Temporary Ban Upheld On Florida Welfare Drug Tests
February 27, 2013
A federal appeals court Tuesday refused to lift an injunction against a 2011 Florida law that would require drug tests for people seeking public-assistance benefits — spurring Gov. Rick Scott to vow an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta said the state had not shown a “special need” for drug testing applicants to the program known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. It upheld a preliminary injunction issued in 2011 by U.S. District Judge Mary Scriven.
“As the district court found, the state failed to offer any factual support or to present any empirical evidence of a ‘concrete danger’ of illegal drug use within Florida’s TANF population,” the 38-page opinion said. “The evidence in this record does not suggest that the population of TANF recipients engages in illegal drug use or that they misappropriate government funds for drugs at the expense of their own and their children’s basic subsistence. The state has presented no evidence that simply because an applicant for TANF benefits is having financial problems, he is also drug addicted or prone to fraudulent and neglectful behavior.”
Scott quickly issued a statement calling the appeals-court ruling “disturbing” and saying it would be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“Welfare is 100 percent about helping children,” said Scott, who along with the Republican-controlled Legislature, approved the law. “Welfare is taxpayer money to help people looking for jobs who have children. Drug use by anyone with children looking for a job is totally destructive. This is fundamentally about protecting the well-being of Florida families.”
While the appeal focused on the preliminary injunction, the three-judge panel Tuesday backed Scriven’s view that opponents of the drug-testing ban were likely to prevail in the overall case. Opponents contended that the drug-testing requirement violated the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment’s ban on unreasonable searches.
The named plaintiff in the case, Navy veteran Luis Lebron, applied for benefits in 2011 as a college student and single father. Lebron, an Orlando resident who has been represented by attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union and the Florida Justice Institute, met the program’s requirements but refused to go along with a drug test.
“The court’s decision clearly states that the Fourth Amendment’s protection against being subjected to these kinds of invasive searches protects us all, including those of us who are struggling to make ends meet in this tough economy,” said Maria Kayanan, an ACLU of Florida attorney and lead counsel in the case. “The state of Florida can’t treat an entire segment of our community like suspected criminals simply because they are poor and are trying to get temporary assistance from the government to support their families.”
In a brief filed early last year, the Scott administration said TANF is designed to improve family stability and help beneficiaries get jobs.
“Drugs are antithetical to both goals, and thus drug testing furthers the program’s purposes,” the brief said. “TANF applicants, who must disclose a broad range of private information in order to participate in the program, have a substantially diminished expectation of privacy. Moreover, drug testing is commonly required in today’s society — particularly in the very job market that TANF prepares participants to enter.”
Also, while the law would require applicants to pass drug tests before they could receive benefits, the state contended that people who don’t want to comply with the program’s requirements are “free to walk away.”
But Tuesday’s appeals-court opinion, written by former Florida Supreme Court Justice Rosemary Barkett, said the state failed to show a “special need for its mandatory, suspicion-less drug testing of TANF applicants.”
“The simple fact of seeking public assistance does not deprive a TANF applicant of the same constitutional protection from unreasonable searches that all other citizens enjoy,” wrote Barkett, who was joined in the unanimous opinion by judges Adalberto Jordan and Randal Hall.
The ruling came less than a month before the appeals court is scheduled to hear arguments in a separate attempt by Scott to require drug testing of state employees. A district court also has ruled against Scott on that controversial plan, and the appeal will be heard March 22 in Miami.
By The News Service of Florida
6 Charged After Child Drinks Drano From Sippy Cup At Meth Lab
February 27, 2013
A young child is in critical condition after drinking Drano from a sippy cup at Santa Rosa County meth lab.
A total of six people have been charged in connection with the incident.
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office says the individuals were involved in the production of methamphetamines at an apartment on Pineywoods Place in Milton. Deputies said the child was in the bathroom of the residence where Drano — a common component in the production of meth — was being stored in a child’s sippy cup. The unsupervised child drank the chemicals from the cup, causing an immediate reaction.
The child was transported to an area hospital for treatment and remains in critical condition.
The child’s father, 36-year old Johnathan Wayne Glass, was charged with cruelty toward a child with great bodily harm, three counts of unlawful possession a harmful new legend drug without a prescription, four counts of drug possession without a prescription, one count of drug trafficking, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He is being held in the Santa Rosa County Jail without bond.
The child’s mother, 25-year old Victoria Lauren Cain, was charged with child neglect. Facing drug charges in connection with the meth lab are Debbie Anne Harris, 43; John Quincy Adams, 45; Justin Eric Godwin, 30; and Ronnie Eugene Olson, 39.
Lady Chiefs Improve To 4-0; NHS JV, Varsity Baseball Beat Freeport
February 27, 2013
The Northview Lady Chiefs improved to a perfect 4-0 on the young season with an 11-1 defeated of Catholic High School Tuesday in Pensacola. The Lady Chiefs will be in action again Friday as they host Freeport. First pitch for the junior varsity is 4:00, followed by the varsity at 6:00.
In baseball, the JV Chiefs beat Baker 11-3 and the varsity Chiefs downed the Baker Gators 10-0. The Chiefs will host Freeport Thursday, with the JV playing at 4:00 and the varsity at 6:30.
Pictured: Northview’s JV defeated the Baker Gatos Tuesday afternoon in Baker, 11-3. Submitted photos by Ramona Preston for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Dortch Road Bridge Closed For Repairs
February 27, 2013
The Dortch Road Bridge in North Escambia closed Wednesday for repairs, according to the Escambia County Public Works Department. It is estimated that the bridge, which was constructed over Beaver Dam Creek in 1965, will be closed for about 60 days. Dortch Road is located off Highway4 west of Bratt. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Area Students Visit Space, Rocket Center, Science Lab
February 27, 2013
Fifth graders from Escambia Academy in Canoe, Ala., recently took their annual field trip to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville.
The students from Elizabeth McDonald’s class learned the history of space travel, participated in chemistry labs, rode flight simulators and went rock climbing.
The students also stopped at the McWane Science Center in Birmingham where they were able to pet sharks and stingrays, learn about bugs and birds and get hands-on with a variety of scientific equipment.
Pictured top: Escambia Academy fifth graders at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville: (front, L-R) Olivia Lamb, Ragon Lassiter, Madison Hammons, Makenzie Rolin, Malorie Parker, Abby Stewart, Rachel Donald, Madelyn Smith, Mary-Stuart Lewis, Lily Woods, (middle row) Chase Bell, Gracie Girby, (back row) Troy Fountain, Shivam Bhakta, Chaz McGhee, Sam Smith, Bryant Quimby, Hart Taylor, Parker Reynolds and Matthew Ray. Pictured below: Troy Fountain, Shivam Bhakta, Sam Smith and Matthew Ray get a close look at a lunar rock. Pictured inset: Chase Bell and Madison Hammons conduct a science experiement. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Deputies Seek Man For Escape And As Possible Homicide Witness
February 26, 2013
Escambia County Sheriff’s investigators are looking for a man wanted on an outstanding warrant for escaping from work release and who may also be a witness in homicide.
Investigators said Andre Deanthony Rivers, 28, may have witnessed the homicide of Alfred Watson, who was killed in a wooded area in the 3400 block of Jordan Street on December 17.
Rivers is known to dress as a woman and go by the name “Camellia”. He frequents the Brownsville area and works as a prostitute. Rivers is 5-foot, 4-inches tall, weighs 171 pounds and has brown hair and brown eyes. River may also wear a wig.
Anyone that knows the whereabouts of Rivers is asked to call the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Blue Angel Parkway Crash Claims One Life
February 26, 2013
An Escambia County woman died in a wreck on Blue Angel Parkway at Saufley Field Road early Tuesday morning.
The Florida Highway Patrol said vehicles driven by 60-year old Darlene McNew Renee and 44-year old Peter A. Amador, both of Pensacola, collided in the intersection about 1:20 a.m. The FHP said it was unclear which driver ran the red light at the intersection.
Renne was pronounced deceased following the crash; Amador was taken to Sacred Heart Hospital with minor injuries.
Pensacola Council Backs Gas Tax For ECAT; Barry Talks Vote To Rescind
February 26, 2013
The Pensacola City Council has voted, in spirit, to send the proceeds of a four-cent gas tax increase to the Escambia County Area Transit system.
There had been unofficial word from Mayor Ashton Hayward’s office, announced County Commissioner Gene Valentino at a county meeting, that Pensacola might instead use the additional gas tax funds as incentives for Project Stallion, — ST Aerospace with 500 jobs that is considering a location at the Pensacola International Airport. Pensacola is expected to collected over $700,000 annually from the gas tax.
Monday’s vote by the city council is not binding. Instead, they must vote in an official meeting to approve a written agreement with the county to turn over the four cent tax collected within the city limits to the county. The tax won’t go into effect in the city or the county until 2014.
Speaking at a town hall meeting in Molino Monday night, Escambia County District 5 Commissioner Steven Barry said he would vote to rescind the gas tax altogether, but after the city council’s vote Monday he considered unlikely that two additional commissioners (for a majority) would vote to rescind the tax.
“We are disproportionately burdened by the tax in District 5,” Barry said, citing the limited number of ECAT routes serving much of the district. The Escambia County Commission approved the tax increase the day before Barry took office.
The Town of Century has also refused to agree to remit their portion of the tax to the county, claiming it would potentially force the three gas stations in Century to close as drivers cross the state line and purchase cheaper gas in Flomaton.
Century asked the Escambia County State Legislative Delegation to support a bill exempting Century from the tax, but that idea failed because Florida law won’t allow the exemption. Century is now considered a push for a constitutional amendment to nix the tax in Century.
Pictured top: Pensacola City Council President P.C. Wu at Monday’s meeting of the council. Pictured inset: Escambia County District 5 Commissioner Steven Barry addresses the ECAT gas tax during a town hall meeting in Molino Monday night. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
U.S. Supreme Court Sends W.D. Childers Case Back To Appeals Court
February 26, 2013
Nearly a decade after former Florida Senate President W.D. Childers was convicted on a bribery charge, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday gave him at least a procedural victory in a challenge stemming from arguments that he didn’t receive a fair trial.
The Supreme Court, in a brief order, sent Childers’ case back to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta for further consideration. The challenge has been pending in the Supreme Court since 2011, and Childers, 79, already has been released from prison after serving nearly three years.
Amy Adelson, an attorney for Childers, said the Supreme Court order offers another chance to get the conviction vacated, which she said would be “great vindication.”
The colorful Childers, who represented Pensacola in the Senate for 30 years, was convicted on bribery and unlawful compensation charges that arose during his later stint on the Escambia County Commission. Childers left the Senate in 2000 because of term limits.
Childers was accused of paying another county commissioner, Willie Junior, for a vote to support buying a soccer complex. Junior reached a plea agreement in which he was required to testify against Childers and the owner of the property involved in the deal, Joe Elliott.
Attorneys for Childers contend that Junior changed his testimony to more-directly implicate Childers, after Elliott received an acquittal. They alleged in court documents that Junior changed his testimony because of concerns about losing the plea deal.
Childers, who was accused of giving Junior a cooking pot filled with money, was convicted in April 2003 and was in prison from 2006 to 2009, according to state corrections records.
Monday’s Supreme Court order relates to long-running arguments about whether Childers’ attorneys were able to fully cross-examine Junior and whether Florida courts properly dealt with the former senator’s claims that his federal constitutional rights had been violated. The claims were based on the Sixth Amendment “confrontation clause,” which focuses on the ability of criminal defendants to cross-examine witnesses.
Childers’ attorneys contended that the state 1st District Court of Appeal, in upholding Childers’ conviction, did not address the federal constitutional issue. In 2011, a majority of the full 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected those arguments, prompting the challenge to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court’s order does not detail the reasons for sending Childers’ case back to the federal appeals court, but it cites another Sixth Amendment case from California that was decided last week.
By The News Service of Florida
Youth Tour To Washington Winners Announced
February 26, 2013
Two local students have won the Escambia River Electric Cooperative Youth Tour to Washington contest.
Taylor Brook from Northview high School and Kayla Flowers from Jay High School will represent EREC on the Washington Youth Tour in June. While in Washington, Brook and Flowers will see the sights, learn about the nation’s capital and rural electrification while making new friends from across the country.
Students from across the EREC service area interviewed with an independent panel of judges. Contestants were judged on their knowledge of EREC and the history of rural electrification. Personal attributes of each candidate such as character, academic ability, personality and leadership abilities were also considered.
Pictured top: Youth Tour to Washington winners Kayla Flowers (left) from Jay High School and Taylor Brook from Northview High School.