Opponents of Brightline’s high-speed rail line hope an upcoming study of planned and existing railroad operations in Florida will give state officials second thoughts about allowing passenger trains to run north and south through St. Lucie County at 110 miles an hour.
The state currently has no laws or regulations addressing the safety of high-speed trains like All Aboard Florida’s Brightline, which now runs between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale and is slated to extend north to Cocoa and west to Orlando in the next couple of years. Included in the $88.7 billion General Appropriations Act, passed by the legislature and approved March 16 by Gov. Rick Scott, is a directive for the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability to conduct an overview study of the Florida rail system. Read more here.
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Detectives on Monday were still looking for suspects in two island break-ins that rattled the nerves of oceanside residents last week. An unknown person smashed the front display window of Estate Jewelry of Orchid Island around 3 a.m. on Tuesday, March 27, and made off with 25 pieces of sterling silver jewelry, valued at around $4,000.
The store is located at 3115 Ocean Drive in the heart of the upscale Central Beach shopping and dining district, across the street from the historic Driftwood Resort. Some of the jewelry was later found by a maintenance worker on the grounds of the Driftwood, according to Estate Jewelry manager Tom Grimshaw. “I feel bad this happened to this city, to the town of Vero – not that it was just our store – but that it happened here, because it doesn’t feel quite as safe now,” Grimshaw said. “It is upsetting that they would have the audacity to do this to anybody on this street.” Read more here. A plea for mercy by the victims of an Indian River Shores home burglary has spared their neighbor, a 33-year-old opioid addict, from spending years of his life in prison. The Hon. Cynthia Cox sentenced Christopher Lockwood to just one year in the county jail followed by two years of probation. He had been facing between 4 and 125 years in prison for his crime.
Lockwood pled no contest in December to burglarizing his neighbors’ Island Club home when they were out of town. He stole an estimated $9,000 worth of jewelry, fine cutlery and cash, pawning the items throughout the Treasure Coast and lying about their origins. Read more here. A Kentucky man accused of having unwanted sexual relations with a 21-year-old schizophrenic woman at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort has pleaded to a reduced charge, avoiding the possibility of spending decades in prison.
Farhad Zakerhaghighi, 61, struck a deal with prosecutors this month, avoiding the felony charge of sexual battery on a person with a mental defect. He pled no contest March 13 to misdemeanor battery and now faces no more than one year of his life behind bars, as compared to a 30-year maximum for the original felony charge. A sentencing hearing is set for May 21 in Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Cox’s Vero Beach courtroom. Read more here. INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A Vero Lake Estates man convicted in 2014 of first degree murder and robbery with a deadly weapon is getting a second chance to revisit his day in court.
Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Cox last month affirmed her decision to grant Bradford Vose’s request for an evidentiary hearing in a motion for post-conviction relief, despite the objection of prosecutors. The parties were due in court again Thursday. The high profile 2010 shooting death of Joseph Farruggio captured headlines for days throughout the three-day trial and lengthy criminal investigation into two 21-year-old Sebastian River High School classmates and a botched drug deal that left one of them dead. Vose, 25 at the time of his conviction, was sentenced to life in prison. His appeal for a reversal was denied in 2016. Read more here. Police arrested a pair of home healthcare aides last week claiming they defrauded a John’s Island couple and spent more than $500,000 of their elderly clients’ money on personal expenses and luxury goods, including a Bahamian cruise, a stay at the Plaza Hotel in New York City and a five-day Rolls Royce Ghost rental priced at more than $900 a day.
Both victims suffered from dementia and cognitive impairment and one of them passed away during the early stages of the investigation, adding urgency to the detectives’ work, Indian River Shores Police Chief Rich Rosell said. Officers at the Shores Public Safety Department didn’t stop working on behalf of the victims when the suspects were behind bars, Rosell added. The lead detective on the case went to ask credit card companies to forgive the stolen debt. He was able to get Citibank and American Express to forgive over $400,000 in fraudulent debt. Read more here. Vero Beach spine surgeon Johnny Benjamin was indicted a second time by a federal grand jury this month as prosecutors added an additional weapons charge to the doctor’s litany of drug charges. Two co-defendants, the informants who cooperated with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency as it investigated Benjamin, were named for the first time and indicted on multiple drug charges.
Zachary Steward and Keven George Slater were charged with one count of conspiring with Benjamin in Palm Beach County to possess and distribute a controlled substance resulting in death; one count of distribution there during the fall of 2016; and an additional count for illegal distribution of a controlled substance in Indian River County as early as January of that year. Each defendant faces 20 years to life in prison if convicted. Read more here. INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — An Indian River County jury will be asked to decide for a second time if a convicted Vero Beach killer deserves to die for his crime. This time, unlike the decision in 1999, its recommendation must be unanimous.
Paul Evans, whom authorities say murdered an acquaintance’s husband when he was just 19-years-old for the promise of money from a life-insurance payout, has been returned to the Indian River County Jail to await a new sentencing. Guided by 2016 decisions made in the U.S. and Florida supreme courts, defendants ordered to death after June of 2002 whose jury was not unanimous are now entitled to have their punishment reviewed. In Evans’ case, a panel of 12 jurors voted 9-3 to send him to the electric chair. Read more here. A healthcare fraud case against the founder of Treasure Coast Dermatology was dismissed in federal court last week after Dr. Tim Ioannides agreed to a $2.5 million settlement with the U.S. Government. The move comes years after a former patient told authorities the physician allegedly billed Medicare for a procedure she never had, a violation of the False Claims Act.
Ioannides, a Vero Beach island resident who owns dermatology offices in Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin counties, insisted he had done nothing wrong. He called the government and its lawyers corrupt, and termed what happened to him a “shakedown.” Ioannides’ deal does not admit liability and the allegations against the doctor were never proven. His medical license is unaltered, though his billing practices and books will be now subject to additional audits as part of an integrity agreement. The patient who brought the original complaint to the government will receive $475,000 in the multimillion-dollar settlement deal. The False Claims Act allows whistleblowers to receive a portion of any financial recovery the U.S. Government is awarded. Read more here. The daughter of a woman shot and killed by an Indian River County Sheriff’s deputy responding to an attempted suicide call told investigators she wished she had never dialed 911. In documents released to Vero Beach 32963, Susan Teel’s family details the horrific events leading up to her tragic death and their thoughts on law enforcement’s handing of the situation.
Interview transcripts were provided by the Office of the State Attorney in response to a public records request. The agency conducted an investigation into the fatal incident last July and brought its findings to a grand jury for review. The officer was cleared of both criminal and administrative wrongdoing, though an attorney for the Teel family has notified the Sheriff’s Office of intent to file a civil complaint. Susan Teel was shot within minutes of Deputy Jonathan Lozada arriving at her home. The confrontation between the distraught woman and deputy happened so fast, her husband, an emergency room physician, didn’t even make it up the stairs before his wife was shot. Read more here. INDIAN RIVERS SHORES — A pair of home health care aids were arrested Tuesday after police claim they defrauded a John’s Island couple and spent more than $500,000 of their elderly clients’ money on luxury goods like cruises and a five-day Rolls Royce Ghost rental priced at nearly $995 a day.
Chiquita McGee, 29, and Sophia Shepherd, 30, both of Vero Beach, are expected to appear in court Wednesday. They face felony charges of exploitation of the elderly, organized fraud and scheme to defraud an organization. If convicted, they could spend up to 60 years in prison. The former contractors with Indian River Home Care convinced their patients, a husband and wife duo, to allow them to open credit cards in their names, but under the victims’ accounts, reports the Indian River Shores Public Safety Department. Read more here. Come year’s end, the Indian River County courthouse will lose three of its six sitting judges to retirement. The men, who serve on both the 19th Judicial Circuit and the County Court bench, collectively have spent more than 70 years making decisions that shaped the county’s growth and development and helped protect the safety and wellbeing of the residents who call it home.
They’ve put murderers behind bars, tried to ensure fair development, kept the courthouse running smoothly, made tough decisions and held lawyers accountable. Sometimes, their decisions are challenged. Other times, they are celebrated. At all times, however, their work has lasting impact. “Overall, I think we are losing three very good judges,” Bruce Colton, State Attorney for the 19th Judicial Circuit said of the impending departure of Judges Robert Pegg, Joe Wild and Paul Kanarek. Read more here. Judge Cox wants citizens to engage in constitution review process to protect judicial independence2/27/2018
Indian River County Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Cox worries more Floridians are watching “Game of Thrones” and checking Facebook, than are familiar with state’s constitution. In remarks she is delivering in a series of talks along the Treasure Coast, the felony court judge makes a case that now is the time for that to change. Floridian’s rights are at risk, she says. “Revise the constitution with care.”
Every 20 years, Florida’s constitution calls for a 37-member revision commission to propose changes to the state’s charter document, letting the voters decide its fate. Their proposals go directly to the November 2018 General Election ballot – no chance of a governor veto, a congressional override or a judicial review. Read more here. Moments before Susan Teel was shot dead, investigators say the suicidal woman swore at the deputy who had come to render aid and told him, “Go ahead, kill me.” Corporal Jonathan Lozada arrived at the home on Carriage Lake Way in Vero Beach at 8:04 p.m. July 26 after Teel’s daughter called 911 for help, according to a Feb. 1 report written by Indian River County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Justin Knott. The memorandum clears Lozada, who fired the fatal shots, of administrative wrongdoing, even as questions remain whether his actions that day were appropriate. A grand jury cleared the deputy of criminal charges Jan. 4. The family has notified the Sheriff’s Office of its intent to file a civil complaint, said Attorney Guy Rubin of Rubin & Rubin law firm in Stuart. There are contradictions between what law enforcement reports, and what has come forth in investigative documents, he said. Significantly, the autopsy claims Teel was shot four times, but Knott details three rounds fired. Read more here. Even as All Aboard Florida chugs ahead with its plan to run high-speed passenger trains through Vero Beach and the rest of the Treasure Coast, local officials continue to fight the plan, which they believe would bring serious safety problems and economic harm to the area.
The latest move came earlier this month when Indian River County joined Martin County and advocacy group CARE-Florida filing a complaint in U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia, which names the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Railroad Administration as defendants. The lawsuit alleges the DOT ignored safety, maritime and environmental problems and improperly subsidized the Brightline trains with tax exempt bonds, while violating the National Environmental Policy Act. Read more here. A Vero Beach man claims he was having a seizure at the Indian River Medical Center when a Sheriff’s Deputy slammed him into a wall, pushed him onto the ground, handcuffed him and sat on his legs while waiting for backup to arrive.
An attorney for Brian Gines Jr. filed a civil complaint in the 19th Judicial Circuit alleging excessive force, negligence and battery against the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office and its employees for the incident. The then 36-year-old was being treated at the hospital for a seizure disorder in 2014. The condition was so severe, his attorney claims in court filings, it could “occasionally cause him to become violent against his will.” This information, lawyer Jeffrey Fadley says, was well known to hospital staff. Read more here. A couple from Indiana is suing Disney Vacation Club Management alleging mold in their room during a 2013 stay in Vero Beach caused serious health concerns. The complaint filed in Indian River County claims negligence at the island resort located a block south of the Wabasso Causeway.
Disney denied wrongdoing in court filings. An Orlando-based spokeswoman for the company told 32963 the lawsuit was unfounded. “We disagree with the allegations in the complaint and will respond to them, as appropriate, in court,” said Kim Prunty. Neither Disney nor its attorney offered any further comment. Thelma K. Walls, of Nashville, Indiana, stayed at Disney’s Vero Beach Resort in 2013 from Nov. 29 through Dec. 2. It was during that visit, she claims, she was exposed to mold. Read more here. Dr. Johnny Benjamin’s legal troubles and alleged dealings with illicit drugs started nearly a year before Indian River County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrested him at his island home. The doctor was later charged by federal agents for alleged attempted possession and distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death, namely the dangerous opiod cocktail of fentanyl-laced oxycodone.
Newly filed court documents suggest the Vero Beach spine surgeon, who is behind bars in Miami awaiting trial, struck a plea deal in Michigan after a state trooper stumbled upon a suspected marijuana grow operation linked to him. Benjamin, 52, was booked in the Sanilac County Jail Dec.14, 2016, two months after police responded to an alleged electricity theft at the home. The property in rural Sanilac Township had been deeded earlier that year to Marsha Benjamin, a woman the doctor claims he married years ago in Vero Beach, though federal prosecutors point out the county has no marriage certificate for the two on file. Read more here. A group of Polish Americans won a major battle in a long-running legal dispute Monday when an Indian River County judge ruled that a 2015 takeover of the old Polish-American Social Club was unauthorized. The Hon. Paul Kanarek found that action by an insurgent board of directors that dissolved the old club and transferred its assets to a new Vero Beach Social Club violated the original club’s 2012 bylaws.
“The articles are clear: the dissolution of this corporation required the vote of the general membership and approval of the general membership,” he said. “If they didn’t have authority to dissolve the corporation, they didn’t have authority to distribute the property.” Kanarek’s order comes two-and-a-half-years into the legal battle over the clubhouse on U.S. 1 near 39th Avenue and an estimated $1.25 million in assets once set aside to promote the culture and heritage of the Eastern European nation. Read more here. Indian River County joined Martin County and advocacy group CARE-Florida Tuesday filing a complaint in federal court in attempt to prevent All Aboard Florida’s planned high speed rail expansion along the Treasure Coast.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia, names the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Railroad Administration as defendants. It alleges the DOT ignored safety, maritime and environmental problems and improperly subsidized the Brightline trains with tax exempt bonds, while violating the National Environmental Policy Act. “Throughout the NEPA process, Indian River County submitted comments to the [Federal Railroad Administration] demanding that the agency take a hard look at the environmental impacts of the All Aboard Florida project,” Indian River County Attorney Dylan Reingold said in a statement. “Unfortunately, after improperly waiting 28 months, the [Federal Railroad Administration] issued a flawed and legally inadequate Record of Decision.” Read more here. In the wake of multiple fatalities, officials in Martin and Indian River counties are gearing up for a second expensive legal battle against All Aboard Florida in an attempt to derail plans for the high-speed passenger train before it hits the Treasure Coast.
Hundreds gathered last week in downtown Stuart at a meeting of the Citizens Against Rail Expansion in Florida to discuss legal, political and advocacy efforts against Brightline’s planned expansion north from West Palm Beach to Orlando. Among those in attendance at the Lyric Theater were Indian River County Commissioner Bob Solari and County Attorney Dylan Reingold. Concerns over safety have increased following Brightline’s introduction of service between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, starting with VIP runs Jan. 12. Read more here. See one transgender kindergartener’s journey through six years of life.RALEIGH - North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is criticizing a state budget provision by Senate Republicans that his administration says would block federal food stamp benefits to more than 130,000 people who qualify because they’re also receiving other government benefits.
The change approved in the Senate budget proposal last week would roll back eligibility requirements for what’s called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that had been expanded during the Great Recession. Households making no more than slightly above the federal poverty level would qualify for the food help if the provision became law. That would put added pressure on already stretched food pantries and make it harder for families to move out of poverty, advocates say. In Buncombe County, 3,100 people would lose food assistance, of which 1,100 are children. Across the region, more than 9,500 people would lose the assistance, 33 percent younger than age 18 Read more here. MAHEC collaboration in Pisgah View addresses poverty, infant mortalityASHEVILLE – Thirteen years ago Nikita Smart gave birth to her daughter with the help of strangers. She and the girl’s father had split. Her family lived out of town. So the hospital in Fort Myers, Florida, had a sitter stay in the room during labor.
Friends stopped by to check on her, but Smart encouraged them to leave. They had jobs to get to and children to look after. "I was just totally alone,” said Smart, who was considered high-risk because of pre-eclampsia, a potentially dangerous pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure. Smart, 44, is now training to be a doula and leading efforts in Pisgah View and Hillcrest apartments to make sure expecting African-American mothers in those publicly subsidized neighborhoods never feel like help is far away. Read more here. |
Beth WaltonWriter, World Traveler, Mother. These are my stories. Archives
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