Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Battle Lines And Power Lines
July 26, 2015
In case you were wondering, the 2016 general election is still more than 15 months away.
But with new congressional districts about to be crafted by lawmakers and a Republican presidential primary campaign already in full swing, the off-season ain’t what it used to be. Once and potentially future congressmen are already plotting their comebacks depending on what Florida’s next political map looks like. And a former governor of the state stopped in Tallahassee to vow to take on the lobbying corps in a different capital city: Washington, D.C.
The wheels of state government kept turning. The Department of Education approved a new funding formula for colleges, and a big-box retailer asked the Public Service Commission to let it out of energy-efficiency payments. Those were footnotes, though, in a political city already beginning to eye the next election.
GETTING IN LINE
A spot in the part-time Florida Legislature is increasingly beginning to look like a full-time job.
After the Florida Supreme Court struck down the state’s existing congressional districts as an unconstitutional gerrymander in a July 9 ruling, legislative leaders this week unveiled the dates of a special session to redraw the boundaries for at least eight of the 27 seats: Aug. 10 to Aug. 21.
Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, and House Speaker Steve Crisafulli R-Merritt Island, also directed staff from the new House Select Committee on Redistricting and the new Senate Committee on Reapportionment to work with legislative attorneys to initially draft a “base map” that complies with the ruling.
“This map proposal will be drafted solely by staff in collaboration with counsel, without our participation or the participation of any other member, and will be provided simultaneously to all members and the public prior to the convening of the special session,” Gardiner and Crisafulli wrote. “We believe that presenting a base map that follows the Supreme Court order to you and the public will make it easier to discuss all legislative actions in an open and transparent manner.”
Of course, lawmakers had already spent the last three years saying that the 2012 process that produced the map thrown out by the court was the most transparent in the state’s history, as Florida Democratic Party spokesman Max Steele sarcastically noted on Twitter.
“I know we said it last time. And then the time before that. And also the time before that. But for real this time,” Steele tweeted.
In any case, holding the special session in August means that the Legislature will have met in a regular session, special session or in committees during nine of the 12 months in 2015. Lawmakers’ decision to start the next regular session in January 2016 — pushing up committee meetings to prepare for that gathering — certainly looked like a good idea before a budget blow-up and the redistricting case sparked two special sessions.
And whether the new lines will be influenced by politics or not, the possibilities were already influencing politics. Former Gov. Charlie Crist sounded ready to once again crank up his portable electric fan and re-enter the fray by running in Congressional District 13, a swing district that is expected to take on a more bluish tint as it pushes into the southern end of Pinellas County.
“If the new congressional map includes my home, I intend on running to serve the people again,” said Crist, a St. Petersburg Democrat who was elected governor in 2006 as a Republican but later switched parties.
Meanwhile, incumbent Republican Congressman David Jolly was throwing his hat into the ring for a U.S. Senate seat. Jolly had already been weighing a bid for statewide office, but the impending changes to his district and the chance he would face the telegenic Crist probably helped him make up his mind.
“Over the next year, I intend to run for the United States Senate on an unwavering platform that will reject the politics of division and class warfare that have defined the current administration, reject the failed foreign policies that have projected only weakness and apology on the world stage, and embrace a new economy founded on the principle that individuals and families, not government bureaucrats, create success,” Jolly, 42, of Indian Shores, said in a prepared statement.
And former Republican Congressman Steve Southerland was looking at jumping back into the race for the North Florida seat he lost to Democratic Congresswoman Gwen Graham last fall. While Graham’s district wasn’t thrown out by the Supreme Court, changes to a neighboring seat will almost certainly give her far more Republican-friendly territory.
“I was as surprised as anyone (by the ruling). But when you look at the maps that are floating around — and one in particular that seems to be gaining traction — you know, I represented 80 percent of the land mass that they are proposing in the new Florida (Congressional District) 2,” Southerland told The News Service of Florida.
‘A DIFFERENT AGENDA ALTOGETHER’
There are no maps required to know whether you’re going to run for president, and two of the Florida GOP’s favorite sons — former Gov. Jeb Bush and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio — have already taken that plunge. This week, Bush came back to Tallahassee to pitch his ideas for fixing the federal government.
Bush, seeking to portray himself as a Washington outsider, laid out plans for civil-service and congressional reforms, including plans to push for constitutional amendments that would require a balanced budget and give the president line-item veto power on appropriation bills.
“I’m offering a different agenda altogether,” Bush said “It will be my intention not to preside over the establishment, but in every way I know to disrupt that establishment and make it more accountable for the people.”
Democrats were quick to question how much credit Bush should get for the state’s economic growth and snarked away at the idea of someone who shares a name with two former presidents challenging the status quo.
“It’s hard to think of a plan less likely to change the way Washington works than a Bush running for president promising to change the way Washington works,” Steele said. “It’s also hard to take his proposals to reform lobbying seriously when he delivered his speech to a roomful of applauding Tallahassee lobbyists.”
And Bush wasn’t the only one preparing for November 2016 regardless of the map. Supporters of a proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize medical marijuana sent 100,000 petitions this week to county elections supervisors, one of the first steps in getting the proposal before voters next year.
It’s the second shot for United for Care, the committee behind the petition drive, to get the proposal on the ballot. A similar plan received 58 percent of the vote in November, just shy of the 60 percent required for passage.
Local supervisors of elections have 30 days to validate at least 68,317 petitions to trigger scrutiny by the Florida Supreme Court, which signed off on the previous version of the proposal last year on a 4-3 vote. Like all other petition initiatives, United for Care needs 683,149 validated, signed petitions to get “Use of Marijuana for Debilitating Medical Conditions” on the November 2016 ballot.
United for Care campaign manager Ben Pollara said he expects the Supreme Court to receive the validated petitions by August.
“We’re way ahead of the eight-ball this time. Last time, I was totally stressed and our staff was working 18-hour days all through the holidays, and this time I believe we will have effectively put this thing to bed well before Christmas,” he said.
ALWAYS LOW PRICES FOR ELECTRICITY?
“Save Money. Live Better” might not just be a slogan for Wal-Mart. At least when it comes to electricity bills, the retail giant is hoping it will become a reality. Wal-Mart and a group representing other large users of electricity say they can do a better job of saving energy if state regulators would let them opt out of a nearly 35-year-old conservation program.
However, the state’s most influential energy providers told the Florida Public Service Commission that such a proposal would shift costs to small businesses and residential customers. And an environmental group said the “radical” proposal could further diminish conservation efforts in Florida.
The proposal would allow Wal-Mart, as well as others that use massive amounts of energy — including large grocers and cement manufacturers — to opt out of paying the energy conservation charge on their bills.
Wal-Mart attorney Robert Scheffel Wright and Jon Moyle, representing the Florida Industrial Power Users Group, noted there are models Florida could emulate. A number of other states have similar opt-out programs.
Customers would “have to meet the utilities’ energy percentage savings goals as established by your decisions,” Wright told commissioners. “So opt-out cannot result in any less energy conservation than utilities’ programs and can reasonably be expected to produce more savings, because we’ll probably be doing a cushion and doing more than the minimum specified by your goals.”
But Florida Power & Light executive Thomas Koch told the commission the costs could be in the millions of dollars just for the administrative changes to the conservation programs.
A decision isn’t expected until at least September.
Meanwhile, the Florida Board of Education approved a new performance-funding system for state colleges, the latest step in Florida officials’ drive to tie money for higher education to how well institutions and their students do.
The performance system will control how the state divvies up a total of $40 million, including $20 million of new funding for colleges and $20 million in money that colleges were already receiving. In that respect, it resembles a larger performance plan for state universities that started last year.
According to information provided to the board, seven colleges will receive their existing funding back and a higher share of the new money: Santa Fe College; Valencia College; Tallahassee Community College; Lake-Sumter State College; Gulf Coast State College; State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota; and Florida SouthWestern State College.
Five schools — Pasco-Hernando State College, the College of Central Florida, Daytona State College, Northwest Florida State College and Pensacola State College — will not receive new funding and will have some of their existing funding held back until they show improvement.
The other 16 colleges will receive their existing funding and some performance funding, though not as much as the seven highest-scoring schools.
STORY OF THE WEEK: The repercussions from a Supreme Court ruling ordering the Legislature to redraw at least eight of Florida’s 27 congressional districts were already being felt, as politicians jockeyed for position.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “It’s raining. There’s no place to park out there now. And this poor kid comes screaming up in some little car and grabs this box of stuff and runs up to the door and he’s pounding on the door. And 5:00 is like a minute away. His face was up against the glass. He’s mouthing ‘Please open the door!’ He’s sopping wet.”— Jeff Sharkey, a lobbyist who represents the Medical Marijuana Business Association of Florida, describing the frenzied scene at the Department of Health as nursery representatives raced through a downpour to submit applications to become the state’s first legal medical-marijuana producers.
by Brandon Larrabee, The News Service of Florida
Sunny, Middle 90’s Today
July 26, 2015
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 94. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph in the morning.
Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 74. Calm wind.
Monday: Sunny and hot, with a high near 98. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph in the morning.
Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 75. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Tuesday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny and hot, with a high near 97. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph in the morning.
Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 77. Calm wind.
Wednesday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 95. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 76. Southwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Thursday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 93.
Thursday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 76.
Friday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 92.
Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 74.
Saturday: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91.
Sapp Graduates From Basic Training
July 26, 2015
Air Force Airman 1st Class Kenneth Sapp Jr graduated from basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, San Antonio, Texas.
The airman completed an intensive, eight-week program that included training in military discipline and studies, Air Force core values, physical fitness, and basic warfare principles and skills.Airmen who complete basic training earn four credits toward an associate in applied science degree through the Community College of the Air Force.
Sapp is the son of Tosha Sapp of Jay and Kenneth Sapp of Milton.
He is a 2015 graduate of Milton High School.
Council On Aging Needs Fans, Air Conditioners For Seniors
July 26, 2015
The Council on Aging of West Florida is in need of donations to help senior clients stay cool during the hot summer months.
Many clients are in need of fans and air conditioners. Donations, which must be new in the box with a standard 120 volt plug, can be dropped off at the Council on Aging Office at 875 Royce Street in Pensacola.
Donations towards fans and air conditioners can also be made by calling (850) 432-1475.
Pictured top: The Association of Monsanto Solutia Retirees recently donated $1,000 to the Council on Aging of West Florida to purchase air conditioners for needy seniors. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge
State Sees Sharp Spike In Number Of Children In Foster Care
July 26, 2015
The number of Florida children in the state’s foster-care system has reached its highest level since 2008 — driven by both a spike in the number of kids being removed from their homes and a drop in the number being discharged after a stint in foster care.
In the last 24 months, the number of children in what’s known as out-of-home care has reached 22,004 statewide, up from 17,591 in 2013.
These and other trends are included in a report developed by the Department of Children and Families for a recent meeting of the state’s privatized community-based care organizations, which oversee foster care and adoption services.
Child-welfare professionals say there are multiple reasons for the surge, among them the state’s new method for assessing risks to a child’s safety. The new methodology involves looking past a single incident that prompts a visit from a child protective investigator to the likelihood of danger down the road.
“The safety methodology requires that the investigators ask a lot more questions regarding (a family’s) past history,” said Mark Jones, CEO of the Community Partnership for Children, which serves Volusia, Flagler and Putnam counties. “The more questions they’re asking, the more red flags they’re seeing, and they’re seeing that children may not be safe for the long term.”
DCF Assistant Secretary for Child Welfare Janice Thomas agreed.
“In our previous practice, we did (put) a lot of focus on what was happening right then, specifically what had been reported to the hotline,” she said. “Now we are trying to take a different lens to that family and include any kind of prior history that we have.”
Jones, who said his agency had seen a spike of 35 percent in out-of-home placements over the last nine months, also noted that over time, the number of children in the system typically varies.
For instance, he said, the last spike came in 2012, due to the state’s prescription-drug epidemic. The Legislature responded to concerns about so-called “pill mills” earlier this decade by cracking down on prescription-drug abuse, leading to more child-protection actions.
“Every three or four years, we see the pendulum swing, from family preservation to child safety,” Jones said. “I think it’s got less to do with methodology and more to do with the focus in the media, specifically on child safety and child deaths.”
A wave of media reports on child deaths in 2013 culminated in sweeping new legislation that went into effect a year ago this week.
“The cultural environment that we have right now is one where no one wants a kid to die, ever,” said Mike Watkins, chief executive officer of Big Bend Community Based Care. “And the easiest way to make sure kids don’t die is to remove them. I think the department and pockets, certain communities like Miami, Broward and West Palm Beach, are extremely risk-averse and decide to remove the child if there’s any question.”
Watkins also pointed to the fact that the state’s population has increased since 2008, when the number of people moving to Florida fell due to the recession. “Now that’s picked back up,” he said.
Many agree that another factor is high turnover among child protective investigators at DCF and the six sheriff’s offices that handle child-protection cases, and among case managers at the community-based care organizations.
The 2014 child-welfare reform law was accompanied by an increase of $21.2 million for new child-protective investigators. However, because there is still a high rate of turnover among the CPIs, as they’re known, many are relatively new and more likely to err on the side of removing a child from the home.
And while the community-based care organizations got $10 million in new funding last year and $29.1 million in new funding this year, they say it won’t meet the need caused by the uptick of children in foster care.
“It will not be enough,” Watkins said. “The new dollars don’t take in the projections we’re seeing.”
Former state senator Ron Silver, who handles legislative affairs for Our Kids, the community-based care lead agency in Miami, agreed.
“We’re very grateful for what they’ve done,” he said. “But that was catch-up time. They gave us more money, but they had not given us (increased) money for a long period of time.”
According to DCF, between May 2013 and July 2014, the number of children receiving Our Kids in-home services in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties increased more than 63 percent, while the number in out-of-home care increased nearly 36 percent.
The increased numbers also have revealed statewide gaps in family services that allow children to stay with their parents after verified findings of abuse or neglect.
Christina Spudeas, executive director of the advocacy group Florida’s Children First, said she found the most troubling aspect of the DCF report to be the fact that “in-home services to prevent removal have declined since a peak in 2012.”
“The key to successfully leaving children in the home after an allegation of abuse or neglect is to have the right services provided to the family at the right time, with sufficient oversight,” Spudeas said. “If the lead agencies are not working hard to have those services in place, then they are part of the problem.”
But DCF’s Thomas, who has worked in child welfare for more than 30 years, said the new methodology was still being implemented and would ultimately succeed.
“The practice we’ve established is the best I’ve ever seen,” she said. “It’s the best we’ve ever practiced in Florida, in my opinion. … People are still learning it.
by Margie Menzel, The News Service of Florida
NorthEscambia.com photo.
Fred Harold Allen, Sr.
July 26, 2015
Fred Harold Allen, Sr., age 83, of Cantonment, passed away at home on Thursday, July 23, 2015. He was born October 5, 1931 in Mobile. After graduating from Murphy High School in Mobile in 1949, he worked his way through college, earning a degree in chemical engineering from The Alabama Polytechnic Institute (now Auburn University) in 1955. While still in school, Fred joined the National Guard and was activated to serve in the Korean War.
He married Patsy Templin, also of Mobile, in 1956 and they moved to Pensacola after he accepted a job with the Monsanto Corporation in 1957. Fred and Pat were wonderful parents to their three children, Fred Jr., Keary, and Rachel and their foster child, Ronnie Gattis. Church and family were very important to Fred. While living in Molino, the family was active at Aldersgate United Methodist. In later years, after moving to the Cantonment area, Fred enjoyed many years of involvement at Gonzalez United Methodist Church. He retired in 1996 after working 39 years at Monsanto as a project engineer. He was a wonderful father to his children and he will be sorely missed.
Preceding him in death were his wife, Pat Allen; his parents, Charles Frederick Allen, Sr. and Fannie Jerusa Orso Allen; his older brother, Charles Frederick Allen, Jr.; and his foster son, Ronnie Gattis.
Survivors include his children, Fred Allen, Jr. and his wife Paula, Keary Allen and his wife Sheila, and Rachel Terry and her husband Greg; seven grandchildren, Aaron Allen, Maranda Shelton, Brittany Harris, Stephen Terry, Katy Terry, Ben Terry, and Ashley Allen; great-grandchildren. Bailey Allen, Brooklynn Allen, Blake Allen, Amelia Shelton, Enzel Shelton, Scarlet Harris, and Irelynn Harris; his brothers, Noel Allen and Connie Allen; and his sister, Dorothy Williams.
A memorial service will be held Monday, July 27, 2015, at 10 a.m. at Faith Chapel.
Internment will be at Gonzalez United Church Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Gonzalez United Methodist Church.
Biloxi Beats The Wahoos
July 26, 2015
After being shut down for seven innings getting only one hit — a solo home run by left fielder Jesse Winker — the Pensacola Blue Wahoos lineup came alive in the eighth and ninth innings getting a double, two singles and a walk.
However, Pensacola’s hopes for a comeback against the Biloxi Shuckers fell short, 4-2, and the Shuckers evened the series at two games apiece in front of a sellout crowd of 5,038 at Pensacola Bayfront Stadium. It was the 19th sellout of the season in 47 home dates and 123 since Pensacola’s first season in 2012.
There were plenty of theatrics in the ninth inning and not just at bat.
Home plate umpire Alex Ziegler ejected Pensacola catcher Kyle Skipworth over an alleged argument on a foul tip. Skipworth, who was behind the plate, took his catcher’s gear off and threw it toward the umpire. Pensacola manager Pat Kelly came out in the middle of the argument and was ejected. Kelly threw his helmet and hat down, took off his jersey and threw it to the ground and then ejected each of the umpires on the field.
Kelly said afterward that he was mad because the home plate umpire wouldn’t admit any wrongdoing after both teams argued about his strike zone throughout the game.
“My temper is good for 30 seconds,” Kelly said. “Once I reach 30 seconds, then it’s over. I don’t carry a grudge. I get it out of my system.”
Pensacola shortstop Juan Perez doubled off Shuckers reliever Jacob Barnes and scored on center fielder’s Bryson Smith’s single in the eighth that cut Biloxi’s lead to 3-2. However, Biloxi came back in the ninth and scored a run when third baseman Taylor Green scored on a perfect squeeze bunt by Shuckers catcher Parker Berberet to go up, 4-2.
In the ninth inning, first baseman Marquez Smith walked and right fielder Juan Duran singled but they were both left on base.
Kelly credited Biloxi’s left-handed starter Hobbs Johnson and reliever Jacob Barnes.
“They have good pitching and we face another good one tomorrow,” said Kelly, referring to Shuckers Jorge Lopez (8-4, 2.70). “That’s how they won the first half.”
For the third time against Biloxi this series, Pensacola smacked a solo home run in the first inning. Bryson Smith did it Wednesday, Ryan Wright did if Friday and Winker did it Saturday.
Winker smacked his seventh homer of the year and earned his team-leading 35th RBI to put the Blue Wahoos up 1-0.
It was the only hit Biloxi pitcher Johnson, the Milwaukee Brewers No. 23 prospect according to Baseball America, gave up in his seven innings of work. Johnson, in fact, retired 16 Blue Wahoos in a row from the second inning through the seventh inning before reliever Barnes came on.
Perez doubled in the eighth off the Shuckers reliever to end the streak of 17 straight Blue Wahoos set down.
Zack Weiss gave up his first run in relief since July 16 when Berberet’s squeeze bunt scored Green to put the Shuckers ahead, 4-2. In his 15 appearances since June 15, Weiss has given up just three runs in 17 innings for a 1.59 ERA. The Blue Wahoos closer has converted all 10 save opportunities and struck out 26 batters.
Biloxi went ahead, 2-1, in the second inning when Green doubled in two runs. In the top of the sixth, Biloxi shortstop Nick Shaw scored on a deep fly ball by first baseman Nick Ramirez to make the score, 3-1, Shuckers.
The Shuckers improved to 13-15 (56-40) in the second half of the Southern League South Division season. The loss dropped Pensacola into second place behind the Mobile BayBears at 17-12 (42-55) in the second half.
The final game of the five-game series is scheduled at 4:05 p.m. Sunday with the Milwaukee Brewers Double-A affiliate Biloxi Shuckers. RHP Barrett Astin (2-1, 3.45) takes the mound for the Wahoos and is scheduled to be opposed by Shuckers RHP Jorge Lopez (8-4, 2.70).
Century Completes $176K Paving Project
July 25, 2015
The ride around some parts of Century is a lot smoother after the town completed a $176,000 paving project.
The following streets were resurfaced or patched as noted:
- Jefferson Avenue – Resurface from curve at Mincey Lane to railroad tracks – $11,467.50
- Jefferson Avenue – Patch near Carver Community Center – $696
- Robert Road — Patch – $319
- Tedder Road – Patch near fire station $1,517
- Pond Street – Resurface from Century Business Center to bridge near sewer plant – $32,817.90
- Pinewood Avenue – Resurface from Hecker to Front Street – $17,701.65
- Mayo Street – Resurface from Hecker to Front Street – $25,437
- Mayo Lane – Resurface from Mayor Street to Jefferson Avenue – $16,367
- Kelly Field Road – Pave gravel road beside railroad tracks – $6,090
- Kelly Field R0ad – Overlay section between ball field and cemetery – $6,595.65
- Kelly Field Road – Resurface from Hecker Road to ballpark gate - $8,201
- Lodge Drive – Resurface from Hecker to Front Street $12,690.70
- Wood Street – Resurface from Lodge Drive to Bradley – $4,746.85
- Hecker Road -Patch near Alger Road – $725
- Renfroe Street – Resurface from Hwy 29 to Ivey Street – $5,650.35
- Ivey Street — Resuface — $16,588
The total cost was set to be $176,392.44 to contractor Roads, Inc. A mobilization fee of $2,100 was also included in the total. The project was not be bid; the council piggybacked on an existing Escambia County contract with Roads. A second company is set to add striping and lines to the repaved street.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
103-Year Old Della Godwin Passes Away
July 25, 2015
Della Godwin of Century, one of the oldest residents of the North Escambia area, has passed away. She was 103.
Godwin was born in Jay back in 1912, one of 12 children born to her parents Annie and William Griffis. She has two younger surviving siblings - Jean Clark of Bluff Springs and Veda Welch of Pineview. She raised two sons, one of which is deceased, and has four grandchildren.
She was raised in the Mount Carmel community of Santa Rosa County. In her early years, she spent most of time in the cotton fields, but she was always in church on Sundays.
At a birthday celebration, Godwin attributed her long life to hard work and faith. Those who know her said that she was always caring for and helping others. She always put family first, even if it meant she had to do without the things she needed.
Godwin was longtime resident of the Century area and was the oldest resident at the Century Health and Rehabilitation Center.
Funeral services for Della Godwin will be held Sunday at 2 p.m. at Petty-Eastside Chapel in Atmore with burial to follow at the Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Jay.
For the complete obituary, click here.
Pictured top: Century resident Della Godwin turned 103-years old in April. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Research, Education Center Holds Field Corn Field Day
July 25, 2015
UF/IFAS West Florida Research and Education Center in Jay held their annual Field Corn Field Day Friday. Producers were able to learn about a corn variety trial and demonstration, environmentally smart nitrogen, fertilizer timing and more. They were also able to see how different varieties of corn perform side by side. Pictured: Crop systems specialist during Field Corn Field Day. Courtesy photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.