Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Out Of The Shadows And Into The Light
May 25, 2014
.Secrecy was the overarching theme this week.
An appeals court agreed to let a GOP consultant keep his redistricting-related documents hush-hush.
In the closely tied lawsuit over the once-a-decade redistricting process, House staffers provided a peek into secret discussions between legislative aides and Republican operatives while the new maps were being drawn.
Meanwhile, open government advocates had a setback in their challenge to elected officials’ use of blind trusts to shield financial assets.
And a months-long whisper campaign about GOP powerhouse John Thrasher taking the helm of his alma mater finally emerged from the shadows, virtually turning off the lights for other candidates.
REDISTRICTING REDUX
In a blow to a coalition of voting-rights organizations fighting the state’s congressional map, an appeals court ruled Thursday that GOP consultant Pat Bainter’s documents can remain sealed.
Bainter contends that divulging 538 pages of documents from his Gainesville-based consulting firm, Data Targeting, Inc., could reveal trade secrets and endanger his firm’s First Amendment rights.
The information has been at the center of a long-running dispute between the consultants and the voting-rights organizations and voters challenging the map. The lawsuit argues the congressional districts violate the anti-gerrymandering Fair District amendments approved by voters in 2010.
The documents may remain secret, but the trial in that case, which kicked off Monday, pulled back the curtain on meetings between GOP consultants and legislative staffers and, for Capitol watchers, exposed some juicy tidbits about the dysfunctional relationship between former House Speaker Dean Cannon and former Senate President Mike Haridopolos.
On Thursday, Alex Kelly — a former House staffer who led the chamber’s efforts to draw the map — contradicted current House Speaker Will Weatherford’s testimony earlier this week that Weatherford did not know about a 2010 meeting between legislative staffers and Republican operatives.
The meeting has become a focal point for the map’s critics, as they try to build a case that party operatives improperly influenced the final shape of congressional boundaries. Under the Fair District amendments, lawmakers are barred from drawing lines that are meant to help or hurt political parties or candidates.
Kelly said Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, knew about the get-together and approved of Kelly’s attendance.
“I can’t say I remember his exact words, but I was blessed to go to the meeting,” Kelly said.
Earlier this week, Weatherford, who was chairman of the redistricting committee, had testified that Kelly did not ask for his permission — and didn’t need it, because committee staff worked for then-speaker Cannon.
“(Kelly) had not cleared it with me,” Weatherford said. “I didn’t know he was going. I didn’t know about the meeting.”
The trial began Monday with hours of grilling of GOP consultant Marc Reichelderfer, who repeatedly denied that he provided specific feedback to Cannon and Kirk Pepper, one of the speaker’s top aides, on how to craft new districts that would help Republicans.
Reichelderfer said he didn’t specifically recall what came of an email conversation with Pepper about a congressional map that Pepper gave him through an online program known as Dropbox.
“Actually, the Webster seat is a bit messed up,” Reichelderfer wrote in the email conversation, referring to the Central Florida district of Republican Congressman Dan Webster.
“Performance or geography,” Pepper responded.
Pepper testified that the exchange was a sarcastic one. He also admitted that he erred by secretly feeding redistricting plans to Reichelderfer in 2012 but denied that the arrangement tainted the redrawing of the state’s congressional districts.
According to computer records and testimony, Pepper in some cases provided Reichelderfer with copies of the plans being crafted by House mapmakers weeks before they became public.
“In hindsight, I wouldn’t have done that again,” Pepper said under questioning from David King, a lawyer for those challenging the map. “But it was intended to help a friend who was cut out of a process that determines how he makes his living.”
Pepper, who now works for Cannon as a lobbyist, said he gave Reichelderfer the maps without the then-speaker’s approval. Cannon, who is expected to testify next week, was upset when he found out about the transfer months later from media reports, Pepper said.
“I think he said that was stupid,” Pepper said.
ARE BLIND TRUSTS TOO SECRET?
The Florida Supreme Court on Wednesday sent a lawsuit challenging elected officials’ use of blind trusts to a lower court, likely delaying a decision in the case over the constitutionality of a 2013 law.
Jim Apthorp, former chief of staff to the late Democratic Gov. Reubin Askew, filed the lawsuit last week, arguing that blind trusts violate the “full and public” disclosure requirements of the Sunshine Amendment, which requires elected officials to provide details about their financial interests. The Sunshine Amendment is considered one of the late governor’s chief legacies, and Apthorp is represented by Talbot “Sandy” D’Alemberte, a close friend of Askew’s who helped craft the open-government law overwhelmingly approved by voters in 1976.
Apthorp’s petition asked the Supreme Court to prohibit Secretary of State Ken Detzner from accepting the qualifying papers of any candidate using a blind trust. The five-day qualifying period for this year’s candidates begins June 16.
According to the lawsuit, Gov. Rick Scott is now the only candidate known to use a blind trust. Scott received the blessing of the state ethics commission before transferring his assets to the blind trust during his first year in office.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, Senate President Don Gaetz and Weatherford, all Republicans, on Monday asked the high court to dismiss the case. Bondi’s lawyers also argued the case should be sent to a lower court if the Supreme Court did not dismiss it.
Apthorp’s attorneys filed a motion Wednesday seeking oral arguments in the Supreme Court. But just hours later, justices referred the case to circuit court in Leon County.
FAT LADY HASN’T SUNG YET, BUT…
Rumor once had it that Scott would pick Thrasher, a former Republican Party of Florida chairman and veteran lawmaker, to fill a vacancy in the lieutenant governor’s office.
That didn’t pan out. But ever since former Florida State University president Eric Barron announced in February that he was ditching his Tallahassee digs for the same job at Penn State University, Thrasher’s name has been at the top of the list of possible replacements.
This week, speculation about Thrasher’s interest in the post ended when FSU’s search committee took a “pause” so it could interview the St. Augustine Republican for the position.
On Monday, D’Alemberte, a Democrat who was the president of the university from 1994 to 2003, sent a letter nominating Thrasher. “During my time as president of the university, John repeatedly was the legislator who understood the need to support higher education and he always took a direct interest in the issues that related to FSU,” D’Alemberte wrote. “But for John Thrasher, there would be no medical school here at Florida State University.”
On Wednesday, search consultant Bill Funk told committee members that the “irregular” step of putting the search on hold was necessary because the “long-shadow” of Thrasher, who received undergrad and law degrees from FSU, had intimidated other qualified candidates.
“We’re not endorsing John for the role,” said Funk, founder and president of Dallas-based consulting firm R. William Funk & Associates. “But we are saying that John is casting a long-shadow. It’s limiting our opportunity to put together the kind of pool that this committee and that this university deserves.”
The university’s Board of Trustees will get an up or down recommendation from the committee some time after the Thrasher interview, which is set for June 11. The board’s chairman Allan Bense, a former House speaker, said Wednesday that the process “isn’t a done deal.”
The decision to interview Thrasher quickly drew opposition from students and faculty. Several claimed Thrasher has “hijacked” the process by covertly maneuvering for the post. Search committee members had said in February the selection would weigh more on academic credentials than political connections.
Jennifer Proffitt, president of the FSU chapter of the United Faculty of Florida, expected the process would lean toward Thrasher, but said the action Wednesday was more “blatant” than she anticipated.
“I think this meeting effectively shut down anyone who would have applied,” Proffitt said.
STORY OF THE WEEK: A Leon County circuit judge heard testimony in a trial about whether the Legislature violated constitutional requirements when drawing congressional districts in 2012.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Florida TaxWatch has once again shown that it is possible to be absent all year long from any engagement in the budget process, do no research into the merits of any appropriation, utter not one word of testimony on any proposal or alternative and still convince well-meaning people to donate hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep a well-paid staff employed to absolutely no positive effect other than to get mentioned in one news cycle.” — Senate President Don Gaetz, after Florida TaxWatch recommended that Gov. Rick Scott veto about $121 million from the new state budget.
By Dara Kim, The News Service of Florida
James Calvin Kast
May 25, 2014
Mr. James Calvin Kast age 72, of Pierce Lane in Castleberry, passed away early Saturday morning May 24, 2014, at his residence after an extended illness. Mr. Kast was a native of Century and life-long resident of Castleberry. He was a logger and a member of the Vines & Branches Church.
Survivors include four sons, James Richard Kast of Repton, Jerry (Angie) Kast of Castleberry, Terry (Angie) Kast of Evergreen and James Rivers of Tuscaloosa; one daughter, Jennifer (Terry) Hayhurst of Benson, MN; one brother, Donnie Kast of Evergreen; two sisters; Carolyn Laster of Castleberry and Ernestine Caffey of Orange Beach; 12 grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren.
Mr. Kast was preceded in death by his daughter, Pam Williams and a brother, Buford Kast.
Funeral services for Mr. James Calvin Kast are scheduled for Monday, May 26, 2014, at 2 p.m. at Craver’s Funeral Home Inc with Rev. Jason Blackwell officiating.
Interment will follow in New Hopewell Cemetery in Castleberry.
Craver’s Funeral Home of Brewton is directing.
Local FCAT Scores Mixed; Some North Escambia Schools Soar
May 24, 2014
Partial results were released Friday from this year’s FCAT 2.0 testing, with several North Escambia schools making the highest scores in the county.
The results released Friday include third grade reading, third grade math, fourth grade writing, eighth grade writing and 10th grade writing. Test scores for other subjects and grades will be issued sometime in June.
In Escambia County, 55 percent of third grade students were proficient in reading, and 49 percent were proficient in math. In writing, 42 percent of fourth grade students, 46 percent of eighth graders and 58 percent of 10th grade students were at a 3.5 proficient level or greater.
North Escambia Standouts
With 84 percent of students proficient in third grade reading, Byrneville Elementary School was second in the district only to Pensacola Beach Elementary School. At Molino Park Elementary School, 95 percent of third graders were proficient in math, the highest level in Escambia County, with Bryneville Elementary second at 81 percent. Only 11 schools in the entire state scored higher than Molino Park.
In writing, Ernest Ward Middle School had 73 percent of eighth graders score a proficient grade level score of 3.5 or greater — the highest school score in Escambia County. Second highest were the Beulah Academy of Science and Bailey Middle Schools with 56 percent.
West Florida High School was tops in tenth grade writing with 81 percent at score of 3.5 or greater; Northview was fourth at 62 percent behind the Escambia Virtual Academy and Pensacola High School.
North Escambia Scores
Here are the results from North Escambia (District 5) schools:
Third Grade Reading And Math
Writing
Flooding Repair Update From Escambia County Public Works
May 24, 2014
Escambia County’s initial damage assessment noted roughly 740 line items of issues that needed a form of action to be taken. To date, approximately 500 of those items have been addressed and several in-depth drainage studies to assess some of the hardest hit areas of the county have been initiated in areas such as Lake Charlene, Ponderosa, Chandler and Holsberry.
Additional priority areas to be improved include Crown Pointe Subdivision, Elcino Drive, Galvin Avenue, Little Creek Drive and Sea Glades Subdivision.
The following is an update of infrastructure repairs occurring throughout Escambia County by the Public Works Department:
Blue Springs Road (Crescent Lake Area)
Utilities and access to the homes have been restored due to the installation of a temporary road. A new sewer main with laterals, water main with service line, gas main and service replacement have been installed. Approximately 70 percent of the damaged areas along the road have been filled with compact subgrade. Work will continue until the remaining portions of the roadway are filled with a new roadway surface, the curb is restored, driveways are rebuilt and storm water inlets and pipes are repaired or replaced.
Plans are being finalized to remove the sediment from Crescent Lake and work is expected to begin the week of May 26.
Emergency Repairs Nearing Completion
By the end of Friday, May 23, the following roads were expected to be complete:
- Augusta Avenue
- Atlanta Avenue
- Bridgedale Road
- Chemstrand Road
- Copper Ridge
- County Road 297A
- Detroit Boulevard
- Dog Track Road
- Galvin Lane
- High Pointe Drive and Constantine Drive
- Klondike Road
- Meadowbrook Drive
- North Loop Road
- Olive Road (east of Johnson Avenue)
- Waycross Avenue
Emergency Repairs Nearing Commencement
Emergency repairs are anticipated to begin the week of May 26 at the following locations once plans are finalized:
- Calvin Street and Ronda Street
- Johnson Avenue
- Lake Charlene Drive
- New Warrington Road Ditch
Holding Ponds
The county has hired a consultant to inspect and perform an engineering assessment of approximately 150 holding ponds. The ponds will be assessed for needed repairs as well as opportunities for enhancements. Once assessed, a plan will be developed to accomplish the repairs and/or enhancements utilizing both county resources and private contractors.
Road Construction Activities Suspended for Memorial Day Weekend
May 24, 2014
To promote safety and reduce congestion over the Memorial Day weekend, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is suspending normal road construction activities on all major roads in Northwest Florida, including those in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties. There will be no work on state roads requiring lane restrictions from Saturday, May 24 through Monday, May 27. All major roads will be open to normal traffic.
If an emergency situation occurs during the upcoming holiday weekend requires a lane closure, repairs will continue until that lane is reopened to the traveling public and all safety issues related to the traveling public have been addressed.
Motorists are reminded to use caution while traveling through work zones around barricades and equipment on current projects. Travelers can access Florida’s 511 service from cell phones, landlines, and at www.FL511.com to receive updates on travel in the area.
Youth Football, Cheer Registration Today For NWE, Cantonment, Century, Flomaton
May 24, 2014
Registration will continue today for youth football and cheerleading at Northwest Escambia, Cantonment, Century and Flomaton.
NORTHWEST ESCAMBIA FOOTBALL & CHEERLEADING
Northwest Escambia Youth Football and Cheerleading will hold registration for the 2014 season at Travis Nelson Park in Bratt and at Don Sutton Ball Park in Molino from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on the following Saturdays: May 24, 31; June 7, 14, 21, 28; and July 12, 26. The deadline to sign up for cheerleading is June 21.
Registration fee for football is $85, with NWE providing equipment and game uniforms. Registration fee for cheerleading is $200 and includes uniform, midriff, pom-poms, monogrammed bag, hair bow and trophy. Payment plans are available for football and cheerleading.
Proof of residency or proof in enrollment in Bratt Elementary, Byrneville Elementary, Molino Park Elementary or Ernest Ward Middle School is required. A copy of the child’s birth certificate is also required.
For more information call (850) 449-3185 for football or (850) 377-3102 for cheer.
CANTONMENT COWBOYS
Registration is open for the 2014 Cantonment Cowboys football season.
Registration is available online at www.cantonmentcowboys.org/register/. Players/cheerleaders also can register starting May 31st each Saturday from 9 a.m. until noon through July 26th at the Cantonment Cowboys Football Field at 681 Well Line Road.
For more information, visit www.cantonmentcowboys.org or www.facebook.com/CantonmentCowboys.
CENTURY YOUTH FOOTBALL
Registration for Century Youth Football is 8 a.m. until noon every Saturday at the Nadine McCaw Park (the former Roadside Park) on North Century Boulevard. Registration is $20.
FLOMATON YOUTH FOOTBALL & CHEERLEADING
Early sign up day for Flomaton Youth Football and Cheerleading is Saturday, May 31 at the pavilion at Hurricane Park. Registration fee is $35 for both football and cheerleaders. After this early date, registration for football and cheerleading will increase to $50. A copy of the child’s birth certificate, insurance card and two proofs of residency are required.
Northview Chiefs Top The Jay Royals In Spring Preview
May 24, 2014
The Northview Chiefs outscored the Jay Royals a total of 50-21 during a Spring Jamboree Friday night at Merle North Stadium in Jay.
In the first quarter of play between the junior varsity and reserve teams, the Chiefs beat the Royals 22-0. And in the final three quarters with varsity on varsity, Northview downed Jay 28-21.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Northview Head Coach Sid Wheatley said he was pleased with good blocking from his offensive linemen Friday night.
I thought we were able to control the ball well on offense; our backs had a good night,” he said. “Defensively we were a little bit undisciplined in the way were keying what they were doing in the backfield. But those are little things we can fix.
Wheatley said the team will head into tough, focused four-day a week summer workouts with a focus on strength, conditioning and speed. “We are really going to try to grow together as a football team,” with eyes on another trip to state in Orlando.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Northview FFA Selected As One Of Florida’s Finest Chapters
May 24, 2014
The Northview High School FFA has been selected by the state organization as one of Florida’s Finest FFA Chapters.
The selection of these chapters is based upon the completion of the National Chapter Award program application. These chapters have excelled in the areas of student, chapter and community development and have worked hard to fulfill the mission of the FFA.
One member and one advisor from each of these chapters will be recognized on the main stage during the 2nd General Session of the 86th Florida FFA Convention on Wednesday, July 2nd. In addition, each of these chapters will represent Florida at the national level in the National Chapter Award Program.
Pictured top: The 2013-2014 Northview High School FFA officer team (front, L-R) President – Courtney Solari, Vice President – Courtney Weekley, 2nd Vice President – Haylee Weaver, Secretary – Bethany Reynolds, Chaplain – Tamara Barrows, (back row) Reporter – Kaitlyn Kleinatland, Public Relations – Tiffani Cruce, Sentinel – Tabitha Chavers, Historian – Hunter Kite, Parlimentarian – Mitchell Singleton and Treasurer – Moriah McGahan. Not pictured: Photographer – Jessica Stacey. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Northview Baccalaureate Service Scheduled For Sunday
May 24, 2014
The Northview High School Class of 2014 will hold their Baccalaureate program at 2 p.m. Sunday at Bratt First Baptist Church in the Family Life Center. Everyone is invited to attend.
The student-led and organized program will include scripture, prayer and original instrumental and vocal music provided by the Northview Senior Class Ensemble and students.
Bratt First Baptist Church is located on Highway 4 just west of Northview High School.
Pictured: The Northview High School Class of 2013 Baccalaureate Program. NorthEscambia.com file photo, click to enlarge.
Blood Center Needs Memorial Day Weekend Donations
May 24, 2014
It may be Memorial Day weekend, but the need for blood donations never stops.
lood transfusions are crucial to the health and well-being of our community. That’s why OneBlood is inviting any eligible blood donor to give during a special Memorial Day blood drive at donor center locations only. Blood donors who donate through Monday at a OneBlood Donor Center location only will receive a limited edition summer t-shirt and their choice of a $10 eGift card from the OneBlood donor rewards store.
Donations can be made at the Nine Mile Donor Center at 1999 East Nine Mile Road (just east of Target) 8 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. on Monday.
There are eight different blood types and each one holds a unique power to save lives. The OneBlood Target Your Type program gives donors the ability to learn the power of their blood type and how to donate the specific components of their blood that are most needed by area hospitals.
Generally healthy people age 16 or older who weigh at least 110 pounds can donate blood.