Scattered Showers Tonight
June 24, 2015
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Tonight: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 75. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Thursday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 91. Light and variable wind becoming southwest 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon.
Thursday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Friday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Partly sunny, with a high near 90. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Friday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. Southwest wind around 5 mph.
Saturday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 90. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. West wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Sunday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 88. West wind around 5 mph.
Sunday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71.
Monday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 89.
Monday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 73.
Tuesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 89.
Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73.
Wednesday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 90.
Frequently Incarcerated Century Man Arrested Again
June 24, 2015
A Century man with a lengthy arrest history is now back behind bars.
Ronald Berlan Newton, 54, was charged with aggravated assault with intent to commit a felony, a third degree felony offense. He remains in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $100,000.
Newton had started an argument with his brother and other family members at a residence on Blackmon Street in Century, according to an arrest report, and threatened to kill his brother. Family members said Newton picked up a metal garden tool and swung it at his brother’s head, after threatening to kill him.
Deputies said Newton stated repeatedly that his brother was lying.
Since 2007, Newton has been arrested on a long list of charges that were dropped or dismissed included aggravated assault, criminal mischief, battery, lewd and lascivious behavior victim under 18, indecent exposure, disorderly conduct and contempt of court.
Newton was released from state prison in April 2012 after completing a 22 month sentence for stalking after being arrested more than a dozen times in a year. Newton was first found incompetent and remanded into the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families for evaluation, but was later found competent to stand trial.
Newton was again sentenced to prison in October 2013 for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated stalking. After being released from prison, he was once again arrested for contempt of court for willfully violating an domestic violence injunction. He was released from jail on April 4, 2015.
Covenant Hospice Responds To Settlement Of Government Overbilling Claims
June 24, 2015
Last week, Covenant Hospice Inc. agreed to pay $10,149,374 to reimburse the government for alleged overbilling of Medicare, Tricare and Medicaid for hospice services, according to the Department of Justice announced. Covenant Hospice Inc. is a non-profit hospice care provider which operates in Southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. [Read previous story.]
Covenant Hospice has released the following statement:
During recent days, the reputation of Covenant Hospice has come under scrutiny after news of billing errors were released. These errors, which upon discovery were immediately self-reported by Covenant Hospice to the Department of Justice, have not and will not affect the care provided to patients and families at the end of life. Covenant Hospice remains steadfast to its promise to provide the highest standard of care to its patients and is committed to doing what is right.
Hospice services are provided at four levels of care: routine home care, continuous home care, inpatient respite care and general inpatient care – each reimbursed at different rates by federal healthcare programs such as Medicare, Tricare and Medicaid. When billing, hospices are required by these agencies to provide very specific documentation to support the level of care.
During a review of its records in August 2010, unintentional billing and documentation errors were found to have occurred during 2009 and 2010. Hospice patients received the level of care needed, but documentation was insufficient to support the billing rates. Covenant Hospice immediately contacted the Department of Justice to correct these errors.
“We initiated extensive staff training on proper medical record documentation to ensure compliance while continuing to provide the highest quality of care for our patients and families,” said Liz Kuehn, vice president of organizational excellence and corporate compliance.
On June 19, 2015, Covenant Hospice repaid $10.1 million on the common law theory of payment by mistake, and no penalty was assessed by the Department of Justice.
“Excellent patient and family care is the cornerstone of our promise,” said Jeff Mislevy, president and CEO since 2014. “More than ever, we are focused on doing what is right for those we serve, and we will continue to fulfill our promise to provide the highest standard of care and compliance.”
FDOT Contracts With Century To Maintain Town’s Only Traffic Signal
June 24, 2015
The Town of Century has entered into an agreement with the Florida Department of Transportation to continue to maintain the town’s only traffic signal.
The FDOT will pay the town $3,040 to maintain the signal at Highway 29 and Highway 4 for a one year period beginning July 1, continuing an agreement already in place. Century employees change bulbs; repair on more complicated issues are subcontracted to Gulf Coast Traffic Engineers. FDOT frequently contracts with local governmental entities to maintain local traffic signals.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Scott Slashes $461 Million From Budget, Including Local Programs
June 24, 2015
Gov. Rick Scott used his veto pen Tuesday to slash hundreds of projects from the budget adopted by Florida lawmakers last week, setting off a new round of infighting within the already fractious Republican Party that controls state government.
Local items that were cut included $1 million for the National Flight Academy, $3 million for the Pensacola International Airport, $1 million for the Muscogee Freight Corridor and $150,000 for Second Chance Outreach Re-Entry and Education Development, Inc.
The governor struck 450 lines totaling almost $461.4 million from the spending plan for the budget year that begins next month. Everything from pay increases for state firefighters to money for orange and grapefruit juice at visitors centers were cut in the largest practical use of Scott’s line-item veto since he took office in 2011. While Scott slashed $615 million that year, the number was inflated by nixing $305 million that was supposed to be generated by selling state lands; even supporters said the initiative would have brought in a tiny fraction of that funding.
Scott said he wielded his pen against projects that didn’t meet a defined set of criteria he set out. The vetoes reduced what had been a $78.7 billion spending plan to about $78.2 billion.
“I went through the budget looking at every project saying, ‘What’s a statewide priority? Can I get a good return on investment? Has it gone through a state process?’ ” Scott told reporters.
But others saw payback after two grinding legislative sessions this spring in which lawmakers largely sidelined the second-term governor. Scott’s proposed increase in education funding was reduced, and his tax-cut package was whittled down to pay for an increase in hospital spending he opposed. The Senate also strongly backed a plan that would have used Medicaid expansion dollars to help lower-income Floridians buy private insurance, prompting Scott to threaten members of the upper chamber with vetoes. The plan died in the House.
“He promised that he would punish the constituents of those legislators who disagreed with him, and he kept his promise,” said Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville.
In a blistering statement, Senate President Andy Gardiner upbraided Scott for slicing programs for Floridians with disabilities, along with cutting the raises for forestry firefighters and funding for health-care providers.
“While I respect the governor’s authority to veto various lines within our budget, his clear disregard for the public policy merits of many legislative initiatives underscores that today’s veto list is more about politics than sound fiscal policy,” said Gardiner, R-Orlando. “It is unfortunate that the messaging strategy needed to achieve the governor’s political agenda comes at the expense of the most vulnerable people in our state.”
Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam also blasted the governor for vetoing almost $1.6 million for the firefighter raises.
“They’re demonstrably underpaid relative to peers,” Putnam said. “And I’m even more disappointed that it was not applied consistently. The helpful people who take your driver’s license photo were allowed to receive a pay raise, and our forest firefighters who put their lives on the line were not.”
Scott said $2.6 million for pay increases for employees of the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles was backed up by the needs of that agency. He also noted pointedly that he has advocated for performance bonuses for state employees.
“The Legislature did not put in the budget pay increases for state workers other than that one (for firefighters) and highway safety,” he said. “In highway safety’s case, they’re seeing a shortage of applicants, and so that was the rationale.”
Not everyone was critical. House Appropriations Chairman Richard Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, applauded Scott for looking out for taxpayers and trying to impose some accountability in the budget process.
“In the totality of it, I think he did a great job of recognizing we’re not dealing with Monopoly money,” Corcoran said.
He also minimized the complaints about Scott’s decision to strike large portions of the spending plan.
“I think this is something you see post-big veto lists all the time, and it doesn’t mean it’s wrong,” Corcoran said.
Scott axed $15 million for a downtown campus for the University of Central Florida — a project dear to Gardiner — because he said it wasn’t approved through the Florida Board of Governors process for the university system. The board had agreed to ask the Legislature for $2.8 million to help fund a $5.8 million study of the project.
The governor cut a swath of increases for health-care providers, including more than $3 million for pediatric physicians and more than $1.7 million for private-duty nursing services, saying those services had received an increase in the current budget year.
And he slashed tens of millions of dollars a year in water projects more closely associated with the House — including $27.3 million for water management.
Senate Appropriations Chairman Tom Lee, R-Brandon, said that represented a loss for House Speaker Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island. Lee said many of his Senate colleagues were taking the vetoes personally and perceived that the upper chamber was being punished, because of Scott’s earlier threats during the health-care debate.
“They would have no basis for that had it not come from his own lips to their ears,” Lee said.
Lee acknowledged that Scott used the veto more readily this year than last, when the governor struck just $68.9 million from a roughly $77 billion budget.
“What a difference a year makes,” he said. “I wish I could’ve been the appropriations chair in an election year.”
Whether Scott further damaged his already-tenuous relationship with the Legislature — and particularly the Senate — remains to be seen. Gaetz noted that Scott was “all-powerful” on Tuesday because of the line-item veto included in the Constitution.
“But tomorrow, the world turns,” Gaetz said, “and the governor’s back in the position of trying to sell his ideas for next year’s budget.”
NorthEscambia.com contributed to this News Service of Florida report by Brandon Larrabee.
Taxpayer Tab In Drug Testing Lawsuit Tops $1.5 Million
June 24, 2015
Florida taxpayers are on the hook for more than $1.5 million in legal fees — including nearly $1 million to civil-rights lawyers — because of Gov. Rick Scott’s failed push to force welfare applicants and tens of thousands of state workers to submit to suspicionless drug tests.
The state agreed earlier this month to pay $600,000 to the Florida Justice Institute and the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, which represented a single father who sued the Department of Children and Families over a 2011 welfare drug-testing law. The payment, issued this week, was part of a settlement in the case, abandoned by Scott earlier this year after four years of litigation and multiple court decisions striking down the law.
A federal appeals court ruled in December that the state’s mandatory, suspicionless drug testing of applicants in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, program is an unconstitutional violation of Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. After the ruling, Scott decided to walk away from the lawsuit.
“We are proud to have brought an end to the policy,” Florida Justice Institute Executive Director Randall Berg said.
Other costs in the welfare drug-testing case totaled at least $309,000, including $13,300 for Avram Mack, a psychiatrist and Georgetown University School of Medicine professor whose testimony was banned by a judge. The court concluded that Mack was not qualified to be an expert in the case.
The state also paid the GrayRobinson law firm at least $160,000 to represent the Department of Children and Families.
The welfare drug-testing law “shamelessly exploited ugly stereotypes about poor people,” ACLU of Florida Executive Director Howard Simon said.
“The settlement on our attorneys’ fees today finally closes the book on this ugly story and ensures that Floridians who apply for temporary assistance — or any other public benefit — won’t have to be subjected to invasive, humiliating and unconstitutional urine tests without cause or suspicion,” Simon said.
In a separate case, Scott and lawyers representing a state workers’ union reached agreement this spring on the types of Florida government employees who can be forced to undergo suspicionless drug tests. The union, represented by the ACLU, sued Scott after he issued an executive order shortly after taking office in 2011 ordering all workers in agencies under his control, as well as job applicants, to undergo random drug screens.
A federal judge put the policy on hold after the ACLU filed suit that summer, and the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Scott could not constitutionally justify drug testing for all types of state employees without a reason, though it said testing could occur for some workers such as those in “safety-sensitive” positions. The appeals court ordered Scott and lawyers for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, or AFSCME, to come up with a list of jobs that could be subject to testing.
Under a settlement agreement filed in federal court in April, the state agreed to pay the ACLU $375,000 in legal costs for the drawn-out litigation and to limit the drug tests to about 7,000 workers in 157 different job classes, a fraction of the 34,000 employees Scott’s blanket policy was intended to cover.
The taxpayer tab for that lawsuit totaled at least $675,000, including $180,000 for a private lawyer hired by the state, Thomas Bishop, and $120,000 for a special master to oversee the negotiations with the ACLU.
The amount spent on both lawsuits — at least $1.5 million — would cover about 8,900 days of residential substance-abuse treatment, based on average costs for in-patient treatment in Florida.
by Dara Kara, The News Service of Florida
Bernice Elmira Lucas Robbins
June 24, 2015
Bernice Elmira Lucas Robbins passed away on June 18, 2015.
She was born on September 4, 1927 in Bay Springs, FL, to the late Laura Etta Barks Lucas and Robert Lee Lucas. She and her seven siblings grew up “in the country” on the family farm during the Depression – poor but happy; she recalled that life was good, they were loved, and well cared for. She attended 1st through 8th grade at Enon School then graduated at age 16 as the Valedictorian of Ernest Ward High School class of 1944. Career-minded from the beginning, she came to Pensacola and “marched down Palafox Street” with her report card and diploma in hand and landed her first job at Gilmore Jewelers. She went on to work in the lab at Borden Dairy then out to St. Regis paper mill.
During these years she married and had one son, Robert Paul Fillingim, born January 5, 1954. After several years as a homemaker, at age 35 fate compelled her to become the family breadwinner, so she entered nursing school at Pensacola Junior College. As an RN she went to work for Baptist Hospital’s OB/GYN and Labor and Delivery departments in 1964. Soon after, she was offered the position of Director of Baptist’s newly contracted Student Health Clinic for the University of West Florida. Now the single parent of a teenager, she accepted the offer and during her tenure at the clinic, she went on to earn her BSN and ultimately her Masters in Psych Nursing. But she would say her most gratifying endeavor was mentoring the stream of young women and men engaged in the work-study program, encouraging them to succeed in college and seek a career in healthcare. She remained director of the on-campus clinic until her retirement in October 2009.
In the midst of her “career years”, again fate would intervene to reconnect Bernice with her high school sweetheart, William D. “Bill” Robbins, who had returned to the area after years of duty and travel with military and civil service. They got reacquainted in 1976 and were married in 1977. In the years that followed she worked at UWF, he at NAS, and in the meantime they planned, designed, and built their “dream home” in Pace overlooking the sparkling diamond blue waters and fiery sunsets of Escambia Bay. Eventually they would both retire and enjoy the beautiful view, the birds, the day lilies, and tranquil walks together on their quiet bayside lane. Evenings usually included watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune back to back, followed by Dancing With the Stars or the occasional Braves game.
Bernice loved the arts – theater, opera, the symphony, the galleries, and she was an avid reader. She was a lifelong member of the United Methodist Church. She was preceded in death by her parents, and three brothers Marvin, RJ, and Dick Lucas. She is survived by her husband Bill Robbins; her son Robert Fillingim and grandchildren Keaton Fillingim, and Sheila and Jeffrey Richardson; her step-son Mike Robbins and grandsons Nathan (Jenny) and Kurt; her step-daughter Anne Gay (Charles) and grandson Michael (Brittney); one brother Phillip (Charlotte) Lucas; three sisters Elaine Booker, Yvonne Obren, Ellen Settle, and sister-in-law Charlotte (Dick) Lucas; and a host of nieces, nephews, and great-grandchildren. Words cannot express how deeply she will be missed.
Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, June 25, 2015, at Faith Chapel Funeral Home North with Father John Licari, officiating.
Visitation to be held on Wednesday, June 24, 2015, from 5-8 p.m. at the funeral home.
Downed Tree Blocks Road In Walnut Hill
June 23, 2015
High winds associated with an afternoon thunderstorm split an oak tree on Arthur Brown Road this about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, sending a large portion of the tree across the roadway near Kansas Road. The Walnut Hill Station of Escambia Fire Rescue and the Escambia County Road Department were called to remove the tree. With about an hour, the roadway was back open. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Scott Awards Medal Of Heroism To Escambia Deputy
June 23, 2015
During today’s meeting of the Florida Cabinet, Governor Rick Scott recognized Escambia County Deputy Sheriff Kerem Suhi with the Medal of Heroism for his bravery and quick reaction during a dangerous situation where he saved a fellow officer’s life.
“Officer Suhi risked his life to protect a fellow officer and demonstrated tremendous courage in a dangerous situation. I am honored to present him with the Medal of Heroism and thank him for his commitment to protecting the families of our state,” Scott said.
Suhi has served with the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office for five years. In March 2013, Suhi joined Sergeant Shedrick Johnson and other officers in response to a robbery call in the 8800 block of Burning Tree Road in the Scenic Hills area off Nine Mile Road. Upon arriving to the scene, the suspect abruptly opened the home’s garage door as Johnson made repeated calls inside. The suspect opened fire on Johnson and he was struck in the leg.
After witnessing the incident, Suhi quickly responded and worked to help his fellow officer. As Suhi was carrying Johnson away, he saw the suspect aim his firearm at them, so he quickly moved to a safe position behind a vehicle where he worked to save Johnson. Deputy Suhi’s quick thinking in the line of fire saved Sergeant Johnson’s life and both made a full recovery.
“I join Governor Scott and the families of Escambia County in recognizing the bravery of Deputy Kerem Suhi who risked his life to protect his fellow officers. He is a great example of the commitment that our law enforcement officers share in protecting our community,” Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said.
Submitted photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Cantonment Man Sentenced For DUI, Child Neglect For Wrong-Way Trip On Nine Mile Road
June 23, 2015
A Cantonment man has been sentenced for allegedly driving drunk on the wrong side of Nine Mile Road with two children in his vehicle.
Robert Anthony Hardee , 24, was sentenced to 90 days in jail to be followed by 48 months probation for DUI and child neglect without great bodily harm by Judge Michael Jones. He was also ordered to pay nearly $2,000 in fines and court costs, attend DUI school and consume no alcohol after his release. His driver’s license was also suspended for one year.
An Escambia County Sheriff’s deputy was traveling westbound on Nine Mile Road on August 9, 2014, when he observed traffic swerving left and right to avoid a Nissan SUV traveling on the wrong side of the road. Hardee turned on Chemstrand Road where he came to a stop. Two children were in the vehicle.
Hardee failed a field sobriety test, and later failed a breathalyzer test with an alcohol level of .242 — just over three times the legal limit of .08 — according deputies. Deputies reported finding a small bottle of vodka in the vehicle, with one of the children telling a deputy that Hardee has just consumed the alcohol.
Hardee also received traffic citations for driving on the wrong side of the road and possession of an open container in a motor vehicle.