Caught On Camera: Funnel Cloud Forming In McDavid
May 25, 2018
A funnel cloud formation was caught on video Thursday evening in McDavid. The video was shot near Highway 29 and Highway 164 about 6:14 p.m.
The National Weather Service in Mobile said the video appears to show a brief funnel cloud spinning up, possibly on an outflow boundary from a nearby line of strong storms. The NWS did not observe any noticeable rotation on radar.
There was no damage reported.
The video is below (from YouTube).
Video by Carrie Lassiter for NorthEcambia.com.
Pot Rule Could Lead To More Challenges And Delays
May 25, 2018
Businesses seeking to enter Florida’s pot industry warned state health officials Thursday of numerous flaws in a proposed rule that would expand the number of medical marijuana operators but could lead to further delays in a process that’s already months overdue.
A hearing about the proposed rule came more than seven months after a legislatively mandated Oct. 3 deadline for the Department of Health to issue new medical-marijuana licenses, in what could be one of the country’s largest cannabis markets.
The proposed rule, released more than three weeks ago, set in motion the application process — considered far behind schedule by many legislators — for four highly sought-after licenses.
But the issues identified Thursday signaled possible legal or administrative challenges that could further postpone the issuance of licenses.
Lawmakers ordered the new licenses after voters approved a 2016 constitutional amendment that broadly legalized marijuana as a treatment for patients with debilitating medical conditions, including cancer, HIV/AIDS, post-traumatic stress disorder, Parkinson’s disease, ALS and multiple sclerosis.
Under a 2014 law that allowed limited types of medical cannabis, the Department of Health had awarded some licenses before the constitutional amendment passed. But the Legislature last year gave state health officials until Oct. 3 to grant 10 new licenses to marijuana operators who meet certain requirements, including applicants who were involved in litigation prior to January 2017.
In marijuana legislation this year, lawmakers did away with the Oct. 3 deadline — months after it had passed.
The state thus far has issued licenses to 13 operators, including a handful of new operators who met the criteria laid out in the 2017 law, but has yet to begin accepting applications for four new licenses to potential vendors who may not have participated in the process before.
The law requires one of the new licenses to go to a black farmer who was involved in federal litigation about discriminatory lending practices.
And the law requires health officials to give preference for up to two licenses to applicants that “own one or more facilities that are, or were, used for the canning, concentrating, or otherwise processing of citrus fruit or citrus molasses and will use or convert the facility or facilities for the processing of marijuana.” The citrus preference is the subject of one of several marijuana-related court challenges.
During about an hour of public testimony Thursday, most of the complaints were focused on the citrus-related language in the proposed rule.
Lawyer Seann Frazier pointed out that the proposed regulation substituted the word “property” for “facilities,” which, he said, “adds vagueness” and may broaden the language in the statute, something the agency is not permitted to do.
The proposed rule would give the two highest-scoring applicants who are eligible for the citrus preference an extra 35 points, in addition to a total of 1,150 possible points available to all applicants. The 35 extra points amount to just a three percent bonus, Frazier said.
“We respectfully suggest that more weight should be given to the citrus preference” to “avoid a situation where you issue licenses and no one really had a meaningful exercise of the preference,” Frazier, who represents Tampa-based Louis del Favero Orchids, said.
Office of Medical Marijuana Use Director Christian Bax asked Frazier if he had a suggestion about how many points the citrus preference should be worth.
“I suggest it should be a lot higher preference, one that would make a difference that a citrus-qualifying applicant will actually receive a license,” said Frazier, whose client is interested in seeking one of the citrus-preference licenses.
Other speakers complained that page limits imposed in the proposed rule could prevent applicants from providing necessary information, such as how many dispensaries they plan to open or information about human-resources policies.
“We’ll certainly take all of these concerns into consideration. We’re also going to wait for those written comments that are going to be submitted over the next seven days,” Bax told reporters after the meeting. “If the department believes that a change needs to be made, then it will be made. If not, then we’ll continue to move forward with this process.”
Bax had blamed delays in the rollout of the rules on litigation involving the black farmer provision in the law — which has now been resolved — and Hurricane Irma.
Following Thursday’s hearing, the public has a week to submit comments on the proposed rule and 10 days to file administrative challenges.
If no challenges are filed, the agency could begin accepting applications by mid-July.
But that prospect is unlikely, industry insiders believe.
“There may be some people in the room that want to slow this down because they’re not ready to apply yet,” said Jeff Sharkey, a lobbyist and founder of the Medical Marijuana Business Association of Florida.
Legal and administrative challenges have become part of the state’s medical-marijuana odyssey.
“If the scoring happens in a certain way, and somebody disagrees with it … then there’s probably bound to be some protests. It’s a very litigious process here, after the awards are made,” Sharkey said.
The proposed application-process rule is one of a series of regulations that have been harshly criticized by a legislative committee whose job it is to ensure that agency’s rules correctly implement state laws.
Bax has been under fire for months for refusing to respond to the Joint Administrative Procedures Committee’s objections to his office’s proposed and emergency regulations.
Many of the problems identified by the committee were characterized as an unauthorized regulation that “enlarges, modifies or contravenes” the 2017 law.
For example, the law requires health officials to issue four more licenses once the number of eligible patients in a statewide database reaches 100,000, and an additional four licenses after another 100,000 patients are registered. One of the health department’s emergency rules allows Bax to issue four “contingent” licenses to applicants who are not selected in the initial round of evaluations, something the oversight committee says the Office of Medical Marijuana Use is not authorized by law to do.
In March, Department of Health General Counsel Nichole Geary told the committee’s executive director, Kenneth Plante, that the agency was “working diligently to move forward with new rules in light of the objections raised by the committee” so that health officials could begin accepting applications in the spring.
But the rule proposed on May 1 ignored several of the committee’s objections, Plante pointed out in a letter this month, asking if it was an oversight or if the department refused to make the modifications.
On Thursday, Bax told reporters the health department is still reviewing the committee’s letter.
“There’s always give and take” between the committee and state agencies, Bax said, adding that “we certainly respect the Legislature’s prerogative to provide input on this process and we’re looking forward to continuing our work with them.”
But Plante told The News Service of Florida state agencies and the legislative oversight committee “are all part of a system” aimed at ensuring that the rules implementing the statute go into effect.
“So if their (the health department) position is they’ve got their job, we’ve got ours, and never the twain shall meet, I think they overlap. We’re supposed to be working together to make sure this is a good product. That’s our goal,” he said.
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
Dedria’s Gift Presents Local Scholarship Awards
May 25, 2018
The charity Dedria’s Gift recently presented two scholarships to deserving Flomaton High School students.
Dedria’s Gift honors the memory of Dedria Robinson who was killed in a 2005 automobile accident at age 11. The group annually provides school supplies for hundreds of children the Century area.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Travel Expected To Be Up For Memorial Day Weekend
May 25, 2018
Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer, and Americans will kick off the season by traveling in near-record numbers. According to AAA, more than 41.5 million Americans will travel this Memorial Day weekend, nearly 5 percent more than last year and the most in more than a dozen years (2005).
Even as gas prices rise like outside temperatures, AAA still expects an additional 2 million people will take to planes, trains, automobiles and other modes of transportation. INRIX, a global transportation analytics company, expects travel delays on major roads could be 2-3 times longer than normal, with the busiest days being Thursday and Friday (May 24-25), as commuters mix with holiday travelers.
“Higher gas prices will not be enough to keep travelers home this Memorial Day weekend,” said Vicky Evans, Assistant Vice President, Travel Sales Development, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “A strong economy and growing consumer confidence are giving Americans all the motivation they need to kick off what we expect to be a busy summer travel season with a Memorial Day getaway.”
Florida Travelers
- Total travelers: More than 2.2 million Floridians will travel on Memorial Day weekend, 5.5 percent more than last year.
- Automobiles: The vast majority (89%) of Florida travelers will hit the road. A total of nearly 2 million Floridians will take a road trip, which is an increase of more than 100,000 people (5.5%) from last year.
- Planes: More than 177,000 Floridians will fly to their holiday destination, an increase of more than 12,500 individual passengers (7.6%).
- Trains, Buses, and Cruise Ships: Travel across these sectors will increase by 1.3 percent to 62,103 passengers (almost 1,000 more than last year).
- Florida gas prices for Memorial Day weekend will be the most expensive in four years.
The 88 percent of travelers choosing to drive will pay the most expensive Memorial Day gas prices since 2014. Gas prices averaged $2.72 in April, an increase of 33 cents from last year, due to expensive crude oil, record gasoline demand and shrinking global supply. However, these higher prices are not keeping holiday travelers home, with automobile travel expected to increase for the fourth straight year, by nearly 5 percent over last Memorial Day.
Last year, gas prices on Memorial Day averaged $2.37 nationwide ($2.31 in Florida). Although holiday prices at the pump are projected to be the highest in four years, AAA does not expect gasoline to come anywhere near 2014-levels, where the national average was $3.66 ($3.62 in Florida).
Wahoos Snap Skid, Split Twin Bill With Smokies
May 25, 2018
The Blue Wahoos snapped their six-game losing streak with a 7-5 win over the Smokies on Thursday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium in the second of a doubleheader after dropping the first 5-4.
With the Wahoos down 5-1 in the bottom of the sixth of game two, Brian O’Grady hit a two-run double to cut the Smokies lead to 5-3. Nick Longhi then came to the plate and hit a two-run single to tie the game. C.J. McElroy broke the Smokies backs with another two-run double to give the Wahoos their first lead of the series at 7-5.
The story for the Wahoos during the six-game losing streak was the team’s inability to score runs. However, the Wahoos found their confidence scoring late in the first game that repeated itself in the second.
In the bottom of the ninth of game one, with the Blue Wahoos down 5-1, Pensacola hit three home runs to tie the game at four. Taylor Sparks hit a two-run shot to cut the deficit down to 4-2 before C.J. McElroy and Shed Long belted back-to-back home runs of their own.
However, the Smokies won Wednesday’s suspended game off Trey Martin’s 11th inning RBI single to give the Smokies a 5-4 victory in the series opener.
In game three of the series, left-handed pitcher Seth Varner (1-0, 4.19) will make his first career Double-A start for the Wahoos. One of the top prospects in the Cubs minor league system, RHP Thomas Hatch (4-2, 3.06) will take the hill and try to give the Smokies a 2-1 lead.
Fire Damages Ensley Home
May 24, 2018
Fire damaged a home in the Ensley area Thursday afternoon.
The fire was reported just before 5 p.m. on Tommy Street just off Cove Avenue. There was no immediate report of any injuries. Several pets were brought out of the home.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, and the American Red Cross is assisting the residents with a temporary place to stay.
Further information has not been released.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Woman Seriously Injured In Rollover Crash
May 24, 2018
One person was seriously injured in a single vehicle rollover accident early Thursday morning.
The accident occurred about 4:50 a.m. on West Roberts Road near Stallion Road. The driver lost control, struck a culvert and overturned. She was transported by Escambia County EMS to an area hospital.
The crash is under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. Further details have not yet been released.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Split Rulings Continue On ‘Stand Your Ground’ Change
May 24, 2018
Amid requests for the Florida Supreme Court to wade into the issue, a South Florida appeals court Wednesday ruled against a defendant in one in a series of cases about how to carry out a controversial 2017 change to the state’s “stand your ground” self-defense law.
The ruling by a panel of the 3rd District Court of Appeal was the third time this month that appellate courts have grappled with the issue of the 2017 change — with courts coming to different conclusions.
The change shifted a key burden of proof from defendants to prosecutors in “stand your ground” cases, and the issue in the appeals is whether that change should apply retroactively to defendants whose cases were pending before the 2017 law passed.
The 3rd District Court of Appeal in the case Wednesday of defendant Justin Bailey and in a May 11 decision involving defendant Tashara Love sided with prosecutors in finding that the change should not apply retroactively. But the 2nd District Court of Appeal, in a May 4 ruling in a Hillsborough County case, said the change is retroactive, a decision that could help defendants arguing that they acted in self-defense.
Love’s attorneys quickly filed a brief last week asking the Florida Supreme Court to take up the issue.
“This case presents an issue of statewide importance impacting countless criminal prosecutions: whether the 2017 amendment to the Stand Your Ground law applies to all pending cases or only those arising after its enactment,” Love’s attorneys wrote in the brief.
The “stand your ground” law says people are justified in using deadly force and do not have a “duty to retreat” if they believe it is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm. When the defense is successfully raised in pre-trial hearings, defendants are granted immunity from prosecution.
Before the 2017 change, the Florida Supreme Court had ruled defendants had the burden of proof in pre-trial hearings to show they should be shielded from prosecution. With backing from groups such as the National Rifle Association, the 2017 change shifted the burden from defendants to prosecutors to prove whether self-defense claims are justified.
The ruling Wednesday by the 3rd District Court of Appeal, which hears issues from Miami-Dade and Monroe counties, gave few details of the Bailey case. But it said a lower court in December 2016 rejected Bailey’s argument that he should be shielded from prosecution because of the “stand your ground” law.
“Under the version of the statute existing on the date of the offense (and at the time of the evidentiary hearing), Bailey shouldered the burden of proof, requiring him to establish his entitlement to statutory immunity by a preponderance of the evidence,” said Wednesday’s ruling by appeals-court judges Kevin Emas, Thomas Logue and Norma Lindsey. “The trial court concluded in its order that Bailey ‘failed to prove by the preponderance of the evidence that he is immune from prosecution.’ ”
As Bailey appealed the ruling, the Legislature and Gov. Rick Scott shifted the burden of proof to prosecutors. Bailey’s attorneys argued that the change should be applied to his case. But in turning down Bailey, the panel Wednesday pointed to the May 11 ruling in the Love case, which stemmed from a 2015 shooting during an altercation outside a Miami-Dade County nightclub.
“Following our precedent in Love, we therefore hold that the June 9, 2017 amendment does not apply to Bailey’s case, and Bailey is not entitled to a new evidentiary hearing on that basis,” Wednesday’s ruling said.
But in the Hillsborough County case earlier in the month, a panel of the 2nd District Court of Appeal said the burden-of-proof change should apply retroactively to Tymothy Ray Martin, who was convicted of felony battery in a 2016 altercation involving his girlfriend. Martin had sought to use the “stand your ground” law to be shielded from prosecution, but a judge denied his request in a pre-trial hearing.
Martin appealed his conviction, and the appeal was pending when the Legislature and Scott made the change.
The 2nd District Court of Appeal and the 3rd District Court of Appeal have asked the Supreme Court to resolve the retroactivity issue — a move known as “certifying” a question to the Supreme Court.
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
“I’m The Guy Who Died At Chick-fil-A” – Escambia EMS Recognizes Cardiac Arrest Survivors
May 24, 2018
“I’m the guy who died at Chick-fil-A.”
That’s how Jack Casey introduced himself to Escambia County EMTs and paramedics who may remember him as the man who was clinically dead for about half an hour one spring morning in 2015.
Casey (pictured above) suffered sudden cardiac arrest while working at the Chick-fil-A on Navy Boulevard on May 11, 2015, and he said he owes his life to bystanders and first responders who immediately started CPR and didn’t stop until his heart was pumping again.
“CPR saves lives,” Casey said. And he would know.
Casey was one of seven sudden cardiac arrest survivors recognized by Escambia County Emergency Medical Services staff at a ceremony Tuesday, May 22 at Escambia County Public Safety, where they had an opportunity to meet the people who brought them back to life.
Some survivors shed tears as they tried to put their gratitude into words. Casey was able to make it to his son’s high school graduation right after the EMS ceremony.
Related story: Lifesaving PulsePoint App Now Available In Escambia County
The ceremony was conducted in conjunction with National EMS Week May 20-28, which honors emergency medical service professionals for their dedication to public service while raising awareness about the many EMS services, resources and programs available to Escambia County citizens. This year’s theme is EMS Strong: Stronger Together.
Escambia County Chief of EMS Steve White emphasized the importance of hands-only CPR for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, which only have about a 10 percent survival rate, according to the American Heart Association. Early application of bystander CPR and rapid defibrillation from an AED have proven to be crucial in improving a person’s chance of survival.
“If somebody, anybody, will perform CPR before EMS arrives, the survival rate triples,” White said.
Early application of CPR was critical for survivor Patricia Jablonski, who suffered sudden cardiac arrest in Walmart last March. Her husband, Jesse, a retired firefighter, immediately began CPR until first responders arrived.
“And we know that directly contributes to being able to walk out of the hospital and have another birthday, another Christmas, another child graduate high school,” White said while recognizing Jesse Jablonski for his quick action.
Patricia Jablonski (pictured left) expressed her gratitude to her husband, EMS personnel and everyone who helped save her life that day.
“I’m appreciative that I get to see all five of my grandchildren grow up…,” she said. “I really, really appreciate it, and I will love you and think of you ’til the day I die.”
Survivor Greg Yost (pictured below) echoed the importance of knowing CPR, which saved his life on April 14, 2017 while driving near his neighborhood. His wife flagged down a vehicle, and a 15-year-old stopped and performed hands-only CPR until EMS arrived. The 15-year-old only knew CPR from watching the TV show “Scrubs,” and he did chest compressions to the beat of the song “Stayin’ Alive,” which is commonly used to teach hands-only CPR.
Yost said the doctors told him he had less than a 1 percent chance of surviving to the hospital.
“I owe my life to them…,” Yost said of the bystander and first responders. “Truly, everything that happened for me aligned in a way that allowed me to live. So I am deeply, deeply thankful.”
Escambia County is offering several opportunities for the public to learn hands-only CPR during EMS Week:
- Free hands-only CPR courses: This week through Friday, May 25 from 4:30-5:30 p.m., Escambia County Public Safety, 6575 N. “W” St.
- Free hands-only CPR training event: Saturday, May 26 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m, Cordova Mall, 5100 N. Ninth Ave.
Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Tate High School Presents Industry Certifications
May 24, 2018
Tate High School presented numerous industry certification awards during a program Wednesday night at the school. The certifications were earned during career and technical educational classes.
“Tate High has had outstanding success this year with very high certification numbers,” Steve Harrell, Escambia County Workforce Development, said.
Courtesy photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
