Senate Seeks Stability In Prison System; Evers Takes Wait And See Approach
January 6, 2015
A Florida Senate committee on Monday launched a preliminary review of the state’s beleaguered prison system, taking a first glance at how inmate deaths are being scrutinized since reports of abuse and corruption were published last year.
The Department of Corrections is grappling with investigations into inmate deaths at the hands of prison guards, lawsuits from whistleblowers who claim they faced retaliation for exposing cover-ups of inmate abuse and questions about inmate health care after the state’s privatization of health services began more than a year ago.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement took over as the lead agency to examine inmate deaths based on a “memorandum of understanding” between the department and the corrections agency in an attempt to inject more objectivity into the reviews, interim FDLE Commissioner Rick Swearingen told the Senate Criminal Justice Committee on Monday.
Of the 104 cases the FDLE has investigated, nearly a third — 31 — have been closed, Swearingen said. The majority of the cases are non-suspicious, he said. But the workload has become so great Swearingen is asking for an additional 66 workers and $8.4 million to cover costs of investigating the inmate deaths and use-of-force incidents by local law enforcement agencies.
“I understand,” Swearingen said. “We may not get to the point where we can say we have confidence. Rest assured FDLE will be the third-party unbiased investigator until that happens.”
Committee Chairman Greg Evers said he wanted to give Swearingen and especially Jones a few weeks on the job before deciding what the Legislature needs to do — if anything — to address a laundry list of issues, including inmate deaths.
Evers, whose Panhandle district includes three prisons and several work camps, said the committee would work with Jones to develop recommendations “to change the direction” of the department after the information-gathering stage is complete.
“There has to be a change of attitude. … How do you legislate a change of attitude? The jury’s still out on how we implement it. … But I think having a secretary that has a consistency of being there for four years would definitely be a change of attitude,” Evers, R-Baker, said.
Appointed by Gov. Rick Scott last month, Jones is the fourth chief of the corrections agency since Scott took office four years ago.
When asked if he was frustrated by the turnover in the agency’s leadership, Evers scoffed and said, “To say the least.”
Bradley, who served for two years as the powerful chairman of the Senate criminal-justice budget committee, has filed a measure that would require approval from Cabinet members, as well as the governor, of such appointments. Bradley’s proposal also would create a nine-member Florida Corrections Commission to help oversee the system. Among other things, the commission would conduct inspections of prison facilities, identify problematic facilities and monitor violence involving inmates and officers.
Evers said having the prisons and prison workers in his district gives him a more-intimate knowledge of the issues facing his committee.
“I think that it actually makes (my job) easier because I have a better understanding of the mentality of the folks that are working at the prisons from dealing with them on a day-to-day basis,” Evers said. “I have a better understanding of the problems from not only the inmate side but also the Department of Corrections side.”
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Linda Faye Magaha
January 6, 2015
Linda Faye Magaha, age 68 of Jay, passed away January 3, 2015, at Baptist Hospital in Pensacola with her son by her side. Linda was a loving mother, sister and friend to many. She never met a stranger and was generous to a fault. She always had a joke to tell and a love for life.
She is preceded in death by her parents, John and Texie Magaha of Jay.
She is survived by her son, John (Lisa) Weaver of Pensacola; sisters, Carole (David) Barnes of Tyler, TX, Glenda Moss of Jay, and Sharon (Dean) Kratchmer of Chumuckla; three grandchildren, Krista Weaver, Randi Weaver and Starla Weaver; nieces and nephews, Marla Lyle, Mark Masat, Melissa Robertson, Michael Moss and Ben Kratchmer.
A memorial service in honor of Linda’s life will be held on Friday, January 9, 2015, at Jay Funeral Home with visitation beginning at 5 p.m. followed by services at 6 p.m.
Sneak Peek: Gov. Rick Scott’s Inaugural Address
January 5, 2015
Tomorrow, Governor Rick Scott will give his second inaugural address. Below are excerpts of his remarks as prepared for delivery.
While we are focused on growing jobs in Florida- we must realize that positions our state as a fighter in a great movement against the silent growth of government. Many States, like Florida, are fighting to limit the growth of government and grow opportunity instead.
…
Over the last 20 years, millions of people have escaped from states with climbing tax rates to move to states with lower taxes. Why does this matter?
For starters, estimates say individuals who escaped these high tax states have taken with them around $2 trillion in adjusted gross income.
They are voting with their feet…
They are leaving states like New York, which lost $71 billion in adjusted gross income from 1992 to 2011. And, they are leaving Illinois, which lost $31 billion in adjusted gross income over that same period. The people that left New York and Illinois had one thing in common – their number one destination was Florida.
…
In fact, this national battle against growing government so intensely affects Florida that we just recently surpassed New York as the third largest state in the nation.
In Florida we are proving that government can do better without getting bigger.
…
I have a message today to the people of New York, Illinois, California, Pennsylvania and others: MOVE TO FLORIDA! We want you to keep more of the money you make because we understand it’s your money. We want your businesses to grow and succeed. We want to compete globally and win. Over the next four years, I will be traveling to your states personally to recruit you here.
…
Keeping our costs low doesn’t end with tax cuts – it also includes lowering the cost of higher education opportunities as well. That is why we have already worked with the Legislature to stop tuition increases in our undergraduate programs. And, to make higher education even more affordable in the next four years, we will increase the number of $10,000 bachelor degrees offered at our state colleges; while also holding the line on graduate school tuition.
…
In addition to cutting taxes, we have an ambitious agenda to KEEP FLORIDA WORKING and become the global leader for job creation by the year 2020.
Dog Found Apparently Shot In The Head In Molino
January 5, 2015
A dog found bleeding and apparently shot in the head in Molino is now in the care of a local family.
The dog , now nicknamed “Lucky”, was found last Thursday afternoon, curled up next to a pole at the corner of Crabtree Church Road and Gibson Road in Molino. There was a blood trail leading up to where the dog was located.
Lucky appears to have a bullet wound on the forehead near its left ear with an apparent exit wound behind its right air. As of Sunday night, the dog is recovered well with a local family that did not wish to be publicly named.
The family is looking for Lucky’sowners. Anyone that knows the owner of the dog can email news@northescambia.com to be put in touch with the family.
Anyone with information about the shooting of the dog should contact the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9620.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Top 14 North Escambia Stories Of 2014
January 5, 2015
Here are our picks for the Top 14 Stories of 2014 on NorthEscambia.com :
14. Tate’s Showband Of The South Heads To Philly
The Tate High School Showband of the South marched in the 2014 Dunkin’ Donuts Thanksgiving Day Parade in Philadelphia. As part of tours of Philadelphia and Washington, the students visited Arlington National Cemetery where Showband members placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns.
13. West Florida Jaguars State Softball Championship
The West Florida Lady Jaguars won the 4A state championship in almost impossible grand style. The Lady Jags were down 5-1 with two outs in the seventh, before coming back to beat P. K. Yonge 6-5 in Vero Beach.
12. Good Folks, Good Grades
It was nothing short of another great year at Molino Park Elementary School. Principal Alice Woodward was named Escambia County’s Principal of the Year. Sara Calhoun was named the state’s elementary school Reading Teacher of the Year. Monsanto presented the school with a $25,000 technology grant. Molino Park’s school grade from the Florida Department of Education jumped from a “C” to an “A”. At Molino Park Elementary School, 95 percent of third graders were proficient in math on the FCAT, the highest level in Escambia County and better than all but less than a dozen schools in the state.
11. Northview’s FFA One Of The Nation’s Best
The honors just kept pouring in during 2014 for the Northview High School FFA — Outstanding FFA Chapter, State Superior Chapter, State FFA Gold Chapter Rating for hosting the top “Food for America” program in Florida. Then at the National FFA Convention in Louisville, KY, the Northview FFA was awarded the Three Star Chapter designation — the highest status at the national level — on live national television for the second straight year.
10. Train Derailment
During January’s rare ice storm, 23 cars from a CSX train derailed behind the McDavid Sawmill on Champion Drive. Four cars containing a 96 percent concentration phosphoric acid derailed into Fletcher Creek which feeds into Cotton Lake and the Escambia River. Three of the cars were breached, one catastrophically. Officials reported as much as 30,000 gallons of corrosive acid spilled into the creek. Cleanup was declared complete in March,with a long-term monitoring program put into place.
9. New 4-H Facilities
In 2012, the children and teens on the 4-H County Council voted to sell their 240 acre Langley Bell 4-H Center to Navy Federal Credit Union. In 2014, progress began on two new 4-H facilities — one at the Extension Service on Stefani Road and the other off Chalker Road in Molino.
8. Century’s Gas Leak Repaired
Major work came to a close in late 2014 on repairs to a leaking section of natural gas pipe under Highway 29 in Century, three and a half years since the leak was publicly revealed as a “major public safety issue”.
7. Crime And Punishment
The headlines in 2014 were full of crimes — and punishments. From 19 murders across Escambia County, to burglaries in our neighborhoods and street level drugs and associated crimes – the headlines ran the gamut of arrests and sentences from the bench.
6. Century’s Big Plan
Using grant money from the state, Century partnered with the University of West Florida’s Haas Center to develop an economic strategic plan. Already honored by the Florida Chamber Foundation and recognized by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s Competitive Florida Partnership, the plan will be implemented in 2015 with the hope of jump starting Century’s economy.
5. LOST Renewal
Voters renewed the Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) for Escambia County and schools during 2014. Project after project has been funded over the previous years of LOST, including the ongoing construction of a new Ernest Ward Middle School in Walnut Hill.
4. Highway 29, Highway 97 Intersection
Perhaps the most “famous” intersection in North Escambia, we reported wreck after wreck at the intersection in 2014, including an accident that claimed the life of a Northview High School student. After a traffic study, Escambia County agreed to foot the bill and the Florida Department of Transportation agreed to install a traffic signal. The year closed with no visible progress on the light’s installation.
3. Ice Storm
Escambia County literally froze in January — closed schools, widespread power outages, pretty much all transportation at a complete standstill — during a freak Florida ice storm.
2. Jail Explosion
As the flood waters filled the basement of the Escambia County Central Booking and Detention Center, rising water caused gas dryers to disconnect. That gas ignited, setting off an explosion that killed two inmates — 45-year old David Paul Weinstein and 54-year old Robert Earl Simmons of McDavid. A corrections officer, Christopher Hankinson, was left paralyzed from the waist down, while about 180 other inmates and corrections personnel were injured.
1. Spring Floods
Without a doubt, the top story of 2014 was the April flood, with an unbelievable 25 inches of rain falling in about 24 hours in parts of Escambia County. Bridges and roads collapsed or were simply swept away, perhaps hundreds of people were rescued from flooded cars and homes. Over 3,000 homes in Escambia County were damaged or destroyed, and the financial toll was well over $100 million. One person, 67-year-old Betty Faye Word, died when here vehicle was completely submerged on Highway 29 in Cantonment.
NorthEscambia.com photos.
Florida Senate Panels To Look At Prisons, Amendment 1
January 5, 2015
In their initial meetings leading up to the 2015 legislative session, Senate committees will gather the week of January 5 to discuss issues such as reforming the Department of Corrections and carrying out a constitutional amendment about environmental preservation.
Committees will meet over four days, starting January 5 and ending January 8, according to a calendar posted on the Senate website.
While many of the meetings will be largely introductory, senators will delve into issues such as possible changes in the prison system, which has been dogged recently by questions about inmate deaths and alleged wrongdoing by corrections officers. The Senate Criminal Justice Committee on January 5 is scheduled to hear three presentations about the Department of Corrections, including a presentation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement dealing with investigations of inmate deaths.
Later in the week, the Senate Environmental Preservation and Conservation Committee is scheduled to hear a presentation about a ballot initiative known as Amendment 1, which voters approved in the November. The amendment, which the committee will take up January 7, will require the state to dedicate a portion of real-estate tax revenue over the next 20 years for land and water projects.
by The News Service of Florida
Below Freezing Tonight, Even Colder Wednesday Night
January 5, 2015
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Tonight Mostly clear, with a low around 30. Calm wind.
- Tuesday Sunny, with a high near 59. Light northwest wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.
- Tuesday Night Clear, with a low around 31. Northwest wind around 5 mph.
- Wednesday Sunny, with a high near 53. North wind 5 to 10 mph increasing to 10 to 15 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph.
- Wednesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 18. North wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
- Thursday Sunny, with a high near 41. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Thursday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 22. Calm wind.
- Friday Mostly sunny, with a high near 49. North wind around 5 mph.
- Friday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 29. North wind around 5 mph.
- Saturday Partly sunny, with a high near 51.
- Saturday Night A 20 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 37.
- Sunday A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 56.
- Sunday Night A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 47.
- Monday A 30 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 61.
Do Not Call Violations Top State’s Consumer Complaint List
January 5, 2015
Hate those annoying telemarketing calls? You are not alone. Complaints about violations of Florida’s “Do Not Call” laws tops the list of the top 10 consumer complaints released by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Consumers filed more than 44,000 complaints with the department’s consumer assistance center in 2014. The top 10 most common complaints from January 1 through December 22 were:
- Do Not Call – 18,067
- Fuel/Petroleum – 2,193
- Cable – 1,921
- Telemarketing – 1,813
- Motor Vehicle Sales – 1,697
- Credit/Banking – 1,659
- Communications – 1,588
- Motor Vehicle Repair – 1,488
- Landlord/Tenant – 1,328
- Travel/Vacation Plans – 1,271
Complaints about violators of the state’s Do Not Call list are actually down by four percent this year. Over the past year, Do Not Call complaints have resulted in the collection of more than $430,000 in administrative fines.
2014 In Photos: November
January 5, 2015
We are looking back at the top events of 2014 in photos. Today, we are featuring photos from November. For photos from earlier in 2014, click the corresponding month below.
NOVEMBER 2014 PHOTOS:
In one of our most talked about photos of the year, a firefighter pulls a line to begin the battle against a house fire on Highway 97 in Davisville on November 11.
Another photo of the Highway 97 house fire.
The Blue Angels were back in the skies in November over Naval Air Station Pensacola.
Northview High School held a baseball clinic with major leaguer Caleb Gindl of the Milwaukee Brewers.
The Walnut Hill Volunteer Fire Department honored members of the community and the department during a record-setting 45th annual fish fry.
Fire damaged the Cantonment Burger King.
Ernest Ward Middle School honored veterans.
A photo that went viral on a local scale on Facebook — our cameras caught a politician that sweeps around his own door — literally. Atmore Mayor Jim Staff is seen sweeping outside the main entrance to the Atmore City Hall.
The Molino Station of Escambia Fire Rescue held live burn demonstrations.
The Tate High School’s playoff run came to an end as the Aggies lost to Niceville 35-0 in the Region 1-7A semifinal.
About 200 students from schools in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties worked in fields near Jay Monday to harvest turnips and bag sweet potatoes that fed hundreds of needy families for Thanksgiving.
A Georgia church reached out to Century and provided a Thanksgiving lunch.
The Tate High School Showband of the South marched in the 2014 Dunkin’ Donuts Thanksgiving Day Parade in Philadelphia.
The Atmore Fire Department held a “Heroes For Christmas” toy drive.
It was the kind of traffic problem you only see in the country in Oak Grove — a 6,000 pound bale of cotton blocking part of an intersection.
he Northview High School Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) sponsored a student led worship event in the school gymnasium.
A home on Kathleen Avenue was destroyed by a November fire.
Molino Park Elementary School celebrated the receipt of a $25,000 technology grant from Monsanto.
Century worked toward completion on the repair of a leaking section of natural gas pipe under Highway 29 in Century, three and a half years since the leak was publicly revealed as a “major public safety issue”.
Camp Fire USA Century Youth Learning Center held a Thanksgiving feast the children and their parents.
The BP in Davisville was robbed at gunpoint; the gunman arrested in Mississippi after another holdup.
Members of the Tate High School Showband of the South placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown at Arlington National Cemetery.
Gas prices for Thanksgiving weekend were at their lowest level in five years.
A t-ball field at Bradberry Park in Walnut Hill received some much needed attention from Eagle Scout candidate Benjamin Stott of Bratt.
The Escambia Academy Cougars won the AISA Class AAA state championship.
Sparks fly as a fireman cuts open the hood of a burning truck on Highway 4 in Davisville.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Bill Seeks To Require Unanimous Juries In Death Penalty Cases
January 5, 2015
Juries would have to be unanimous before recommending the death penalty for defendants in murder cases, under a bill filed by a South Florida lawmaker. The bill, proposed by Rep. Jose Javier Rodriguez, D-Miami, will be considered during the 2015 legislative session.
Under current law, a majority of a jury can recommend that a defendant receive the death penalty, with a judge ultimately deciding whether to impose the sentence. Rodriguez’s bill would create a higher standard, with juries needing to be unanimous in such recommendations.
The bill also would give direction to judges on some jury instructions in death-penalty cases. Those instructions deal with what are known as “aggravating circumstances,” which are factors used to support death-penalty recommendations.
The bill, in part, would require aggravating circumstances to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt and be subject to a unanimous vote. The bill would apply to offenses committed on or after July 1, 2015.