Florida, Alabama And 11 Other States File Suit In Pensacola Over Health Care Reform Bill
March 23, 2010
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum filed a lawsuit today in Pensacola against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Treasury and the U.S. Department of Labor alleging the Health Care Reform bill signed into law by President Obama this morning is unconstitutional. The bipartisan lawsuit was joined by 12 Attorneys Generals — including Troy King in Alabama — and is the first challenge of the new law.
“This bipartisan effort by Attorneys General around the country should put the Federal Government on notice that we will not tolerate the constitutional rights of our citizens and the sovereignty of our states to be trampled on,” said Attorney General Bill McCollum. “This law represents an unprecedented encroachment on the liberty of the American people, and I will pursue this litigation to the highest court if necessary.”
The Attorneys General from South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas, Utah, Louisiana, Alabama, Colorado, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Washington, Idaho, and South Dakota joined Florida’s lawsuit, filed today in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, located in Pensacola.
The complaint alleges the new law infringes upon the constitutional rights of Floridians and residents of the other states by mandating all citizens and legal residents have qualifying health care coverage or pay a tax penalty. By imposing such a mandate, the law exceeds the powers of the United States under Article I of the Constitution and violates the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution. Additionally, the tax penalty required under the law constitutes an unlawful direct tax in violation of Article I, sections 2 and 9 of the Constitution.
The lawsuit further claims the health care reform law infringes on the sovereignty of the states by imposing onerous new operating rules that Florida must follow as well as requiring the state to spend billions of additional dollars without providing funds or resources to the state to help subsidize the cost of implementation of the law. This burden comes at a time where the Florida faces severe budget cuts to offset shortfalls in an already-strained budget.
Under the new law, Florida will be required to vastly broaden its Medicaid eligibility standards to accommodate upwards of 50 percent more enrollees, many of whom would be required to enroll or face a tax penalty. Florida’s Medicaid program currently consumes more than a quarter of the State’s financial outlays.
Live: Watch President Obama Sign Health Care Reform Bill
March 23, 2010
The live feed is no longer available.
Investigation Concludes: $1.43 Million Stolen From Sheriff’s Office
March 23, 2010
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Department has concluded their investigation into a former department accountant, and they now say she stole over $1.43 million.
Cathy Lister was first charged in February with stealing $100,000 from the sheriff’s office, but further investigation determined that well over $1 million more was missing. The money was taken over a 10 year period from monies seized as part of investigations and placed the department’s Evidence Trust Fund.
“Investigators and the State Attorney’s Office are still obtaining and reviewing Lister’s bank records for evidence that will show how she disposed of the funds. It is expected that Lister’s charges will be amended by the State Attorney’s Office at some point in the near future,” Sgt. Ted Roy, ECSO spokesperson, said Tuesday.
Lister was 32-year employee of the department who retired from the finance division just days before her arrest.
“Recently implemented accounting practices along with discrepancies noticed by employees led to an investigation being launched,” Roy said in February. Lister was reportedly keeping two sets of financial records for the office.
Lister was released from the Escambia County Jail on $25,000 bond. Her trial is scheduled to begin in June. She has pleaded not guilty to the current charges against her.
Man Gets 10 Years In Prison For Tom Thumb Robbery, Escape, Stealing Tires
March 23, 2010
A 19-year old has been sentenced to 10 years in prison on charges related to a crime spree in which he robbed the Molino Tom Thumb, stole tires in Century to fix a flat on the getaway car and then escaped from deputies after he was arrested.
Antonio Demetrius Ewing , of West Highway 4, Century was found guilty of burglary of an unoccupied structure, first degree petty theft, robbery, grand theft, criminal mischief and escape.
Ewing was due in court on earlier concealed weapons charged on September 14, 2009. But instead, he went on the crime spree that day, beginning with the Tom Thumb robbery and continuing with his arrest, partially due to a NorthEscambia.com reader.
Surveillance video from the Tom Thumb (click here to watch) shows the 10 second robbery. Two people entered the front door, pushed a customer out the way, grabbed the entire register case and ran out the door. One of the suspects is shown wearing a dark colored shirt, white socks on his hands and a camouflage bandanna around his face.
About three hours later, Escambia County deputies were called to a reported suspicious person and a possible burglary on Alger Road in Century. When they arrived, they found a Pontiac Firebird with no tag in the parking lot of the Gospel Light Temple on Alger Road in Century.
That is where they found Ewing, with a flat tire. Deputies said Ewing had taken the tires and tools from a nearby shed, and he was trying to fit tires onto the Firebird — including tires that had no rims. According to deputies, the juvenile that was with Ewing had been given a ride by a passerby and was not with the car when they arrived.
While deputies were questioning Ewing about the stolen tires in Century, a deputy that was not in Century at the time realized he had read a comment on NorthEscambia.com’s story about the Tom Thumb robbery. The comment posted by someone with the name “me” mentioned a teal green Firebird with no tag being seen off the road on Sunshine Hill Road shortly after the robbery.
The deputy called Sheriff’s dispatchers on the the telephone, and dispatchers talked on the phone with deputies in Century — alerting them that they possibly had the Tom Thumb robber in custody. In the meantime, NorthEscambia.com was able to provide contact phone numbers for the poster “me” to deputies in Century. Deputies spoke to the poster’s husband in Molino, and he exactly described the car that deputies had found in Century.
When deputies searched the location provided by the NorthEscambia.com reader on Sunshine Hill Road at Cedar Springs Road, they found the cash register from the robbery of the Tom Thumb, parts of the vehicle where the suspects had apparently hit a stump, and money. White socks were also located in some brush.
Inside the car, investigators discovered a camouflage shirt that appeared to match the one used in the robbery.
Ewing was taken into custody and transported to the Century Precinct of the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office for questioning about the tire theft and about the Tom Thumb robbery. When deputies walked Ewing out of the Century Precinct to place him a cruiser to take him to jail, he ran. Deputies said Ewing ran across Highway 29 toward Century Woods Apartments where he lives. After a brief foot chase, Ewing was taken back into custody.
A 15-year old juvenile was also charged in connection with the incident.
Pictured top: Investigator Frank Way discovered camouflage clothing in the back of a car in Century on September 14. A camouflage bandanna was used earlier that morning in the robbery of the Molino Tom Thumb. Pictured top inset: Ewing in the back of a deputy’s car in Century. Pictured bottom inset: The cash register recovered on Sunshine Hill Road at Cedar Springs Road. Pictured below: The September 14 Tom Thumb robbery scene in Molino. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Tate Senior Best High School Auto Tech Student In Florida, Headed To Nationals
March 23, 2010
A young man from Cantonment really knows his way around under a hood; he has been named the best high school auto technology student in Florida.
Max Clark took first place in Escambia County in Automotive Technology at the University of West Florida. Then, on his 18th birthday, the Tate High School senior won first place in the CECF State Leadership Conference at an Orlando competition.
“It relaxes me, I like the challenge, it comes easy to me, and I’ve always liked working on hot rods,” Clark said of his love of auto repair.
On the recommendation of Gene Seales, Clark’s instructor at Tate, he will attend the Business Professional of America 2010 National Leadership Conference competition in Anaheim, California, in May.
“Max has been following in his dad’s footsteps since he was a little boy,” his mom, Cassie Clark, said. Max works at the family’s auto repair shop Wade Clark Auto Repair in Cantonment.
Max Clark’s trip to California is being funded in part by the Escambia County School District, Greenhut Construction and even his classmates at Tate. The students have sold doughnuts to help their friend.
Pictured above: Max Clark recently took a top automotive award in the state. Pictured below: Max Clark and coworker Shane at Wade Clark Auto Repair in Cantonment. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
11 Arrested In Half Million Dollar Cocaine Case
March 23, 2010
A federal criminal complaint has been filed charging 11 individuals with conspiring to distribute large amounts of cocaine.
The criminal complaint alleges that between January 2008 and the present Tracy Hull, 38, Karriem Jones, 37, Douglas Jones, 41, Donnelle Gulley, 29, Justin Odom, 19, of the Pensacola area; Jason Green, 23, and Perry Jennings, 25, of the Houston, Texas area; and Ernest Mallety, 59, Kevin Mallety, 28, Johnnie Mallety, Jr, 29, and Terry Dunning, 29, of the Moss Point, Mississippi area, were involved in a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine.
The charges stem from a long-term investigation involving law enforcement seizures of more than half a million dollars in cocaine and United States currency. The complaint details numerous trips by the defendants between Florida, Mississippi and Texas to transport cash in return for cocaine.
The defendants began to make their initial appearances Monday in federal courts in Pensacola, Houston, Texas and Gulfport, Mississippi. Detention hearings in Pensacola, to determine the pre-trial status of the defendants, have been set for March 25, 2010 before United States Magistrate Judge Miles Davis.
This case was investigated by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, the Pensacola Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations Division, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Air and Marine, and the United States Marshals Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David L. Goldberg.
Northview Varsity, JV Beat The Baker Gators; Lady Chiefs, JV Beat Jay
March 23, 2010
Northview 8 Baker 0
Northview defeated the Baker Gators 8-0 in varsity action Monday night. The Chiefs scored one in the first, three in the third, three in the fifth, and one in the seventh.
Leading hitters for Northview were Dakota Stuckey, who was 2 for 2, with four RBI’s, and two runs scored. His hits included a big 2-out 3-run-homer in the third inning.
Austin Arrington was 2 for 4, with three runs scored. Austin Reid was 1 for 3, including a double, and two runs scored. Dabney Langhorne also executed a run scoring squeeze bunt, for an RBI.
Austin Reid pitched seven strong innings for Northview. He allowed only two hits, walking one, and striking out eight. He improved his record to 4-1 on the
season. The Chiefs improved to 11-4 overal, including a perfect 5-0 mark in district play.
Northview 4 Baker 2 (JV)
The JV Northview Chiefs (7-3) beat the Baker Gators Monday 4-2.
Northview scored one in the second, one in the third, one in the fourth and one in the sixth. Baker scored in the first and fifth.
Harold Harrison had one hit and two runs for the Chiefs. Hunter Rigby was 2 for 4 with two RBI; Chance Jackson had one RBI; Logan Brown was 1 for 3 with a double and a run scored; Tyler Hester was 1 for 1; Jamie Gafford had one hit; Kevin Vaughn had one hit, one run scored and one RBI.
Vaughn pitched six for the JV Chiefs with two walks, six strikeouts and allowing two runs on four hits. Harrison pitched the seventh for Northview and record three strikeouts.
For more reader submitted photos from the game, click here.
SOFTBALL
Northview 5 Jay 4
The Northview Lady Chiefs beat Jay 5-4 Monday with two runs in the bottom of the seventh.
The Lady Chiefs (16-3) are 6-0 in the district with the win. Haley Simpson was 2-3 with a double and Misty Doran was 2-3 with a double. Doran pitched seven for NHS, with nine strikeouts.
Amber Steadham was 2-3 with a double for the Royals. Alicia Ashworth pitched seven for the Royals, with one strikeout and three walks.
Northview 12 Jay 7 (JV)
The Northview JV softball team beat Jay Monday afternoon 12-7. The JV Lady Chiefs improved to 6-1 with the win. The Chiefs were led by Samantha Johnson with two base hits, Morgan Payne with a single and a triple. Other JV players with one base hit were Lauren McCall, Tori Reid, Ashley Mooney, and Kristen Guinto. Shaquanna Jones picked up the pitching win to raise her record to five wins and one loss. The next game for the JV is Thursday at Baker.
Pictured: Action as the JV Northview Chiefs beat the Baker Gators on Monday. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Census Bureau To Hire 31 Census Takers In Century Area
March 23, 2010
The U.S. Census Bureau needs to hire 31 census takers in the Century area before next week. The jobs pay $12 per hour plus a 50-cent per mile reimbursement.
The Census jobs are part-time and will last about eight weeks.
There are two chances to register and take a skills test: Thursday, 6 p.m. at the Century Ag Building (next to the nursing home) and Friday, 10 a.m. at the Abundant Life Assembly of God Church.
For more information about census jobs and to take a practice skills test, visit www.2010censusjobs.gov.
Florida Lawmakers Opposed To Health Care Reform Bill; AG To Sue
March 23, 2010
A panel of Florida lawmakers approved a proposed resolution to block the requirement that people buy health insurance beginning in 2014, and Florida’s attorney general has joined 11 state attorney generals with plans to file legal challenges.
Florida Attorney General and likely Republican gubernatorial nominee Bill McCollum said he would push forward with a promised attempt to get the mandate thrown out in court before it can ever take hold.
McCollum said Monday that he would join counterparts in nine states – South Carolina, Nebraska, Texas, Utah, Pennsylvania, Washington, North Dakota, South Dakota and Alabama – in suing the federal government over the insurance requirement as soon as President Barack Obama signs the measure into law, expected to occur as early as Tuesday morning.
“What this amounts to is a tax on living,” McCollum said on a conference call with reporters. “It is therefore unconstitutional.”
McCollum said the mandate would cost the state more than $1.6 billion in higher Medicaid costs.
“There is no way we can provide what is in this bill and still pay for education and other programs,” McCollum said.
After lengthy debate Monday that could have fit in with the hours of rancor in Congress as the health care measure neared approval, the House Health Care Regulation Committee voted 10-3 to approve the resolution (HJR 37), sponsored by Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood.
As their counterparts in Washington did, Republicans on the panel painted the forthcoming expansion of health care as an affront to basic American freedoms. Democrats countered by echoing the arguments made in Congress for passing the bill, comparing the requirement that insurance be purchased to requirements for drivers’ insurance.
They added that even if the resolution was approved by the Legislature and voters, it would be trumped by the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution, which says that federal law trumps state law.
However, Plakon said that was a risk worth taking because “medical freedom” should be on the level of other freedoms ensconced in the Constitution’s Bill of Rights.
“We believe that an individual mandate that forces Floridians to buy insurance, whether on a federal basis like the one Washington passed last night or a state basis like the failed Massachusetts experiment is wrong for Floridians,” he told the panel as he implored them to support the resolution. “They are anti-freedom, anti-liberty and very likely unconstitutional. This will be the first time in American history that Americans will be forced to buy a product from a privately-held company for profit.”
Citing the U.S. Constitution’s Tenth Amendment, which leaves matters not dealt with by Congress to states, Plakon argued that the federal health care bill was a violation of states’ rights.
But Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, D-Tallahassee, countered that health care was a “federal issue” and was long overdue.
“Every society has realized – it seems but ours – that health of our fellow citizens is extremely important,” she said “The fifty states have tried for the decades we have been in a health care crisis and they have not done that. We get deeper and deeper and deeper into the hole.”
The Democratically-aligned AFL-CIO labor union agreed with Vasilinda, praising the Congressional health care bill and accusing the Republican-dominated panel of playing politics by pushing the resolution against it.
“The half million workers, retirees and families we represent woke up this morning ecstatic that something was finally done to reform our health care system,” Florida AFL-CIO lobbyist Rich Templin told the panel “What happened last night was finally, people in this state will know in just a few days that they can’t lose their coverage because they get sick.”
But Rep. Bill Proctor, R-St. Augustine, responded by asking Templin “is Washington or is the AFL-CIO going to help us pay” for extending health care coverage in the state.
Spring Break 4-H Fishing Clinic Open To Area Youth
March 23, 2010
Area youth will have the opportunity to learn about fishing during spring break.
Youth ages 8 to 13 are invited to a half-day fishing clinic at the Langley Bell 4-H Center. Participants will learn about fish and their aquatic habitats as well as basic fishing techniques. All materials will be provided and youth will fish in the pond on site.
The program will be held March 30 from 9 a.m. to noon. The cost is $5 for snacks and bait.
Participation is limited to the first 20 youth who pre-register by contacting the Escambia County UF Extension Office.
To register or for more information contact Andrew Diller at Escambia County UF-IFAS Extension, phone (850) 475-5230 or email apdiller@ufl.edu.