Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Game On For Gambling, Water War
October 6, 2013
There was no shutdown in state government this week, even as federal agencies closed their doors because of a budget squabble between congressional Republicans and President Barack Obama.
In fact, most state agencies were expected to weather the ripple effects of the shutdown with relatively little trouble, as long as it doesn’t drag on too much longer. “We are working closely with our agencies to monitor any potential state impact,” a spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Scott wrote in an email.
But it was quiet enough in Tallahassee and other corners of state government that it could almost be mistaken for a shutdown. New laws took effect with relatively little fuss, and preparations were made for a second week of committee meetings ahead of the 2014 legislative session.
A gambling study was being edited to ends that are unclear. And there were so many battles over fresh water that it was easy to mistake the political scene for a post-apocalyptic Kevin Costner movie. Karen churned off the coast, a reminder that hurricane season is still in full swing.
For the time being, though, the troubles affecting Washington, D.C., remained far removed from Florida.
ROUND AND ROUND IT GOES
The opening bid on expanded gambling in Florida didn’t initially seem as if it would go well for those who want to open resort casinos in Florida or those who just want more opportunity to play blackjack. A draft of an analysis by The Spectrum Gaming Group, obtained by the News Service of Florida, suggested that making a play at Las Vegas’ status as the nation’s premier gambling destination wouldn’t boost the economy much.
“Overall, Spectrum believes that the expansion of casino gambling, whether on a small scale or very large scale, would have, at best, a moderately positive impact on the state economy,” according to the draft report.
Lawmakers plan to rely heavily on the economic analysis by Spectrum to craft the state’s gambling landscape during the 2014 legislative session.
But at least some lawmakers seemed to be seeking a different deal. They insisted they weren’t trying to rig the game, just trying to get a firmer set of numbers. But on Tuesday, Spectrum executives asked for another 30 days to complete the study conducted with its partner Regional Economic Models Inc., or REMI. Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, said the Legislature asked for the revision because of questions raised by the Legislature’s economist, Amy Baker.
“We must respectfully request an extension of the deadline in order to fully review the results of the REMI model, which require more detailed examination to ensure their accuracy, and that those results are presented in a manner that is clear and understandable to all readers,” Spectrum Managing Director Michael Pollock wrote Tuesday in a letter to Gaetz and House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel.
A month ago, legislative staff asked Spectrum to revise a previous draft of the report because of concerns about assumptions built into the REMI analysis.
The analysis was based in part on an assumption that a compact with the Seminole Indian Tribe, set to expire in 2015 unless reauthorized by the governor and the Legislature, would be renewed. The part of the deal at issue gives the Seminoles the exclusive rights to operate card games like blackjack and baccarat at tribal casinos in exchange for about $233 million in annual payments to the state.
After this week’s move to rework the numbers again, Gaetz insisted that the report was not rejected because of its content.
“The Legislature has not and will not request that any outcomes be changed,” he wrote.
But on Friday, Senate Gaming Committee Chairman Garrett Richter, R-Naples, issued a memo to the committee members accompanied by a highly-marked up version of the report identifying areas “needing clarification and explanation.” Spectrum analysts will appear at a committee meeting Monday.
Numerous tables — along with conclusions — based on the REMI model are highlighted, including one which said the state would lose $22 million a year under “the most robust” gambling scenario of 33 casinos and six destination resorts throughout the state.
“Please disregard economic and fiscal impact calculations and findings in this section,” reads a note by committee staff director John Guthrie attached to many of the melon-colored problematic portions in the report.
FLORIDA ROLLS DICE IN WATER WAR
Meanwhile, the water wars continued with a new salvo against Georgia, as Florida filed a lawsuit Tuesday in the U.S. Supreme Court as part of a long-running battle with the Peach State over river withdrawals that Florida says have damaged Apalachicola Bay.
The only question seems to be whether it’s too late to help the Franklin County seafood workers who were already struggling to survive.
Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi followed through on an August announcement that Florida would seek injunctive relief so more water would flow to the bay, which collapsed last year in the face of a historic drought and dwindling releases of freshwater from Georgia.
The lawsuit is the latest skirmish in a 23-year dispute among Florida, Georgia and Alabama about the water in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin.
According to the lawsuit filed Tuesday, Georgia is using more than 360 million gallons of water daily and expects that figure to nearly double to 705 million gallons daily by 2040.
“Peak withdrawals, associated with watering lawns, car washing, golf courses, and parks, come when inflow needs are most critical to Florida — the dry summer months,” the lawsuit said. “Conservation efforts in Georgia have been minimal, even though it is the most cost-effective and readily available way to meet Georgia’s growing demands.”
But a spokesman for Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal said the state would defend its water rights.
“The only ‘unmitigated consumption’ going on around here is Florida’s waste of our tax dollars on a frivolous lawsuit,” said Deal’s communications director, Brian Robinson.
The bay’s historical productivity has come from its mix of saltwater and freshwater, but without enough freshwater coming from Georgia, the mixture is too salty for oysters and other seafood to thrive. Historically, the bay produced 90 percent of Florida’s oysters and 10 percent of the nation’s supply, but no more.
“The oyster houses aren’t able to fill their orders,” said Dan Tonsmeire, executive director of Apalachicola Riverkeeper. “The people ordering the oysters go somewhere else, so they lose their market.”
There have been a variety of skirmishes about the water over the decades, but Scott’s office said this lawsuit differs from others because “those cases addressed the management of the interstate waters by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, not depletions by the states. This case goes directly to the source of the harms suffered by Florida and Apalachicola Bay — upstream consumption and storage of water by Georgia.”
But while there was a lack of freshwater in Northwest Florida, there was a surplus of it in some parts of South Florida. So state Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, asked Congress on Thursday to give control of Lake Okeechobee to Florida in an effort to cut back on harmful water releases into estuaries on both sides of the lake.
“The Army Corps of Engineers has been running this project for decades, they have failed, and they need to be replaced with those of us in Florida that we can vote for or against and people that have our best interest at heart,” Negron said.
Negron asked Congress to wrest control of the of the lake from the Army Corps of Engineers as members of Congress repeatedly expressed bipartisan support for longstanding efforts to clean waterways east and west of the lake and to secure funding so more water can be directed to the south.
The Army Corps, which didn’t have representatives at the meeting due to the federal government shutdown, tries to maintain the water level of the lake between 12.5 feet and 15.5 feet to lessen stress on the dike, which is basically a 30-foot-high earthen structure that surrounds the lake.
HIGH-STAKES PURGE STARTS AGAIN
Secretary of State Ken Detzner traveled Thursday to Panama City to pitch a renewed non-citizen voter purge process to skeptical elections supervisors.
A similar effort last year led to months of political controversy and legal fights. It all began when the state sent the names of nearly 200,000 potentially ineligible voters to elections supervisors, telling them that the people on the list may not be U.S. citizens and, if they weren’t, to scrub them from the voting rolls.
Detzner and Gov. Rick Scott said they were trying to make sure ineligible people didn’t vote, but Democrats accused them of trying to suppress the minority vote — and using a slipshod system to do it. Criticisms from the left escalated after analysis of the names showed that more than half of the flagged voters were minorities, who helped boost President Obama to victory in 2008 and in 2012.
Detzner admitted the state mishandled last year’s purge but made clear to more than a dozen Northwest Florida elections supervisors on Thursday that state elections officials have a new process of identifying potentially ineligible voters that shows they learned from last year’s mistakes. To underscore that message, the Department of State has dubbed the effort “Project Integrity.”
“It’s going to start very slowly. It’s going to be deliberative,” Detzner said. “We want to make sure that you’re confident that the information we are giving you is the kind of information you demand from the Division of Elections.”
The state will start checking eligibility only of new voter applicants, and will again match voting applications with driver’s license records that include information about legal status and an “alien registration number” for non-U.S. citizens, who are allowed to drive.
If the voter shows up as a potential non-citizen, the state will then use the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or SAVE, database, to check out his or her legal status. The records will then be manually checked by someone in the state Division of Elections before being sent to local supervisors, who are the only ones authorized to remove a voter from the rolls.
“This is not data dumping back and forth where we send lists to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and we send thousands of lists up to SAVE,” Detzner assured the supervisors.
But Democrats accused Scott, who is seeking re-election, of another election-year ploy aimed at reducing the number of minority voters.
“It’s an attempt to suppress voting because you can’t win an election fair and square without doing it,” Florida Democratic Party Chairwoman Allison Tant told reporters on a conference call Thursday.
Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz accused Scott of trying to scare voters into believing that the voting rolls are riddled with non-citizens. Fewer than 200 of the nearly 200,000 voters flagged as potentially ineligible turned out to be non-U.S. citizens last year.
“If your path to victory requires voter purges and suppression then you are not fit to govern and you certainly don’t deserve a second chance,” Wasserman Schultz said.
Detzner has insisted all along that he’s just doing his job, which requires him to make sure the central voter database is clean of ineligible voters, including felons, deceased persons, people who’ve been deemed mentally incompetent by judges and non-citizens.
STORY OF THE WEEK: A draft of a $400,000 study indicates that expanded gambling in Florida would have a relatively minimal impact on the economy. But the final version will be reworked, with Senate Gaming Committee Chairman Garrett Richter, R-Naples, saying the report was too confusing and needed to be reviewed for accuracy.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “I don’t take my direction from political parties or leaders of particular groups. I listen to people who have positive contributions to make and look for ways to accommodate their needs, but most important is the credibility and reliability of the work that we do. I intend to follow the direction of the Florida Legislature,” Secretary of State Ken Detzner, after meeting with elections supervisors to pitch a renewed purge of non-citizens from voting rolls.
by Brandon Larrabee and Dara Kim, The News Service of Florida
Prep Football Schedule
October 6, 2013
Here is a look at this week’s high school football schedule around the North Escambia area:
FLORIDA
Thursday
- *West Florida at Rutherford, 7 p.m.
Friday
- Tate at Washington, 7:30 p.m.
- Jay at Graceville, 7 p.m.
- Crestview at Pine Forest, 7:30 p.m.
- *Mosley at Gulf Breeze, 7 p.m.
- Leon at Escambia, 7:30 p.m.
- Milton at Catholic, 7:30 p.m.
- Niceville at Navarre, 7:30 p.m.
- Fort Walton Beach at Pace, 7:30 p.m.
OPEN: PHS, Northview
ALABAMA
- Southern Choctaw at Flomaton
- Escambia Co. (Atmore) at Monroe County
- South Choctaw Academy at Escambia Academy
- Southside at T.R. Miller
- W.S. Neal at Monroe County
Karen Dissapates; Cold Front Coming
October 6, 2013
Karen is gone, and a cold front is set to bring northerly winds and cooler temperatures.
Here is your official North Escambia forecast:
- Sunday Night: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 1am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 60. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming northwest after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
- Monday: Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 79. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph.
- Monday Night: Clear, with a low around 50. North wind around 5 mph.
- Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 81. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Tuesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 53. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
- Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 82. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
- Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 54. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
- Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 86.
- Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 56.
- Friday: Sunny, with a high near 84.
- Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 60.
- Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 84.
Photo Gallery: Jay And Northview Cheerleaders
October 6, 2013
Cheering on the boys of fall every Friday night are local high school cheerleaders.
For a photo gallery featuring the Northview and Jay high school cheerleaders, click here.
For a game summary and football action photos, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Halteman, Driver Wed
October 6, 2013
Lyndon and Norma Halteman from Walnut Hill are pleased to announce the marriage of their son, Jeremy Halteman to Bethany Driver. Bethany is the daughter of Daryl and Kay Driver from Harrisonburg, VA.
The wedding was on August 10, 2013, at the Dayton Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, VA. A reception was also given in their honor on September 7, 2013, at Mennonite Christian Fellowship in Atmore.
Jeremy is a 2008 graduate of Northview High School and a 2013 graduate from St. Petersburg College. Bethany graduated from Clearwater Christian College in 2012 with a major in business administration. They are currently living in Baltimore, MD, where Jeremy is completing his two year residency program for orthotics and prosthetics.
Dish Network Restores WKRG Temporarily For Karen Coverage
October 5, 2013
Media General today announced that in order to provide the company’s local television station viewers with important information about Tropical Storm Karen it has asked DISH Network to restore a number of its stations — including WKRG TV 5 Mobile/Pensacola to the satellite service.
“Providing our viewers with important weather and safety information during storms is an integral part of our responsibility to our local communities,” said George L. Mahoney, president and chief executive of Media General. “We will continue to do everything we can to reach a fair resolution with DISH on our retransmission consent agreement that has expired and have our programming permanently restored to the DISH satellite system as soon as possible. We look forward to continuing the conversation with DISH.”
WKRG will return to Dish Network for the period from 6 a.m. Monday until 12:01 a.m. Monday.
“We are pleased Media General broke its silence and agreed with our request to serve viewers,” said Dave Shull, DISH executive vice president. “While this permission is limited to four markets for two days, this is a productive outcome for viewers who rely on their local news the most.”
Four Juveniles Injured In Three Vehicle Century Crash
October 5, 2013
Four juveniles were injured in a three vehicle accident Friday night in Century.
The accident happened as the three vehicles approached Highway 29 on East Highway 4 and were involved in a chain reaction crash. All three vehicles were moved from the roadway into a gas station parking lot following the crash.
The four juveniles were transported by ambulances to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola with injuries that were not considered severe. Two of the juveniles were ages 5 and 6; the ages of the other two juveniles were not immediately available.
Further details have not been released as the Florida Highway Patrol continues their investigation.
The Century Station of Escambia Fire Rescue, Santa Rosa County Lifeguard EMS and Atmore Ambulance also responded to the crash.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
No Injuries In School Bus Crash
October 5, 2013
There were no injuries were a minor school bus accident Friday afternoon on Bowling Green Way.
The Florida Highway Patrol said a school bus with 35 passengers was eastbound on Bowling Green Way approaching a curve as the a 2011 Ford F150 driven by 54-year old Anthony P. Catanese of Cantonment also approached the curve. The left rear tire of the bus struck the left rear corner of the pickup’s bumper.
No charges were filed in the accident as the FHP continues their investigation.
Deputies Seek Home Invasion Suspects
October 5, 2013
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is looking for two suspects in a Friday morning home invasion in Oakwood Terrace at 700 Truman Avenue.
Just before 6 a.m., the victim was approached by two black males while standing outside his door. One male hit him in the head with a handgun. The victim was then dragged into an apartment where he was robbed of undisclosed belongings. The suspects fled in an unknown direction.
Investigators are currently looking for 20-year old Dave Walker and 24-year old Keith Rogers for questioning in this incident. If you have any information as to their whereabouts, contact the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 433-STOP.
Defending 1A Champ Chiefs Shut Out The Jay Royals
October 5, 2013
The Northview Chiefs rolled into their first district game of the season at Merle North Stadium in Jay Friday night with a 1-3 record, but they rolled out with a shutout victory that left little doubt the reigning 1A station champions are looking for another trip to Orlando.
With the 26-0 win over the Jay Royals, the Chiefs are Baker are both 1-0 in District 1-1A with a score that will be settled November 1 in Bratt.
For a photo gallery, click here. (Band and cheerleaders photos to be published Sunday and Monday.)
The 1-3 season start was not a place returning Chiefs team member really wanted to be, but it was a building experience of sorts, according to Coach Sid Wheatly, with the losses coming against much larger classification teams all the way up to 6A.
“We had some strong games really early on; we’ve been playing some really good competition,” Wheatley said. “And it has helped us get ready for play in our own district. You can see it with the effort and enthusiasm they played with tonight.”
Back down in 1A Friday night, the Chiefs had no real problem holding a strong Jay team scoreless.
“Our defense earned the shutout. I tell you, our defense had a great week of practice. Coach Derek Marshman does a great job with them,” Wheatley said. “Our offense was able to move the ball and get some quick scores. I felt like maybe we life a few points out on the field, but all in all in was a solid, solid win for us tonight.’
The Chiefs never allowed the Royals closer than the 17-yard line during the entire game.
“We just need to continue to work and take a lot of pride in that defense and see if we can’t get some more shutouts and build on that.”
The Chiefs lit up the scoreboard with 4:55 to go in the fourth quarter on a 17-yard run from Ladarious Thomas. With a good kick from Nathan Shipps, Northview was up 7-0.
In the second quarter, the Chiefs scored on a 46-yard pass from Daulton Tullis to Keondrae Lett and a 27-yard pass from Tullis to Neino Robinson. At the half, the Chiefs held a 20-0 advantage over the Royals.
The Chiefs would score once more on the night with a 50-yard quarterback keeper from Tullis with 6:04 to go in the third.
The yellow flags were flying Friday night in Jay, with eight penalties against the Chiefs and half a dozen against Jay. And that was just the first half. Fumbles were a problem for both teams. The Royals fumbled away two and recovered another; the Chiefs fumbled five times but recovered four.
“It was good to come out and get into district play and get a shutout,” Wheatley said.
The Chiefs (2-3, 1-0) have their second open week of the season next Friday night. Meanwhile, the Jay Royals (3-2, 0-1) will travel to Graceville to face a team under the leadership of former Northview Coach Ty Wise.
For a photo gallery, click here. (Band and cheerleaders photos to be published Sunday and Monday.)
Pictured; The Northview Chiefs beat the Jay Royals. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
