USDA Requirements For Grower Eligibility For Crop Insurance By June 1
May 24, 2015
The federal Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill) included new requirements that all producers – including fruit, vegetable, specialty crop and nursery producers – that purchase federally-subsidized crop insurance must certify compliance with the U.S. Department of Agriculture by June 1, 2015.
This applies to growers even if they are not purchasing crop insurance policies until later in the year. Any growers who do not file the correct paperwork (Form AD-1026) by June 1 will be ineligible to receive the premium subsidy and may see a substantial increase in the individual crop insurance policy for the 2015-16 reinsurance year.
Producers should meet with their crop insurance agent or visit their local USDA service center before the deadline to ensure compliance with the new procedure. For more information about crop insurance and the Farm Bill, go to www.rma.usda.gov.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Health Care Funding, Special Session
May 24, 2015
For weeks now, one question has hovered over Tallahassee: How will the House and Senate resolve their differences on health-care funding and wrap up a special session — scheduled to begin June 1 — with a spending plan for state government?
If the pieces didn’t necessarily fall into place this week, lawmakers and Gov. Rick Scott were at least able to get around to opening the puzzle box.
Scott’s newly created health-care funding commission held its first meeting. But with hospitals giving the panel the cold shoulder and the chairman suggesting the group probably wouldn’t finish the work before the end of the special session, it appeared to be as much political theater as viable solution.
More important was the federal government’s preliminary estimate of the size of a pot of money known as the Low Income Pool program — or, in the parlance of the Capitol, LIP. The nearly $2.2 billion program will now be shaved down to about $1 billion, though the state could make up the difference with some local funds and perhaps state tax money (the House’s preferred solution) or a form of Medicaid expansion (the Senate’s).
However the impasse ends, the wheels of state government have continued turning in the interim. Scott signed dozens of bills this week covering everything from who can carry guns during emergency situations to the funding of pension plans for local police officers and firefighters. And the state’s de facto school-voucher program seems safe — at least for now.
LIPS ARE MOVING
Even before its first meeting, Scott’s Commission on Healthcare and Hospital Funding was not received well by the industry that has so far been the focus of its inquiry. Scott had asked the Florida Hospital Association to submit ideas for revenue sharing to the panel for consideration if the federal government decided not to renew LIP at all.
On Monday, two days before the commission’s first get-together, FHA said “no thanks” (in so many words).
“You have suggested that a new tax on hospital operating surpluses might be a way to sustain the existing LIP program,” hospital association executives wrote in a letter to Scott. “Such an arrangement is not a solution to the challenge we face.”
Instead, the executives pointed to the Senate’s plan to use Medicaid expansion funds to help low-income Floridians purchase private insurance. Scott and House leaders have ruled out that idea.
Individual hospitals weren’t much more conciliatory. Scott asked all of them to fill out surveys on their financial data. Many — though not all — essentially told the governor to look up the information himself.
Many of the dozens of surveys returned by hospitals had five or fewer of the roughly 100 lines filled out with new information. Officials frequently referred Scott back to information filed with the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, which oversees much of the state’s spending on health care.
“Florida Hospital regularly reports financial and hospital utilization data to the Agency for Health Care Administration, as required by state law,” wrote Joe Johnson, president and chief executive officer of Florida Hospital Carrollwood, in a letter accompanying an essentially blank response to the survey. “We believe our submissions are up to date, accurate and readily available to the public for review. In order to meet your urgent request, we respectfully refer you to consult AHCA to obtain this comprehensive information.”
That didn’t sit well with some of the commission’s members when they gathered Wednesday.
“As a taxpayer, if they receive tax dollars, they should be responsible for giving us the information that would help us make sure that the tax dollars are being spent wisely,” said commission member Sam Seevers, a former Destin mayor.
But whether the panel can even help resolve the budget issues facing the Legislature has become something of an open question.
Carlos Beruff, president of Medallion homes and chairman of the commission, indicated he thought it would be difficult for the group to gather all of the information it needs to help the state navigate those issues in time to help lawmakers.
“I don’t think you’ll have all the data by the end of the special session — no, I don’t,” Beruff said. “But there’ll be more data.”
Beruff would not answer directly how long he thought the panel might work. But asked specifically if it would wrap up by the end of the special session, he merely answered: “It’d be interesting to try.”
The next day, though, lawmakers and Scott had their answer on how much the state would get for the LIP program: about $1 billion.
“We note that this level of funding for the LIP, coupled with the options the state may elect at its discretion described in this letter, would enable Florida to retain Medicaid investment in the state at or above the current $2.16 billion level of LIP funding,” wrote Vikki Wachino, director of the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
The letter did not exactly solve the argument between House and Senate leaders. For Senate President Andy Gardiner and his lieutenants, the reduction in LIP just backed up their call for a Medicaid expansion alternative.
“While the letter from CMS outlines a number of policy alternatives, none of these options will allow Florida to maximize both state and federal taxpayer dollars in a more effective manner than by reducing the number of uninsured Floridians seeking basic health care in hospital emergency rooms,” Gardiner, R-Orlando, wrote in a memo to senators. “Clearly, a conservative free-market expansion of health care coverage is the most fiscally responsible approach.”
But House Appropriations Chairman Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, indicated that he favored a plan that would use state money to make the hospitals whole. The House had pitched a similar idea near the end of the regular session, when lawmakers were unsure what the final size of the LIP program might be.
“Now, the great news is that we’re able to do that with finality,” Corcoran said.
THE REST OF THE STORY
There’s less drama than usual this year about bill-signing season, given that Scott can’t yet use his line-item veto pen on the budget — since one does not exist — and some of the more controversial legislation never crossed the finish line in the messy conclusion of the regular legislative session. This in a session that was one of the least productive in recent memory, at least as measured in terms of bills passed.
But there is still legislation for Scott to consider, and he approved 44 bills on Thursday.
One (SB 290) would allow Floridians without concealed-weapons licenses to carry guns during mandatory emergency evacuations.
“It’s really a no-brainer,” National Rifle Association lobbyist Marion Hammer said. “When people are forced to leave their homes, they have a right to carry their possessions with them — including their firearms to protect their property.”
Scott also signed bills aimed at improving the state’s child-protection and juvenile-justice systems and bills banning job discrimination based on pregnancy and creating tax-free savings accounts for people with disabilities.
The governor also approved a long-discussed bill aimed at shoring up the finances of pension funds for local police and firefighters.
Friday brought more signings, including a bill that would allow children in Florida to secretly record conversations related to sexual abuse or other violent acts
The signing of the measure (HB 7001) came a day after Richard McDade, a Fort Myers man who spent four years in prison on charges of sexually assaulting his stepdaughter, was acquitted by a jury in Lee County. The Florida Supreme Court in December ordered a new trial for McDade, declaring that recordings made by McDade’s stepdaughter should not have been allowed into his initial Lee County trial. State law generally bars recording of conversations unless all parties agree, and it also prevents such recordings from being used as evidence in court.
NO SUIT FOR YOU
School funding is likely to be a topic of discussion during the special session, but another effort by the state’s main teachers union to (in their leaders’ opinion) prevent money from being siphoned away from public schools was dealt a setback Monday.
In a victory for school-choice supporters, Leon County Circuit Judge George Reynolds tossed out a constitutional challenge to a state program that helps send tens of thousands of low-income children to private schools.
Reynolds ruled that plaintiffs in the case — spearheaded by the Florida Education Association — did not have legal “standing” to challenge the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program.
The voucher-like program provides tax credits to companies that donate money to nonprofit entities that help pay for children to attend private schools. It includes nearly 70,000 students this year, according to the Foundation for Florida’s Future, a group founded by former Gov. Jeb Bush that is a major backer of school-choice programs.
Patricia Levesque, executive director of the foundation, issued a statement after Reynolds’ ruling and blasted the union, which also led a legal fight that in 2006 blocked a voucher program pushed by Bush.
“In Florida, we’re way beyond sitting back and letting the status quo roll over students’ opportunities and lives,” Levesque said in the statement. “The unions do not speak for the tens of thousands of parents and teachers embracing choices that make success possible for more and more students every year. And thank goodness for that.”
But Joanne McCall, a vice president of the Florida Education Association who was a named plaintiff in the case, said the union thinks the tax-credit scholarship program, like the Bush voucher program, is unconstitutional. She said the union would decide soon whether to appeal Reynolds’ decision.
“It’s time to settle the issue of the constitutionality of vouchers once and for all,” McCall said in a prepared statement. “We think this issue is of vital importance and the citizens of Florida deserve for this question to be decided.”
STORY OF THE WEEK: The federal government announced a preliminary estimate of $1 billion for the state’s Low Income Pool program in the budget year that begins July 1. Questions about that program have complicated efforts by lawmakers to reach a deal on the budget.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Take the Medicaid expansion. It not only takes care of your problem with the LIP, you’re empowering the patient. Oh, my God, isn’t that terrible? You’re giving poor people health care. Oh, that’s awful.”—Tom Brooks, of DeLand, at the first meeting of Gov. Rick Scott’s Commission on Healthcare and Hospital Funding.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Wahoos Blow Chance To Beat Jackson
May 24, 2015
He had won his last two starts and came close to a third before Pensacola Blue Wahoos starting pitcher Robert Stephenson walked Jackson Generals right fielder Jabari Blash and was pulled after throwing 107 pitches.
In 4.2 innings of work, Stephenson did strike out a career-high 11 hitters. However, it was not enough by the Cincinnati Reds top prospect, to help Pensacola pull out another win against the Jackson Generals, falling 8-6, in 11 innings.
Pensacola kept clawing its way back into the game in front of 5,038 at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium—the 114th sellout in 225 home games. Pensacola has now won 11 of 16 games since May 7, and stands at 19-24 on the season.
Jackson went back on top, 7-6, in the 11th inning when Jabari Henry scored on catcher Marcus Littlehood’s double to the right field corner. They made it 8-6 when first baseman Dan Paolini was walked in by reliever Kevin Shackelford.
Stephenson walked five batters, including three straight in the first inning that led to the only two runs he gave up. He then fanned 11 of the final 13 outs. He gave up two hits in the game both to Generals leadoff batter Tyler Smith, who doubled and singled. He was 3-5 on the night with two doubles, two runs scored and one run batted in.
Stephenson appeared to protest being yanked by Pensacola manager Pat Kelly but was relieved by Blaine Howell, a Pensacola State College product.
“In the first inning, I’m trying to figure out the ump’s strike zone,” Stephenson said. “Definitely, aside from the first inning, I felt really good.”
Kelly was not happy with the Wahoos after the loss to the Generals.
“We’ve walked 25 guys in the last three nights we’ve played,” Kelly said. “We should just be thankful we won two out of three games.”
Blue Wahoos first baseman Marquez Smith tied the game in the ninth, 6-6, to send the game to extra innings when he hit a bouncer up the middle that scored center fielder Beau Amaral. Amaral led off the inning with a walk, the third leadoff walk in a row.
Jackson had gone ahead with a run in the bottom of the eighth, 6-5, when pinch runner Jabari Henry scored on reliever Carlos Gonzalez’s throwing error to first base on a sac bunt by catcher Marcus Littlehood.
Kelly said the Blue Wahoos simply squandered too many opportunities to win its third consecutive game, pointing to two failed sacrifice bunts during the game. In the bottom of the 11th the Blue Wahoos loaded the bases with two outs before Seth Mejias-Brean grounded out.
“We kept battling and kept battling,” Kelly said. “We had opportunities in lots of innings.”
Pollard McCall Principal Hugh White Passes Away
May 23, 2015
Hugh White, the principal of Pollard-McCall Junior High School, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly Saturday from natural causes. He was 40 years old.
He had served as a principal for the Escambia County (AL) Board of Education at Pollard-McCall since since February 2006. He previously spent over eight years as a middle school math and science teacher. White received a Masters of Education in educational leadership and administration from the University of West Florida in 2002, and previously earned a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics and general sciences from UWF in 1996. White also earned an Associates degree from Jefferson Davis Community College in 1994.
White held an auctioneer certificate from Troy University Dothan and served as auctioneer at the Escambia Co-op Stockyard in Brewton, AL.
He leaves behind numerous family members and friends. Service arrangements are incomplete at this time.
Pollard-McCall Junior High School is located in Pollard, AL, just east of Flomaton and about five miles northeast of Century.
Memorial Day Closures
May 23, 2015
The following will be closed Monday in observance of the Memorial Day holiday:
Escambia County
- Escambia County Board of County Commissioners
- West Florida Public Library System
- Escambia County Property Appraiser
- Escambia County Tax Collector
- Escambia County Supervisor of Elections
- Escambia County Clerk of the Court & Comptroller
- Perdido Landfill, excluding the administrative offices, will be open
- Oak Grove Convenience Center will be closed
- Escambia County Area Transit (ECAT):
- Administrative offices closed
- ECAT will ONLY operate the following routes on Memorial Day:
- 59 Express
- 64 Beach Jumper
- Beach Trolley
- UWF Trolleys will not operate
ECUA
- ECUA Business Offices will be closed
- Residential and commercial sanitation collections will be unaffected and will follow normal schedule
Cities/Town Of Century, Pensacola, Jay
- All city offices and departments will be closed
Santa Rosa County
- Santa Rosa County Board of Commissioners, including the library system and animal shelter
- The Central Landfill is open Monday, May 26 from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Santa Rosa County Clerk of the Court
- Santa Rosa County Property Appraiser
- Santa Rosa County Supervisor of Elections
- Santa Rosa County Tax Collector
Northview Takes On Jay In Spring Game (With Photo Gallery)
May 23, 2015
In the end, the scoreboard said the Northview Chiefs topped the Jay Royals 52-31 Friday night at Tommy Weaver Memorial Stadium in Bratt. The spring game started with a Northview 22-6 lead in the first half, which consisted mostly of the two team’s junior varsity or reserve players. The second half, which pitted varsity against varsity, Jay earned a 31-30 advantange.
“”We didn’t necessarily come into the game thinking we’d work it at a high tempo, but that’s what we did,” Northview Coach Sid Wheatley said following the win. He said while the Chiefs were on top, there’s still a long hot summer full of work before they are ready for the regular season in the fall.
“”We definitively have to clean some stuff up. We’ve got to get bigger, stronger, faster in the weight room and with our conditioning during summer,” he said.
For a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Scott: Area Adds Almost 5,000 Jobs
May 23, 2015
Governor Rick Scott has announced that the Pensacola metro area again experienced positive annual job growth over the year in April 2015 with 4,900 new jobs. The area’s unemployment rate declined by 0.7 percentage point over the year, from 5.7 percent in April 2014 to 5.0 percent in April 2015. Florida businesses have added more than 865,000 private-sector jobs since December 2010.
Governor Scott said, “Our work to make Florida the most business-friendly state in the nation is paying off in Pensacola as 4,900 new jobs have been added over the year. Florida has seen positive job creation statewide with more than 865,600 private-sector jobs added across the state since December 2010.”
The industries with the largest job gains in the Pensacola metro area over the year were education and health services with 1,000 new jobs, leisure and hospitality with 900 new jobs, and trade, transportation, and utilities with 800 new jobs. The Pensacola metro area had the fastest annual job growth rate compared to all metro areas in financial activities at 5.7 percent in April 2015, tied with the Orlando metro area. The Pensacola metro area had 6,223 online job openings in April 2015 and 1,014 openings for high wage, high skill science technology engineering math (STEM) occupations over the year.
Florida created 25,800 private-sector jobs in April 2015, and a total of 865,600 private-sector jobs since December 2010. Florida’s statewide unemployment rate for April 2015 was 5.6 percent. In April, more than 37,600 Floridians were placed in jobs by CareerSource Escarosa and the state’s other 23 Regional Workforce Boards.
Bratt Elementary Presents Fifth Grade Awards
May 23, 2015
Bratt Elementary School presented the following fifth grade awards Friday:
Honor Roll A’s & B’s
- Lakyn Bodiford
- Cassie Davis
- Tessa Flowers
- Grayson James
- Anna Lee
- James Loftis
- Reid McCall
- Travis Nelson
- Dallon Rackard
- Adrianne Shanks
- Jordan Wilson
Academic Achievement A’s
- Anna Adams
- John Bashore
- Shelby Cotita
- Zane Gurganus
- Sarah Hetrick
- Ethan Kilburn
- Mia Starns
Progress Award
- Tereasia Burt
- Miyhanna Davidson
- Ah’Zavion Gregory
- Rachael Sanders
- Jordan Stanley
- Rebekah Stilwell
- Kiara Wesley
Outstanding Attendance
- John Bashore
- Lakyn Bodiford
- Ashton Cloud
- Miyhanna Davidson
- Sarius Davis
- Jacob Daw
- Jonathan Gibbs
- Ah’zavion Gregory
- Sarah Hetrick
- Grayson James
- Drake Jordan
- Ethan Kilburn
- Dallon Rackard
- Tymiriana Wesley
- Mekhi White
Perfect Attendance
- Anna Adams
Outstanding Citizenship Award
- Anna Adams
- Tereasia Burt
- Sarah Hetrick
- Mia Starns
- Kiara Wesley
Sons of American Revolution
- Anna Adams
- John Bashore
- Tereasia Burt
- Sarah Hetrick
- Dallon Rackard
- Mia Starns
P.E. Award
- Tereasia Burt
- Shelby Cotita
- Jordan Stanley
Music Award
- Da’Merion Findley
- Adrianne Shanks
- Jordan Stanley
- Mia Starns
Art Award
- John Bashore
- Cassie Davis
- A.J. Hasty
- Angel Merchant
- Bailey Stuckey
Battle of the Books Team Members
- Shelby Cotita
- Miyhanna Davidson
- Andrew Denton
- James Loftis
- Kaleigh Macks
Sunshine Math Team Members
- Anna Adams
- John Bashore
- Shelby Cotita
- Cassie Davis
- Zane Gurganus
- Sarah Hetrick
- Mia Starns
Spelling Bee
Anna Adams
Century Lions Club
Kiara Wesley
Cox
Jordan Wilson
Walnut Hill Ruritan
John Bashore
Shining Star
Anna Adams
Student of the Year
Sarius Davis
FWC Law Enforcement Report
May 23, 2015
The Florida FWC Division of Law Enforcement reported the following activity during the weekly period ending May 21 in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.
ESCAMBIA COUNTY
Officer Hutchinson and Investigator Brown were patrolling the Escambia River Wildlife Management Area when they observed three kayakers paddling in a lake along the river. They made contact with the kayakers and discovered that none of them had PFDs and one of them had been fishing without a license. A records check revealed an outstanding warrant on one of the kayakers. After placing him in custody, the officers found the subject to be in possession of marijuana. He was charged for possession of cannabis and transported to the Escambia County Jail on the warrant.
Officers and investigators responded to a single vessel accident where the vessel struck the pilings of the eastbound span of the I-10 Bridge and immediately sank. The operator spent the next 12 hours atop the cobia tower before another fisherman spotted the man and called 911. The man was taken by air-ambulance to Sacred Heart Hospital and immediately taken into surgery. The man is in critical condition. Investigator Hughes is conducting the investigation.
SANTA ROSA COUNTY
The Fin Cat crew was on patrol in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico south of Pensacola. The crew initiated a boarding on a recreational vessel with three persons onboard who were actively fishing. Prior to boarding, the subjects were asked if they “had any luck.” One of them responded that they just got there. He was then asked if they had any fish onboard. He reiterated that they just got there and only had bait. During their inspection, the boarding team discovered eight undersized red snapper, a red snapper fillet, and six undersized greater amberjack, the largest measuring 24 inches in length. All three subjects were issued federal citations.
Officer Lewis was on patrol in Blackwater River State Forest when he observed a man and woman camping. Officer Lewis observed the man in possession of a pistol. The couple was also in possession of alcoholic beverages which are prohibited in the area they were in. A records check revealed that the man had a domestic violence injunction against him and could not possess a firearm. The firearm was seized and the man was arrested for possession of a firearm while currently a subject of a protection order.
This report represents some events the FWC handled over the past week;however, it does not include all actions taken by the Division of Law Enforcement. Information provided by FWC.
Scott Signs Evers’ Bill, Unbuckles Seat Belts For Rural Letter Carriers
May 23, 2015
Rural letter carriers in Florida no longer have to wear seat belts while working their routes, under a bill signed Friday by Gov. Rick Scott.
The bill, sponsored by Greg Evers, R-Baker, took effect immediately. The bill adds an exemption to the state’s mandatory seat-belt law for rural letter carriers “performing duties in the course of his or her employment on a designated postal route.”
The state’s law requiring motorists to wear seat belts already included limited exemptions, such as for workers collecting garbage or recyclable goods. During floor debate on April 22, Rep. Irv Slosberg, D-Boca Raton, warned the bill could be the “unraveling” of primary enforcement of the seat-belt law. He said mandatory use of seat belts has helped reduce traffic fatalities.