Pardue Art On Display The Molino Branch Library
February 22, 2015
There’s a special art display at the Molino Branch Library through the end of February.
Alan Pardue was born into a family of artists. From the time he could hold a pencil, his grandfather “Papaw” and father were teaching him the basics of art. He paints surrealistic mixed media paintings, as well as sculptures.
Pardue has had art shows from Florida to Canada was recently featured in Po10tial Magazine. His art currently can be seen once a month at Pensacola’s Gallery Night. Alan Pardue’s art is also on display at the Molino Branch Library, located at the 6450-A Highway 95A, through February 28.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Pathways For Change: Reducing Recidivism, Saving Money
February 22, 2015
This legislative session, Florida’s lawmakers will be asked reconsider how the state deals with criminals. As lawmakers look to reform the system without breaking the budget, one Pensacola nonprofit could offer answers.
Pathways for Change, which is observing its 10th anniversary this year, estimates that it has saved Escambia County residents an estimated $4.2 million in the last decade – and transformed numerous lives – through its residential treatment program for drug offenders.
“We deal with the real problem,” chief operations officer Chris Collins said. “The real problem is addiction, but also things like a lack of education and job training. We take a holistic approach and try to remove every obstacle so they are more likely to become productive citizens.”
Florida Tax Watch, a nonpartisan think tank based in Tallahassee, is one such group. In its annual government efficiency recommendations, released last month, Tax Watch recommended the state invest in building web-based tools that would help judges, prosecutors and others analyze the costs and risks of incarceration compared to other sentencing options. Reform groups have long pointed to such programs as a proven way to reduce recidivism, shrink the state’s prison population and rein in mushrooming costs.
Tax Watch researchers estimated that every one percent reduction in recidivism translates to $8 million in taxpayer savings.
“They’re throwing money at a broken system, only to have a bigger broken system,” Pathways Director Connie Bookman said. “Legislators need to pay attention to reality.
Collins agreed. “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results,” he said. “The judges in our county see this as a better option than sending a man to prison. I think the introduction of programs like ours throughout the state would help turn the tide of a bloated system.”
FWC: Deer Season Coming To An End
February 22, 2015
Deer hunting season is coming to a close across the Florida Panhandle.
General gun season is open on private lands in our local Zone D through February 22. And then if you don’t mind hunting with a primitive weapon, Zone D’s late muzzleloading gun season runs a week longer until March 1. This unique late season, which occurs only in Zone D, was established to give hunters the chance to hunt the rut, which occurs from mid-January through February in the Florida Panhandle.
A $5 muzzleloading gun permit is required to hunt during this season, during which, on private land, hunters have the choice of using a muzzleloader, bow or crossbow. Of course, you’ll also need a hunting license, which costs residents $17 for an annual one – or you might opt to purchase the five-year license for only $79.
On wildlife management areas, this post-season is referred to as the archery/muzzleloading gun season. Hunters can use bows or muzzleloaders, but no crossbows – unless they possess a disabled crossbow permit. Hunters who choose to hunt with a bow must have the $5 archery permit, and those using a muzzleloader need the $5 muzzleloading gun permit.
The most common things to hunt during this season are deer and wild hogs. Only legal bucks may be taken (even if you use a bow), and south of Interstate 10 in newly established Deer Management Unit-D1, one antler must have at least two points. North of I-10 in DMU-D2, all bucks must have at least three points on a side or have a main beam at least 10 inches long to be legal to take.
And if you’re hunting deer, make sure you have the $5 deer permit. On private land, the daily bag limit is two. Season dates, bag limits and antler regulations for deer on WMAs can differ, so consult the area brochure before you hunt.
On private lands, wild hogs can be taken year-round with no bag or size limits. On most WMAs, there also are no bag or size limits, and hogs are legal to take during most hunting seasons except spring turkey. On selected WMAs, specific bag and size limits do apply, so, again, please check the area’s brochure to make sure.
During this season, dogs may not be used to hunt deer. However, you may use a leashed one to track a wounded deer if necessary. And it’s important to note that no turkeys may be taken during this season.
Bows and crossbows must have minimum draw weights of 35 pounds. Hand-held releases on bows are permitted. Broadheads used in taking deer must have at least two sharpened edges with a minimum width of 7/8 inch.
During this late season, the only muzzleloaders allowed are those fired by wheel lock, flintlock, percussion cap or centerfire primer (including 209 primers). Muzzleloaders that can be loaded from the breech are not legal during this time. For hunting deer, muzzleloading rifles must be at least .40-caliber, and muzzleloading shotguns must be 20-gauge or larger.
Legal shooting hours are between a half-hour before sunrise and a half-hour after sunset. You’re allowed to take deer and hogs over feeding stations on private land, but it is illegal to use such feed on WMAs.
Twelve of the WMAs in Zone D have a February archery/muzzleloading gun season, and if you plan to hunt any of them, you must have the $26 management area permit. Those areas are Apalachicola, Apalachicola River, Beaverdam Creek, Blackwater, Chipola River, Choctawhatchee River, Econfina Creek, Escambia River, Perdido River Point Washington, Tate’s Hell and Yellow River.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Legislature Gets Moving As Session Approaches
February 22, 2015
After weeks of slogging through introductions, presentations and briefings on the mechanisms of government — the legislative equivalent of “what I did over summer break” reports — lawmakers are following Gov. Rick Scott’s old campaign slogan and getting to work.
Not all the committees have been cooling their heels and hearing about the finer points of funding formulas and organizational charts, of course. But policy discussions that were moving along slowly before this week began taking shape as legislation, and some of that legislation is starting to head toward the House and Senate floors.
Elsewhere, though, things were slowing down. The Joint Legislative Budget Commission slammed the brakes on subsidies for sports stadiums, something that could have as much to do with bargaining chips as with populist rage over billionaire team owners getting state help for construction or renovation projects. And the battle over whether to split the College of Engineering shared by Florida A&M University and Florida State University ended with an agreement to move forward together.
Meanwhile, the discussion of what to do about the widespread agreement that Florida students are over-tested finally got started in earnest. At least one state exam is already on the chopping block, and more changes could be on the way. The specifics will have to wait until the legislative session gets underway March 3 — when all the planning of the last week is likely to be overturned in the 60-day whirlwind that follows.
GUNS AND PRISONS
Perhaps the most controversial bill to be heard this week won’t be found on the priority lists of the House speaker, the Senate president or Scott. But it’s on a priority list of a group that might even hold more sway: gun-rights supporters.
The Senate Criminal Justice voted 3-2, on party lines, to allow people with concealed-firearms licenses to carry guns at state colleges and universities. Meanwhile, people without concealed-firearms licenses could carry weapons during emergency evacuation orders, under a separate measure backed by the committee.
But the guns-on-campus bill (SB 176), which would lift a longstanding ban on carrying concealed weapons on campuses, has drawn most of the heat this year.
Committee Chairman Greg Evers, R-Baker, the sponsor of the proposal, displayed a map of sexual offenders living near the Florida State University campus as he called the bill a safety issue.
“The problem is that in gun-free zones, that we have on college campuses right now, those gun-free zones are just an incubator for folks that won’t follow the law,” Evers said.
But Sen. Audrey Gibson, D-Jacksonville, argued that the proposal would allow “mini-militias” to form on the state’s campuses.
“I believe it sends the wrong message to not only our students within the state of Florida, but people who may intend to come to Florida for college,” Gibson said. “It certainly sends the wrong message to their parents.”
While gun-rights groups like to tout their support for law-abiding citizens, the Senate committee is also dealing with how to ensure the safety of Floridians who run afoul of law enforcement. It gave a preliminary nod this week to a corrections overhaul that would make it easier for inmates to file complaints, create new penalties for rogue guards who abuse prisoners and establish a governor-appointed commission to oversee prisons and investigate wrongdoing.
The proposal (SPB 7020), sponsored by Evers, would also allow inmates’ families or lawyers to pay for independent medical evaluations and would expand opportunities for old or sick inmates to get out of prison early.
And the measure would require each prison to track use-of-force incidents and the Department of Corrections to post an annual report documenting those incidents on its website.
Department of Corrections Secretary Julie Jones called the measure, which still has several committee stops before heading to the floor and so far lacks a House companion, a “work in progress” but said she is “cautiously optimistic.”
“Sen. Evers has taken a bold approach to trying to fix the problems that he sees,” Jones said after appearing before the panel on Monday.
The embattled corrections agency is grappling with state probes of questionable inmate deaths, lawsuits from investigators who claim they were retaliated against after exposing a cover-up of the death of an inmate who died at a Panhandle prison and complaints about dangerously low staffing levels at dozens of state-run facilities.
$TADIUM $UB$IDIE$
Last year, lawmakers hoped to create a process that would help them evaluate sports stadium proposals and decide which, if any, might warrant support from sales-tax dollars. The hope was that the process would prevent a gusher of lobbying aimed at putting the projects with the most friends or best advocates at the top of the list.
To borrow a racing term: Gentlemen, start your engines.
The Joint Legislative Budget Commission, comprised of seven senators and seven representatives, agreed this week to move any funding decisions regarding the stadiums — Daytona International Speedway, the Miami Dolphins’ home of Sun Life Stadium, EverBank Field in Jacksonville and a soccer stadium in Orlando — to the regular legislative session.
“I think it’s important that 160 people make decisions of this magnitude, not 14,” said House Appropriations Chairman Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes.
The joint commission, which is primarily set up to deal with mid-year budget issues, requires a majority of votes from each chamber’s delegation for a measure to be approved. Corcoran and at least two other House members on the commission were ready to oppose the stadium-funding requests.
Lawmakers last year created a review process to try to reduce the lobbying for stadium-funding proposals. But lobbying efforts increased after the state Department of Economic Opportunity last month forwarded the four applications to the Legislature without providing expected rankings.
Lawmakers have been openly critical about not receiving rankings from the agency and had their own economists later rank the projects.
“When you add up the amount that is being invested (in the projects) in Jacksonville, in Daytona, in Orlando and in Miami you’re talking $1 billion,” said Ron Book, a lobbyist for Sun Life Stadium. “That’s what sports economic development is about. It’s about bringing Super Bowls. It’s about Major League Baseball games, soccer all-star games. It’s about bringing concerts, it’s about bringing full entertainment opportunities to the people of Florida that bring sales-tax revenue in, not only on what is being built on the facilities, but what comes afterwards.”
The commission’s decision disappointed the conservative-advocacy group Americans for Prosperity, which calls stadium funding “corporate welfare.”
“We expected the LBC to take a real stand on this issue,” Chris Hudson, Americans for Prosperity’s Florida director, said in a prepared statement. “Unfortunately the members decided to punt the issue downfield and we will have to wait and see when and how it will come back up throughout session.”
TESTING THE WATERS FOR TEST REFORM
The major action on student testing this week was supposed to take place in the Senate Education Pre-K-12 Committee, where lawmakers on the panel were set to hold a mid-week workshop on legislative solutions to the problem of over-testing.
But almost as soon as committee members had settled in their chairs Wednesday, Scott’s office announced the results of Education Commissioner Pam Stewart’s review of state assessments. Those results could lead to at least one exam getting scuttled and a review of whether more should follow.
Stewart recommended that the state get rid of a language-arts test students take in 11th grade. An exam in the 10th grade is used to determine whether students have met the state’s graduation requirement in language arts, and many educators say the later test is unnecessary.
Stewart recommended that Scott issue an executive order to suspend the test in the current school year, with lawmakers later approving legislation to permanently scrap the assessment.
The report also recommended making optional a college readiness test that some students are required to take and eliminating final exams in courses that have state-mandated tests at the end of the year. Stewart also urged local school districts to do what they can to lower the amount of time students spend on tests.
“I am recommending that we eliminate as much testing as we can,” Stewart told reporters after brief remarks before the Senate Education Pre-K-12 Committee.
But Committee Chairman John Legg, R-Lutz, would not commit Wednesday to getting rid of the 11th grade test in language arts.
“It’s one of the items on the table,” Legg said. “We are reviewing that. … It’s one of those options that we are seriously looking at.”
Other issues still loom. Education groups largely agree that the state should hold off on assigning school grades and making decisions about whether students should be promoted from the third grade or allowed to graduate based on new tests the state is introducing this year. A similar test has caused a backlash in Utah, though Legg said he still has confidence in the exam.
Lawmakers have already ensured that schools won’t face consequences from this year’s results under the state accountability system. But supporters of pushing back some of the other ways the results are used say that’s not enough.
Later in the week, one of the big education controversies of last year’s session finally drew to a close. Following an agreement between Florida State University and Florida A&M University, the state Board of Governors on Thursday approved a new structure for the Tallahassee schools’ joint College of Engineering and seemingly put to rest a months-long battle over the future of the program.
Under the plan, a 12-member board comprised of high-ranking officials and students from both schools would be created to oversee the college, though three of the members — including the two student members — would not have votes. The Board of Governors, which oversees the university system, is also requesting that the Legislature fund the College of Engineering separately, instead of doing so through FSU and FAMU, and a plan to upgrade the schools facilities will be developed.
STORY OF THE WEEK: The Joint Legislative Budget Commission deferred action on a much-watched set of proposals to subsidize sports-stadium construction and renovation projects.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “The plain truth is that campuses are not safe. They are gun-free zones where murderers, rapists, terrorists, crazies may commit crime without fear of being harmed by their victims.”—National Rifle Association lobbyist Marion Hammer, on a bill that would allow Floridians with concealed-firearms licenses to carry guns at state colleges and universities.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Dorothy Aline Calhoun Russell
February 22, 2015
Dorothy Aline Calhoun Russell passed away on February 20, 2015 after living a full and wondrous life for 94 years. Dorothy was born in Dixonville, FL in 1920 and was employed by PJC as a bookkeeper for many years before retiring to be a housewife, farmer and gardener. She was a member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints where she played piano. She was an avid reader, gardener, domino and card player.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Claude Russell and her first husband, Emmett Nall; her father, Riley John Calhoun and mother, Eunice Calhoun; son, John Nall; sisters Faye Duffy, Mae Travis and Doris Kilgore; and brothers, Harvey, Ralph, Hubert and Brian Calhoun.
She is survived by her daughter, June (Glenn) Nall Hughes; sons, Michael (Joan) Nall and Emmett Nall; sisters, Olive Wise and Glynn Gatlin; 12 grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren, three great-great-grandchildren and many half-brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews and cousins as well.
Pallbearers will be David and Stephen Hughes, Terry and Timothy Born, Brian Nall and Brett DeLorme.
Honorary pallbearer is Nick Nall.
A special thank you to Emerald Coast Hospice (Brenda Rossignol, RN) for their care and concern.
Visitation will be held at 12 p.m. on Monday, February 23, 2015, with services to follow at 1 p.m. at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North.
Faith Chapel Funeral Home North is in charge of arrangements.
Ellis Lamar Blair
February 22, 2015
Ellis Lamar Blair, age 72 of Berrydale, was born on October 1, 1942, to Mary and Riley Blair. He passed away on February 17, 2015.
He was a great and loving husband, father, and grandfather. He was devoted to the Church of Christ. He loved quail hunting, fishing, and watching Alabama football. He was a very hard worker and devoted most of his life to processing meat. He started out at Daulphin Burgess’, worked at Container in Brewton, ran his own meat processing business for 27 years, and Blair’s Tote-A-Bag for 14 years where he recently retired. He was well known for his work habits, was loved by everyone and would do anything to help you. He will be dearly missed by all his family and friends.
He is preceded in death by his wife, Dorothy Blair; parents, Mary and Riley Blair; brother, James Blair; four sisters, Lucille Beasley, Ollie Mae Cooper, Rosa Lee Pettis, and Pauline Weaver.
He is survived by four children, Lisa (Kenny) Tedder, Ken (Cindy) Blair, Tony (Beverly) Blair, and Deborah (Mike) Pilgrim, six grandchildren, Nakisha (Jared) Gandy, Latisha (Myles) Lecesse, Trenton Blair, Allison Blair, Blake Pilgrim, and Kaylen Blair; two great-grandchildren, Landyn Cooley, Eligh Lecesse; and one great-grandchild, Zachariah Gandy who will be arriving in May. He is also survived by two sisters, Pearl Stone and Rogene Hammock; and many nephews, nieces, and friends.
Funeral services were held Saturday, February 21, 2015, at Jay Funeral Home with Brother Pete Davis officiating.
Burial was at RLDS cemetery in Berrydale.
Pallbearers were Russell Beasley, Royce Beasley, JoMack Pettis, Lester Cooper, John Dunn, and Bill Thompson.
Honorary pallbearers were Speedy Nelson, Billy Hines, and Larry White.
One Charged With Escambia County Murder
February 21, 2015
One person has been arrested for a Friday night fatal shooting in Escambia County.
Roy Laboris Fails, 22, was charged with second degree murder in the shooting death of 23-year old Quayshond Michael Dirden. Dirden was shot at approximately 10:00 Friday night at the Forrest Creek Apartments on Patton Drive. Fails is being held without bond in the Escambia County Jail.Both the victim and suspect were associated with the Tres Up gang and the shooting was the result of an altercation over a drug debt, according to a statement released by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.
Poarch Creeks To Rick Scott: Let Us Open Casino In North Escambia, Or We’ll Start Selling Pot
February 21, 2015
A single acre of land in North Escambia may be taking center stage in the future of gambling in Florida, or it may just become a one-stop marijuana shop.
The Poarch Band of Creek Indians really want the small parcel in the Nokomis community to be the home of their next gaming facility. They are currently constructing a large metal building that covers a majority of the acre, about five miles west of Highway 97 on Nokomis Road. They are officially calling the structure a “warehouse”, but its true future use remains to be seen.
Nearly a year ago the tribe asked Gov. Rick Scott for Tribal-State gaming compact that would allow the tribe to operate casino-like gambling on the property. Such an agreement would allow the tribe “to conduct any Class III gaming activity which is played or may be played in the State of Florida, including, but not limited to, banked card games,” then-Tribal Chairman Buford Rolin wrote in a letter to Scott. Class III gaming in Florida includes table games and slot machines.
So far, Scott has refused to negotiate a compact, saying more recognition is needed first from the federal government.
The one acre in Nokomis has been held in trust since 1984 by the United States government for the Poarch Creek Indians. That, the tribe contends, meets the definition of “Indian lands” and allows the PCI to conduct Class III gaming activities once a compact with Scott is negotiated. The tribe also contends that it has the immediate right to operate Class II gaming in Nokomis, which includes bingo and some types of poker, without any further action by Scott.
If Scott won’t acknowledge the Poarch Creeks’ legal right to conduct Class III gaming operations on the tribal land in Nokomis and other locations in Northwest Florida, tribal officials say they may consider other options such as selling marijuana from the Nokomis warehouse.
The U.S. Justice Department allows Native American tribes to grow or sell marijuana on Indian Lands, as long as they follow the federal laws in place for states where pot is already legal.
Poarch officials have made it clear that marijuana sales are not their first choice, but they want Scott to realize they are serious about exercising their federally protected rights.
“Obviously, growing marijuana has never been at the top of our list when it comes to the Tribe’s goals as part of our economic development. Growing marijuana on our land is something that we, as a federally recognized Tribe, can do legally,” Stephanie A. Bryan, Tribal chair, told NorthEscambia.com. “That said, our focus has always been on entering into a compact with the State that would ensure our ability to have gaming operations while not impacting other compacts or revenue sharing agreements already in place. As a matter of fact, it would generate added revenues for the state and, again, we are considering all options on our land.”
If a gaming compact is negotiated with Scott, the Poarch Creeks also want it to include the Pensacola Greyhound Track, of which they are majority owners, their Creek Entertainment facility along I-10 in Gretna, just outside Tallahassee, and at Jacksonville Greyhound Racing.
The Poarch Band of Creek Indians currently operates the Wind Creek Casino in Atmore, just a few miles north of the Nokomis property, and Wind Creek casinos in Montgomery and Wetumpka, AL.
Currently, only the Seminole tribe has a gambling compact with the State of Florida. A portion of a 2009 agreement giving the Seminole Tribe exclusive rights to conduct card games at seven of its facilities ends in July unless lawmakers and Scott renew the deal. A sweeping gambling proposal crumbled last year when proponents of allowing at least one mega-casino in South Florida put the bill on ice because they lacked the votes for Senate passage. Florida stands to lose about $116 million a year if the portion of the compact giving the Seminoles exclusive rights to table games such as blackjack expires, according to an estimate from state economists.
Pictured above and below: A “warehouse” under construction Friday afternoon on an acre of land owned by the Poarch Creek Indians in the North Escambia community of Nokomis. Pictured bottom inset: The large metal building overshadows a neighboring home. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Prisons Chief To Seek Revamp Of Inmate Health Care Contracts
February 21, 2015
Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Julie Jones announced Friday she intends to rebid contracts worth about $1.4 billion with private companies to provide health-care services to the state’s 100,000 inmates.
Jones’ announcement came amid increased scrutiny of Florida’s prison system, the third-largest in the country, after reports of guards abusing inmates, a rising number of unexplained inmate deaths and lawsuits from investigators who claim they were retaliated against after exposing wrongdoing.
Lawmakers have recently focused on problems with medical services provided to inmates by Wexford Health Sources and Corizon Health. The for-profit companies took over prison health care nearly two years ago after a drawn-out court battle over outsourcing ordered by the Legislature in 2011.
Jones has been highly critical of the state’s current five-year deals with the companies and began exploring ways to rebid or cancel the contracts shortly after taking over as head of the department last month.
Under the current agreements, Wexford is being paid $48 million a year until Dec. 20, 2017, to provide health services to about 15,000 inmates at nine prisons in South Florida. Corizon, which provides health care to more than 74,000 inmates in North and Central Florida as well as part of South Florida, receives $229 million per year. The Corizon contract was set to expire on June 30, 2018.
Rebidding the contracts is expected to drive up costs because the department will want more services.
“We are anticipating a cost increase. But we’re also adding electronic health records, liquidated damages and other enhancements to the contract that will help us in the delivery of health care services,” department spokesman McKinley Lewis said.
Senate Criminal Justice Chairman Greg Evers ordered Jones to redo the current contracts after he visited several prisons in his Panhandle district and found they were understaffed by doctors and nurses, a common complaint in other states where Tennessee-based Corizon does business.
Staffing was one of a variety of issues Jones outlined in a news release Friday announcing her intention to open a contracting process known as an invitation to negotiate “prior to the beginning of 2016.”
Jones is seeking “enhanced elements” to the current contracts that will include “the ability to ensure that appropriate staffing is provided by our contractors that enables a proper mix of administrative and institutional-level direct care, the presence of medical staff who possess the proper skills and qualifications to provide quality care to our inmate population and clinical oversight and supervision.”
Jones wants the contractors to perform internal audits of staffing levels, which will also be monitored by the state Correctional Medical Authority and the department’s health-services staff.
She also intends to demand higher penalties for the companies if they fail to meet minimum staffing or standard-of-care levels.
In addition, the secretary is asking companies to use electronic health records “to support decision making and improve provision of comprehensive medical, dental and mental health services while ensuring continuity of care,” she said.
Last year, 346 of the state’s 100,000-plus inmates died behind bars. More than half of those deaths — 176 — were initially unclassified, meaning state investigators had no immediate explanation for the causes of death. According to the Department of Corrections website, 146 inmates died due to heart attacks, cancer, gastrointestinal diseases or other medical problems.
“I am confident in the ability of this department to meet the health care needs of our inmate population through a partnership with private health care providers. Through this procurement process, the department will take steps toward being better able to ensure that the health care services required to be delivered to our inmate population are done so in a professional, expeditious and quality fashion,” Jones said in the news release.
Evers was cautiously optimistic about Jones’ announcement.
“In the past year since the Florida correctional health care has become fully privatized, inmates’ deaths have increased a staggering 10 percent. I’m encouraged to see that FDOC is responding to this health care crisis in our health care system. It’s been a terrible deal for the Florida taxpayers. Floridians deserve better,” Evers, R-Baker, said. “It is my hope and expectation that this time FDOC will rebid these contracts in an open and transparent process that includes proper accountability and oversight. We will be watching this process very closely to make sure that FDOC is not giving us whipped cream and telling us it’s ice cream.”
Both companies have pledged to continue to provide services throughout the rebidding process.
“We are pleased to see Secretary Jones doing exactly what she promised to do when she took over leadership of the Department of Corrections — making whatever changes are necessary to ensure the best outcomes for the state, its taxpayers, and its inmate population. This new procurement process will allow additional flexibility and increased cooperation between the state of Florida and its partners, and we believe we are well-positioned to continue as the state’s principal correctional health provider,” Corizon Health Chief Executive Officer Woodrow Myers, Jr., said in a statement issued Friday.
Corizon, which employs 1,700 workers in Florida, is also “proud of the improvements we’ve made in recent months, for instance enhancing reporting on healthcare metrics and adding more staff at no additional cost to the state,” Myers wrote.
Wexford President Dan Conn said in a statement that his Pittsburgh-based company is committed to working with Jones.
“We are confident Wexford Health has been meeting the many requirements of our contract with the State of Florida and know the overwhelming majority of concerns expressed by the secretary and legislators don’t apply to the inmates under our care in Florida,” Conn wrote. “The opportunity to rebid the contract will give us a chance to take Florida prison health care to the next level and implement additional cost-saving clinical programs not possible under the current contract, such as discounted drug pricing programs and electronic health records. Wexford Health looks forward to continuing our partnership with the Department of Corrections now and into the future.”
The rebidding of the contracts is the latest turn in Florida’s decades-long struggle with inmate health care.
In the mid 1970s, lawyers launched a a nearly 20-year court battle, known as Costello v. Wainwright, over prisoners’ health care, resulting in the appointment of a special master and nearly a decade of federal-court oversight of health services in the Department of Corrections.
The Correctional Medical Authority was created in 1986 as part of the settlement in the Costello case. The state’s prison health system stayed under federal oversight until 1993, when a judge decided that the federal government could relinquish its role as long as Florida remained committed to using monitors, like the authority, to ensure that prisoners’ rights were not being violated.
In the midst of deciding to privatize prison health care in 2011, lawmakers effectively shuttered the authority by eliminating its $717,000 budget. That same year, Gov. Rick Scott vetoed a measure that would have eliminated the agency altogether, calling it a “valuable layer of oversight.” The next year, House and Senate leaders allocated $580,000 to revive the agency, shrunk from 12 workers to six with an oversight board of seven governor-appointed members.
Critics of the revived authority say the agency no longer has the power it held when U.S. District Judge Susan Black agreed to end federal oversight.
Disappointment in the current health-care contracts began not long after the privatization was fully implemented in late 2013.
Less than four months before Scott, who pushed for the privatization, was re-elected last year, former Corrections Secretary Michael Crews quietly agreed to pay Wexford and Corizon another $3.2 million to stay on the job for another year.
Two months after he inked the contract amendments, Crews threatened to stop payments to Corizon, saying the company failed to follow through after audits revealed shortcomings in multiple areas, including medical care, nursing and staffing.
The threat of another Costello-like class action lawsuit and federal oversight is an additional incentive for lawmakers to try to rectify prison health-care issues, which one lawyer who represented the inmates said are worse now than when the case was settled.
“Once those bids come in, if the private health care providers can’t do it at a cost we can afford, then it may be cheaper because of the inadequate health care the inmates are receiving. The state may have to look at taking it back over,” Evers said.
Pictured: The medical unit inside the Century Correctional Institution. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Register Today For Century Little League
February 21, 2015
Registration will be held today for Century Little League.
The registration event will be held 9 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. at Showalter Park in Century. The registration fee is $50 for the first child and $45 for each additional sibling. A certified birth certificate copy is needed at time of registration.
Teams are available for ages three and up. For more information, call Terry at (251) 656-6044, Nathan at (850) 377-0962, Brandy at (850) 619-4915 or Charity at (850) 501-9Add New663.