Judge Tosses Out Florida Prison Whistleblower Case
March 5, 2015
A federal judge Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by five Department of Corrections investigators who claimed they were retaliated against for exposing a cover-up involving the death of an inmate at a Panhandle prison in 2010.
Four of the investigators, who work for Department of Corrections Inspector General Jeff Beasley, claimed they were denied whistleblower status and made the subject of internal investigations after telling Gov. Rick Scott’s Inspector General Melinda Miguel about the death of Randall Jordan-Aparo, who died at Franklin Correctional Institution after being gassed with noxious chemicals. A fifth investigator later joined the lawsuit.
Investigators Aubrey Land, David Clark, Doug Glisson, John Ulm, and James Padgett accused Beasley of launching the internal probe after they alleged Miguel’s office was aware of the cover-up of Jordan-Aparo’s death.
But U.S. District Judge William Stafford rejected the investigators’ arguments that their comments to Miguel and Assistant Inspector General Dawn Case were protected by the First Amendment. That protection only applies to citizens and not to employees, Stafford ruled.
“Plaintiffs have cited no cases clearly establishing that a decision to deny whistle-blower status or protection to a complainant constitutes either an adverse employment action or the denial of a public benefit for purposes of a First Amendment retaliation claim. At the very least, Miguel and Case would be entitled to qualified immunity with regard to their alleged retaliatory actions,” Stafford wrote in a 17-page ruling.
Tallahassee lawyer Steven Andrews, who represents the plaintiffs, said he plans to appeal to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
“We have immense respect for Judge Stafford but we intend to appeal to the 11th Circuit because we disagree with (the) ruling,” Andrews said in an e-mail.
Stafford also gave a sixth plaintiff in the lawsuit — former corrections employee, Christina Bullins — until March 20 to amend her complaint.
Bullins, whose brother was in the cell next to Jordan-Aparo the night the inmate died, claimed she was fired in 2013 because she had tried to draw attention to what happened at the Franklin County facility after Jordan-Aparo died. Bullins, a former correctional officer union representative, wrote blogs critical of the department’s handling of Jordan-Aparo’s death before she was fired.
Stafford’s ruling came the day a Senate panel pushed forward a measure that would create more oversight of the Department of Corrections, including the creation of a commission that would handle investigations into prison wrongdoing, now handled by the inspector general’s office.
With the 2015 legislative session already underway, however, the proposal still lacks a House companion, and the measure’s sponsor, admits that his plan is a “heavy lift.”
The overhaul would create a commission to oversee the corrections department, now an executive agency, and require Cabinet approval of the department secretary. Secretary Julie Jones took over the agency in January and is the fourth chief of the agency appointed by Scott in as many years. The proposal would also make it easier for inmates to file complaints and would allow prisoners to pay for and receive medical care from someone unassociated with the corrections department.
The measure also would require the department to create a policy to protect from retaliation inmates and employees who report abuse, a particularly potent concern for Senate Criminal Justice Chairman Greg Evers, who sponsored the prison package.
“I’ll be honest with you, I don’t think the bill goes far enough in some respects … but I also want you to understand this is a heavy lift at this time. If we make it any more heavy, I’m afraid this balloon may not float,” Evers, R-Baker, said shortly before the Senate Criminal and Civil Justice Appropriations Subcommittee unanimously approved the measure (SB 7020).
The prison measure came after media reports of inmate deaths at the hands of prison guards, claims about retaliation in the system and increased scrutiny of contracts with private vendors that took over health care for the state’s 100,000 inmates less than two years ago.
“I know that there is a crisis in Florida prisons,” said Senate Minority Leader Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa.
Lawmakers have tried “piecemeal” solutions in the past, Joyner said.
“But it’s at this point where it’s tantamount to an emergency. We have a responsibility to come up with a fix that works,” she said.
But Jones disagreed with Joyner’s analysis.
“Yes, we’ve had problems in the past. I don’t know that we’re in a crisis situation today. We need to create some improvements. We need to get some additional staffing. We need to get some facilities fixed. But crisis? I don’t think we’re in crisis,” she told The News Service of Florida after the meeting.
Evers, who has made a series of surprise visits to prisons and whose Panhandle district includes three prisons and numerous work camps, has received more than a dozen letters from corrections workers and investigators who complained about understaffing, inadequate equipment and problems with 12-hour shifts.
The corrections workers refused to testify at his committee this week because they were afraid of retaliation, Evers said. Retaliation against “whistle blowers” or those who snitch on their colleagues has a long history in the state’s prison system. Some prison workers have had their pets kidnapped and harmed, others have found dead animals in their mailboxes, and many feel their safety on the job is at risk because of threats that they will not get backup if they call for help.
In a highly critical letter, an investigator who answers to Beasley also warned that his department is understaffed and that employees have been sidelined by their superiors “with a barrage of busy work” to go after “low-hanging fruit” that would keep them from digging into more serious investigations.
But Jones dismissed those complaints Wednesday, saying the agency’s IG was doing an “outstanding job … given the resources that they have and given the nature of how they’re doing business.”
Jones said that she would send high-level investigations to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which is also investigating more than 100 unresolved inmate deaths.
“We have a problem with certain individuals in the IG’s office that want to be FDLE agents. They are not FDLE agents,” Jones, a veteran law enforcement officer. “You have some individuals that want to just do the big shop and don’t want to do the day-to-day minding the shop. The more of the small stuff that you do, the systemic issues in a facility so they don’t become big things, the fewer big things you have over time.”
Evers’ measure would give the new commission investigatory powers and put it in charge of policing prisons, now handled by the Office of the Inspector General, which answers to Scott’s chief inspector general.
“The OIG has not been an effective mechanism for rooting out bad actors. That’s what it’s there for. And it hasn’t done its job. For whatever reason. We have to change the culture in DOC. Status quo is not acceptable,” said Sen. Rob Bradley, a Fleming Island Republican who pushed for the commission.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Senate Panel Approves Bill Aimed At Rolling Back Student Exams
March 5, 2015
Amid conflicting reports about how well the state’s troubled online school-testing platform is working, a key Senate committee voted Wednesday along party lines to approve a bill aimed at rolling back the number of exams students take.
The Senate PreK-12 Education Committee voted 7-4 to approve the measure (SB 616). The bill would permanently eliminate an 11th-grade language arts test that critics say is redundant; cap at 5 percent the share of students’ time that can be spent on testing; and scrap a law requiring school districts to come up with end-of-course tests in classes where the state doesn’t administer such an exam.
It would also allow schools and school districts to seek waivers from being assigned letter grades due to implementation issues with the state’s new test and would reduce from 50 percent to a third the portion of a teacher’s evaluation tied to student performance.
Republicans praised the measure, sponsored by committee Chairman John Legg, R-Lutz.
“What we are doing presently, what the law requires presently, the test that’s in the queue presently, is not acceptable,” said Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton. “This bill changes the status quo. If you vote no on this bill, you’re not going back to wish-list items that we may have heard from presenters or constituents; you’re going back to the status quo.”
But Democrats said the bill didn’t go far enough and said the Republicans were trying to move too swiftly. Some parents were also unimpressed.
“There’s a contingency plan for everybody — the teachers, the districts, school grades, everything, but there’s no contingency plan for the students. … If everybody else gets a reprieve, how come the students don’t?” asked Meredith Mears, co-founder of a group called Florida Parents RISE, which is critical of the state’s new standards and tests.
Debate over the issue has been roiled by problems plaguing the online administration of the state’s new Florida Standards Assessment. Some parents and lawmakers are even suggesting that the bill allow schools to choose to administer exams on paper.
“The education of our children should not be an experiment in technological readiness,” said Danielle Alexandre, a lobbyist for the Liberty First Network.
Meanwhile, Education Commissioner Pam Stewart said it appeared that issues that have plagued the rollout of the Florida Standards Assessment, the state’s new batch of standardized tests, had subsided on the third day of testing.
“It looks like everything is functioning today just as it should be,” Stewart said shortly before noon Wednesday.
But later in the day, there were once again indications that the technology was struggling. In an email, Pasco County Schools Superintendent Kurt Browning confirmed that there had been issues in his district.
“Some teachers had difficulties signing onto the test,” he wrote. “Some students got on but then got kicked off and possibly (lost) answers. Not a good day.”
Other districts were still in a holding pattern after suspending testing on Monday and Tuesday amid the technical hurdles. Broward County Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie said his district would try to resume testing Thursday.
“If it breaks tomorrow, then (we’ve) got to suspend it probably indefinitely until we get some clear resolution to the issues,” he said.
Already, there were calls from parents and activists to terminate the state’s six-year, $220 million deal with American Institutes for Research, a non-profit group, to run the state’s testing. Stewart has said AIR has taken responsibility for the snafus.
Some officials were supportive of considering whether to hit the company with sanctions for the botched beginning of the Florida Standards Assessment. Senate Education Appropriations Chairman Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, said Santa Rosa County had hired 18 substitute teachers in anticipation of full-time teachers administering the test — only to encounter technical issues.
“If there have been workability issues that should have been foreseen and depending upon what the contract says, we ought to be asking that the state be made whole and the districts be made whole,” he said.
Stewart would not answer directly whether the state would impose penalties on AIR.
“Too early for us to know that,” she said. “We’re working on resolving the issue, not on whether or not there will be sanctions.”
Freeze Warning Tonight
March 5, 2015
There is a freeze warning in effect for the North Escambia area. Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
- Thursday A 40 percent chance of rain, temperatures holding mostly in the 40’s. Winds north 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph.
- Thursday Night A 20 percent chance of rain before 9pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 28. Wind chill values between 20 and 25. Blustery, with a north wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.
- Friday Sunny, with a high near 53. Wind chill values between 25 and 35 early. North wind around 10 mph.
- Friday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 32. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
- Saturday Sunny, with a high near 63. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
- Saturday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 42. East wind around 5 mph.
- Sunday A 20 percent chance of rain after 7am. Partly sunny, with a high near 60. East wind around 5 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.
- Sunday Night A 40 percent chance of rain. Cloudy, with a low around 45. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm after midnight.
- Monday A 40 percent chance of rain. Cloudy, with a high near 60. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
- Monday Night A 40 percent chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 48.
- Tuesday A 40 percent chance of rain. Cloudy, with a high near 62.
- Tuesday Night A 40 percent chance of rain. Cloudy, with a low around 53.
- Wednesday A 40 percent chance of rain. Cloudy, with a high near 67.
32 To Compete In ‘Miss EWMS’ Pageant Friday Night
March 5, 2015
Friday night, 32 young ladies will compete for the title of Miss EWMS.
Tickets are available in advance for $5 for adults, $3 for elementary students. At the door, all tickets will be $6. The pageant begins at 7 p.m.
Eighth grade contestants, pictured above, are (L-R, front) Allison Rice, Shelby Bashore, Gabrielle Kline, Gabbrielle Peebles, Nikoal Creamer, (back) Kaina Brantley, Ashtyn Carnley, Aubree Love, Madison Sherouse, Cailee Wilburn, Morgan Lathan and Emma Fennell.
Seventh grade contestants, pictured below, are (L-R, front) Katelyn Hassebrock, Ashlan Harigel, Payton Jackson, Jayda Crabtree, Cloe Smith, Bailey Seibert, (back) Madison Jogan, Raleigh Woodfin, Teriana Redmond, Destiny Cleckler, Lauren Ahern, Kelley Bradley and Savannah Steadham.
Sixth grade contestants, pictured bottom, are (L-R) Madison Peterson, Madelyn Berry, Emily Stabler, Taviana Parker and Kenna Redmond.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Lady Jags Beat Navarre
March 5, 2015
The West Florida Lady Jaguars beat Navarre 6-3 on a warm and muggy night Wednesday. The Lady Jags will take on Pace Thursday night. Photos by Gary Carnley for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Charles O. “Ray” Carraway
March 5, 2015
Charles O. “Ray” Carraway, 85, of Pensacola passed away Monday, March 2, 2015.
Mr. Carraway was born in Nokomis, AL and moved to Century where he met his wife of 59 years. They married on June 8, 1956. They moved to Pensacola in 1961 where they raised a family. Ray was a member of Plainview Baptist Church. He enjoyed camping and fishing, and was a sweet gentle soul who loved making his girls happy. Ray loved making people laugh and always had a joke, prank or a story to tell to make you smile. His smile would light up a room and he will forever be our guardian angel.
Survivors include his loving wife, Carole J. Carraway; daughters, Tammy Shoop (Ron) and Cindy Rodwell (Bill); six grandchildren, Roxanne, Aaron, Jared, January, Alex and Ben; and seven great-grandchildren, Camryn, Ian, Kendal, Sophie, Sabastian, Natalie and Wyatt.
Services were held at Pensacola Memorial Gardens Funeral Home Thursday, March 5, 2015, with Reverend Bill Flannigan officiating.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Plainview Baptist Church.
Air Safety Company Moving To Escambia County
March 4, 2015
Aero Sekur, specialist in helicopter lift-raft and flotation systems, is moving from New Jersey to Pensacola.
The move provides the aviation safety and protection systems designer with a larger facility and closer geographic links to many of the US helicopter operators in the Gulf of Mexico.
“I’m looking forward to Aero Sekur joining our community,” said Escambia County Commissioner Lumon May. “Businesses like Aero Sekur that create great jobs and make new investments have choices about where they locate. We’re pleased that they have chosen Escambia County.”
John Hutchinson, president of the Community Economic Development Association (CEDA) said Aero Sekur’s decision is another indication that the aerospace industry has its eyes on Northwest Florida. “This industry has huge growth potential and we are winning important projects that will demonstrate to other companies that they can be successful in our region. We must continue to make economic development a priority.”
“For more than 100 years, aviation has been part of the very fabric of our community, and we’re leveraging that experience to compete for the aviation-sector jobs of today and tomorrow. Aero Sekur is a leader in aviation safety and protection systems, and a great addition to Northwest Florida’s growing aerospace and aviation cluster. We’re excited to welcome them and to partner with them as they look to grow their business and enhance their distribution network,” said Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward.
Courtesy photo.
Potential Applicants Learn About The $25K Century Business Challenge
March 4, 2015
About 10 potential applicants attended an organizational meeting Tuesday night to learn about the Century Business Challenge.
The business challenge is a business plan competition in which the winning company will receive a prize package valued at more than $25,000. The Pensacola-based Studer Institute and the Haas Center are sponsoring the competition in partnership with the Florida SBDC at UWF, which is providing business planning software and conducting orientation and workshop sessions for participants.
Prizes for the winner of the Century Business Challenge include space at the Century Business Center on Pond Street at a lease rate of $1 per year, with the possibility of an extension of that rate for two more years based on the company’s performance. They will also receive $25,000 in operating funds from the Studer Institute. And the Century Town Council has recently approved offering the same $1 per year lease rate at the Century Business Center for the second place finisher.
“We do know that not all businesses will go in that space; it’s just an added perk,” Allison Tyler, Century’s economic development coordinator, said Tuesday night. “Regardless, we want to keep those businesses in Century.”
It’s not too late to learn more and submit business ideas for the Century Business Challenge. Another public meeting will be held Tuesday, March 17, and the final application deadline is March 31. After March 31, several closed-door workshops will be held, with a winner expected to be announced on June 25.
The Century Business Challenge is part of an economic development partnership of the Haas Center, the Town of Century and the Studer Institute. Applications and more information about the business challenge can be found at www.CenturyBusinessChallenge.com.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Scott’s State Of The State Calls On ‘Florida Exceptionalism’ To Tout Agenda
March 4, 2015
Calling on something he termed “Florida exceptionalism,” Gov. Rick Scott used the annual State of the State address Tuesday to try to reinvigorate his legislative agenda after a difficult opening to his second term.
During the 21-minute speech, Scott pushed lawmakers to adopt his proposals to slash taxes, hold down the cost of higher education and boost public education spending to the highest per-student level in state history.
“Now that our economy is thriving, it’s time to make major investments in education,” Scott said. “Let’s not squander our budget surpluses on special interests. Our budget should absolutely reflect the principles we campaigned on. Or in other words, we should do exactly what we told voters we would do.”
Scott did not unveil new proposals in the speech which, after the introductions, was interrupted almost 40 times for applause. But as he has done in the past, the governor introduced an overarching theme to tie together his agenda. He used “dream” or some form of the word 19 times in the address.
“Florida’s long been a place where dreams come true. But this is not just our past, it’s our future. … We want more people to chase their dreams in the great state of Florida,” he said.
The annual speech also gave Scott a chance to change the subject after a bruising two months that featured questions about the forced resignation of the state’s top law-enforcement officer and speculation that Scott’s influence might be waning as lawmakers begin looking past the term-limited governor.
Some of Scott’s goals enjoy broad support, including his call to increase education funding. There is also agreement, at least among the Republicans who control the Legislature, on the need for further tax cuts, though the amount of those cuts and which taxes are slashed might differ.
The governor’s call to “keep cutting taxes” was one of his best applause lines, and House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, said he would like to lower taxes by at least $500 million, despite questions about whether the state could lose $2 billion in health-care funding from federal and local sources.
“I’d love to surpass the $500 million cut that we had last year,” Crisafulli said. “That would be my goal for the House. Obviously, things happen, and we’ll just have to see how things play out over the next several weeks.”
Democrats, unsurprisingly, were critical of Scott’s remarks. Senate Minority Leader Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa, took issue with Scott’s frequent references to dreams coming true in Florida.
“Dreams are not coming true for over a million Floridians who are blocked out of affordable health care,” she said, referring to Republicans’ refusal to expand Medicaid despite Scott’s previous, tepid support for the plan. ” … Dreams die when people get sick and can’t get health care. One of the top issues facing this state is providing health care for 1 million people who don’t have it, and the governor didn’t even mention it.”
Sen. Dwight Bullard, D-Miami, expressed concerned about Scott’s push for more tax cuts.
“The idea of handing those (dollars) out in tax cuts every year means that things like teacher’s salaries, more police officers, better-supported judges, better-supported public defenders and state attorneys, suffer the consequences,” Bullard said. “We have to be about the business of protecting the revenue streams that we have and not losing sight of the good that government can do. Government should be in the business of helping and protecting people, and not be in the business of being shrunken to the point that it suffocates.”
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Burglar Gets More Prison Time
March 4, 2015
Craig Warren Jackson, sentenced last month to prison for a string of Cantonment area burglaries, received another decade in prison Tuesday for additional crimes.
Jackson, 36, was sentenced to an additional 10 years by Judge Linda Nobles on additional burglary related charges.
In Escambia County, he has been charged with burglaries during early 2014 on Southern Oaks Drive, Woodrun Road, Filly Road and Tanager Circle. During those burglaries, jewelry, electronics, weapons and safes were stolen. He was also charged with burglaries in the city of Pensacola in which thousands of dollars worth of electronics, jewelry and other items were stolen. Many of those items have been recovered.
Jackson is still facing trial on several additional burglaries.