Florida To Join Multi-State Lawsuit Over Gulf Oil Disaster
March 7, 2014
Florida expects to be added to a multi-state federal lawsuit against BP over “widespread” damages from the Deepwater Horizon disaster, after spending nearly three years unsuccessfully trying to resolve the matter on its own.
On Wednesday, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Panama City about the environmental impacts from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil-spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman Kendra Parson said the state anticipates the suit will be added to an ongoing federal lawsuit against BP in the Eastern District of Louisiana by Alabama, Louisiana and other plaintiffs.
In April 2011, the state rejected a chance to join the federal lawsuit, with Gov. Rick Scott saying at the time he wanted to ensure Florida was “treated fairly” in terms of receiving reimbursement from BP.
Officials with the Attorney General’s Office said at the time that a settlement could be reached without litigation as early as the summer of 2011 unless the oil company refused to cooperate.
Parson said attempts to reach a settlement have been unsuccessful and that discussions related to the case remain confidential.
Scott, when asked Thursday about plans to join the federal lawsuit, said it’s the “right time to hold BP accountable for doing harm to our state.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi said state attorneys continue to work with BP “to do the best we can.”
She added that the change in the state’s legal approach is “a necessary step to begin to restore Florida’s vital resources and the tremendous damage Florida suffered because of this oil spill. We are a tourism state.”
The 17-page complaint doesn’t estimate the extent of damages to Florida.
“While the full extent of the Deepwater Horizon spill and the environmental damages may not be known for years, the impacts to date have been widespread and severe, damaging the organisms, habitats and ecosystems in Florida waters and to Florida’s coastline,” the suit states. “The damages include, but are not limited to, damages to Florida’s sandy beaches, salt marshes, wetlands, estuaries, submerged aquatic vegetation, deepwater communities and coral reefs as well as injuries to numerous wildlife species and aquatic species including fish, sea turtles, oysters, birds, and manatees.”
Geoff Morrell, BP senior vice president for U.S. communications and external affairs, said in an email that BP is reviewing Florida’s lawsuit and highlighted the actions the company has taken since the Deepwater Horizon accident.
“To date, BP has spent more than $26 billion to help restore the Gulf, including more than $14 billion on response and clean-up and more than $12 billion on claims paid to individuals, businesses and government entities,” Morrell said. “To accelerate environmental restoration, BP voluntarily agreed to spend up to $1 billion on early restoration projects and has reached agreement or agreements in principle with the trustees on approximately $698 million in projects.”
Florida’s suit also names Anadarko Petroleum Company, Anadarko E&P Company, Transocean Ltd., Transocean Holdings, Transocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling, Transocean Deepwater Inc., and Triton Asset Leasing.
The suit is separate from one filed last April by Florida against BP and contractor Halliburton seeking to recoup at least $5.48 billion in lost state revenue because of the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion and oil spill.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Pictured: Oil washed onto Pensacola Beach following the BP spill. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Century CI Employees Read Dr. Seuss To Elementary Students
March 7, 2014
Century Correctional’s Assistant Warden Hutchins and Officer Tony deGraaf read to a kindergarten class at Jay Elementary School as part of Read Across America Day. They read the popular Seuss book The Foot Book, gave each student a special treat and helped with a special assignment. They also expressed the importance of learning to read and of a good education.
Read Across America Day, the signature program of the National Education Association, focuses on motivating children and teens to read through events, partnerships and reading resources. It’s held annual on or near Dr. Seuss’ birthday.
Pictured: Century Correctional Institution Officer Tony deGraaf and Assistant Warden Hutchins (in tie) read to a kindergarten class at Jay Elementary School. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Volunteers, Officials Team Up To Save Rescued Horse
March 6, 2014
Volunteers, family, friends, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, Escambia County Animal Control and the ingenuity of the Cantonment Station of Escambia Fire Rescue came together Wednesday afternoon to help a rescue horse in need in Cantonment.
The horse, named Ebony, is being housed by Escambia County at Panhandle Equine Rescue in Cantonment after being seized about a week ago from the 400 block of Crowndale Court. Ebony was severely malnourished when seized, according to PER President Diane Lowery. A second horse seized from the property was put down by a veterinarian due to its state of malnourishment.
But volunteers have been working, almost literally around the clock, to save Ebony.
Tuesday night, she fell in her stall, requiring numerous volunteers to get her back to her feet. She went down again Wednesday, with volunteers unable to lift her….until the crew of Cantonment’s Fire Rescue Engine 419 put their training and brainpower to work. The firemen designed a sling and used a ladder, chains, straps and a come-along to lift her. Once she was upright, a veterinarian was able to administer IV fluids.
“A lot of people have invested a lot of time, labor and emotions into this horse,” Lowery said. “I just oh so want to see her live.”
About 11 p.m. Wednesday, Lowery was preparing to begin watch over Ebony to make sure she remained upright and warm during the night.
“There’s thunder and it’s raining,” she said. “But I’ve got to go out there and check on her.” Lowery said she had IV fluids, plus a group of volunteers and the Cantonment firemen on standby in case she needed help during the night.
“We can’t say that nobody tried for Ebony,” she said. “Everyone has gone above and beyond.”
Lowery said the owner of Ebony and the horse that was put down are expected to face felony charges. The case is currently under investigation.
Pictured above: Escambia County Animal Control, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, Escambia County Fire Rescue’s Cantonment Station and volunteers use a makeshift sling to lift Ebony Wednesday afternoon. Pictured below: Ebony, a malnourished horse seized about a week ago by Escambia County, was unable to get on her feet in her stall Tuesday night. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Sacred Heart: Door To Door Children’s Book Sales Are A Scam
March 6, 2014
Someone may be going door to door selling children’s books saying that proceeds will benefit Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital, but hospital officials say it is a scam.
The individuals selling books door-to-door may identify themselves as working for “Experience Sales”, but Sacred Heart said they have no affiliation whatsoever with the group.
Anyone solicited with such an offer should call their law enforcement agency.
Man, 76, Dies After Home Invasion Beating
March 6, 2014
A family is looking for answers after a 76-year old man was found beaten to death inside his home late Tuesday night on Lakeview Avenue in Pensacola.
Family members say Ben Stallworth was beaten in the head and robbed. The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office says they found him on his couch with obvious injuries. He was transported by ambulance to a local hospital were he was pronounced deceased.
Further details have not yet been released.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
NJROTC Cadet Braun Receives Prestigious Area Award
March 6, 2014
Northview High School Cadet LCDR Kasie Braun, NJROTC Company Commander, was selected for the Area Eight ROTC “Joseph C. Gilliam Award”. Braun completed against cadets from 50 ROTC units in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana to win this prestigious award, a first for Northview’s NJROTC unit. Pictured: LCDR Kasie Braun watches cadets during a Pass In Review recently at Northview High School. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Florida House Panel: Not All Marijuana The Same
March 6, 2014
With just one “no” vote, a Florida House panel signed off on a measure Wednesday that would legalize a strain of non-euphoric marijuana used to treat children wracked by potentially deadly seizures.
House Criminal Justice Chairman Matt Gaetz, the sponsor of the bill known as “Charlotte’s Web,” called the bipartisan support historic because it’s the first time in modern history that the Florida Legislature has advanced any marijuana-related measure.
“That’s because people here in Tallahassee have realized that we can’t just have a bumper-sticker approach to marijuana where you’re either for it or against it. Not all marijuana is created equally. Here, this strain of marijuana can do a lot of good and has a very low likelihood of abuse,” Gaetz, R-Fort Walton Beach, said.
Gaetz’s subcommittee approved the proposal (HB 843) after nearly an hour of testimony from parents and other advocates who believe the strain of marijuana called “Charlotte’s Web” can dramatically reduce seizures in children with a rare form of epilepsy.
Some Republican leaders, including Gaetz’s father, Senate President Don Gaetz, have galvanized support around the Charlotte’s Web measure as an alternative to a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow doctors to write prescriptions for marijuana. Orlando trial lawyer John Morgan, also the boss of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist, is pushing the ballot initiative, which will go before voters in November.
Under the proposal approved Wednesday, strains of marijuana that contain .8 percent or less of tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive component in marijuana, and more than 10 percent of the derivative cannabidiol, or CBD, would be legal, along with the seeds of the plant. Supporters of the proposal say the amount of THC in Charlotte’s Web, which is not smoked but is ingested as an oil or paste, is not enough to get users high. The proposal also includes $1 million for research on the substance.
Peyton and Holley Moseley’s 10-year-old adopted daughter RayAnn is one of about 125,000 Florida children diagnosed with Dravet Syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy that can cause hundreds of seizures a day and does not respond to other treatments. The couple said they traveled to Colorado, where Charlotte’s Web is manufactured, and met with parents of other children who had responded to the treatment.
“These kids can walk now. These kids can talk now. These kids are saying ‘I love you’ to their parents for the first time,” Peyton Moseley told the panel.
The Florida Sheriffs Association is also backing the measure, which was amended on Wednesday to put the burden on people who are arrested or investigated to prove that the drugs they are holding meet the THC and CBD levels laid out in the bill.
Questioned by his colleagues about enforcement issues, Matt Gaetz said he hoped that state attorneys and other officials would not bring charges against growers and manufacturers or the physicians who distribute the substance to their patients.
But lobbyist Louis Rotundo, who represents a newly formed coalition of businesses and land owners interested in Charlotte’s Web, said the bill as passed poses problems for potential growers and suppliers.
“Frankly, telling me that it’s at the discretion of my state attorney or my sheriff, good men and women that they may be, leaves me a little queasy. I don’t think that you get a loan from a bank on a situation like that,” Rotundo said.
Rep. Gayle Harrell cast the only vote against the measure after asking a series of questions highlighting concerns about a lack of regulation over the substance, especially compared to other drugs.
“If you really want to solve a problem and just not legalize marijuana then you need to do it appropriately,” Harrell, R-Stuart, said.
But Rep. Dave Hood, R-Daytona Beach Shores, argued the bill is a “no-brainer” and implied that it does not go far enough to help cancer survivors like himself whom studies show can benefit from traditional medical marijuana.
“It is absolutely an abomination … for us to continue to have unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious rules that relate to marijuana,” said Hood, a lawyer.
The measure has two more committee appearances before heading to the House floor. A Senate companion (SB 1030) has not yet had a committee hearing.
by Dara Kim, The News Service of Florida
Molino Library Reads Across America With Dr. Seuss
March 6, 2014
The Molino Branch Library recently celebrated Dr. Seuss and Read Across America with stories, characters, popcorn a lots of reading fun. Several participants also took the “Reader’s Oath”, promising to read each day and each night (because it’s the key to “growing up right”). Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Lawmakers Hope To Save Money With State IT Agency
March 6, 2014
The creation of an information technology department for state government might or might not save Florida money.
Lawmakers believe it will. And they say such an agency will make the state’s records more secure.
But the problem is they don’t have firm numbers about how much computer and software services currently cost the state.
A staff analysis of a proposed bill (SB 928) to create the Agency for State Technology only lists a fiscal impact of the $5 million needed for the first year of operation.
The Senate version of the proposed agency would include 25 full time employees.
The current cost for such services, which are contracted and spread among various state agencies, was called a “gray area” by senators as the General Government Appropriations Subcommittee gave unanimous support Wednesday for the consolidation effort.
Sen. Jeremy Ring, a Margate Democrat who is backing the Senate measure, said he and other lawmakers have been trying for years to determine the exact amount the state spends on technology services.
“We truly don’t know the answer to that question,” Ring said. “What we unfortunately do know is that there is no consolidation. If you can be a sales person for IBM and sell the same product 19 different times, instead of trying to sell it once, ultimately we’re not getting the scale, and as you get greater scale you get greater discounts and greater purchasing power.”
Equally important, Ring, a former Yahoo.com executive, said that without a chief technology officer and others whose jobs would be to oversee the state’s technology services, the state now has little security from unwanted outsiders.
“Who knows what hackers are doing today to all our information,” Ring said. “We’re the only state in the nation without a chief information officer, which means we’re a $75 billion business without a chief information officer. … That doesn’t exist in any business I assure you.”
The Senate supported the creation of such an agency last year. The House appears to be more receptive to the proposal this year, with its own measure (HB 7073) moving out of the Appropriations Committee.
The issue of a centralized IT agency has grown during the past four months with the troubled rollout of the $63 million Department of Economic Opportunity’s unemployment compensation website. Concern about that department’s system has put focus on even larger programs that are on the horizon, including the Department of Financial Services’ Florida Accounting Information Resource (FLAIR) system, now in development, that could top $100 million.
The new IT agency would be housed within the Department of Management Services under the direction of the governor’s office. The agency wouldn’t oversee Cabinet agencies, but would perform oversight of IT projects and contracts worth $25 million or more within those agencies, under the Senate plan.
The oversight rules and the eventual size of the agency would have to be worked out with the House if both measures reach that point this session.
by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida
Marine Corp’s Biggest Helicopters On Area Training Mission
March 6, 2014
The Marines are flying their largest helicopter on training missions out of NAS Pensacola.
The Marine Heavy Helicopter Training Squadron (HMHT) 302, from New River, NC, will be operating at NAS Pensacola through March 15. Flying the CH-53, the largest helicopter in the Marine Corps inventory, the squadron will be training pilots and aircrew with operations centered around NAS Pensacola, Navy Outlying Field (OLF) Choctaw and other outlying fields in the area.
Training missions for HMHT 302, while at NAS Pensacola, will include night operations until midnight on several days. Residents near the air station can expect increased noise levels as the aircraft takeoff and land at the base.
Pictured top: A CH-53 being prepared for flight aboard NAS Pensacola. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.