Stand Your Ground Panel: Keep Law Mostly Unchanged
February 23, 2013
The panel charged by Gov. Rick Scott with reviewing the state’s ’stand your ground’ self-defense law did not recommend any major changes to the statute, although it did make suggestions for tweaks by the Legislature in the upcoming session. The basic premise of the law isn’t challenged in the final report released Friday. Scott’s Task Force on Citizen Safety and Protection included lawmakers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, representatives of minority communities and law enforcement.
Scott appointed the panel amid outrage over last year’s shooting death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teen who was killed by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in Sanford. Zimmerman wasn’t arrested for months, until after national protests.
Senate Democratic Leader Chris Smith, who asked to be on the task force but wasn’t appointed, said he’d expected this result.
“When you put a task force together of people who wrote the bill and full of people who support ’stand your ground,’ I knew that the task force wouldn’t come up with anything earth-shattering,” he said.
The law basically allows those who feel their life is in danger in public to meet the threat with deadly force. If they claim that was the situation, they can go to a hearing before a judge and get a ruling on that issue without ever going to trial.
The task force issued a draft report in December that urged lawmakers to look more carefully at a few areas of the law that might be vague.
Smith, who convened his own task force after being left off Scott’s, has maintained that the law gives cover to those who attack others for revenge or as part of a crime.
“Anyone who looks at all of the data and all of the misuses of ’stand your ground’ – from Miami, where people are chasing someone down the street and stabbing them to death, to Tampa, where people are getting shot on playgrounds, all the way to Tallahassee, where gangs are using ’stand your ground’ as they shoot up the streets – anyone who looked at that data realistically would have come out with stronger recommendations, as my task force did,” Smith said.
Rep. Dennis Baxley, R-Ocala, the original sponsor of the bill and a member of the task force, said the statewide hearings and public debate helped to clarify that the law doesn’t cover those who assault someone they have pursued.
“The greatest benefit of the task force was a thorough review of what our self-defense law is and is not. I think it has brought understanding,” Baxley said. “I think moving forward, we’ll all see ways to make clearer application.”
The panel wants lawmakers to look more carefully at the part of the law that says the presumption of justifiable self-defense doesn’t apply when the person who uses defensive force is engaged in “unlawful activity.” Also at issue: how law enforcement officers should proceed in situations in which shooters claim to have stood their ground in self-defense.
Baxley said people will always try to claim that ’stand your ground’ covers their cases.
“And there will always be close calls near the foul line no matter where you put that line,” he said. ”But to automatically arrest people and detain them and they have to go on defense and prove their innocence is not consistent with our standard of legal care, which says you are innocent until proven guilty of something.”
Smith said Sen. David Simmons, R-Altamonte Springs and a co-sponsor of the law who also sat on the task force, will file a bill to make minor changes in the upcoming session.
The panel held a public meeting in Pensacola on November 13, 2012.
By The News Service of Florida
Ernest Ward’s ‘Got Talent’
February 23, 2013
Ernest Ward Middle School students proved they’ve “Got Talent” during a talent show Friday night.
The first place winner was Seth Killam for his guitar, harmonica and singing performance of “I Won’t Turn Back”, and second place went to Brianna Smith’s baton routine to “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”.
Additional awards were presented to Morgan Pope for selling the most tickets and Kaylin Glenn.
Pictured: Brianna Smith and Seth Killam, winners in the Ernest Ward Middle School’s “Got Talent” show Friday night. Submitted photo by Jacke Johnston, click to enlarge.
Property Tax Discount Deadline Is Thursday
February 23, 2013
Thursday, February 28 is the final day to pay real estate and personal property taxes and receive a one percent discount, according to Escambia County Tax Collector Janet Holley.
In order to receive the one percent discount, the payment must be:
- mailed with a postmark by February 28;
- left in a 24-hour drop box available at all offices by midnight February 28; or
- made on the tax collector website by midnight February 28.
Offices are located at:
- Downtown – 213 Palafox Place
- Marcus Pointe – 6451 North W Street
- Molino – 6440 Highway 95-A North, Suite A
- Warrington – 507 N. Navy Boulevard
Taxes can be paid online at www.escambiataxcollector.com. For more information, call (850) 438-6500, ext. 3252.
Today: 39th Annual Ruritan Farm Equipment Auction
February 23, 2013
The 39th Annual Walnut Hill Ruritan Club Farm Equipment Auction will be held today beginning at 9:30 a.m.
The auction includes not only farm equipment, but also household items like tools and small equipment, lawn and garden items, antiques and more. There will be a $2 minimum sale fee. Settlement must be made the date of the sale; unknown buyers must have cash, cashier’s check or a letter of credit from their bank.
Concessions will be available all day from the Ruritan Club.
The sale will be located at the Walnut Hill Community Center on Highway 97 just north of Ernest Ward Middle School.
Pictured: Hundreds attended the annual Walnut Hill Ruritan Club farm equipment auction last year in Walnut Hill. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Scott Pulls Off A Stunner
February 23, 2013
Nobody could have seen this coming when Rick Scott ran for governor in 2010.
But there he was Wednesday, standing before the microphones in the Governor’s Mansion and announcing he would support a massive expansion of the Medicaid program.
Sometimes, to borrow a well-worn cliché, you just can’t make this stuff up.
Scott, who launched his political career by railing against President Obama’s plans to overhaul health care, said he would support a Medicaid expansion that is part of the federal Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare. He added the caveat that the expansion should be re-evaluated after three years.
Democrats and groups like Planned Parenthood praised Scott for his stance — almost certainly one of the few times they have praised the Republican during the past three years.
Meanwhile, tea party activists and groups such as Americans for Prosperity — the conservative types heavily responsible for electing Scott in the first place — were aghast.
Scott, who is preparing for a re-election campaign in 2014, described his stance as a “compassionate, common-sense step forward.” If lawmakers go along with Scott, hundreds of thousands of Floridians will become eligible for Medicaid coverage, with the federal government paying 100 percent of the expansion costs during the first three years and at least 90 percent of the costs later.
“We have a choice — and it’s not an easy choice — but my job is to worry about every Florida family,” Scott said during the news conference at the mansion.
Scott also described the Affordable Care Act as the “law of the land,” after it was cemented by Obama’s re-election in November and a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year.
But one critical piece of that ruling — in a lawsuit spearheaded by Florida — was that states can’t be forced to go along with the Medicaid expansion. So while the Affordable Care Act will remain the law of the land, Medicaid expansion boils down to a policy choice.
Scott’s announcement also came less than two months after he got pilloried for using what critics said were inflated estimates about the Medicaid expansion’s future costs for the state. Those estimates were widely viewed as an attempt to raise doubts about going forward with the expansion.
Regardless, Scott’s new-found support is a political gamble. Ultimately, he will need the Legislature to agree to the expansion, which at least at this point appears far from certain.
Some key Senate Republicans indicated this week they might be willing to go along, and Scott could count on support from House and Senate Democrats. But House Republicans are another story, with Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, repeatedly saying he is “skeptical” about the expansion.
“Governor Scott has made his decision, and I certainly respect his thoughts,” Weatherford said in a statement emailed to reporters a few minutes before Scott made the announcement. “However, the Florida Legislature will make the ultimate decision. I am personally skeptical that this inflexible law will improve the quality of health care in our state and ensure our long-term financial stability.”
MEANWHILE, MORE MEDICAID
Just hours before Scott’s announcement, he and other Republicans got news they have sought for nearly two years: The federal government is poised to approve a proposal to enroll almost all Medicaid beneficiaries in managed-care plans.
Scott and the GOP-dominated Legislature approved the proposal in 2011, arguing it would help hold down costs and better coordinate care for Medicaid beneficiaries. It has been controversial, however, because Democrats and other critics contend that HMOs could squeeze the care provided to beneficiaries.
State and federal officials still have to work out the final details, but Florida received notice from Washington of an “agreement in principle.” Scott described the decision as a win for the state.
“Improving the coordination of care in Medicaid means we will be able to better manage chronic conditions and give more preventative treatments to help keep Florida families healthy,” he said.
Hundreds of thousands of Medicaid beneficiaries already get services through managed-care plans, but the changes would make enrollment mandatory. Federal officials recently approved a related proposal for Medicaid-eligible seniors who need long-term care; this week’s announcement applies to the broader Medicaid population, such as low-income women and children.
The timing of the notice and Scott’s announcement of supporting the Medicaid expansion created speculation that the issues could be linked. Bottom line, Florida leaders wanted statewide managed-care, while the Obama administration wants Medicaid expansion.
But Scott and Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, denied any connection, or quid pro quo, between the issues.
“I don’t think there’s any linkage,” Gaetz said. “There’s certainly no linkage in my mind.”
BILLS ARE MOVING (OR DYING)
Whatever their differences on the Medicaid expansion, Republican lawmakers showed this week that they remain in firm control as the legislative session gets ready to start March 5.
As an example, a House panel Wednesday approved a bill that would give the governor more power over the make-up of judicial nominating commissions. While those commissions might sound obscure and wonky, they play an important role in the process of choosing new judges.
Republicans said the changes would make judges more attuned to the wishes of the people, with Rep. Charlie Stone, R-Ocala, adding that the governor is an “elected official held accountable to the voting public.”
But Democrats, who lost a party-line vote on the bill, argued that the measure would make it easier for the Republican governor to stack the courts.
“The governor not only gets to pick who the judges are, he gets to pick who gives him the list,” said Rep. Cynthia Stafford, D-Miami. “I think that upsets the balance of power here. I think we need to keep an independent judiciary.”
Another example of Republicans flexing their muscles came as Sen. Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood, had to pull back a bill (SB 196) aimed at allowing civil unions, which would grant legal relationship rights to people who aren’t married.
Sobel is chairwoman of the Senate Children, Families and Elder Affairs Committee, but she decided against bringing up the measure for a vote, because it likely would have failed. Republicans make up a majority of the panel.
“I can count,” Sobel said.
Conservative opponents of the bill claimed victory. “Just hours ago, defeated SB 196, the stealth gay marriage bill,” tweeted John Stemberger, president of the Florida Family Policy Council, after the measure was postponed.
STORY OF THE WEEK: Gov. Rick Scott, a longtime critic of the federal Affordable Care Act, announced that he would support an expansion of the Medicaid program.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Will Medicaid expansion cover me for the knife (Scott) just buried in my back?” Henry Kelley, a tea party leader in Florida, said in a Twitter message after Scott’s announcement.
By The News Service of Florida
UWF Moves Forward With Conference Center, Hotel
February 23, 2013
The University of West Florida’s development arm is moving forward with a new hotel and conference center on North Davis Highway and Campus Drive.
The University of West Florida Business Enterprises, Inc. board of directors and the UWF Board of Trustees voted this week to approve an affiliation agreement with Vieste, LLC, of Chicago for the $41 million development.
The groundbreaking on the development is planned for June 2013.
Included in the mixed-use development plans are 100 hotel guest room suites as well as 300 rooms of housing for non-traditional and upper divisional students. Additionally, the agreement references potential decentralized restaurant parcels located within the multi-use site.
John H. Holman, Jr.
February 23, 2013
John H. Holman, Jr., a native of Pensacola and now a resident of Seminole, AL, since 1998, died February 20, 2013, at his home.
John was a U. S. Army veteran of World War II and was in the 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment. He worked at St. Regis, Champion and now International Paper Company in Cantonment for 44 years. John was an active member at the Three Rivers Baptist Church in Seminole, AL.
He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Emma Holman; a sister, Ethel McGhee and a nephew, Larry Hicks.
He is survived by two daughters, Brenda Carlson (Carl) and Dot Lane (Rocky); two sisters, Doris Hicks (Ken) and Helen McCrory (Bodie, deceased); nieces, Susan Simpson, Tracy Council, Cindy Hicks and nephews, Ken Hicks, Michael Hicks; an ex-wife, Lorraine Holman and her three daughters, Kathy (Rick) Pridgen, Sheila (Lu) Vic and Brenda Kassab.
A visitation will be held at noon Monday, February 25, 2013, at Pensacola Memorial Gardens Funeral Home until services begin at 1 p.m. with Pastor Dan Lowery officiating.
Interment will follow at Pensacola Memorial Gardens.
Special thanks to Covenant Hospice for all their help and support.
Jacquelyn G. Catches
February 23, 2013
Jacquelyn G. Catches was born in Montgomery, AL, on January 3, 1932, and passed away peacefully on Saturday February 16, 2013, after a brief fight with cancer.
Jackie spent 40 years doing the work she loved as an RN and teacher in the health care field. She loved helping others in both her professional and personal life. She was an active member of the Artist Guild in Pensacola and produced many beautiful works of art. She was also very active in keeping the members of her 1949 Pensacola High School Class in touch over the years. Jackie was looking forward to her annual trip to the Florida Folk Festival on Memorial Day weekend where for many years she has been in the center of a wonderful community of musicians and musical instrument crafters from throughout Florida. Her love and kindness will live on Jackie was preceded in death by her parents Lyman and Alice Goodnight; brother, Evan (Ruth) Goodnight; sister, Beverly Seifert and a son, Joseph E. Catches.
She is survived by her sons; John (Moira) Catches of Ponte Vedra Beach FL, James (Rita) Catches of Pensacola; daughter, Jennifer (David) Holmes of Pace; sister, Geraldyn (Ralph) Silva of Cantonment; nine grandchildren and four great grandchildren; several nieces and nephews and many close friends.
A Memorial Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Monday, February 25, 2013 at St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church, 303 Rocky Ave., Cantonment, with Father George officiating. Burial will follow at St. Michael’s Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Covenant Hospice, 5041 N. 12th Ave., Pensacola, FL 32504.
‘Golden Cow Dung Award’ Presented To Betty Coon
February 23, 2013
Ernest Ward Middle School faculty member Betty Coon received the fifth annual “Golden Cow Dung Award” from members of the Ernest Ward FFA. The award presented Friday morning featured a large piece of cow dung, painted a golden color.
(Cow dung, in case you did not know, is what you are probably thinking it is. It’s that natural byproduct that cows drop in the field. The award is 100 percent real dung spray painted a golden color. The golden piece presented Friday is actually the first award piece created four years ago.)
Coon received the award from the school’s FFA members as a “thank you” for supporting FFA. The same Golden Cow Dung Award was presented last year to history teacher Kenneth Hicks. Previous awards were presented to teacher’s assistant Lindsey Kelley, Family & Consumer Science teacher Kathy Ellis and four years ago to Principal Nancy Perry.
More than half a million members around the nation participated in National FFA Week activities at the local and state levels this week.
Pictured: Ernest Ward Middle School FFA Golden Cow Dung Award presentation to Betty Coon Friday morning. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Northview, Tate, Jay Cancel Softball, Baseball Games For Friday, Saturday
February 22, 2013
Due to weather, Northview High School has canceled softball and baseball games scheduled for Friday and Saturday, and Tate has canceled today’s baseball games.
In softball, the Lady Chiefs were scheduled to travel to Holmes County for JV and varsity play on Friday. Their next games will now be Monday at home as they host the Cougars of Escambia Academy. Game time is 4:00 for JV, 6:00 for varsity.
In baseball, Northview’s varsity was scheduled to travel to Brewton Friday night to play Opp. The NHS junior varsity was scheduled to open their season at home against Pensacola High Saturday morning, and the varsity was set to host PHS Saturday afternoon. The next games for the Chiefs will now be Tuesday, February 26 as the JV hosts Baker at 4:00 with the first pitch for the varsity set for 6:30.
Tate High School’s JV and varsity games for Friday have been canceled. They will be rescheduled for either Saturday or Monday — JV at 4:30 and varsity at 7 p.m.
Jay High School softball games for Friday have been canceled and will be rescheduled at a later date.