Will They Really Sue Us to Shut Down Public Access to Perdido Key's Beaches?

Some folks do not want you, the public, to access the public beaches of Perdido Key that the deeds to their properties allow via a perpetual easement for a public beach of 75'.  These folks are prepared to sue to remove that language.  They are about to pull the tiger's tail if they try that. And it won't succeed in court or in the court of public opinion either.......

Late last week I heard about this troubling develoment.

Apparently there are a half-dozen or so condominium HOA's that will be banding together to hire a prominent local attorney to challenge the 75' easements that were discovered earlier this year which provided for public beach access in perpetuity.

I anticipated a phone call on Friday from this attorney but it never happened.....

As we found during that process to determine which parcels contained public use easements, about 63 parcels at Perdido Key contain this very language--stretching from the state park Eastward to the Perdido Skye condominium.

Apparently, I am also told, there are several retired attorneys that own property on these parcels and are pressing for litigation;  some of these folks don't even live here full time.

But dangit--they don't like the public using (what they thought was) their beach!

The trouble is--these beaches, since 1957, have had the 75' easement language in place guaranteeing public access/use.  I walked those same beaches with my late father in the early 1980's and never had any problems and nobody ever accused me of trespassing.  Many others I've spoken with did likewise.

I think they will attempt to argue we/the public/the county "abandoned" this easement.

All I can say is good luck with that argument.  It fails.

So I wonder why this is the fight these folks want to pick?  Do they really want to awaken the citizens on the west side with this litigation?

Nobody wants litigation, nobody wants a court fight.

But a fight to preserve the public's lawful right to access these beaches is one I am willing to have.  And I know I am not alone.  

Every town hall I have I ask about the public's use of these beaches and it is a sea of green "AGREE" cards.  

It is a universally bi-partisan issue that transcends every ideology, race, age, and social status---public beach access.  

So I hope this litigation is rethought and a productive dialogue can commence instead--focused on the county providing additonal safety and maintenance resources in these areas which I believe is appropriate if the public is using these beaches.

Stay tuned, more to come on this.

At Least 2 Florida Newspapers are Apparently Dropping Andy Marlette's Cartoon Strip

 

I read this morning that at least 2 Florida Newspapers are dropping the Sunday edition of Andy Marlette's cartoon strip.  One of them is in Gainesville, very near where Marlette is from.  Panama City is dropping both the daily edition of Marlette's comic and the Sunday version as well.

I don't read the comics regularly--and I never thought his Florida themed cartoon was funny.  Obviously I am not a fan of Marlette--a guy who's done dozens of cartoons of me --inappropriately insinuating I am a racist--while he, himself, is the white, entitled liberal that uses the N-word in his cartoons.  Several news outlets reported on this use of the N-word and his misogynistic attack on female staffers of the Governor a few years back.  Really sickening stuff.  Gannett just swept these scandals under the rug though--I mean he makes them money in his syndication, right?  Plus, he unmercifully and disgustingly attacked President Trump over and over and over for years on end while issuing all Democrats a pass--so this earned him a lot of "street-cred" with Gannett and other liberals who looked past and ignored his use of the "N-Word."  Ho hum is what they said then.

Meanwhile, if his Florida themed cartoon isn't making it in Florida now--I wonder what that means for it's chances elsewhere?

I wonder what happened there?

Business Owners want Action on the Homelessness Dysfunction Spreading in the County

A D1 Constituent sent me this picture, taken at the intersection of Beverly Parkway and W Street....Is this what we want our kids to see when driving around this district?

Folks in District 1 are getting fed up with the aggressive behavior of the homeless population that seems to be growing larger by the day.  The trash they are generating, the destruction of property, theft, the panhandling, the public nudity, drug use, camping on private property, and engaging in dysfunctional behavior.  Folks are fed up---and they want action.  I heard it at Monday's town hall, and I have heard it from constituents all over the district.  Yesterday, I received the below email of frustration from a local taxpaying business owner.  He's fed up--and he is saying what a lot of folks are thinking.

"The purpose of this email is to address a concern that I share with other business owners along Beverly Parkway. My office is located at the corner of Beverly Parkway and W Street. We have a serious problem with indigents and transients: trespassing ,aggressively  panhandling ,doing drugs, and destroying property at our places of business and in the surrounding residential area. We have contacted Sheriff Simmons about the problem and he has advised us the majority of the people causing harm are staying on a wooded property adjacent to us. Surprisingly, this land is county owned and even though these people are clearly trespassing and living on the property, the County Commissioners will not issue a trespassing complaint to remove them. Sheriff Simmons has made it clear his hands are tied and he cannot act until you all file a trespass complaint. Is this an accurate representation of the situation ,and if so why are the County Commissioners allowing this to happen? Secondly, why can we not pass an ordinance against camping  or trespassing on county owned property? They are not public property and we should not have to wait for the County Commissioners to trespass people from the county’s  own property before anything can be done. The homeless population in Escambia County continues to grow every year and it is no surprise why when these people can live for free and have sanctuary from the police on county owned property. Whatever needs to change be it a full-on sheriff’s homeless task force or better written ordinances, we would support the effort. What I and other tax payers would not support is keeping things the way they are and continuing to let county land to be used as a base of operations for the homeless. The bottom line is the tax payers in this area are starting to feel like their safety comes second to the rights of the homeless and that’s just not something we’re going to abide by. Please give this matter your utmost attention and provide a response."

TO WHICH I RESPONDED:

"Thank you for bringing the situation to my attention. Unfortunately, this situation is occurring on multiple parcels of land throughout the county not simply the ones owned by the county. I have no issue at all trespassing people who are on county property illegally. If you forward me the address of this parcel, I will give it to Code Enforcement immediately. I agree we should have an ordinance prohibiting this activity, I have on multiple occasions brought the solution of moving the homeless out of the area out to the woods in a campsite where services could be brought to them in order to keep them away from businesses and homes. Unfortunately, this initiative has gained no support from my counterparts. I am not giving up though. I want to be compassionate, but my primary compassion is for folks who want to help and will take help. My understanding of the problem is roughly half of those who are Homeless  are engaging in illegal behavior, and are addicted to drugs or alcohol and have no inclination to change this behavior. But I stand up for business owners and residents and I’m a rule follower so I will look at the situation carefully and again I have no problem proposing an ordinance, which would prohibit overnight camping on vacant county property. Thank you,  again, for  Bringing this to my attention. I am copying our county attorney, our county administrator and our Director of Code Enforcement on this email. Please reply all with the subject parcel that you believe is county owned where homeless folks are camping overnight. Thank you.

 

Sincerely,

 

Jeff Bergosh

Commissioner, District 1"

A D1 Constituent sent me this picture of a homeless encampment and trash pile that 
sprung up recently on Mobile Hwy in District 1

What will the Salaries for Local Constitutional Officers be for 2023-2024?

The State of Florida's office of Economic and Demographic Research compiles information yearly for every county in the state--and once per year they publish a report which memorializes the salaries for elected constitutional officers statewide.

This report typically is published within the last two weeks of September.

This year, the report was completed and published this past Tuesday.

Folks should take the time to read it, as it is an interesting, enlightening read and it explains how the state sets the salaries and describes the formula(s) for how these salary levels are set.  This chart, below

at the line highlighted indicates the salary levels for Escambia County's locally elected constitutional offices.

I really enjoy publishing this yearly to my blog so folks that hate county commissioners but LOVE every other constitutional officer can see how the wages are set for all of us.  Many of these haters believe we set our own pay in some cigar-smoke filled back room somewhere.   And of course, nothing could be further from the truth.  

Like everything else in the country today--pay is increasing.  It is significant.

I'm sure there is one N-Word using, racist cartoonist in Pensacola (Andy Marlette), along with about 12-13 foil hat wearers on one facebook chat site, (Escambia Hate Watch) and possibly one malcontent, 2nd rate radio entertainment host (Andrew Tallman) and maybe even the "editors" of our fake, biased, untrusted  and failed daily newspaper (PNJ) that will be absolutely apoplectic over just our salaries--and not for any other elected officials.  Just ours.  They will be hair-on-fire mad, with bulging neck veins and bloodshot-eyes-- foaming around the mouth---about only the Escambia County Commissioners' salaries--------but not anyone else's on the long list.  It's quite fascinating.  LOL.

They all power-pound this blog daily, so they'll see this.  

To them all, I wish you nothing but a relaxing, enjoyable and peaceful weekend.  Maybe take a break from pounding on the keyboards in a lathered, frenzied way all weekend and get some sun instead? 

 😃👍

I know I'm going to have a "great" weekend!

Thurston Howell III knew the value of rest and
relaxation

I'll be on 1370 WCOA this Morning at 7:00 Discussing OLF 8

 

I'll be on the area's best, most accurate, trusted, and listened-to morning drive news program--Real News with Rick Outzen--this morning at 7:00

I've been asked to appear on WCOA's Real News with Rick Outzen this morning at 7:00 to discuss the D.R. Horton withdrawal from purchase negotiations on the OLF 8 parcel.

I'll post the podcast here once Rick Publishes it.

Why does the Public NOT Trust America's Mainstream Media in General, and the Local Print Media, the PNJ, in Particular?

 

The sea of red "DISAGREE" cards is nearly unanimous at every town hall I hold in District 1 when I ask one simple question:  Do you trust and believe what you read in the Pensacola News Journal?

We had a really good turnout for our Monday evening's Town Hall meeting.

The crowd that came out was interested, motivated, and they were engaged.

So we talked a LOT of issues....Traffic, stormwater, infrastructure, growth management, and lots of other topics.  We went through all of the audience comments, and a lot of issues were addressed/explained by staff.  Those issues for which we could not provide a cogent explanation were referred to staff who could provide a response.  

So it was a great night and I really appreciated everyone's participation.

At the end of the night, I waited at the podium and answered the last of the crowd's questions, 1 on 1, face to face.

And one of the individuals who waited to speak with me taught my son in Elementary School in Beulah nearly 20 years ago.  So she had my attention.

"This townhall was great, you did a great job and really connected with the people---but there's one thing you need to fix------stop slamming the media!"  she stated.  And I told her I appreciated her opinion and understood her concern--but that the media in America is distrusted, nearly universally.  And the print media, locally, the PNJ particularly is not trusted at all.

"I worry about our country if we do not support a free press"  she continued.   "I do too" I responded.

Then I continued "They lie, play favorites, hide facts, and are selective about whom it is they attack, and whom it is that gets a pass.  That's why nobody trusts the media today, the mainstream media, and especially the PNJ locally."

"Well, you should speak with them and explain your position" she stated, to which I replied "I've done that--and they are intransigent."

"You should just ignore them then" she concluded.  

"I have to keep an eye on them because of what I do--but I do ignore the majority of the garbage they put out." I stated flatly as I thanked her for coming and participating and for all she did for students.

The issue that got her somewhat riled was the portion of my townhall where I rapidly surveyed the audience on their thoughts of the media.  Three questions drew almost universal rebuke of the media, and the PNJ in particular.  You can see the reaction for yourself at minute 1:44  of this video

REAP Lodges Closing

We received word today from REAP that the Lodges shelter is closing iminently.  

From REAP's email to Liz Kissell, Connie Bookman, and Allison Patton:

"Ladies: I wanted to make you aware of some imminent changes in the REAP program: we are in the process of closing down the Lodges Emergency Shelter as quickly as possible. We expect to be able to relocate all of the women and children presently residing at The Lodges to other REAP facilities, with the majority moving to the Max-Well Respite Center during the next week. While this is disappointing to the REAP team, we have determined that the continued operation at The Lodges can only be accomplished with additional sources of revenue other than that received over the past 27 months of operation. REAP has been unsuccessful in solidifying this needed funding. REAP team members and its Board of Directors remain committed to our mission of addressing the needs of marginalized, less fortunate individuals and those returning from incarceration, helping them to become self-sufficient and productive citizens and neighbors. We will continue our work in this regard. 

Vinnie Whibbs"  

D.R. Horton Pulls out of OLF 8 Purchase Negotiations

From our attorney's office this afternoon comes this forwarded email from the law firm representing D.R. Horton in the effort to purchase OLF 8:

"Alison and Steve:

 I apologize for the delay in getting back to you on this matter, but D.R. Horton has been looking at multiple scenarios in an effort to make this project work, both for the residents of Escambia County and for Horton from a financial perspective.  Unfortunately, Horton has come to the conclusion that there are too many obstacles to overcome in the limited amount of time being granted.  Horton believes that the engineering, due diligence and governmental approvals necessary to make this project feasible cannot be accomplished within the County’s desired timeframe. 

 From Horton’s perspective, the current Master Plan that exists for the property does not allow for Horton to pursue a financially viable development.  The changes to the Master Plan and other associated approvals and entitlements (both at the local and state levels) that would be necessary to convert this project into something that can be developed for commercial and residential purposes and in an economically viable manner pose more risk and uncertainty than Horton is willing to bear at this time.

 Horton believes that Escambia County, and especially the Beulah and Cantonment submarkets, are vital to the continued success of Northwest Florida, and the OLF-8 property is by far the most valuable location in this market.  If the County were willing to entertain changes to the Master Plan that Horton believes are needed, Horton would very much be interested in participating in the future development of this site.

 Based on the foregoing, Horton hereby withdraws its offer on the OLF-8 property.  We would like to thank you and the other representatives of Escambia County who have worked on this matter for all of the time and effort that has been put into this matter and for allowing Horton the opportunity to pursue this matter.  We certainly wish that it had worked out differently

 Sincerely,

Chris"

Christopher M. Gill

Great Evening with Constituents: D1 Perdido Town Hall 9-18-2023

 We had an excellent, informative, and productive townhall meeting last night in District 1.  I appreciate all the citizens and staff that came out and participated.  For those unable to attend, I am linking the video of the event here, below:

I'll be on Real News with Rick Outzen Tomorrow Morning at 7:00

I'll be on the area's best, most trusted, accurate, honest and highest rated morning drive news program--on the area's best talk station (featuring the nation's best and most highly rated hosts), 1370 WCOA's Real News with Rick Outzen, tomorrow morning at 7:00AM

 

I've been asked to appear as the lead off guest tomorrow morning on "Real News with Rick Outzen."  I'll be on at 7:00AM--host Rick Outzen and I will preview tomorrow evening's Perdido Town Hall.  We will also discuss other county issues of interest - to include the budget, my stolen text messages, and the status of the investigation into who it was that stole this county file, possessed it illegally, and disseminated it unlawfully--potentially a misdemeanor or even felony offense.

Yes, this show is the local leader, unlike the boring, obnoxious, unpopular and failed Andrew Tallman show podcast.

It should be an interesting conversation, tune in at 7:00 or catch the podcast, here.

87th Coffee with the Commissioner: All About Infrastructure

 This month, the discussion during our coffee was all about infrastructure and the massive number of projects we are working in District 1 currently.   Special guests were the County Engineer, Joy Blackmon, and the County Traffic Engineer, Chris Phillips.  You can watch the video here, below:

Agenda/Run of the Show for This Monday Evening's D1 Town Hall in Perdido

What Infrastructure Projects are Being Worked Currently in District 1?

Here is a list of projects currently being worked in District 1 by the County's Engineering Department.

We will be discussing this in depth at my 87th Coffee with the Commissioner event.

Check out the list, below:

87th Coffee with the Commissioner this Wednesday at 6:30AM

We will have our 87th Coffee with the Commissioner event online this Wednesday morning at 6:30!

87th District 1 Coffee with the Commissioner Sept. 13

Join us at our virtual 87th Coffee with the Commissioner event Wednesday, Sept. 13. The live stream will take place from 6:30-7:30 a.m. To join the meeting, visit our Facebook site here: www.facebook.com/CommissionerBergosh/. 

This month's Coffee with the Commissioner will feature County Administrator Wes Moreno and Public Safety Director Eric Gilmore. Moreno will provide an update on county business and Gilmore will discuss public safety matters. Joy Blackmon, P.E., Director of Engineering and County Engineer, and Chris Phillips, Deputy Director of Engineering and Transportation Engineer, will join as this month's special guests for a discussion on infrastructure projects in District 1, focusing on sidewalks, roads, bridges, stormwater drainage and the Perdido Key roundabout.

You are welcome and encouraged to send virtual questions and comments you would like discussed during the event through Facebook.

For more information, contact our office at 850-595-4910 or district1@myescambia.com. 

Who the Heck is the Real Andrew Tallman "McKay?"

If your name is really Andrew Tallman--why the heck do you tell everyone it is Andrew McKay?

Who the heck is Andrew McKay?

He's a local entertainment, morning radio host that loves to lionize disgraced former commissioner Doug Underhill, loves to perform for a fringe group of tin foil hat wearers on a small facebook chat site, and loves to to attack the BCC, individual members of the board, and me in particular, with smears and BS garbage.

Recently, Tallman hosted a podcast for disgraced, former D2 commissioner Doug Underhill's secretary, Jonathan Owens.  And on that show, he seemed to support and condone the unlawful theft and possession of confidential, exempt county files by Jonathan Owens. 

And he never misses an opportunity to attack me and two other members of the board.

So I was reminded of the fact that this guy, Tallman, is a real fake, a fraud. That's my opinion of him.

Apparently he moved here a few years back under a cloud of suspicion from Arizona when his show there went sideways and he "changed" his name.  And he is working under this fake name but many people just swallow the "Andrew McKay" schtick----- hook, line and sinker.  I don't.

So who is the real Andrew Tallman anyway?  Hold your nose and get ready...  from a former city council woman's blog, Maren DeWeese's Blog--comes all of this below information....

https://web.archive.org/web/20150930132658/http://townhall.com/columnists/andrewtallman/

"On Andrew McKay (Real name Andrew Tallman)

• This week I will explore a bit of Andrew McKay AKA Andrew Tallman's extreme views on the following topics
• HOW HOMOPHOBIA IS HEREDITARY
• HOW HOMOSEXUALITY IS A CHOICE AND NOT HOW SOMEONE IS BORN
• HOW HOMOSEXUALITY SHOULD GO BACK TO BEING A CRIME
• HOW THE MORE MONEY A MAN MAKES THE MORE HE HAS DONE FOR SOCIETY

"Thought of the Day

The worst threats to what is good in life do not come from obvious fakes which are easily spotted. The real danger is from the high quality counterfeits which imitate the authentic so well that they fool many people. 

Andrew Tallman

Truer words have never been spoken.  Think back in Pensacola's recent history as to all the high quality counterfeits that have come to Pensacola, reinvented their entire life and rapidly risen to the top of their fields unchallenged and really...unknown.

Who is Andrew Tallman?  

He is a High Quality Counterfeit!

We all know him as Andrew McKay of Newstalk Radio 1620.

https://www.facebook.com/AndrewTallmanShow/

Yes, the Sun of Fire is not who he portrays himself to be on the radio nor does he share his true views on the air.

https://www.facebook.com/andrew.tallman.12

July 4, 2014 ·
Haven't been on this facebook account in a while. It's so weird to see my real name on fb...and all the people who know me by my real name.

Why does someone hide from their real name.  Especially, in the news business.  The answer may reside in some of the opinions he has espoused in the past.

Over next week I will be sharing many of these opinions with you in detail.  They are shocking!

If you are interested in Andrew's views on life, faith, sex, racism, marriage and politics and just can't wait for Tuesday, just Google his real name Andrew Tallman and the subject.  He has a large body of work to read.

http://andrewtallmanshow.blogspot.com/

But beware, here is just a taste of his offerings for wives:

"So how do you keep a man from thinking about other women? Lower the incentive to cheat, and raise the cost of cheating. Fortunately, you can do both at one time by meeting his most important needs in such a generous way that you give him something monumentally worthwhile to lose by acting on any such thoughts. Make yourself the source of such bodily pleasure (food and sex) and such ego satisfaction that he never wants more from anyone else."

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

NewsRadio AM 1620's Andrew McKay (actually Tallman) on How Homophobia is Genetic

NewsRadio AM1620's morning radio host Andrew McKay (real name Andrew Tallman), you know, the one that interviews the Mayor each week in an exclusive interview wrote the following concerning homophobia.

"I believe that any sexual activity other than that between a man and his wife is illicit. This includes adultery, premarital sex and, of course, homosexuality.

But I’ve also been doing what my parents always taught me to do: listen to those who disagree with me. And I think I’ve discovered something rather shocking: opposition to homosexuality must itself be genetic.

For as long as I can remember, homosexuals have been explaining why gay people have no choice about their orientation. And it finally dawned on me that their arguments explain why being anti-gay is also not a choice but an innate predisposition beyond our power to restrain. This led me to embrace my convictions and stop trying in vain to repress who I am.

Since millions suffer from this same condition, I’m hopeful that my epiphany will help others accept themselves and their convictions, too."'

Board Votes 4-1 to seek a Civil Action against Jonathan Owens - and Others who Unlawfully Possess Stolen County Files

The Board of County Commissioners took a strong stance tonight on protecting county records.

By a 4-1 vote -- (with Commissioner Kohler voting No)-- the Escambia Board of County Commissioners voted to authorize and direct the County Attorney to seek an appropriate legal proceeding in a court of competent jurisdiction, against those who have unlawfully held and disseminated privileged, confidential, private and exempt records.

We discussed the issue in depth at the morning review session, starting at 1:11 of this video

Former employee Jonathan Owens has admitted publicly that he has these records, he possesses them, he has read them and he has admitted giving this information to other parties un-redacted.

He, Jonathan Owens, bragged about reading it all and keeping it once he left county employment.

At the morning session---even though it was evident I had three votes to support seeking an action in court------the County Attorney requested that the item be brought back to tonight's regular meeting for a motion, second, and vote.

So we did, and the vote was 4-1.

You can watch the discussion and ultimate vote at 2:06 of this video.

Next up, a court filing by the county against Jonathan Owens.  

Maybe he'll go to the PNJ or on Andrew Tallman's Radio Show and talk about that?  😀

BCC to Write-Off $10.1 Million in Uncollectable, Bad Debt......So Who's NOT Paying?

This evening the BCC will be asked to "write-off" $10.1 Million in uncollectable bad debt from our EMS division primarily for Ambulance transportation charges unpaid.

This amount represents roughly 14% of our revenue in this division.

The conversation among the board centered on one question---"Who is it that isn't paying"

This afternoon, we received a chart illustrating the breakdown of where the writeoffs are coming from.

	PRIMARY PAYER	AMOUNT	Percent
26	GOVERNMENT ( Deductible)	$       25,025.22	0.25%
2,707	COMMERICAL ( Deductible)	$  1,751,494.49	17.23%
8	MEDICAID ( Deductible)	$         3,351.55	0.03%
2,609	MEDICARE ( Deductible)	$     610,647.72	6.01%
687	AUTO ( Deductible)	$     490,437.49	4.83%
8,167	SELF PAY ( No Insurance)	$  7,283,388.49	71.66%
14,204		$ 10,164,344.96	100.00%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Serious "Upcoding" Count in Rayme Edler's Lawsuit Against Escambia County Dismissed

A significant part of the Qui Tam lawsuit against Escambia County's EMS division by Rayme Edler was dismissed today by Federal Judge M. Casey Rogers.

From the motion:

"Plaintiff-Relator Rayme M. Edler filed a qui tam action in part pursuant to the False Claims Act (“FCA”), 31 U.S.C. §§ 3729(a)(1)(A), (B), (G), alleging that Defendant Escambia County submitted fraudulent claims for reimbursement to the federal government.  The United States has declined to intervene.  See ECF No. 7.  Now before the Court is Escambia County’s Motion to Dismiss Count II of the Second Amended Complaint.  ECF No. 91.  Having reviewed the matter, the motion to dismiss is granted."

 Read the full document here  

I'll be on WCOA's Real News with Rick Outzen Tomorrow Morning at 7:00 AM

I've been once again invited to appear tomorrow at 7:00AM as the lead-off guest on Pensacola's #1 rated, most listened-to, most accurate, most trusted morning drive local radio news program, "Real News with Rick Outzen" on 1370 WCOA.

Rick has invited me to appear and we will likely discuss this week's upcoming BCC meeting on Thursday, along with other topics of interest which may include the upcoming D1 townhall in Perdido, the incorporation of Perdido, the status of the issues with the stolen data from the county's server, The potential serios criminal infractions that come from possessing and disseminating confidential records under  § 817.5685 and anything else Rick would like to discuss.

Listen live at 7:00---or catch the podcast here. 

So What Does Fla. Stat. § 817.5685 Say, and What Does it Mean?

In the iconic opening credits sequence
of 1977's Saturday Night Fever, John
Travolta "struts" down the New York
street, carrying a can of paint.

I'm not a lawyer but I know several of them and I can read.  

So when I read the letter sent to law enforcement by the County Attorney in the aftermath of the recent data breach/theft of county records from the IT department-----I paid close attention to it.  The letter was sent to the State Attorney's Office in June, and a certain statute referenced in there piqued my interest. § 817.5685.  

This theft of information from the county which prompted the letter-- which breach subsequently led to confidential, private, privileged information being unlawfully possessed and disseminated by former county employee Jonathan Owens, a fact that he himself has admitted on the radio and in the news paper and a fact the attorneys for Rayme Edler have also confirmed --this theft is now being investigated by law enforcement.

And I am confident the authorities will find the guilty party who stole this protected, exempt information--whoever it was.

But even if someone other than Jonathan Owens actually stole the information and records (which I do not believe), and simply provided them to Jonathan while he was an employee of the county, as he, Jonathan, has publicly stated--it does not absolve Jonathan of any wrongdoing under this statute--because  according to this statute--the operative word is "possessed". Jonathan admitted to the PNJ in this article and on the radio on Tallman McKay's show that he not only read the text file and continues to possess it--- he's also  subsequently given it to others un-redacted. 

Because  he read it--Jonathan knew or should have known it contained exempt and personal identification information that should not only never be released--it should never even be possessed by anyone not specifically authorized to have it.  Jonathan is not authorized to have it--and he knows it.  

A thorough review of this file that Jonathan Owens unlawfully possessed, read, and then released un-redacted has now been completed--- and it has been revealed that this file contains more than 100 lines of exempt information.  (social security numbers of multiple persons, bank account numbers of multiple persons, loan numbers of multiple persons,  medical conditions, diagnoses and prognoses records of at least a dozen local citizens, security codes, access codes for premises, medical records and diagnoses on dependents on the county's medical plan as well as confidential medical information on citizens unaffiliated with the county that live out of state, privileged attorney client conversations,  and other sensitive information that would NEVER be released under any public records request, ever.).  

So why would someone who has handled a literal ton of public records requests (Owens, who was disgraced former D2 commissioner Doug Underhill's personal secretary and office manager) and who purportedly knows the rules and laws on this topic--supposedly------why would he release such information unredacted in contravention to Florida law?  Who knows, but he seems awfully proud about it.  Super proud and confident.  Almost as if he's strutting about it, like John Travolta in the opening scenes of "Saturday Night Fever." 

So What Does Fla. Stat. § 817.5685 Say, and What Does it Mean, and what penalties does it describe for violation, anyway?

Here is the relevant portion of the statute, verbatim

"817.5685 Unlawful possession of the personal identification information of another person.—

(1) As used in this section, the term “personal identification information” means a person’s social security number, official state-issued or United States-issued driver license or identification number, alien registration number, government passport number, employer or taxpayer identification number, Medicaid or food assistance account number, bank account number, credit or debit card number, and medical records.

(2) It is unlawful for a person to intentionally or knowingly possess, without authorization, the personal identification information of another person in any form, including, but not limited to, mail, physical documents, identification cards, or information stored in digital form.

(3)(a) A person who violates subsection (2) and in doing so possesses the personal identification information of four or fewer persons commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

(b)1. Proof that a person used or was in possession of the personal identification information of five or more individuals, unless satisfactorily explained, gives rise to an inference that the person who used or was in possession of the personal identification information did so knowingly and intentionally without authorization.

2. A person who violates subsection (2) and in doing so possesses the personal identification information of five or more persons commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084."