Former Newpoint Charter School Owner Gets 20 Years, Fined $5 Million
November 14, 2018
Marcus May, former owner of Charter School Management Company, Newpoint Education Partners, LLC was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years state prison and fined $5 million dollars.
Circuit Judge Thomas Dannheisser sentenced May, and described his conduct as “a shocking pattern of pervasive theft”.
An Escambia County jury convicted May of two counts of racketeering and one count of organized fraud after a four week trial in which prosecutors presented evidence from more than 100 witnesses and dozens of boxes of financial records and documents.
It is one of the first racketeering cases involving a charter schools management company brought in Florida.
Ernest Ward Middle Splits Basketball Games With T.R. Miller
November 14, 2018
The Ernest Ward Middle School boys basketball team defeated T.R. Miller 42-23 Tuesday night in Walnut Hill. In girls action, Miller defeated Ernest Ward 48-8.
Up next, Ernest Ward will travel to Pollard McCall on Thursday at 5 p.m.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Atmore Home Damaged By Fire
November 14, 2018
An Atmore home was damaged by fire Tuesday night.
The fire appeared to have started on the second story of the home in the 300 block of North Trammell Street. Preliminary information indicated the fire may have been sparked by a candle being used in a bedroom, but the investigation is continuing.
There were no injuries reported.
The Atmore Fire Department was dispatched to the blaze at 9:20 p.m.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Pumpkin Pie At Century Library; Thanksgiving Color Contest At Molino Library
November 14, 2018
North Escambia branches of the West Florida Library are holding a pumpkin pie program and a Thanksgiving coloring contest.
Pumpkin Pie Perfection
- Thursday, Nov. 15, 6 p.m. – Century Branch Library
No, it’s not the man in the moon! Here comes that tasty pie with a spoon.
Thanksgiving Coloring Contest
- Through Saturday, Nov. 17, all day – Molino Branch Library
Children up to age 12 can pick up their coloring sheet and entry form at the Molino Branch starting Monday, November 5. Color the lively Thanksgiving turkey and return him to the Molino Branch by Saturday, November 17, for a chance to win a prize. Winners will be announced on Monday, November 19.
Nelson, Backers Turn To Federal Court In Election Fight
November 14, 2018
Ballots postmarked before the polls closed at 7 p.m. on Election Day should be counted. Ballots with mismatched signatures should be counted. Ballots where voters made mistakes but where their intentions were clear should be counted. And deadlines to tally ballots in machine and manual recounts should be ignored.
Those are arguments lawyers for U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, national Democrats and others are making as they have gone to federal court to try to help the long-serving lawmaker keep his Washington post.
With a machine recount underway and a manual recount looming in the close race for his U.S. Senate seat, Nelson and his supporters are racing against the clock while they try to convince a federal judge to toss Florida elections laws and nix a process laid out by Secretary of State Ken Detzner about the validation of “overvotes” in a manual recount.
Nelson trailed Republican Gov. Rick Scott by more than 56,000 votes on election night. But that deficit dwindled as ballots continued to be counted last week, especially in Democratic vote-rich Broward and Palm Beach counties.
By the time unofficial results were submitted to Detzner’s office at noon Saturday, Nelson trailed by fewer than 13,000 votes, prompting a statewide machine recount. If a similar margin comes out of the machine recount, the race will be thrown into a manual, or hand, recount.
The ballot counting has sparked lawsuits in federal and state courts, and the challenges keep on coming.
Nelson and supporters filed two more federal lawsuits Tuesday, two days before a 3 p.m. Thursday deadline for the machine recount to be completed and results to be submitted to Detzner.
One of the lawsuits Tuesday asks the federal court to postpone the deadlines for the machine and manual recounts. Any manual recounts need to be finished by noon Sunday, with the state Elections Canvassing Commission — which includes Scott — certifying the official election results on Nov. 20.
Along with the U.S. Senate race, the races for governor, agriculture commissioner and three legislative seats are in machine recounts because of their narrow margins in unofficial results.
In arguing for abandoning the recount deadlines, Nelson’s lawyers pointed to Palm Beach County, where Supervisor of Elections Susan Bucher said she would not be able to complete the three statewide recounts as well as a recount in a state House race before Thursday. It also appears Bucher won’t be able to complete a manual recount for the U.S. Senate race by noon Sunday, Nelson’s lawyers wrote.
If counties can’t meet the deadlines, the most recent returns submitted to the state — following the machine recount or the election night totals — will be used.
“Given the extraordinarily compressed deadlines for completing a recount and the large number of races currently subject to machine recount, local elections officials are faced with a difficult task,” Nelson’s attorneys wrote in a 21-page complaint Tuesday.
The lawsuit focuses on a portion of Florida law that requires canvassing boards to submit official returns to Detzner no later than noon on the 12th day following the election, which is Sunday in this case.
“Where a county canvassing board remains in the midst of a manual recount, it obviously cannot truthfully make out such a certification. Florida’s ‘solution’ appears to be to disenfranchise voters whose votes remain uncounted in the name of administrative convenience,” the lawyers wrote.
In a separate lawsuit filed Tuesday, Nelson’s campaign and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee asked a federal court to block a rule by Detzner that outlines the way ballots should be counted during a manual recount.
In a manual recount, county canvassing boards examine ballots with “undervotes” and “overvotes” that could not be tallied during a machine recount and determine which ones should be counted.
One of Detzner’s rules requires a voter to have marked all contests in the same manner for a ballot flagged as an undervote or overvote to be counted. That means that, if a voter circles a candidate in one race but uses an “x” to indicate her preference in another race, her ballot wouldn’t be counted, according to the 34-page complaint filed Tuesday.
Another rule provides that a voter who fills in a selection for a candidate, crosses it out and indicates with “magic words” that he or she made a mistake will have the ballot counted. But ballots in which voters did not give any written instructions indicating how they intended to vote will be rejected, under the rule.
The “magic words requirement operates to invalidate a vote even though the voter has clearly indicated her definite choice by crossing out, striking through, or scribbling out the erroneous choice,” Nelson’s lawyers wrote. “Without relief from this court, these voters will be deprived of their right to vote, and to have their vote counted, in the November election.”
On Monday, meanwhile, the VoteVets Action Fund, the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee filed a lawsuit challenging a state law requiring mail-in ballots to be received by county elections offices by 7 p.m. on Election Day.
Unlike regular mail-in ballots sent from within the U.S., ballots from overseas voters can be counted up to 10 days following the election, if they were postmarked by Election Day.
Determining the validity of ballots solely on a “received by” date, rather than pairing it with a postmark date, runs the risk of denying the right to vote based on “arbitrary factors” out of the control of Floridians, lawyers for the Nelson supporters argued in the filing.
In one case, a voter who lives in Miami-Dade County said he mailed his ballot a week before the Nov. 6 election, but learned later that his ballot had not been received in time, according to the lawyers.
In another lawsuit, Nelson’s lawyers are asking a federal judge to strike down a Florida law requiring elections supervisors to toss out provisional and mail-in ballots if voters’ signatures don’t match the ones on file.
U.S. District Judge Mark Walker will hold a hearing Wednesday in Tallahassee in that case.
During a telephone hearing Tuesday involving the vote-by-mail deadlines, Walker tried to figure out how quickly he has to decide in the matter.
Trying to set deadlines for briefs to be filed, the judge took note of the fast-approaching recount deadlines, along with the final certification slated for next Tuesday.
Saying he wasn’t “in any way telegraphing to either side what my view is on any of these cases,” Walker said, “ I know one thing for sure.”
“I need to rule on an expedited basis,” he said. “If that means we don’t sleep, that’s fine. But we all need to work hard to address these matters in a timely way. The people of Florida deserve that.”
Scott’s supporters have repeatedly characterized the Democrats’ lawsuits as attempts to “steal” the election.
“When the machine recount is complete on Thursday, Nelson will have to decide if he wants to preserve his legacy and go out with dignity or if he wants to be forever remembered as the guy that liberal interest groups used in an effort to win the presidential election two years early,” Scott’s campaign spokesman Chris Hartline said in a statement.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Atmore Triple Shooting Suspect Arrested In Escambia, FL
November 13, 2018
A man wanted in connection with a triple shooting early Sunday in Atmore was arrested today in Escambia County, FL, by the U.S.Marshals.
Anji Lynn Baker, age 34 of Bay Minette, was booked into the Escambia County (FL) Jail early Tuesday afternoon as a fugitive from justice. He will be extradited back to Alabama to face three counts of attempted murder.
The triple shooting happened during an event inside “The Assembly Hall”, formerly known at the Chik-A-Dee Nightclub on Carver Avenue in Atmore.
Two victims were airlifted to a Mobile hospital where ne was listed in critical condition and the other in serious condition. A third gunshot victim was transported by ambulance where he was treated and released. All three victims were adult males.
There were reportedly one hundred or more people at the business, which is about two blocks from the Atmore Police Department’s backdoor.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Driver Crashes Into 118-Year Old House In Century
November 13, 2018
There were no injuries when a driver crashed into a 118-year old house in Century Monday evening.
The adult male driver failed to negotiate a curve while northbound on Old Flomaton Road just south of Cottage Street. His vehicle traveled about 100 feet off the road before striking a large brick corner pillar n the home’s front porch. The pillarwas destroyed, and the concrete floor of the porch was severely cracked. Items inside the home fell to the floor and were broken.
The driver refused medical treatment, and no one in the home was injured.
The accident is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, Century Station of Escambia Fire Rescue, Flomaton Fire Department and Lifeguard EMS also responded.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Nine Mile Road At Highway 29 To Be Closed
November 13, 2018
UPDATE: Due to inclement weather conditions, the temporary road closure of Nine Mile Road at the Highway 29 overpass in Escambia County has been rescheduled for 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 18 and Monday, Nov. 19.
Nine Mile Road will be closed at the Highway 29 overpass from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. Wednesday and Thursday as crews place beams for the new northbound bridge, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.
Additionally, Highway 29 traffic between Interstate 10 and 9 1/2 Mile Road may experience alternating lane closures as crews continue drainage and paving operations.
All activities are weather dependent and may be delayed or rescheduled in the event of inclement weather. Drivers are reminded to obey the 40-mph speed limit and use caution when traveling through the work zone, especially at night. Drivers should also watch for construction workers and equipment entering and exiting the roadway.
Click graphic to enlarge.
Tate High Student To Appear On Jeopardy Tonight
November 13, 2018
Tate High School sophomore Maggie Brown will appear as a contestant in the “Jeopardy! Teen Tournament” show airing tonight.
Fifteen of America’s sharpest students aged 14-17 are competing over the course of a two-week event that ends November 20. Only one will claim the $100,000 grand prize.
Tonight’s Jeopardy! show will air at 6 p.m. on WALA FOX 10.
Pictured: Tate High sophomore Maggie Brown will appear on Jeopardy! tonight. Courtesy photo from Jeopardy Productions for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Ransom Middle Chorus, Tate Jazz Band Plan Concerts
November 13, 2018
The Ransom Middle Chorus and Tate Jazz Band have concerts planned this month.
The Ransom Middle School Chorus will hold their Fall Concert Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Marcus Pointe Baptist Church. Family and friends are invited to attend.
The Tate High School Jazz Band will perform on Thursday, November 29 in the school’s cafeteria.
Local students will also take part in the All County Band performance on Thursday, November 15 at the Saenger Theater on Palafox Street in downtown Pensacola.