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Supreme Court Denies Appeal Of Escambia County Death Row Inmate, Nine Others

The Florida Supreme Court on Monday rejected appeals by 10 Death Row inmates, including a man scheduled to be executed Feb. 22 in the 1993 slaying of a University of West Florida student.

Just last week, Gov. Rick Scott signed the death warrant for Eric Scott Branch. He is scheduled to die Thursday, February 22 at 6 p.m for the brutal 1993 slaying of Susan Morris.

The Supreme Court’s release of 10 nearly identical rulings at the same time was a somewhat-unusual move. But each of the cases involved inmates challenging their death sentences because juries did not unanimously recommend execution.

The appeals were rooted in a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in an Escamiba County case known as Hurst v. Florida and a subsequent Florida Supreme Court decision. The 2016 U.S. Supreme Court ruling found Florida’s death-penalty sentencing system was unconstitutional because it gave too much authority to judges, instead of juries. The subsequent Florida Supreme Court ruling said juries must unanimously agree on critical findings before judges can impose death sentences and must unanimously recommend the death penalty.

But the Florida Supreme Court made the new sentencing requirements apply to cases since 2002. That is when the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling known as Ring v. Arizona that was a premise for striking down Florida’s death-penalty sentencing system in 2016.

In each of the cases Monday, the Death Row inmates had been sentenced to death before the Ring decision and argued that the jury-unanimity requirements should also apply to their cases.

by The News Service of Florida with contribution by NorthEscambia.com

Tate Cheerleaders Take Regionals, Advance To State Finals

The Tate High Varsity Cheerleaders took regionals last weekend and advance to the state finals with a former Aggie cheerleader as coach.

They placed first in their their division in the Region 1 FHSAA Cheeer Competition near Jacksonville. The first place finish earns them a direct bid to the state finals February 4 at the University of Florida.

The squad is coach by first-year coach and Tate graduate Morgan White, who spent four years as an Aggie cheerleader.

“I’m so proud of the work these athletes have shown this year. We’ve had many injuries and hurdles they’ve had to endure, and their resiliency and love for their school and community continue to push these athletes forward. I feel incredibly blessed to be back at Tate High School and part of this journey with them,” White said.

Photos for North Escambia.com, click to enlarge.

Century Mayor Upset Garbage Provider Failed To Collect Trash For Week

Century Mayor Henry Hawkins is demanding answers after residential trash was not picked up last week in the town.

The town contracts residential waste collection to Republic Services, with the town billing local residents. Regular pick up day is Wednesday of each week.

However, Republic failed to collect trash last Wednesday due to an ice accumulation that basically paralyzed the area. Hawkins said he understand that, but “it was sunny and the roads were open Thursday, Friday, even Saturday” and the trash was still not collected.

Hawkins said the company has had no communication with the town, as is required under their contract if a collection day is missed.

Now, the mayor told the town council Monday night that he expects a refund from Republic Services that can be passed along to individual customers.

Hawkins said he the trash should be collected this Wednesday.

Pictured: Century Mayor Henry Hawkins discusses trash pick up during Monday night’s meeting of the Century Town Council. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.

January Gas Prices The Most Expensive In Four Years

The price of gas is off to its most expensive start to the year since 2014.

Florida gas prices increased 9 cents during the past week. The state average of $2.54 is 18 cents more than a month ago, and 19 cents more than this time last year. The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded in Escambia County is $2.50, up from $2.33 a week ago and $2.32 one year ago. Pensacola, The Villages and Jacksonville at $2.50 are the least expensive in the state.

“It has been anything but a normal January for prices at the pump,” said Mark Jenkins, spokesman, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “Normally, demand slips and supplies build. However, this story so far this year has been a rally in oil prices.

“Oil prices strung together three weeks of significant gains, raising the cost of producing gasoline,” Jenkins continued. “As a result, gas prices for the month of January have been the most expensive in four years. Fortunately, prices at the pump plateaued late last week, after the momentum for oil stalled out. While gas prices will continue to be steered by the price of oil, they will soon face additional pressure from refinery maintenance season. During the next few months, refineries will reduce output as they conduct maintenance on their equipment and switch to summer-blend gasoline. This usually leads to tighter supplies and forces gas prices higher. However, there is still lingering hope that U.S. oil production will ramp-up sooner than later, which would boost inventories and push energy prices lower.”

Florida House Eyes Menu Of Potential Tax Cuts

A further reduction in a business-lease taxes, lifting sales taxes on diapers and aircraft and holding sales-tax “holidays” were among proposals that a key House committee heard Monday as lawmakers start to put together a tax-cut package for the coming year.

The measures presented to the House Ways & Means Committee had already been submitted as individual bills and, if all were approved, would well exceed the $180 million in tax and fee cuts requested by Gov. Rick Scott.

Ways & Means Chairman Paul Renner, R-Palm Coast, was quick to say not all of the proposals would advance. He also said other measures — such as Scott’s proposal to decrease fees on motorists — may not need much vetting.

“It’s pretty straightforward,” Renner said about Scott’s request to reduce driver’s license fees. “It has a fiscal (impact).”

By dropping renewal fees for regular driver’s licenses from $48 to $20 and the cost of first-time licenses from $48 to $27, the governor’s office estimates motorists would save $91 million during the fiscal year that starts July 1.

Renner added he’s not been given a tax-cut target by House Speaker Richard Corcoran or started talks with his Senate counterpart Kelli Stargel, a Lakeland Republican who is chairwoman of Senate Finance and Tax Appropriations Subcommittee.

“We’ll certainly try to work with the governor on some of his ideas, and those include a back-to-school tax holiday, includes a disaster-preparedness tax holiday, which we discussed today,” Renner said.

In addition to proposing lower motorist fees, Scott has also proposed a 10-day back-to-school sales tax “holiday” on clothes and school supplies and three week-long disaster preparedness tax “holidays” in May, June and July.

Scott’s proposed tax and fee cuts are the smallest package he has proposed as governor. The state was expected to have a modest budget surplus during the upcoming fiscal year, but costs related to Hurricane Irma have made the budget even tighter.
Under the package released by Scott, the proposed sales tax “holidays” would account for $88 million of the tax savings.
The Ways & Means Committee heard another proposed (HB 519) sales tax “holiday” on Monday. That proposal would allow small businesses to avoid collecting sales taxes on items costing up to $1,000 on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. The small-business holiday would counter the big-box store dominated “Black Friday” shopping that traditionally marks the start of the year-end shopping season.

The committee on Monday also heard a couple of measures to lower a tax on commercial leases that has been a target for elimination by lawmakers and business groups for years.

One proposal (HB 939) would further lower the business rent tax, which went from 6 percent to 5.8 percent as part of a tax package last year.

Under a proposal by Rep. Jackie Toledo, R-Tampa, the rate would drop to 5 percent, which could save $218 million for businesses.

“Of course, I would love to eliminate it, but this would be more amenable to the budget because we do have a budget deficit,” Toledo said.

Last year’s cut to the lease tax was projected as providing annual savings of $61 million. It was part of a $180 million tax-cut package advanced by lawmakers. Scott did not include reducing the lease tax in his proposed package for the upcoming year.

Meanwhile, Rep. Larry Ahern, R-Seminole, wants the House committee to consider a separate measure (HB 409) that would phase out the rent tax over the next decade.

Under a proposal (HB 6045) before the committee by Rep. Mike Miller, R-Winter Park, aircraft sales and leases would be exempt from sales taxes. Miller said the proposal would help protect the aircraft industry in Florida.

“I’m not necessarily looking for the high-end user,” Miller said. “I’m fighting for the men or women who are actually working behind the scenes to keep it operable and keep it safe.”

Rep. Mike Grant, R-Port Charlotte, said the state is losing jobs as aircraft built in Florida are moved to other states to be sold.

The committee also looked at proposals to provide sales-tax exemptions for baby diapers, adult diapers and baby wipes (HB 163) and bed handles, hospital beds, lifts, handrails, toilet seat risers (HB 1123).

by Jim Turner, The News Service of Florida

Doctors Wary Of Painkiller Prescription Limits

Surgeons complain it’s too restrictive for patients who undergo major heart surgery or hip replacement. Emergency room doctors gripe they don’t have the time or resources to comply. And pharmacists say it needs to be tweaked.

But the litany of suggestions offered by health care professionals over the past few weeks has done nothing to persuade key lawmakers to change a sweeping measure aimed at curbing opioid addiction and overdoses, now the leading accidental cause of death in the U.S.

The proposal (HB 21) continued moving forward Monday when it was unanimously approved by the House Appropriations Committee.

According to research, 80 percent of heroin users first abused prescription drugs, whether their own or someone else’s. Other studies show that a patient’s chances of addiction increase as the number of days a first prescription for opioids lengthens.

The data has spurred state lawmakers to focus not only on treating drug users but on trying to keep patients from getting hooked in the first place.

That involves restricting doctors to writing prescriptions for a three-day supply of opioids, such as OxyContin or Vicodin, for patients with acute pain, or a seven-day supply if physicians deem it “medically necessary.”

The Legislature also wants to force doctors to consult a statewide database, known as a prescription drug monitoring program, or PDMP, before writing prescriptions for controlled substances, something doctors have strenuously opposed in the past.

Pharmacists already are required to enter information about most controlled substances into the database, but only about 27 percent of Florida health care providers authorized to prescribe controlled substances are currently registered to use the PDMP, according to a November presentation by PDMP Director Rebecca Poston.

Lawmakers want doctors to use the database to ensure that patients aren’t “doctor shopping,” or seeking prescriptions for addictive drugs from multiple physicians. Patients who do so may be addicted, or could be selling the drugs on the street, in some instances to subsidize their habit.

Under the bill approved Monday by the House Appropriations Committee, doctors would have to consult the database before writing any prescriptions for controlled substances, including drugs that have a low potential for abuse.

Rep. Jim Boyd, the bill sponsor, told The News Service of Florida that the measure may undergo some minor changes before it hits the desk of Gov. Rick Scott, who has made stemming the opioid epidemic — which he declared a public health emergency last summer — one of his top legislative priorities.

“Will we end up with something at the end of the day that is a little bit of a compromise? Perhaps. But right now, we’re kind of sticking with the policy that we started with,” Boyd, a Bradenton Republican whose district is experiencing some of the state’s worst impacts of the opioid scourge.

Doctors don’t want to have to look up every patient’s drug history in the database and don’t want to have to consult it before writing prescriptions for every kind of controlled substance. They also want the database to be linked to patients’ electronic health records, something also contained in the House plan. And doctors have repeatedly complained that the database is clunky and is frequently unavailable.

The House proposal includes about $873,000 to upgrade the drug database, something not included in a Senate companion measure, which, unlike the House version, also steers more than $53 million to substance abuse-related issues.

“We’re hopeful that the final bill will be a mixture of checking the PDMP for the appropriate medications in the appropriate instances, with a PDMP that is integrated into the EHR (electronic health records), so that it’s easy to do so and it’s not an undue burden on the physician,” Jeff Scott, Florida Medical Association general counsel, told the News Service on Monday.

While doctors and lawmakers might reach a deal on the use of the PDMP, prescription restrictions will likely remain a sticking point.

Hank Hutchinson, a Tallahassee orthopedic surgeon, told lawmakers that “putting a strict day limit on prescriptions for pain medication” is “really bad for my patients,” who he said travel from as far away as Dothan, Ala.

He also bridled at the wording of the exception to the three-day restriction that would allow doctors to order seven days’ worth of narcotics if they decide it’s “medically necessary.”

“I don’t think any of us as competent physicians would write a prescription that wasn’t medically necessary,” Hutchinson said. “Whatever day you choose to pick, I think it’s arbitrary. Patients are different. Their pain is different. And we treat them all differently.”

The bill would allow doctors to write additional prescriptions, with the same seven-day limit, if patients need more pain medication. But Hutchinson said that would impose a burden on patients who would have to travel sometimes for hours to get another prescription, and it would cost them another co-payment for the drugs.

“I think you’re really hurting the patients,” the surgeon said. “Whatever number you put on it, there’s going to be unintended consequences for the patient that I don’t think are good.”

While Boyd indicated a compromise about checking the drug database might be in the works, he seemed unlikely to budge on the prescription limit, something pushed by Scott and also included the Senate plan (SB 8).

“We’re sticking pretty hard and fast to the three- and seven-day prescription periods. They do have the ability to re-up that. …  So I think there’s a little bit of room already that they don’t realize,” he said.

by Dara Kam, The News Service of Florida

Century Home Invasion Under Investigation; Victim Robbed At Gunpoint

An early morning home invasion in Century is under investigation.

Just after 4 a.m. Sunday, two black males knocked on a door and forced their way into a home on Ivey Street in Century, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.

The men demanded cash from the resident at gunpoint and escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash.

There were no injuries.

The resident of the home knew one of the suspects and provided that information to deputies.  Further details, including a description of the suspects, has not been released by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.

NorthEscambia.com file photo.

Groundbreaking Held To Rebuild Tornado Ravaged 114 Year Old Century Church

A groundbreaking was held Sunday morning for the reconstruction of the historic Century United Methodist Church, which was damaged beyond repair in the February 15, 2016,  EF-3 tornado in Century.

“Our last service was held on this site on Valentine’s Day 2016. The next day, the tornado came and knocked (the building) off our foundation.  Twenty months ago today the bell was removed from the bell tower. On July 8, the sanctuary walls came down,” Rev. Janet Lee said Sunday morning. “But we returned to this site not to talk about the old church, but to look forward to the future.”

During the groundbreaking ceremony Sunday, a church member held up a brick leftover from the foundation of the original church.

“I personally will see that it gets put in the foundation of the new church. It’s only fitting,” Lee told the congregation.

For more photos, click here.

Pensacola architect Carter Quina designed the new church to look much like the old building. It will include windows, pews, light fixtures, woodwork and more salvaged from the old church.

The Century United Methodist  Church was built in 1902, just after Century was established by The Alger-Sullivan Lumber Company. It was constructed of virgin long leaf pine, with interior detail and finish that created a reverent place for worship.

For over 114 years, the sanctuary helped to provide comfort and inspiration to Century residents with weekly services, as well as special occasions such as baptisms, weddings, and funerals.

Time took its toll on the familiar old building, along with a fire and hurricanes. The February 15, 2016, EF-3 tornado that struck Century dealt a blow from which the building could not be recovered.  Many architectural details were salvaged before the structure had to be dismantled.

Work on the Church Street site is expected to begin shortly and should be completed in about 10 months.

“We hope to be in the new building by Christmas,” Lay Leader J.R. Jones said.

Church members have continued to meet since the tornado, operating out of their Annex Building across the street.

For more photos, click here.

NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Muscogee Road Work About 60 Percent Complete

Work is about 60 percent complete on the first phase of widening and drainage improvements for Muscogee Road from Highway 297A to the Perdido River.

Muscogee Road was closed from Beulah Road to Carlisle Road in late September for the installation of a water main, reconstruction of a portion of the roadway, and construction of 5-foot shoulders. Traffic has been detoured via Highway 29 and Barrineau Park Road to Highway 112 in Alabama.

The current section scheduled to be completed and the road reopened, barring any weather delays, by the end of February.

There are still three phases to come in the overall project:

Since this is a freight corridor, the roadway will be designed and constructed to accommodate the heavy traffic load.

Four Northview Weight Lifters Earn Medals At Regionals

Four members of the Northview High School weightlifting team earned medals Saturday during the regional meet at Baker School. They were (L-R) sixth place Crystal Douglas and Lexi Broadhead, and fourth place Abigail Nelson and Natasha Walker.  Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

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