Florida Gov’t Weekly Roundup: ‘Job One’
March 10, 2018
Big picture, a lot of things happen during legislative sessions that really aren’t important.
Special interests battle among themselves. Lawmakers give ponderous speeches. Press conferences come and go.
But this week, lawmakers dealt with perhaps the most-important issue they will face during their time in Tallahassee.
After the devastation of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, lawmakers spent days debating and ultimately passing a bill to try to improve school safety, boost mental-health services and impose new gun restrictions.
The debate, at times, was gut-wrenching. It also went beyond the Parkland shooting and reflected racial and cultural divides.
But the families of the 17 people killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High offered support for the bill and helped prompt Gov. Rick Scott to sign it. They knew something needed to be done.
Will the bill work? Will parents be able to drop their kids off at school in the morning and be assured they will be safe?
The truth is, nobody knows for sure.
But amid all the messiness and political maneuvering of the final week of the legislative session, it was a big deal.
‘PUSH THE GREEN BUTTON’
Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Coral Springs, went to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High. He served on the Parkland City Commission. And after word came Feb. 14 of the massacre, he rushed home to Broward County.
So when Moskowitz took the microphone on the House floor Wednesday, the usual clamor in the chamber stopped and members listened. Moskowitz’s described the awful scene at the school after the shooting. Then he broke down while describing how his 4-year-old son was receiving writing lessons from a pre-school teacher when the teacher’s daughter was shot dead at the school.
Moskowitz chided House members who throughout the day called the vote on the bill a difficult decision.
“This isn’t hard. Putting your kid in the ground is hard. This is a button. … Push the green button,” Moskowitz concluded, referring to the button for “yes” votes.
The $400 million package includes $69 million for early mental health screening and services, $97 million for school resource officers, $98 million for school-hardening grants, and $25 million to raze and rebuild the freshman building where the shooting spree occurred.
But the debate focused mostly on gun issues. The National Rifle Association and its allies tried to rally opposition because of part of the bill that increased the minimum age to 21 and imposed a three-day waiting period for people purchasing rifles and other long guns.
As more evidence of the opposition, the NRA quickly filed a federal lawsuit challenging the restrictions after Scott signed the bill Friday.
“(Scott) put his hand on a bible and took an oath to support, protect and defend the Constitution,” NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer said in a telephone interview Friday with The News Service of Florida. “So Gov. Scott obviously has a hard time keeping his word.”
Scott, had objected to the three-day waiting period but said Friday he and others had to compromise, acknowledging that gun regulations in the bill went too far for some and not far enough for others.
“I know the debate on all these issues will continue, and that’s healthy in our democracy. People are passionate in their beliefs and they should be. But, we should not insult or disparage each other. We should work together to make our schools safe for our kids. We have a lot of work ahead of us in order to enact these reforms and make our schools safer. This is a time for all of us to come together, roll up our sleeves, and get it done,” he said.
The other major gun issue focused on part of the bill that would allow trained school employees, including some teachers, to be armed. The so-called school “guardian” program drew objections from many people who don’t want guns added to the daily mix in schools.
But the proposal also sparked debate with a decidedly racial aspect. Black lawmakers fear the program could endanger minority students, who are more likely to be punished at school. The lawmakers said they worry minority students could be unfairly targeted in emergencies, as could armed school personnel who are “black or brown.”
“I’m afraid that in an emergency situation, a black or brown student who may be running down the hall to get away like everyone else, who reaches for his or her cell phone to call their parent, may be seen not as a student, but as a shooter,” Rep. Cynthia Stafford, a Miami Democrat who is black, said.
But Rep. Elizabeth Porter, a Lake City Republican who supported the program, pushed back against such arguments.
“All of a sudden, the folks that have been proponents of teachers all these years are now saying that teachers are incompetent to have a concealed weapon permit, they’re racist, they’re bigoted, they’re going to target black boys and brown boys. I don’t think that of our teachers at all. I don’t believe that of them,” Porter said.
THE END GAME
Lawmakers should have been celebrating Friday night and getting ready to head home. But instead, they faced the prospect of spending Sunday afternoon in the Capitol to pass a budget and a tax-cut package.
House and Senate leaders extended the 60-day session after negotiators could not finalize a budget in time to end the session on time Friday.
The $400 million package for school safety after the Broward County shooting caused unexpected budget changes late in the session. Senate Appropriations Chairman Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, said the shooting had “a real impact” on the budget process.
“We responded aggressively,” Bradley said. “If we don’t protect our kids, what are we here for? That’s job one.”
But the negotiations got hung up on other, more-typical issues, such as Medicaid funding for hospitals and nursing homes.
In the end, the Senate got one of its priorities, with an increase in Medicaid funding for nursing homes. Meanwhile, the House got part of what it wanted by continuing to funnel extra money to hospitals that serve large numbers of Medicaid patients.
When they return to the Capitol on Sunday, lawmakers will approve an $88.7 billion budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1.
STORY OF THE WEEK: The House and Senate passed a wide-ranging plan designed to improve school safety after the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County. Gov. Rick Scott signed the bill Friday, and it quickly drew a legal challenge from the National Rifle Association.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “My precious daughter Meadow’s life was taken, and there’s nothing I can do to change that. But make no mistake, I’m a father and I’m on a mission. I’m on a mission to ensure that I’m the last dad to ever read a statement of this kind.” — Andrew Pollack, reading a statement after the House passed the school-safety package Wednesday. Pollack’s 18-year-old daughter, Meadow, was among the 14 students slain at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last month.
Big picture, a lot of things happen during legislative sessions that really aren’t important.
Special interests battle among themselves. Lawmakers give ponderous speeches. Press conferences come and go.
But this week, lawmakers dealt with perhaps the most-important issue they will face during their time in Tallahassee.
After the devastation of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, lawmakers spent days debating and ultimately passing a bill to try to improve school safety, boost mental-health services and impose new gun restrictions.
The debate, at times, was gut-wrenching. It also went beyond the Parkland shooting and reflected racial and cultural divides.
But the families of the 17 people killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High offered support for the bill and helped prompt Gov. Rick Scott to sign it. They knew something needed to be done.
Will the bill work? Will parents be able to drop their kids off at school in the morning and be assured they will be safe?
The truth is, nobody knows for sure.
But amid all the messiness and political maneuvering of the final week of the legislative session, it was a big deal.
‘PUSH THE GREEN BUTTON’
Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Coral Springs, went to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High. He served on the Parkland City Commission. And after word came Feb. 14 of the massacre, he rushed home to Broward County.
So when Moskowitz took the microphone on the House floor Wednesday, the usual clamor in the chamber stopped and members listened. Moskowitz’s described the awful scene at the school after the shooting. Then he broke down while describing how his 4-year-old son was receiving writing lessons from a pre-school teacher when the teacher’s daughter was shot dead at the school.
Moskowitz chided House members who throughout the day called the vote on the bill a difficult decision.
“This isn’t hard. Putting your kid in the ground is hard. This is a button. … Push the green button,” Moskowitz concluded, referring to the button for “yes” votes.
The $400 million package includes $69 million for early mental health screening and services, $97 million for school resource officers, $98 million for school-hardening grants, and $25 million to raze and rebuild the freshman building where the shooting spree occurred.
But the debate focused mostly on gun issues. The National Rifle Association and its allies tried to rally opposition because of part of the bill that increased the minimum age to 21 and imposed a three-day waiting period for people purchasing rifles and other long guns.
As more evidence of the opposition, the NRA quickly filed a federal lawsuit challenging the restrictions after Scott signed the bill Friday.
“(Scott) put his hand on a bible and took an oath to support, protect and defend the Constitution,” NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer said in a telephone interview Friday with The News Service of Florida. “So Gov. Scott obviously has a hard time keeping his word.”
Scott, had objected to the three-day waiting period but said Friday he and others had to compromise, acknowledging that gun regulations in the bill went too far for some and not far enough for others.
“I know the debate on all these issues will continue, and that’s healthy in our democracy. People are passionate in their beliefs and they should be. But, we should not insult or disparage each other. We should work together to make our schools safe for our kids. We have a lot of work ahead of us in order to enact these reforms and make our schools safer. This is a time for all of us to come together, roll up our sleeves, and get it done,” he said.
The other major gun issue focused on part of the bill that would allow trained school employees, including some teachers, to be armed. The so-called school “guardian” program drew objections from many people who don’t want guns added to the daily mix in schools.
But the proposal also sparked debate with a decidedly racial aspect. Black lawmakers fear the program could endanger minority students, who are more likely to be punished at school. The lawmakers said they worry minority students could be unfairly targeted in emergencies, as could armed school personnel who are “black or brown.”
“I’m afraid that in an emergency situation, a black or brown student who may be running down the hall to get away like everyone else, who reaches for his or her cell phone to call their parent, may be seen not as a student, but as a shooter,” Rep. Cynthia Stafford, a Miami Democrat who is black, said.
But Rep. Elizabeth Porter, a Lake City Republican who supported the program, pushed back against such arguments.
“All of a sudden, the folks that have been proponents of teachers all these years are now saying that teachers are incompetent to have a concealed weapon permit, they’re racist, they’re bigoted, they’re going to target black boys and brown boys. I don’t think that of our teachers at all. I don’t believe that of them,” Porter said.
THE END GAME
Lawmakers should have been celebrating Friday night and getting ready to head home. But instead, they faced the prospect of spending Sunday afternoon in the Capitol to pass a budget and a tax-cut package.
House and Senate leaders extended the 60-day session after negotiators could not finalize a budget in time to end the session on time Friday.
The $400 million package for school safety after the Broward County shooting caused unexpected budget changes late in the session. Senate Appropriations Chairman Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, said the shooting had “a real impact” on the budget process.
“We responded aggressively,” Bradley said. “If we don’t protect our kids, what are we here for? That’s job one.”
But the negotiations got hung up on other, more-typical issues, such as Medicaid funding for hospitals and nursing homes.
In the end, the Senate got one of its priorities, with an increase in Medicaid funding for nursing homes. Meanwhile, the House got part of what it wanted by continuing to funnel extra money to hospitals that serve large numbers of Medicaid patients.
When they return to the Capitol on Sunday, lawmakers will approve an $88.7 billion budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1.
STORY OF THE WEEK: The House and Senate passed a wide-ranging plan designed to improve school safety after the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County. Gov. Rick Scott signed the bill Friday, and it quickly drew a legal challenge from the National Rifle Association.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “My precious daughter Meadow’s life was taken, and there’s nothing I can do to change that. But make no mistake, I’m a father and I’m on a mission. I’m on a mission to ensure that I’m the last dad to ever read a statement of this kind.” — Andrew Pollack, reading a statement after the House passed the school-safety package Wednesday. Pollack’s 18-year-old daughter, Meadow, was among the 14 students slain at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School last month.
by Jim Saunders, The News Service of Florida
Late Night Fire Destroys Molino Building
March 9, 2018
Fire destroyed a structure Thursday night in Molino, possibly leaving one person homeless.
The the approximately 400 square foot building had burned to the ground by the time firefighters were called to Brickyard Road near Molino Road about 11:30 p.m.
The structure type was not immediately clear, but it was believed that someone had been living in the building. There was no one inside at the time of the fire.
There were no injuries reported. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. Further details have not been released.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Rep. Clay Ingram Says Farewell To The Florida House
March 9, 2018
Florida Rep. Clay Ingram said his farewells Thursday afternoon on the floor of the Florida House. With eight years in the House, Ingram is unable to run again due to term limits.
“It is hard to believe that my eight years in the legislature has come to a close. It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve the people of House District 1 (and 2 before redistricting in 2012). I think a big thing that has made my time in office so special is that unlike in some other parts of the state where people may transplant to Florida and then run for office, I was born and raised in the district and moved back as soon as I was able to after college; so I have rarely had to guess where my district was on any particular issue, because I knew what I thought, and most of time, that’s what they were thinking too,” Ingram told NorthEscambia.com Thursday night.
“Central and north Escambia County are filled with the type of people who have made this country so successful. They love their God, work hard, and they take the Bill of Rights seriously. With the statewide economic turnaround that we’ve experienced since 2010, I hope we’ve put Northwest Florida and District 1 in particular in a position to benefit from future growth.”
“As we approach the final days of this legislative session, I look forward to working hard at the Capitol on their behalf. And then when the handkerchief drops and session is over, I forward to getting back to home sweet home with them again,” Ingram said.
Pictured: Rep. Clay Ingram gives his farewell speech to the Florida House Thursday afternoon. Image courtesy The Florida Channel.
Century Undecided On Natural Gas Pipeline Route Through Residential Neighborhoods
March 9, 2018
The Century Town Council held a special meeting Thursday with Florida Public Utilities to discuss a new route through the town for a natural gas pipeline.
FPU wants to abandon previously approved plans to run the pipeline along Highway 29 through Century. Instead, the company now wants to route the pipeline through residential areas along Jefferson Avenue and Salters Lake Road.
The change, according to to Florida Public Utilities Gas Operations Director Barry Kennedy, is due to restrictions imposed by the Florida Department of Transportation. In January, FDOT specified that the gas pipeline be placed underneath the outer northbound lane of Highway 29, and work would only be allowed during the night and overnight hours. The job would require digging large holes in Highway 29 every 1,000 to 1,500 feet in order to bore the pipe under the roadway.
“The Highway 29 route would create traffic problems during the work,” Kennedy said.
By comparison, burying the pipeline along Jefferson Avenue and Salters Lake Road would take about two weeks. Work would be performed during mostly daylight hours, and it would be the town’s decision oh if the contractors worked seven days or were required to stop work on the weekends.
But the idea is not sitting well with residents along the route.
“You don’t normally put a gas line in a residential area,” resident Roger Jenkins said. “You lower people’s property values. People don’t feel comfortable with a pipeline in their yard.”
“It looks like the minds here are already made up,” property owner Wayne Johnson told the council. “When it (a pipeline) comes down through a community like this, it makes a difference.”
Kennedy ask the council for a tentative approval to use right of way on Jefferson Street to allow the company to begin the process of obtaining the necessary permits. However, Mayor Henry Hawkins said the council could not vote at the meeting.
Councilman Lewis Gomez said the council and residents of the area need more time to make good decisions.
A public information meeting was set for Thursday, March 15 at 7 p.m. at the community center on West Highway 4.
The pipeline has already been delivered and is sitting above ground on Salters Lake Road, which is a county roadway. Barry said in the event the council does not approve the Jefferson Street Route, the pipeline will be removed from the side of Salters Lake Road.
Florida Public Utilities is constructing the pipeline along a 42-mile route through North Escambia from Century to Nine Mile Road. The pipeline continues south from Century along Highway 29 right of way from Century to Old Chemstrand Road. From there, an eight-inch line will follow Old Chemstrand Road to Ascend, while another eight-inch line will continue south on Highway 29 to Highway 95A in Cantonment to West Roberts Road to Pine Forest Road to West Nine Mile Road where the project will connect to an existing gas system.
Florida Public Utilities is a private company, not a government agency.
Pictured: Barry Kennedy of Florida Public Utilities (second from right) addresses the Century Town Council Thursday afternoon. Pictured inset: Gas pipeline above ground on Salter’s Lake Road. Pictured below: Highway 29 in Century Thursday afternoon. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Atmore’s Poarch Creek Indians Buy Pennsylvania Casino For $1.3 Billion
March 9, 2018
Wind Creek Hospitality, an affiliate of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians of Atmore, will acquire the Las Vegas Sands Corp. casino in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, or $1.3 billion under a deal announced Thursday.
In 2007, Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem purchased the 126-acre former Bethlehem Steel plant opened the casino on May 22, 2009. The property includes a 300 room hotel, performing arts venue and a shopping mall.
The sale won’t be final until after it is approved by Pennsylvania gaming regulators.
Wind Creek operates Wind Creek Atmore, Wind Creek Montgomery, Wind Creek Wetumpka, Renaissance Aruba and Renaissance Curaçao in the Caribbean, the Wa She Shu Casino in Nevada, the Pensacola Greyhound Track and Poker Room, Creek Entertainment Gretna just outside Tallahassee, and the Mobile Greyhound Park.
Ernest Ward Middle Names Students Of The Month
March 9, 2018
Ernest Ward Middle School has named their Student of the Month from January. They are (L-R) Kendall Alvare, sixth grade; Vivyan Smith, seventh grade; and Sara Sconiers, eighth grade. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Florida Education Budget Increases After School Shooting
March 9, 2018
School funding next academic year will be shaped by the Florida Legislature’s reaction to the mass shooting of students and staff at a Broward County high school.
A new $88.7 billion state budget, which was released Thursday and is expected to be approved Sunday, includes a $21.1 billion spending plan for the 67 school districts. It would boost per-student funding by $101.50 during 2018-2019 to $7,408 and represents a $485 million increase in state funding and local property taxes.
A significant increase in school spending is tied to the Feb. 14 tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
The annual school funding formula would include a new category for mental-health funding with $69 million. It would increase the “safe schools” program, which helps pay for school resource officers, to $162 million, a $97.5 million increase.
Outside the funding formula, the school districts also could apply for grants to improve the security of their campuses in a $98.9 million program.
But lawmakers pared Gov. Rick Scott’s request for an $18 million increase in funding for classroom supplies for teachers. Lawmakers backed an $8.8 million increase, which should boost the annual payments by about $50 to $300.
Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, who helped develop a $400 million school-safety initiative, said the response to the Parkland tragedy became the “most important” issue facing the Legislature.
“It put everything else we were working on, on a back burner,” he said. “I feel like we’ve done our best.”
He said one of the challenges was that the incident occurred midway during the annual legislative session, forcing lawmakers to quickly develop a response without the normal lead time and preparation.
“It certainly has impacted the budget. A lot of projects have fallen out. And money had to be reprioritized. It’s not often that you go into session and have to make a $400 million adjustment midstream,” Galvano said.
In other areas of the budget, charter schools would receive more than $145 million for renovation and maintenance work in the budget. Public schools would receive $50 million.
Jackson County would receive more than $19 million in second-year funding for a three-year project to build a new kindergarten-through-eighth grade school. Taylor County would receive $6.2 million for a primary school project and Liberty County would receive $6 million for a high school project.
Legislative leaders announced Thursday afternoon the new budget been printed and would be available Sunday for a vote after a 72-hour “cooling off” period. The spending plan then will go to Scott, who has line-item veto power.
The final negotiations on the budget also resulted in more funding for several higher-education initiatives.
Lawmakers agreed to increase funding for schools that qualify as “pre-eminent” universities by $20 million, which should benefit the University of Florida, Florida State University and the University of South Florida, if USF obtains that status in the coming year.
The budget would increase performance funding for the universities to $265 million in the next academic year, a $20 million increase.
The program that allows universities to recruit “world class” professors and researchers was increased by $20 million, and a program that rewards high-performing medical, law and other professional schools was increased by $10 million.
Florida Gulf Coast University, which did not qualify for state performance funding this year, would receive $13.7 million in additional money in the new budget.
The University of North Florida would receive more than $4 million, and Florida International University would receive $4.7 million in additional funding.
The state college system would\receive $6.75 million as a partial restoration of a $30 million cut in the current year’s budget.
St. Johns River State College would receive $3 million in additional funding. Daytona State College would receive $1 million for a writing program that provides free tutoring services for students.
by Lloyd Dunkelberger, The News Service of Florida
Tate’s Logan Hamlin Commits To William Carey University
March 9, 2018
Tate High School’s Logan Hamlin committed Thursday to play volleyball for William Carey University in Hattiesburg, MS. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Saturday Is Opening Day At The Molino Ballpark
March 9, 2018
Saturday is Opening Day at the Molino Ballpark.
Opening ceremonies will be at 9 a.m., with game to follow and continuing most of the day.
In additional to the games, there will be be team booths with food, bounce houses, kettle corn and much more for day of family fun. And the concession stand will be open.
Driver Suffers Minor Injuries When He Crashes Truck Into Ditch
March 8, 2018
Charges are pending against a driver after he crashed his big rig into a ditch early Thursday morning.
The Florida Highway Patrol said 44-year old Jeff Parker of Pensacola was traveling south on Old Palafox just north of 9 1/2 Mile Road. He as unable to maintain control of the vehicle and traveled off the roadway into a ditch, troopers said.
The truck came to rest in a ditch on the east shoulder of Old Palafox, laying on its driver’s side.
Parker received minor injuries and was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital.