Report Says Changes Will Increase Health Premiums
May 21, 2018
Premiums for health insurance plans sold on the federal marketplace are expected to increase by nearly 16.9 percent in Florida next year due to changes in the Affordable Care Act, according to a new analysis released Friday.
Released by the Center for American Progress, the analysis estimates that a decision by Congress and President Donald Trump to repeal the mandate that people buy health insurance, coupled with proposed changes to the types of policies that can be sold, will increase premiums for Floridians by $1,011.
The report by the left-leaning group estimates that the average unsubsidized health insurance premium for a 40-year-old male buying a marketplace policy in 2019 will be $6,995.
The Affordable Care Act has provided subsidies for many people buying coverage, reducing their costs. More than. 1.7 million Floridians enrolled in the health insurance marketplace this year, with more than 1.5 million receiving subsidies either in the form of advanced premium tax credits or additional cost-sharing reductions that help lower co-payments and co-insurance requirements.
The new analysis accounts for the impact of repealing the Affordable Care Act’s requirement that individuals buy health-insurance policies as well as a Trump administration proposed rule to rescind limits on the sale of short-term insurance plans.
The individual mandate, one of the most-controversial parts of the federal health-care law commonly known as Obamacare, was repealed as part of a tax overhaul that passed in December.
In a prepared statement, Topher Spiro, vice president for health policy at the Center for American Progress, blasted Trump and Congress for what he called “sabotage of the insurance marketplaces.”
“First they passed massive tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, and now they’re asking middle-class Americans and people with pre-existing conditions to pick up the tab,” Spiro said. “They should be focused on lowering health care costs, not increasing them and intentionally undermining the stability of the insurance marketplaces that millions of Americans benefit from.”
The analysis came a day after Florida Democratic members of Congress sent a letter to Gov Rick Scott urging him to take steps to protect Floridians from spikes in health insurance premiums. They also asked that Scott — who adamantly opposes the Affordable Care Act — require health plans to provide for essential health benefits, like hospital care or prescription drugs, and raised concerns that consumers could end up buying low-benefit plans.
“These junk plans would return patients to the days where only upon illness did they discover their plans imposed limits on coverage and excluded vital benefits,” said the letter, signed by U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, Congresswoman Kathy Castor and 10 other Democratic members of the delegation. Nelson faces an election challenge in November from Scott.
The letter asked Scott to work with state Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier to take steps to make sure consumers are kept safe. Democrats also asked that Scott consider investing in outreach and enrollment efforts and help provide funding to navigators who can connect patients with the federal marketplace. Floridians buy coverage through the federal marketplace because the state decided against setting up its own exchange.
John Tupps, a spokesman for Scott, said the governor’s office received the letter, adding that “Congress hasn’t controlled the nation’s health care costs or passed a balanced budget in decades.”
by Christine Sexton, The News Service of Florida
Generals Blank Wahoos 6-0
May 21, 2018
Saturday it was Taylor Widener who stymied the Wahoos bats. Sunday, it was Ryan Atkinson’s turn, and the former indy ball pitcher twirled six shutout innings in Jackson’s 6-0 win at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
For the second consecutive game, Jackson’s offense jumped out in front early. After a single from Jamie Westbrook, Rudy Flores cranked his seventh home run of the season off Vladimir Gutierrez (L, 1-6) to put the guests up 2-0. Jackson’s offense was relentless as they added runs in the third, fourth, and fifth innings before they tallied one final run in the eighth. When the dust settled on Sunday’s contest, the Generals finished with six runs on 10 hits.
Gutierrez pitched five innings and surrendered a season-high five earned runs for the second time this year. His usual pinpoint command was absent in his ninth start of 2018. He often fell behind the General batters and issued a four-pitch walk to Marcus Littlewood in the fourth inning. Former Blue Wahoo and current Cincinnati Red, Michael Lorenzen, made his scheduled two-inning rehab appearance in the sixth inning, and did so in flawless fashion. Lorenzen retired all six batters he faced and struck out two.
The Wahoos offense sputtered again Sunday as Atkinson kept Pensacola’s bats in check. Despite recording hits in the first three innings of the game, the Wahoos were unable to drive any of the runners home. Atkinson navigated through trouble again the fifth inning after Alberti Chavez singled and C.J. McElroy walked, but the former Cincinnati Bearcat struck out Luis Gonzalez and got Brian O’Grady to pop out to end the threat. Atkinson struck out the side in the sixth before being lifted from the game, capping off a season-best 10 strikeout performance. Sam Lewis and Bud Jeter allowed one baserunner over the game’s final three innings. The Blue Wahoos have now been shut out three times this season.
Jackson’s starting pitchers have been the difference through the first four games of the series. Pensacola has pushed across three runs against the Generals starting rotation. The Wahoos are just 16-for-96 against Justin Donatella, Alex Young, Taylor Widener, and Atkinson. It gets no easier for Pensacola when they face the Diamondbacks top prospect in right-hander Jon Duplantier, who led all of minor league baseball last season with a 1.39 ERA. Duplantier was named the MLB Pipeline Pitcher of the Year in 2017 and also pitched for Team USA in the 2017 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game.
Tomorrow’s finale is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. with the Wahoos hoping to avoid a five-game sweep. Wyatt Strahan (4-2, 6.18) will get the green light for Pensacola while Duplantier (2-1, 2.96) looks to seal the deal for Jackson.
Graduation Held For Northview High School Class Of 2018
May 20, 2018
The 87 members of the Northview High School Class of 2018 graduated Saturday.
“Friendship and determination have guided us through these four years, and we’ve finally reached that light at the end of the tunnel,” Salutatorian Sarah Perritt said. “I know that the most important lessons will stay with us. Those little pieces of life advice taught in the gap between common core nonsense.
Perritt’s speech took an emotional turn as she looked at her mother sitting on the front row of the audience.
“Today marks exactly one year since I lost my dad….I know that others in my class have lost friends and loved ones as well. So I’d like to give a loving thank you to my dad and to all the loved ones that would have given anything to be with us today,” she said to a standing ovation. “The lessons that they taught us, and the love that they gave us with stay with us forever.”
For a photo gallery, click here.
Valedictorian Triston Long used superhero analogies as he addressed the Northview Class of 2018.
“All of you sitting here today has a superpower of your own. Sure, you may not know any magical spells or have telepathy or have access to enough money to build a suit of armor that can fly and shoot laser beams, and if you do I want a joy ride,” Long said. “But all of us have powers to make a difference in the world”
“What I’m asking of you is do not let these powers…go to waste. Instead, use your powers for good. All of you here possess a great power. So take that power and responsibility with you and use it to become the heroes that our nation deserves; become the heroes that our nation needs you to be. Don’t be another Clark Kent that is blending into the crowd; instead become your own superhero.”
School Superintendent Malcolm Thomas praised the Class of 2018 for their numerous academic and athletic accomplishments, and for earning over three-quarters of a million dollars in scholarship money.
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For a photo gallery, click here.
Summa Cum Laude (4.0 GPA and above) graduates were, in class rank order:
1. Triston Parker Long
2. Sarah Elizabeth Perritt
3. Hannah Grace Nelson
4. Tara Faith Windham
5. Destiny McKenna Watson
6. Hannah Mascaro
7. Jacob Andrew White
8. Anna Belle Barberree
9. Miracle Breanna Deloach
10. Kayla Nicole Galvan
11. Logan Daniel Calloway
12. Alayna Lauren Brown
Magna Cum Laude graduates (3.85 or higher) were:
13. John Elmer Chivington Jr.
14. Bailee Brianna Hinote
Cum Laude (3.5 and above) graduates were:
15. Jason Riley Fischer
16. Logan Michael Doremus
17. Jarrod Latrell Davison
18. Bria Ashlynn Hardy
19. Laura Abbygale Hammond
20. Braxton Wade Edwards
21. Robin Marie Nahkala
22. Natasha Nykeria Walker
Northview Class Of 2018, In Alphabetic Order:
Triyell Latrel Abraham
Joshua Levitt Bailey
Anna Belle Barberree
Kristopher Samuel Baxter
Haley Marie Black
Jenna Lynn Black
Alayna Lauren Brown
Dawson Christopher Brown
Jakeldria Quadranae Brown
Beau Deon Bryan
Timmith Lloyd Bush
Michael Dylan Caddick
Logan Daniel Calloway
Alexandra Jordan Carter
Hunter Ellis Carter
John Elmer Chivington
Rhaye’shawnna Q. Davidson
Jarrod Latrell Davison
Joseph Eli Deese
Miracle Breanna Deloach
John Donavan Dixon
Logan Michael Doremus
Braxton Wade Edwards
Justin Ivan Elliott
Vince Edward Farrish
Clayton Chandler Findley
Jason Riley Fischer
Kayla Nicole Galvan
Austin Laine Ging
Matthew Daniel Glover
Victoria Elisse Grammer
Joel Clint Gunter
Dalton Wayne Hadley
Logan Eugene Hall
Laura Abbygale Hammond
John Wesley Hardin
Bria Ashlynn Hardy
Justin Cole Hassebrock
Justin Wesley Helton
Mya Alliysha Henderson
Bailee Brianna Hinote
Saphia Oriana Clotee Iniguez
Victoria Grace Johnson
Laura Lynn Kinley
Cody Alan Kite
Triston Parker Long
Tyanna Nikeria Magee
Hannah Mascaro
Lari Alyxs McCann
Wyatt Lee Morris
Robin Marie Nahkala
Anna Louise Nelson
Hannah Grace Nelson
Theodore Byron Nelson
Savana Paige Nielsen
Celeste Brianna North
Jordan Hope Parham
Sarah Elizabeth Perritt
Meagan Star Reid
Connor Stephen Riley
Orelbis Oscar Rodriguez
Mary Nicole Sanders
Dillan Matthew Sasser
Tristen David Segers
Andrew Allen Sharpless
Trevor Spinks Singleton
Shyheim Raekwon Smith
Fisher Logan Spence
Hunter Ashton Spence
Brandon Ty’bree Spencer
Skylar Alexander Spruill
Courtney Alyssa M. Stokes
Myisha L’Dell Syria
Victoria Denise Thames
Brian Evan Till
Natasha Nykeria Walker
Logan Alexander Walters
Hayley Alexandria Ward
Jayda Lane Warner
Destiny McKenna Watson
Jacob Andrew White
Kirsten Nicole White
Madison Skye White
Camilla Mary Windham
Tara Faith Windham
Hunter Dolton Witt
Joseph Marquies Wright
For a photo gallery, click here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Escambia Sheriff’s Office Crime Tech Arrested For Stealing Drugs
May 20, 2018
An Escambia County Sheriff’s Office crime scene technician has arrested for allegedly stealing narcotics.
Christine Rollins, 41, was “stealing narcotics of the deceased from the ECSO evidence building,” according to the Sheriff’s Office. She was charged with with trafficking hydrocodone, trafficking oxycodone, petit theft and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. She remained in the Escambia County Jail with bond set at $72,100.
Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan ordered Rollins be terminated.
Rollins’ address and mugshot are not available under Florida law because of her law enforcement affiliation.
Sun And Showers Weather
May 20, 2018
Here is your official North Escambia area forecast:
Sunday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 1pm. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 87. Calm wind becoming east around 5 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Sunday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 66. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Monday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 84. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Monday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 66. East wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Tuesday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 87. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Tuesday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Wednesday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Partly sunny, with a high near 88. Calm wind becoming southeast around 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Wednesday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Thursday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 86.
Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67.
Friday: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Partly sunny, with a high near 86. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Friday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67.
Saturday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly sunny, with a high near 85.
FDOT: Weekly Traffic Alerts: Highway 29 And Other Delays
May 20, 2018
Drivers will encounter traffic disruptions on the following state roads in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties as crews perform construction and maintenance activities. In preparation for the Memorial Day Holiday, there will be no lane closures or other activities which impede traffic on state roads beginning at 9 a.m. Friday, May 25 and ending at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, May 29.
Escambia County:
- State Road (S.R.) 750 (Airport Boulevard) from S.R. 291 (Davis Highway) to S.R. 289 (9th Avenue) – Intermittent lane closure on Airport Boulevard eastbound, near Davis Highway, from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Crews will be installing guardrail.
- U.S. 29 Widening from I-10 to U.S. 90 (Nine Mile Road)- Drivers traveling U.S. 29 and Nine Mile Road will encounter traffic pattern changes from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday, May 20 through Thursday, May 24 as follows:
- Nine Mile Road at the U.S. 29 overpass: North and southbound traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction. Alternating traffic shifts will direct all traffic onto the westbound or eastbound lanes as crews continue construction of the new center bridge deck. Nine Mile Road lane restrictions are Sunday through Friday.
- U.S. 29 between I-10 and 9 1/2 Mile Road: Drivers may experience alternating lane closures as crews continue drainage and paving operations. U.S. 29 lane restrictions are Monday through Saturday.
- U.S. 29 Resurfacing between U.S. 90 and Muscogee Road - Alternating lane closures on U.S. 29 north and southbound, from Muscogee Road to West 9 ½ Mile Road, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday, May 20 through Thursday, May 24 as crews pave the roadway.
· I-10 / U.S. 29 Interchange Improvements Phase I- The following traffic impacts are planned on I-10 and U.S. 29 near the interchange (Exits 10) from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday, May 20 through Thursday, May 24:
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- Alternating lane closures on I-10 east and westbound and U.S. 29 north and southbound.
- The U.S. 29 on-ramps to I-10 eastbound will be intermittently closed. Traffic will be detoured on U.S. 29 to access I-10 eastbound.
- Alternating lane closures on the I-10 westbound exit ramp to U.S. 29 north and south (Exit 10).
· U.S. 98 Pensacola Bay Bridge Replacement- Alternating east and westbound lane closures between 14th Avenue in Pensacola and Bay Bridge Drive in Gulf Breeze from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday, May 20 through Thursday, May 24 as crews perform construction activities.
· U.S. 98 (Lillian Highway) Resurfacing from Perdido Bay Bridge to Dogtrack Road – Construction activities are underway on the U.S. 98 (Lillian Highway) resurfacing project. Any work that will require lane restrictions will take place from 8 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. Sunday, May 20 through Thursday, May 25.
· U.S. 90 (Mobile Highway) Intersection improvement at County Road (C.R.) 99 (Beulah Road)- Work to improve the intersection of State Road 10A (Mobile Highway) at Beulah Road in Escambia County is scheduled to begin the week of Monday, May 21. To help minimize traffic impacts, much of the construction work will take place behind a low-profile concrete barrier wall. No lane closures will be allowed Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. or 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. In addition, no lane closures will be scheduled during special school events.
· S.R. 298 (Lillian Highway) Underground Utility Operations between 48th and 49th Avenues- The eastbound lane will be closed from 8 p.m. Monday, May 21 to 6 a.m. Tuesday, May 22 as crews perform underground utility work.
· U.S. 90 (Mobile Highway) Construction Activities between Blue Angel Parkway and Godwin Lane- East and westbound traffic will encounter lane restrictions from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Tuesday, May 22 and Wednesday, May 23 as crews install curb dividers and double yellow lines by the entrance to Walmart.
· S.R. 298 (Lillian Highway) Routine Maintenance at the intersection of 75th Avenue- There will be lane restrictions on Lillian Highway from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Tuesday, May 22 as crew remove a tree near the roadway. Traffic flaggers will be on site to assist with traffic control.
Santa Rosa County:
- US. 90 over White River Bridge Cathodic Protection- Westbound traffic will encounter intermittent lane restrictions from west of Woodbine Road past the White River Bridge from 9 p.m. Friday, May 18 to 5 a.m. Saturday, May 19 as crews continue construction activities.
- U.S. 98 Pensacola Bay Bridge Replacement – Alternating east and westbound lane closures between 14th Avenue in Pensacola and Bay Bridge Drive in Gulf Breeze, from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday, May 20 through Thursday, May 24 as crews perform construction activities.
- U.S. 98 Turn Lane Construction at Joybrook Road in Navarre- Drivers will encounter intermittent and alternating lane restrictions from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday, May 21 through Thursday, May 24 as crews pave turn and travel lanes at the intersection.
- S.R. 281 (Garcon Point Bridge) Maintenance Work- There will be intermittent lane closures on the Garcon Point Bridge from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. Monday, May 21 and Tuesday, May 22 as crews clean finger joints and repair deck spalls on the bridge. Traffic flaggers will be on site to assist drivers through the construction area.
- S.R. 87 Multilane from Eglin AFB boundary to Hickory Hammock Road – Intermittent lane shifts on S.R. 87 north and southbound, between Eglin Air Force Base boundary and two miles south of the Yellow River, from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. week of Sunday, May 20 as crew perform paving operations. Additionally, traffic between C.R. 184 (Hickory Hammock Road) and the Eglin AFB boundary is restricted to loads less than 11-feet wide. The restriction will be in place until the project is complete.
All activities are weather dependent and may be delayed or re-scheduled in the event of inclement weather. Drivers are reminded to use caution, especially at night, when traveling through a work zone and to watch for construction workers and equipment entering and exiting the roadway.
Jim Allen Elementary Names Students Of The Month
May 20, 2018
Jim Allen Elementary School recently named Students of the Month. They Are D’Shayla James and Eli Forehand (above). Students of the month for April were Tucker Barnes and Kileigh Richardson (below). Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Molino Library Holds ‘Save Yourself Digitization Day’
May 20, 2018
Saturday was “Save Yourself Digitization Day” at the Molino Branch Library. The library helped residents digitally scan personal documents and photos digitized. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: Guns And Gambling
May 20, 2018
With Florida’s primary elections just three months away, intraparty sniping on the campaign trail is on overdrive, but the legal arena dominated the bulk of the action this week in and around the Capitol.
The courts decided or considered a variety of issues, including issues once considered vices in some circles. But thanks to voters and lawmakers, issues such as ganja and gambling have morphed into mainstream activities.
The week began when a federal judge reluctantly refused to keep secret the identity of a 19-year-old Alachua County woman who wanted to join a lawsuit filed by the National Rifle Association challenging a state law that raised the minimum age from 18 to 21 to purchase rifles and other long guns.
In seeking to keep the identity of “Jane Doe” secret, lawyers for the NRA relied heavily on a declaration filed by the gun-rights group’s Florida lobbyist, Marion Hammer, who detailed threatening emails she had received featuring derogatory words for parts of the female anatomy.
U.S. District Judge Mark Walker wrote that, if it were up to him, he “would not hesitate to grant the NRA’s motion,” pointing to “the harassment suffered by some of the Parkland shooting survivors” as evidence of “the vitriol that has infected public discourse” about guns.
But legal precedent — which limits the use of pseudonyms to issues such as abortion, prayer and personal religious beliefs — forced him to side with the state, the judge wrote, prompting him to note that the courts haven’t kept up with the times.
“Today we have the internet, social media, and the 24-hour news cycle. What this means is that if a person attaches their name to a lawsuit — and especially if that lawsuit is sensational — then everyone will quickly be made aware of it. Articles get posted online, and the responding comments, tweets, and whatever-else-have-yous often devolve into a rhetorical barrage of hate,” he wrote, adding what might be the understatement of the year. “Unfortunately, it seems the internet just doesn’t always bring out the best in us.”
The dispute over Jane Doe, however, isn’t finished. The NRA gave notice that it will take the anonymity issue to a federal appeals court.
BONDI TAKES ON DRUG COMPANIES
Declaring that she “wasn’t scared to take them on,” Attorney General Pam Bondi filed a civil suit Tuesday accusing five of the nation’s largest opioid manufacturers and four distributors of causing the opioid crisis that is killing an average of 15 Floridians daily.
Bondi called the action “one of the most comprehensive lawsuits in the country” and predicted that a settlement with the defendants could be in the “billions.”
The lawsuit alleges that manufacturers Purdue; Endo Pharmaceuticals; Janssen Pharmaceuticals; Cephalon, Inc.; and Allergan plc — and their related companies — and distributors AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp.; McKesson Corp.; Cardinal Health, Inc.; and Mallinckrodt LLC violated the state’s unfair and deceptive trade practices laws and Florida’s criminal racketeering laws.
The manufacturers “promoted misrepresentations about the use of opioids to physicians, other prescribers, and consumers that were designed to increase opioid prescriptions and opioid use,” the 54-page complaint, filed in Pasco County, said.
The lawsuit also accuses the manufacturing companies of using “front organizations” to promote opioids and of paying alleged medical experts, called “key opinion leaders,” to publish articles that promoted the use of opioids to treat pain but omitted information regarding the risks.
Other alleged misconduct includes misleading veterans about the dangers of mixing opioids with benzodiazepine, a drug commonly prescribed for post-traumatic stress disorder.
Distributors are accused of filling suspicious orders and failing to properly assess customers before filling the orders, among other things.
“These dangerous acts and practices have devastating consequences as you all know,” Bondi said. “It’s time the defendants paid for the pain and the destruction they have caused.”
SMOKE ‘EM IF YA GOT ‘EM?
A Tallahassee judge heard arguments in a case focused on whether Florida patients can smoke marijuana if their doctors recommend it.
One of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, Cathy Jordan, credits smoking pot with helping her defeat the odds in the battle against Lou Gehrig’s disease she’s waged for more than 30 years.
The plaintiffs are challenging a state law that bans smoking pot as a route of administration for the hundreds of thousands of patients who are eligible for medical marijuana treatment in Florida.
With her husband, Bob, serving as her interpreter during a trial Wednesday, Jordan told Leon County Circuit Judge Karen Gievers and a packed courtroom that she started smoking pot a few years after she was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, in 1986.
Wednesday’s hearing came more than 18 months after voters overwhelmingly approved the constitutional amendment that broadly legalized marijuana for patients with debilitating medical conditions like Jordan.
She said smoking pot works in a variety of ways to combat the symptoms of ALS, including excessive drooling, muscle atrophy and depression.
“It just makes my life a lot more bearable,” Jordan, who uses a wheelchair and was draped in a fuchsia shawl, said.
Lawmakers last year enacted the prohibition on joints — derided as “no smoke is a joke” by critics — largely to protect the public from the ill effects of smoking, lawyers for the state argued.
Senior Assistant Attorney General Karen Brodeen said smoking “should never be a route of administration for any medicinal product” and “is a crude delivery system that delivers harmful substances.” The amendment nowhere specifically authorizes smoking while it does give the state “broad authority” to regulate medical marijuana use, the state argued.
But John Morgan, the Orlando trial lawyer who largely bankrolled what was known as Amendment 2 and initiated the lawsuit, is among those who maintain that the smoking ban runs afoul of the Constitution. Gievers did not rule on the challenge Wednesday.
“The amendment itself says smoking is not allowed in public places. I don’t think you need to be too much of a legal scholar to understand that means it is allowed in other places,” Morgan told reporters. “Enough is enough. Let’s stop the politics. Let’s let these people live their final years with dignity.”
DOGGONE IT
A U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned a federal law prohibiting states from allowing sports betting won’t have an immediate impact in Florida, where lawmakers say they’re not going to bring up the issue before voters weigh in on a constitutional amendment in the fall. The ballot proposal, Amendment 3, would give voters control of gambling expansions, decisions now largely left up to the Legislature.
But opponents of another amendment asked a judge this week to strip from the ballot a proposal that would do away with greyhound racing.
Amendment 13, placed on the ballot by the Constitution Revision Commission, would outlaw greyhound racing at dog tracks by 2020, a process known as “decoupling,” but would allow tracks to continue to operate other, more lucrative gambling activities, such as slot machines and poker rooms.
The Florida Greyhound Association and its president, breeder James Blanchard, maintain that the proposed ballot title and summary don’t fully inform voters about the impact of the amendment if approved.
The proposal does not advise voters that dog tracks still would be allowed to broadcast live greyhound races from other states, and would only ban “commercial” dog racing, which means that kennel clubs would be allowed to continue dog competitions, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit also alleges that the text of the proposal — which voters won’t see on the ballot — could have implications far beyond the greyhound-racing industry and could apply to racehorses as well as hunting dogs.
The Constitution Revision Commission relied on three legal experts in drafting the amendments.
“They approved every single word that was in every single ballot summary and ballot title,” Brecht Heuchan, who chaired the commission’s Style and Drafting Committee, told The News Service of Florida.
The lawsuit was “bound to happen,” Heuchan said.
“When you don’t like the policy, you go to court,” he said.
STORY OF THE WEEK: Attorney General Pam Bondi filed a lawsuit against five drug manufacturers and four distributors, accusing them of causing the opioid crisis gripping the state.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “My doctors are really not concerned with the risk because I’m still alive. In ‘86, I was given three to five years to live. And I’m still here.” Plaintiff Cathy Jordan, who has Lou Gehrig’s disease, during a trial in a case challenging a state law that bans smokable medical marijuana.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Generals Edge Wahoos 4-1 To Claim Series
May 20, 2018
The Jackson Generals were able to get three runs off MLB rehabber Anthony DeSclafani on their way to a 4-1 win over the Blue Wahoos Saturday night in front of a sellout crowd at Blue Wahoos Stadium.
DeSclafani looked sharp after retiring the first four Generals he faced. With one out in the second inning, Juniel Querecuto softly doubled down the left field line. He scored a batter later on Galli Cribbs’ infield single and throwing error from second baseman Shed Long. DeSclafani struck out the next two batters to work out of the jam and he cruised until allowing back to back doubles from Kevin Medrano and Domingo Leyba to start the sixth. That signaled the end of his outing, both runners later scored to finalize his line of 5.0 innings with three runs allowed, two earned. He struck out eight Generals while allowing just one walk. He ended up throwing one pitch more than his allotted 75.
For the Generals, starter Taylor Widener (W, 2-2) was dominant against the Blue Wahoos over seven innings. Widener held the Wahoos to one run that came from an Aristides Aquino home run at the top of the second, his seventh of the season. Widener finished with 11 strikeouts and no walks. Yoan Lopez closed out the Generals win with a perfect ninth inning for his third save of the year.
In game four of the series, right-handed pitcher Vladimir Gutierrez (1-5, 5.74) will start for the Wahoos against Jackson right-hander Ryan Atkinson (1-4, 5.28).