Florida Supreme Court Rules Against Poarch Creek Gretna Track, Slots Expansion
May 19, 2017
In a highly anticipated decision, the Florida Supreme Court on Thursday squashed a broad expansion of slot machines in at least eight counties, saying the decision to allow pari-mutuels to add the lucrative games rests with the Legislature, not voters.
The unanimous decision, siding with state regulators in a lawsuit filed by Poarch Creek Entertainment’s Gretna Racing, not only puts the kibosh on slots for the tiny Gadsden County horse track but also for pari-mutuels in seven other counties — Brevard, Duval, Hamilton, Lee, Palm Beach, St. Lucie and Washington — where voters have approved slots in referendums.
“…There is no specific constitutional or statutory authority for Gadsden County to act on the subject of slot machine gaming,” Justice Charles Canady wrote in Thursday’s 16-page main opinion.
The ruling is based on a constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2004 that authorized voters in Miami-Dade and Broward counties to allow slots.
Thursday’s decision upheld a decision by the 1st District Court of Appeal, which struggled with the slots issue. The appeals court initially ruled for Gretna Racing but then reversed itself and sided in October 2015 with Attorney General Pam Bondi and Gov. Rick Scott’s administration in saying slots should not be allowed.
In both decisions, the appellate judges asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on the issue of whether pari-mutuels can have slot machines if local voters approve, or if the games require the express say-so of the Legislature.
Thursday’s ruling also came after lawmakers this spring failed to reach consensus on a sweeping gambling measure designed to create a framework for a new agreement with the Seminole Tribe. Questions about whether the Supreme Court would allow slot machines in counties across the state loomed over the legislative talks.
Senate President Joe Negron, R-Stuart, issued a statement Thursday that said the Supreme Court “confirmed that the responsibility to determine the future of gaming in Florida lies with the elected members of the Legislature.”
“With current law upheld, the Legislature now has every opportunity to shape gaming policy for our state in a manner that respects both the authority of local referendums and the ongoing relationship with the Seminole Tribe, without the underlying concern that a court ruling could suddenly upend productive negotiations,” Negron said.
Representatives of Creek Entertainment/Gretna, which operates the Gadsden County facility, said in a statement they were disappointed that “the Florida Supreme Court did not agree with our interpretation of the law and because of this ruling, we are now unable to create new jobs.’
But Sen. Bill Galvano, a Bradenton Republican who was the Senate’s chief negotiator on gambling issues and is slated to take over as president late next year, said the Supreme Court ruling leaves lawmakers in a “very strong position” in the future.
“The court has confirmed the authority in the Legislature and has not wrested it away from us to decide how and to what extent we want the expansion with slots, without having this major impact on the existing compact with the Seminole Tribe of Florida,” Galvano told The News Service of Florida on Thursday.
Galvano’s House counterpart, Rep. Jose Felix Diaz, R-Miami, said he wasn’t surprised the Supreme Courted waited until after the legislative session ended this month before issuing the opinion.
“I think they wanted to wait to see if the Legislature was going to act,” Diaz said in a telephone interview.
The Seminole Tribe and the state have been trying to hash out a deal, known as a “compact,” after a component of a 2010 agreement giving the Seminoles “exclusive” rights to operate banked card games, such as blackjack, expired in 2015.
Under the current compact, the tribe has exclusive rights to operate slots outside of Broward and Miami-Dade counties, in exchange for about $120 million in revenues to the state annually. The Supreme Court heard arguments in the Gretna case a year ago, and the issue weighed heavily on lawmakers as they contemplated changes to the Seminole compact.
After failing for years to get the Legislature to act, pari-mutuels in various parts of the state turned to county referendums to push the slots forward
.
Thursday’s unanimous ruling made it clear that counties and pari-mutuel lobbyists will have to go back to the Legislature for a possible expansion of slots.
“The uncertainty of a court decision provides some level of impetus for the Legislature to act. So, of course, we would have preferred the court to rule in our favor. But nothing has changed. We will still be lobbying for the same slots authorization language we have pushed for the last couple of years,” lobbyist Nick Iarossi, who represents pari-mutuels in Brevard and Duval counties, told The News Service of Florida.
The Supreme Court decision takes pressure off lawmakers, especially House members loath to expand gambling by allowing slots in the referendum counties, to craft a deal that would expand slots. It also eliminates the possibility of a special session on the topic.
“This gives us the ability to step back, catch our breath, doesn’t send a rocket into the compact, and now we can continue on a more measured approach to determine how we renew our accord with the Seminole tribe and what decisions we make going forward with regard to expansion,” Galvano said.
Canady’s dense and lawyerly opinion, based largely on two previous state court decisions, prompted Justice R. Fred Lewis to offer a concurring opinion “in more simple and direct terms.”
“Because slot machines are generally prohibited, Gadsden County does not have and cannot assert home rule powers as a basis to support a referendum on slot machine gambling,” Lewis wrote.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Injured Eagle Rescued Near Cantonment Has Died
May 19, 2017
An eagle initially rescued by a group of a good Samaritans earlier this month near Cantonment has died.
The injured eagle was left in the roadway after it flew into a car ahead of Alexis Rivers on Beulah Road, near the Perdido Landfill, on May 6. The eagle did not try to get out of the road, so Alexis’ husband Rotario stepped up to carefully move it off of the asphalt.
The eagle was taken to the Wildlife Sanctuary of Northwest Florida to recover. The sanctuary has confirmed that the eagle died from liver damage and toxins in its system, not the car crash.
Photos courtesy Alexis Rivers for NorthEcambia.com, click to enlarge.
Scott Ready To Consider BP Settlement Plan
May 19, 2017
A proposal to open the tap on BP oil-spill settlement money for Northwest Florida counties hard hit by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster has reached Gov. Rick Scott’s desk.
The measure, which allocates to eight Gulf Coast counties $300 million of $400 million received by the state last year, was among 37 bills sent to Scott on Thursday.
The eight counties — Bay, Escambia, Franklin, Gulf, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Wakulla and Walton — are also slated to get three-fourths of the remainder of the $2 billion the state is expected to receive for damages associated with the BP disaster, which dumped millions of gallons of oil less than 100 miles off the Florida coast.
Scott has until June 2 to sign, veto or allow the bills to become law without his signature.
by The News Service of Florida
10-Year Old Bicyclist Dies After Being Hit By SUV
May 19, 2017
A child airlifted to the hospital after being struck by a vehicle Thursday morning has died.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 10-year-old Delilgha Rosa-Clark of Pensacola died at Sacred Heart Hospital from injuries she received after being hit by a SUV on Merlin Road at Oak View Drive. She was riding her bicycle to school without a helmet, according to troopers.
According to the FHP, 47-year old Frederick Kelly Wilder of Pensacola was in his 2015 Ford Edge approaching the intersection when he failed to observe and yield the right of way to Rosa-Clark on her bicycle. The girl was within a marked bicycle lane on the way to Hellen Caro Elementary School, troopers said.
The FHP said any charges against Wilder are pending the results of their traffic homicide investigation.
Counselors will be on hand at Hellen Caro Elementary on Friday to help students and staff death with the tragic death.
Walk-Off Double For O’Grady As The Wahoos Beat Mobile
May 19, 2017
Pensacola Blue Wahoos center fielder Brian O’Grady knew going up to bat that the Mobile BayBears reliever Michael Dimock likes to throw sliders.
He ripped a slider that didn’t slide for a walk-off double to right field that drove in both left fielder Gabriel Guerrero and shortstop Blake Trahan for a, 3-2, victory Thursday in front of 4,889 at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
It was the third walk-off for Pensacola this season, which had a team record 12 last year. The players have nicknamed the walk-offs the “Wahoo Way.”
“In the dugout, we were joking about the Wahoo Way,” O’Grady said. “It’s not giving up until the game is over. The pressure really is on them. We’re just out there battling. It’s definitely a good feeling.”
Blue Wahoos manager Pat Kelly said because Pensacola has had walk-offs so often the past two seasons, the team now expects it.
“You win as many games as we have and you start to believe it,” Kelly said. “They’re still talking about the Wahoo Way.”
O’Grady’s walk-off was set up by an amazing sacrifice bunt by Pensacola catcher Joe Hudson on an inside pitch. It moved Guerrero and Trahan to third and second base.
Kelly called it “tremendous.” O’Grady added: “Without that bunt right there, the walk-off is not possible.”
Pensacola improved to 7-8 in one run games this season and is 23-18 on the season to remain in first place in the Southern League South Division.
After earning just three hits and striking out eight times over the first seven innings, the Blue Wahoos sprung to life. Pensacola right fielder Aristides Aquino launched a ball deep to center field that bounced off the top of the wall 400-feet away for a triple with two outs. It drove in third baseman Josh VanMeter. The score pulled Pensacola within one run heading into the ninth, 2-1.
Aquino is 11-38, or .289, in his last 11 games with three homers and 13 RBIs. He also narrowly missed throwing Mobile right fielder Forrestt Allday, who scored Mobile’s second run, out at home with a strike in the fifth inning. Then in the sixth inning, Aquino threw to first base to almost get center fielder Michael Hermosillo out.
“Guys like him are so extraordinary to watch,” Kelly said.
Pensacola Blue Wahoos starter Tyler Mahle wasn’t so perfect against the Mobile BayBears in his second meeting against them. He allowed 12 runners on base in his six innings of work. When Mahle faced the BayBears on April 22, the 22-year-old right-hander tossed a perfect nine-inning game.
He gave up seven hits, walked three, hit a batter and gave up a fielder’s choice and allowed two earned runs Thursday.
In the third inning, he faced six batters, walking the leadoff batter and giving up two singles. Mobile left fielder Zach Gibbons line drive hit to center field scored first baseman Luis Tejada for a 1-0 lead.
In the fifth inning, the 22-year-old right-hander walked a batter, hit another with a pitch and gave up a single. Mobile added another run when Allday, who has reached base in 23 straight games, scored on a sacrifice fly to Aquino in right field to put the BayBears up, 2-0.
It appeared Mobile would score again off Pensacola’s Mahle in the sixth inning when they loaded the bases with one out. But he got Tejada to pop out to second and struck out shortstop Alberto Triunfel to get out of the jam.
“It could have been six or seven to nothing,” Kelly said. “They could have easily blown the game open. I’ve got to credit Mahle for going out there, not having his best stuff, and keeping his team in the ball game.”
FHSAA Inks Agreement With MaxPreps
May 18, 2017
The Florida High School Athletic Association (FHSAA) and MaxPreps, the online high school sports leader, have announced a planned partnership agreement that will make MaxPreps the FHSAA’s exclusive scores and statistics provider. The agreement will be for five years.
“For the past 15 years, MaxPreps has been known as the leader in online high school sports,” FHSAA Executive Director Dr. Roger Dearing said. “We are thrilled to give our coaches, student-athletes and fans the ability to access real-time scores and statistics via their digital platforms.”
MaxPreps and the FHSAA will offer a publishing platform across desktop, tablet and mobile devices that will streamline the process of managing scores and statistics from its nearly 800 member schools along with several thousand contests each month.
Beginning in the 2017-18 school year, member school coaches will be required to submit scores to MaxPreps after each game to accurately track regular season standings and results used for the FHSAA State Series. In addition, coaches will have the opportunity to submit statistics in order to be included in FHSAA statewide statistical leaderboards, records, media publications and other initiatives.
FHSAA.org will feature live scores from MaxPreps on its homepage along with MaxPreps automated postseason brackets for each sport (mobile, app and desktop). The partnership also enables all box score information published on MaxPreps.com to be automatically provided to the FHSAA for use in managing various initiatives.
“MaxPreps is honored to partner with the Florida High School Athletic Association to provide an efficient and streamlined process to highlight all member schools and Florida student-athletes,” said Andy Beal, president and founder of MaxPreps. “MaxPreps is committed to working with State High School Associations nationwide to protect and strengthen education based athletics. We look forward to working with the FHSAA to help further their goals and provide positive coverage of all member schools.”
Maybe A Shower Today, Rain By The Weekend
May 18, 2017
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Thursday: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 87. South wind 5 to 10 mph.
Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 69. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 88. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 70. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Saturday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 10am. Partly sunny, with a high near 87. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.
Saturday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 70. Southeast wind around 5 mph.
Sunday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Cloudy, with a high near 82. South wind 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
Sunday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Cloudy, with a low around 69. South wind around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Monday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 83.
Monday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 65.
Tuesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 83.
Tuesday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67.
Wednesday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 83.
Century Man Sentenced To Life Without Parole For Shooting Two People
May 18, 2017
A Century man will spend the rest of his life in prison after opening fire on two people inside a vehicle in Century during October 2015.
Akino Jama Jackson was found guilty of attempted first degree murder, attempted second degree murder and shooting into an occupied vehicle. Circuit Judge Scott Duncan sentenced Jackson to life in prison. As a prison releasee reoffender, he will not be eligible for parole and will actually spend his entire life in prison.
On October 7, 2015, Jackson armed himself with a firearm and fired eight times into a Dodge Charger, shooting Roosevelt Dixon in the back four times causing serious injuries. Dixon’s girlfriend, Amanda Conner, was in the front passenger seat at the time the shots were fired. She suffered injuries from broken glass but did not seek medical treatment.
Conner told investigators that she and Dixon were at his mother’s residence on Ivey Street in Century, and they had noticed a car in the area that Dixon was concerned about.
She said they left the mother’s trailer, eventually turning onto Old Flomaton Road. She said they traveled a short distance when she heard a loud noise followed by a another loud noise during which glass shattered. Dixon told Conner that he had been shot. At this point, they turned the car around, still not seeing the vehicle from which the shots were fired, and headed back to Ivey Street where Dixon got out of the Dodge Charger.
Conner then headed toward the Century Sheriff’s Precinct on Highway 29 in the Charger, stopping along the way at the Century Whataburger where she observed a deputy on a traffic stop.
Conner had received threatening text messages from Jackson in the days leading up to the shooting. Roosevelt Dixon was able to identify Jackson as the shooter.
Pictured top: The scene at Whataburger in Century on October 7, 2015. Pictured below: Numbers and trajectory rods show bullet holes in a Dodge Charger that was occupied by two people. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Sheriff’s Office Clean Sweep Today In Cottage Hill
May 18, 2017
The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office is conducting a Clean Sweep in the Cottage Hill area this morning.
The focus of “Operation Clean Sweep” is to work with Neighborhood Watch groups, residents, churches and business owners to control and prevent the damaging effects of criminal activity, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Florida’s SRO Of The Year, Ronnie Gill, Retires From Ernest Ward Middle
May 18, 2017
Ernest Ward Middle School, Northview High School, and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office celebrated the retirement of Senior Deputy Ronnie Gill Wednesday morning.
Gill retired March 30 from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office after 15 years with the agency. The school resource officer has volunteered his time as a reserve deputy since March 30 to continue his service at Ernest Ward Middle School until the end of the school year.
The Ernest Ward Middle School staff presented Gill with a Canon DSLR camera for his retirement and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office presented him with a plaque and watch. On behalf of several students, NorthEscambia.com presented Gill with a few needed accessories for his new camera.
His law enforcement career spans nearly 40 years. He joined the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office in 2002 and joined the school resource officer program over 12 years ago.
Last year, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Florida Association of School Resource Officers Monday named Gill as the 2016 School Resource Officer of the Year for Florida.
“Deputy Gill goes above and beyond to not only ensure the safety of students at the school he serves, but to also provide guidance to the youth in his community,” Bondi said at the time. “Resource officers play a vital role in the lives of students on a daily basis.”
Bondi and the FASRO present the School Resource Officer of the Year award annually to a Florida officer who demonstrates dedication and tireless work ethic to enhance the lives of the students they serve.
Gill was also awarded the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Meritorious Service Medal for the crucial role he plays in breaking down the barriers between law enforcement and youth.
Senior Deputy Gill not only worked hard protecting the students and faculty within Ernest Ward, he also gave selflessly of his time to mentor and help students in need. Whether it was counseling students, leading the Ernest Ward “Teens for Christ” group, or showing up at community sporting events to work security on his own time, Gill built a reputation within the student population as not just a law enforcement officer, but a person they can look up to and approach.
Gill also gave selflessly of his finances. He opened his own lunch account with the school and would transfer money into needy student’s accounts on a regular basis. He has been known to provide funds for students that cannot afford trip fees and club dues. He has also taken students shopping for Christmas and has even paid a high school senior’s graduation fees. Whenever there is a need that has been identified, Senior Deputy Gill would step up and fulfill that need.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
