tax cut victory tour” with a stop in Pensacola Monday night, touting a tax-cut package that he signed into law last week.
The package (HB 33A), which lawmakers approved during a special session, is projected by state economists to cut revenue by $372.4 million in the fiscal year that begins July 1. As he won a second term last year, Scott made tax cuts a key issue in his campaign. Early this year, he proposed $673 million in tax cuts.
The package approved by lawmakers includes cutting the communications-services tax on cell-phone and cable-TV bills; providing a 10-day sales-tax holiday for back-to-school shoppers; and eliminating for one year sales taxes on college textbooks.
“Floridians can spend their money better than government can, and I am proud that this tax cut will save money for Florida families who pay a cell phone, cable or satellite TV bill,” Scott said
During Monday’s tour, Scott also stopped in Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, St. Petersburg and West Palm Beach.
Pictured: Gov. Rick Scott touts tax cuts signed into law last week during a Monday evening visit to the Apple Market in Pensacola. Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Humane Society Calls For Stop To Proposed Bear Hunt
June 23, 2015
The Humane Society of the United States on Monday delivered more than 90,000 names of people who, the group says, want Gov. Rick Scott to halt anticipated approval of the state’s first bear hunt in more than two decades.
Scott, however, is deferring to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission on the proposed hunt, which has the backing of the powerful National Rifle Association and Unified Sportsmen of Florida.
Laura Bevan, the Humane Society’s southern regional director, said Monday opponents also intend to address the commission before a final vote on the issue during a commission meeting Wednesday in Sarasota. But she couldn’t say if the group might take legal action in the future.
“This is the battle, not the war, we’re going to keep opposing this,” Bevan said. “When it starts, every hunter that paid their $100 for in-state (permits) — or $300 for out-of-state — is going to flood into the woods of Florida and kill bears.”
Commission Executive Director Nick Wiley, in a release Monday, said reviving the hunt is a way to manage the bear population rather than a response to “recent bear attacks and escalating human-bear conflicts.” Wiley wrote, “We have in past years invested and continue today to invest much staff time and resources in working with communities to help people understand what they can do to reduce or avoid bear conflicts, primarily by securing garbage and removing food attractants.,”
The NRA and Unified Sportsmen, in backing the first bear hunt in Florida since the state closed the hunting season statewide in 1994, pointed to concerns with the “explosion in the bear population and the growing danger to human life.”
NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer wrote to commission members on June 10, saying, “Hunting is a management tool that FWC had used successfully in the past and continues to be an effective means to control wildlife populations that endanger the public.”
by The News Service of Florida
NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Lingering Issues Raise Possibility Of Another Session
June 23, 2015
Officially, as of Tuesday, there are 85 days left until the Legislature returns to the Capitol for committee meetings and 203 days left until the 2016 legislative session begins. But even as a special session to deal with the state budget finally came to an end Friday, there were questions about whether another session might become necessary this year.
Those who raise the specter of another edition of legislative overtime point to a few key issues, particularly an expected ruling by the Florida Supreme Court on whether lawmakers need to go further in redrawing congressional districts. But the U.S. Supreme Court is expected soon to issue a decision that could affect the health-insurance coverage of hundreds of thousands of Floridians, and the status of the state’s gambling “compact” with the Seminole Tribe is also up in the air.
“Considering we’re going in next year in January into regular session, it leaves a number of months in between that we may have to take additional action. … I’ll just keep my suits fairly clean,” said House Minority Leader Mark Pafford, D-West Palm Beach.
But after the Legislature finished its work on the budget Friday, at least one key lawmaker didn’t seem worried about the prospect of a special session.
“I don’t see that those (issues) would necessitate that at this point. I really don’t,” said House Appropriations Chairman Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes. “I think what it necessitates is those committees that we normally have in the fall in an off-election year are going to be very busy. In order to get ready and prepared for the January session, those committees are going to have to be very productive and very busy.”
The one event that could be most likely to trigger a special session would be a ruling by the state Supreme Court holding unconstitutional a new version of Florida’s 27 congressional districts. In March, justices heard arguments about whether Leon County Circuit Judge Terry Lewis went far enough when he ordered the Legislature to make changes to fix two districts he said were problematic.
Voting-rights organizations fighting the maps want the court to go further, throwing out the entire map for violating a constitutional ban on gerrymandering approved by voters in 2010. A ruling could be handed down in a matter of weeks.
Pafford also said that a circuit judge could rule before January on the constitutionality of a map for the state Senate, which is the focus of a trial set to begin in September. Either side could appeal a decision in that case to the Supreme Court as well, delaying the deadline for lawmakers to act.
If it loses at the Supreme Court, the Legislature would have to correct the congressional lines in time for candidates to prepare for the qualifying deadline in May; the deadline for candidates to jump into state Senate races is June.
Another potential tripwire for a special session is a U.S. Supreme Court decision in the King v. Burwell case, which concerns whether residents of states that are part of a federal health-care exchange should qualify for tax credits that are part of the landmark Affordable Care Act. According to the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, more than 1 million people in Florida could lose coverage if the court rules that the tax credits are limited to those in exchanges set up by states.
House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, declined to say recently whether a court ruling against the federal exchange would prove that Florida should have set up its own marketplace.
“Ultimately, you’ve got to see what the courts hand down on that,” Crisafulli said. “And we’re waiting to see what that is. And we understand that we may see that in the next couple of weeks. And I think, at that point in time, we’ll be able to sit down and determine what the future looks like.”
Potentially complicating any effort to approve a state exchange under the Affordable Care Act is the fierce opposition from the House and Gov. Rick Scott to the law, commonly known as Obamacare.
Perhaps the least likely issue to trigger a special session is the gaming compact. The deal — which gives the Seminole Tribe exclusive rights to operate banked card games, such as blackjack, at five of its seven casinos — is set to expire in July. But it gives the tribe 90 days after the expiration date to shut down the card games, and Senate Majority Leader Bill Galvano, a Bradenton Republican and a key lawmaker on the compact, told The News Service of Florida in May that there might not be a need for a special session.
“(Scott) could modify the existing agreement to expand the banked card games unilaterally, subject to ratification by the Legislature,” Galvano said.
Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, also poured cold water on the idea of trying to hold a quick session to deal with the issue.
“The reality is I think it’s going to be very difficult to just come in and say, ‘Let’s renew the compact,’ ” he told reporters last week. “You’re probably opening up a lot of dialogue on other gambling issues.”
Any special session could be held at the same time as committee meetings in September, October or November. But most lawmakers would likely be fine with waiting until January, if possible, to get back to the floor.
“Special sessions are supposed to be special, and there needs to be a crisis of some kind to force us to address these things,” said Senate Appropriations Chairman Tom Lee, R-Brandon. “If it were me, I would encourage patience. But who knows what’s going to come down in these rulings? You never know.”
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Quintette Area Mobile Home Damaged By Fire
June 23, 2015
A Monday evening fire damaged small mobile home on Pettway Circle off Quintette Road
The fire was reported to have started in the kitchen and was quickly extinguished by the first fire firefighters arriving on scene just before 8:30 p.m.. One occupant of the home was evaluated by Escambia EMS for smoke inhalation.
Partnership Recycles 10 Billion Gallons Of ECUA Reclaimed Water
June 22, 2015
Gulf Power’s Plant Crist in Pensacola recently passed the 10-billion-gallon milestone for the use of reclaimed water from the Emerald Coast Utilities Authority’s Central Water Reclamation Facility in Cantonment.
The electric-generating plant uses the advanced-treated wastewater as a coolant during electricity production and to run the scrubber system that reduces air emissions. And, by using the reclaimed water from the nearby facility, Gulf Power avoids taking millions of gallons of water out of the Escambia River and conserves groundwater.
“This shows how two different utilities can work together to benefit all their customers and the environment,” said Natalie Smith, Gulf Power spokesperson. “With our scrubber system, we are providing cleaner electricity for our customers in Northwest Florida, and this partnership benefits Northwest Florida with cleaner air — and cleaner water.”
Gulf Power proposed the project to ECUA soon after starting construction on the scrubber system, which went online in December 2009.
The advanced ECUA facility was built to replace the Main Street Wastewater Treatment Plant, which was located in downtown Pensacola, across the street from the then-planned Community Maritime Park. State regulations would only permit the new wastewater treatment facility if it would not discharge water into Escambia Bay — even though the water was to receive a much higher level of treatment.
ECUA began piping water from the CWRF to Plant Crist in 2010. Combined with the CWRF’s internal reuse and the use of onsite sprayfields, Gulf Power and International Paper’s use of the reclaimed water qualifies the facility as a zero-discharge plant.
“The ECUA and Gulf Power partnership has proven to be beneficial for both utilities and the environment,” said Don Palmer, director of water reclamation for ECUA. “Together we have met some unique milestones in wastewater treatment and effluent reuse, and I expect that our partnership will continue to be a positive collaboration.”
Gulf Power’s partnership with ECUA won the Sustainable Florida Award in 2010. A year later, Gulf Power won the 2011 Industry Excellence Award from the Southeastern Electric Exchange, which includes 20 major utilities in the Southeast and mid-Atlantic from Texas to Maryland and Virginia. In 2012, the project also was awarded the 2012 York Reuse Award from the Florida Water Environment Association.
Pictured: ECUA reclaimed water from the CWRF in Cantonment flows through the Crist Plant. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
New State Budget Funds Millions In Escambia Projects
June 22, 2015
The 2016 state budget includes an estimated $700 million for Northwest Florida education, transportation, economic development, environmental and cultural projects, according to Sen. Don Gaetz.
On average, public school districts will see more than a 4 percent increase in total funding. Per student funding will increase by $207 to $7096.96. In 2016, Northwest Florida public schools will have more operating funds than at any time in the state’s history:
Escambia County will see a 2.99% increase in funding from $271,767,718 to $279,884,266, while Santa Rosa County will see an increase of 4.77% funding increase from $172,775,066 to $181,014,246.
In addition, the National Flight Academy in Pensacola is budgeted for $1.5 million to expand its instructional and lab space to serve more students. And in addition to continuing base funding from the state, the University of West Florida will benefit from $12.4 million in supplemental program funds to meet critical workforce education needs, veterans and military support, aviation education, economic development and research and an additional $4 million in supplemental operational support.
Groundbreaking could occur as soon as next year on a new three-mile bridge linking Gulf Breeze and Pensacola at a cost of $505 million, all of which will be paid for by the state.
Overall, $1.9 billion is appropriated in the workplan for transportation infrastructure improvements in Northwest Florida in the next five years. The Pensacola airport will receive $3 million, and the Muscogee Road Freight Corridor will receive $1 million.
Lakeview Center in Pensacola will receive $750,000 for mental health and substance abuse services for children. ARC Gateway will be awarded $2 million for the second year to provide innovative education and training to disabled young men and women.
In Escambia County, the booking and detention facility will receive $1 million for construction and repairs. Bethel Empowerment Foundation Reentry Program gets $400,000 and the Reentry Alliance Pensacola is appropriated $50,000. Second Chance Outreach Reentry and Education Development receives $150,000. Expansion of the Juvenile Assessment Centers in Escambia and Bay counties is allocated $735,840.
The Pensacola Lighthouse Association will receive $50,000 for staircase renovations, and the UWF Historic Trust will receive $194,000 for the Historic Pensacola Restoration and Preservation Project.
Several Escambia County cultural projects will also receive funding:
- Pensacola Little Theater Inc. Escambia $38,588
- The Greater Pensacola Sympony Orchestra Escambia $62,068
- Pensacola Opera Inc. Escambia $63,259
- The Pensacola MESS Hall, Inc. Escambia $11,877
- Pensacola Children’s Chorus Inc. Escambia $44,516
- Pensacola Museum of Art Escambia $26,753
- The Choral Society of Pensacola Escambia $2,787
Gov. Rick Scott has until June 30 to sign or veto any spending item.
Perdido Landfill Receives National Award For Coloring Book
June 22, 2015
The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) recently announced that the Escambia County Perdido Landfill has been named the winner of the SWANA Bronze Excellence Award in the Communication, Education and Marketing Tools category. The award will be presented at SWANA’s annual conference on Tuesday, August 25, in Orlando.
The Escambia County Perdido Landfill is receiving the SWANA award for its “Escambia Recycles Activity and Coloring Book,” a tool that teaches about sustainability, landfills, resources and recycling.
“A few years ago, we looked at the available activity books. They are good tools. Basics about recycling or sustainability in a couple of pages, but we wanted something more in depth and tuned to our program,” said Dee Dee Green, recycling and education outreach coordinator. “We also wanted it to apply to any recycling program in the country.”
This book covers topics, including where does garbage go, the anatomy of a landfill, gas to energy, leachate, alternatives to landfilling solid waste, resources, different types of recycling, electronic and chemical recycling, composting, some green alternatives to chemicals, while also attempting to set a child’s mind in a recycling mode.