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).
Area Unemployment Rate Declines
May 19, 2018
The Escambia County area unemployment rate was 3.3 percent, down 0.5 percentage point from one year ago, according to the latest numbers announced Friday.
The industry with the highest growth over the year in Pensacola was leisure and hospitality with 1,100 new jobs. The Pensacola area had 5,110 job openings, including 1,291 openings for high-skill, high-wage STEM occupations.
Florida’s jobless rate continues to stand at 3.9 percent, where it’s been since the end of 2017, according to the state Department of Economic Opportunity. With the state rate holding steady, it is now matched by the national unemployment rate, which hit 3.9 percent as May began after standing at 4.1 percent since October. The reduction in the national rate has been seen as a sign that the employment market has become even more competitive. I
The jobless numbers released by the state do not include persons that have given up on finding a job and are no longer reported as unemployed.
Spring Football: Northview, Escambia County Atmore Play To Tie
May 19, 2018
The Northview Chiefs and the Escambia County County Blue Devils battled it out Friday night in a Spring Game and walked away in a 14-14 tie.
The varsity programs played to 14-14 in the first three quarters, while junior varsity fourth quarter was scoreless in Bratt.
“We were sloppy, they were sloppy, you expect that at this point,” Northview Chiefs Head Coach Derek Marshman said. “I think both teams are going to have a chance to be really good football teams. They’ve got a ton of athletes; they do a really good job. We are going to get after it this summer; that is where games are won. Our kids know that.”
For a photo gallery, click here.
Mashman said he’s looking forward to a competitive season in the fall.
“We are going to come out and compete every game. The main thing we want is when we walk off the field for the other team to say that team competed as hard as anyone we’ve played. We have the opportunity to win each and every game, but we are never going to promise a win. But we want the other team to know we brought our A-game.”
Escambia County will be at Wilcox Central on August 31. The Northview Chiefs will host Vernon in a Kickoff Classic on August 17 and open the regular season on the road August 24 at Lighthouse Christian.
NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Alabama Attorney General Releases Info On W.S. Neal Grade Changing Scandal Case
May 19, 2018
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall as confirmed that his office was involved in the arrest of two people in a grade changing case in Escambia County, AL.
Matthew Hutchins, 18, of Brewton and Lisa Odom, 58, of Castleberry were each charged with felony computer tampering by altering grades at W.S. Neal High School in East Brewton. Odom has been identified as a special education teacher at the school; she has been placed on administrative leave.
The defendants were arrested by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office on warrants brought by special agents of the Attorney General’s Office. The Attorney General’s Office Cybercrime Unit initiated an investigation after being notified by local officials on May 11 that grades had been altered through the school’s INow computer system. Prosecution will be handled by the Attorney General’s Criminal Trials Division.
If convicted, Hutchins and Odom face a maximum penalty of one to 10 years for the felony charge.
Due to an ongoing investigation, Marshall’s office said no further information about the investigation or about the defendants’ alleged crimes will be released at this time.
Firefighters Respond To Smoke In Store’s Beer Cooler
May 19, 2018
Escambia Fire Rescue responded to a report of smoke in a beer cooler at the Circle K at Highway 29 and East Kingsfield Road Friday afternoon. The smell of smoke was traced to an electronic energy saving controller inside the cooler (pictured left). There was no other damage reported. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
NRA Appeals Ruling On ‘Jane Doe’ Gun Case
May 19, 2018
The National Rifle Association is appealing a federal judge’s refusal to keep the identity of a 19-year-old Alachua County woman secret in a challenge to a state law that raised the age to purchase rifles and other long guns.
The case was placed on hold Friday pending a decision regarding “Jane Doe” from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, according to court documents.
The gun-rights group filed the appeal after U.S. District Judge Mark Walker this week decided that previous court rulings forced him to reject the request to keep the identity of “Jane Doe” private.
The NRA requested the use of the pseudonym for Jane Doe and “John Doe,” another 19-year-old who is part of the case. The request was based largely on a declaration filed by the group’s Florida lobbyist, Marion Hammer, who detailed threatening emails she had received featuring derogatory words for parts of the female anatomy.
“It’s time somebody stood up for the First Amendment right to go into court to fight to protect our Second Amendment right without being victimized by hatemongers who threaten you and your family,” Hammer, a onetime president of the national gun-rights organization, told The News Service of Florida on Friday.
The debate over the pseudonyms came in a lawsuit filed March 9 by the NRA, just hours after Gov. Rick Scott signed into law a sweeping school-safety measure that included new gun-related restrictions. The legislation was a rapid response to the Feb. 14 shooting at Parkland’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School that left 17 students and faculty members dead and 17 others wounded.
The law raised from 18 to 21 the minimum age to purchase rifles and other long guns. It also imposed a three-day waiting period on the sale of long guns, such as the AR-15 semiautomatic rifle 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz last year legally purchased and is accused of using in the Valentine’s Day massacre at his former high school.
In late April, the NRA filed a motion to add “Jane Doe” as a plaintiff to the lawsuit, which contends the age restriction in the new law “violates the fundamental rights of thousands of responsible, law-abiding adult Florida citizens and is thus invalid under the Second and Fourteenth Amendments.”
The NRA asked Walker to allow the woman to remain anonymous due to fear that public exposure could result in “harassment, intimidation, and potentially even physical violence.”
But, representing the state, lawyers for Attorney General Pam Bondi argued the request for anonymity “does not provide a sufficient basis for overcoming the strong presumption in favor of open judicial proceedings.”
Suggesting that the courts have not kept up with the times, a reluctant Walker agreed.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which will hear the appeal, “has made it clear that pseudonyms may only be used in ‘exceptional’ cases … and that there is ‘a strong presumption in favor of parties’ proceeding in their own names,’ ” the judge wrote in a 17-page opinion Sunday.
The relatively rare circumstances where pseudonyms are allowed involve issues such as abortion, prayer and personal religious beliefs, Walker wrote.
Based on precedent, “this court finds that mere evidence of threats and harassment made online is insufficient to outweigh the customary and constitutionally-embedded presumption of openness in judicial proceedings,” Walker wrote. “This is especially true where the targets of such threats and harassment are not minors and where the subject at issue does not involve matters of utmost intimacy.”
But, expressing sympathy for Jane and John Doe, Walker wrote that the factors laid out in the previous decisions fail to take into account “concerns about the potential harassment and threats they face.”
“To be clear, this court does not intend to diminish those concerns,” he added.
In a joint motion filed Friday, lawyers for the NRA and the state asked Walker to put the case on hold until the Atlanta-based appellate court decides on the pseudonyms. The judge agreed.
In a footnote in Sunday’s order, Walker called the messages sent to Hammer “hateful and abhorrent” and of such an “offensive nature” that he would not repeat them in his ruling.
“The attorney general has made it clear that she won’t agree to protecting a 19-year-old woman from bullying, harassment, threats of death or injury, and Judge Walker doesn’t seem to think he has the authority or that it’s his job to protect her, so maybe a higher court will,” Hammer said.
In Sunday’s order, Walker noted that the world has changed since the courts established the standards allowing the use of pseudonyms.
“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. Unfortunately, it seems the internet just doesn’t always bring out the best in us,” he wrote.
“Maybe the law should be modified to reflect these changes. But it’s not this court’s job to change the law; this court’s job is to apply the law,” Walker wrote. “And the law unfortunately directs that the NRA’s motion must be denied.”
by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida
New Splash Pad Opens In Atmore
May 19, 2018
A new $150,000 splash pad opened Friday in Atmore. The splash pad was made possible through a partnership between the City of Atmore and the Atmore Rotary Club, along with additional donations. The splash is open 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. daily at South Trammel Street and West Craig Street, just behind Heritage Park on South Main Street. There is also a new covered seating area for parents.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
