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Joe's Hit Records!
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HOT!: Catch the latest Florida open government news with The Florida Sunshine Review ...
Open records and meetings links, resources.
April 29, 2005
Florida Sunshine Review:
 Associated Press: FDLE finds no wrongdoing by the Orange County sheriff in using records to find critic …
Associated Press, by Jill Barton: Florida Supreme Court refuses to hear Rush Limbaugh’s appeal over police seizure of his medical records …
South Florida Sun-Sentinel, by Jennifer Peltz: Florida International University warns of possible ID breach …
April 27, 2005
Records reveal ethics violations: Financial disclosure forms, building permits and licensing documents are among the records used by Greg Richards of The Florida Times-Union on this story about a former Jacksonville city official who “violated Jacksonville ethics laws when he moonlighted as a homebuilder while serving as an appointed City Hall official over the past decade.” Former Chief of Public Buildings Bill Watson, arrested last month on corruption charges, “did not list any supplemental income from his construction activities or detail ownership of his business, Bill Watson Construction Inc., on financial disclosure forms filed with the city. Such actions are required by Jacksonville's ethics code.” The city ethics code says all appointed employees must get prior approval from the mayor for outside work, which city officials say didn’t happen in Watson’s case. The public records handbook profiles disclosure records on Page 121 and building permit records on Page 58.
More chart climbers:
FDLE sexual offender and predator database: Orlando Sentinel columnist Lauren Ritchie on how use of the state FDLE’s sexual predator and offender database “have gone wild” after the recent arrest of a convicted sex offender in the slaying of a 13-year-old Hillsborough County girl …
County financial records, Florida Statutes: Alison Kepner of the Fort Myers News-Press on the Lee County property appraiser’s plans to marry the woman who once accused him of sexual harassment …
Police reports: Ihosvani Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on a Florida Highway Patrol job seeker who blew his shot at a job after leading the FHP on a wild motorcycle chase …
April 26, 2005
Minister, followers converge on town: Court records, a death certificate and a marriage license aid Todd Lewan of The Associated Press in this three-part series about the End Time Ministries and the changes the group and leader Charles Meade brought to Lake City. Notes the story: “The End Timers would bring energy, ingenuity and an entrepreneurial spirit. But in the end, Lake City would find itself more prosperous but badly divided - a place awash in mistrust and suspicion.” The story looks at the background of Meade and how the influx of End Timers to Lake City began. Part two Part two of the series examines some of the group’s unorthodox views regarding medical care, while part three explores how faith carried a price for members of the group. The public records handbook profiles criminal court records on Page 103, death certificates on Page 109 and marriage licenses on Page 279.
More chart makers:
State criminal background records, court records, police mug shots: Brady Dennis of the St. Petersburg Times about how the promising lives of two twins who became police officers went south and ultimately ended in suicide …
Police reports: John Henderson of the Naples Daily News on the Collier County Sheriff's Office plans no further review of the repeated use of stun guns on the lead guitarist for the rock group Rush and his son during their arrest …
Federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration records: Melanie Payne of the Fort Myers News-Press on the safety record of Boh Brothers Construction Co. LLC, which is doing bridge work to replace the Sanibel Causeway …
Florida Sunshine Review:
South Florida Sun-Sentinel, by Joe Kollin: Southwest Ranches town administrator must disclose employee salaries …
Miami Herald, by Amy Sherman: Southwest Ranches administrator must open his books, town attorney says (free registration required) …
April 25, 2005
FEMA's inspectors included criminals: Criminal history records help Megan O’Matz and Sally Kestin of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel report that Federal Emergency Management Agency government inspectors “entrusted to enter disaster victims' homes and verify damage claims include criminals with records for embezzlement, drug dealing and robbery.” FEMA has come under fire for payouts of more than $31 million in Hurricane Frances disaster aid in Miami-Dade, even though the county was spared hurricane force winds. Notes the story: “It is not known how many in the whole work force might have criminal records because FEMA will not release the names of any of its inspectors or their supervisors, citing an ‘unwarranted invasion of their personal privacy.’ The Sun-Sentinel has filed a federal suit against FEMA and its umbrella agency, the Department of Homeland Security, seeking the identities of inspectors and aid recipients.” Using news clips, FEMA applicants, confidential sources and the Internet, the newspaper found 30 inspectors or managers with criminal records out of 133 it was able to identify. The newspaper found 17 inspectors and supervisors to have criminal histories at the time they were hired. Click here for links to the Sun-Sentinel investigation of FEMA to date. The public records handbook covers criminal background checks on Page 101.
More hit records:
Legislative bills: Lloyd Dunkelberger for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune on how school construction could end up the big winner in the fierce legislative debate over allowing slot machines in Florida …
Financial disclosure forms: Paula McMahon & Scott Wyman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on how Broward County Sheriff Ken Jenne has done more moonlighting than he previously disclosed, raising more ethics questions …
Bids, contracts, grant records: Ronnie Greene of the Miami Herald about questions stemming from Hialeah legislator Rafael ''Ralph'' Arza’s no-bid contracts and his public/private role …
Florida Sunshine Review:
Palm Beach Post, by Alan Gomez: Attorney general says Sunshine Law applies to school foundation records …
April 21, 2005
West Palm company files bogus deeds: Guess who is selling property in Lee County these days? More dead people, of course! Fraudulent deed records explored by Mike Hoyem of the Fort Myers News-Press show Buyers Investment Group Ltd. Inc. of West Palm Beach joins a list of companies and people who have filed fraudulent deeds to claim property that doesn’t belong to them in southwest Florida. The story says the company filed eight deeds in Lee County in March and April, including several with signatures of dead property owners. The newspaper’s revelation is the latest in a wild set of running stories about how scam artists “have been focusing on properties with overdue taxes and apparently are using the Internet to find absentee owners who are either dead or live in faraway countries.” Records reviewed by the paper show phony deeds have been filed on land owned by people from as far away as New York and California to Belgium, Spain and the Congo. Hoyem also has another intriguing story about how savvy buyers are taking advantage of unsuspecting landowners up north. “Land records show the same red-hot real- estate market that has resulted in scores of fraudulent deeds being filed in Lee and Charlotte counties also has prompted untold numbers of calls and letters to absentee property owners across the country and around the world from buyers who may be hoping the owners don't know land values have shot up dramatically.” The public records handbook profiles deed records on Page 113 and mortgage records on Page 287.
Florida Sunshine Review:
*Orlando Sentinel, by columnist Mike Lafferty: DeBary City Council marathon meetings burn up time, test tempers (*free registration required) …
Tampa Bay 10 News, by Mike Deeson: Tampa city employees continue to violate e-mail policy …
April 20, 2005
Vanity or profanity?: Complaints to the state about messages on vanity license plates fuel this story by Thomas Lake of The Florida Times-Union about how there’s more to vanity license plates in Florida than meets the eye. Specialty license plates in Florida are subject to censorship by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles and must answer to the tastes of passing motorists. For instance, the plate "NVW22V” may seem harmless at first glance but the state nixed it because it could be interpreted as “ASSMAN” upside down, a reference to a Seinfeld episode in which Cosmo Kramer switches plates with a proctologist. About 2 percent of all new Florida plates are personalized, but those are subject to the DMV and a review board. The “DMV regularly refuses to issue vanity plates it deems obscene or objectionable, and it sometimes recalls others after someone complains. The DMV supplied the Times-Union with 45 complaint letters dating back to 2002. Many are unprintable in a family newspaper. But even some of the tamer ones indicate motorists are finding creative ways to skirt the regulations.” This is a great example of how public records have value for stories of all kinds, including feature stories.
More chart makers:
Court records, divorce file, restraining order petition: Jill King Greenwood of The Tampa Tribune on the past of David Onstott, the man accused of strangling 13-year-old Sarah Michelle Lunde of Ruskin … Marriage records, child support records and more factor into another background story on Onstott by Brady Dennis of the St. Petersburg Times …
State payroll records, governor’s appointment records: Rene Stutzman of the Orlando Sentinel on how Gov. Jeb Bush’s has topped predecessor Lawton Chiles in appointing minorities as judges …
Sex offender statistics: Mike Saewitz, Lauren Glenn and Michael A. Scarcella of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune on how parents are more concerned about child safety after three child abductions and murders in Central and Southwest Florida in the past 15 months …
Florida Highway Patrol crash, fatality records: J.D. Gallop of Florida Today on a speeding crackdown on Interstate 95 by the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office …
Proposed state legislation, statistics on red-light runners: Sean Mussenden of the Orlando Sentinel on a proposal making its way through the Legislature to boost fines for red-light running and use the extra revenue for state trauma centers …
Check it out …:
The Pensacola News-Journal takes a multi-media approach with a wide array of stories about how the Pensacola area is faring six months after Hurricane Ivan bashed it …
April 19, 2005
SPECIAL REPORT: Orange County Convention Center: Orlando financial records help propel this three-day series by Dan Tracy of the Orlando Sentinel about whether Orlando’s huge public investment in a convention center complex is paying off. “Built with a public investment that will total $2.8 billion when all the bonds are paid off in 2032, the complex went a record $8.5 million in the red last year while fighting for business in a vastly overbuilt and arguably stagnant market. Debt service on the complex now absorbs more than 75 percent of the county's lucrative tourist tax.” Local officials remain upbeat about the convention center, but the series notes that increased convention competition, too much space, a high-end hotel shortage, shaky financial projections, huge debt and little oversight cloud the facility’s future. Although these stories are Orlando focused, the six months of work that produced them also yields excellent insights into convention business trends in general. Plenty of sidebars here online plus flash presentations on the building of a show and Orlando’s competition with Las Vegas. The public records handbook covers bond issues on Page 44.
More hit records:
State driving records, limo and taxi permit records: Sandra Pedicini of the Orlando Sentinel on the driving records of those driving teens on prom nights …
State corrections records: Sylvia Lim of the Bradenton Herald about a fire that caused $30,000 damage to the same DeSoto National Memorial Park historical hut torched in 2001 and 2003 …
City personnel files: Shannon O’Boye of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Fort Lauderdale firefighters disciplined for X-rated behavior…
Florida Sunshine Review:
The Associated Press, by Jill Barton: Controversial Matrix terror database shuts down as federal funds run out …
April 18, 2005
DCF records show no evidence of Schiavo abuse: Public records often factor prominently in the biggest running stories, such as the Terri Schiavo case. Vicki Chachere of The Associated Press reports that records on abuse complaints released in that case show the Florida Department of Children and Families “investigated complaints that Terri Schiavo was being abused and exploited by both sides of her family, but could find no evidence that she was.” The story says the DCF abuse hotline logged 89 complaints back to 2001, including “allegations that Schiavo, who at that point had been in a persistent vegetative state for more than a decade, was both being mistreated by her husband and her parents for financial gain.” A Pinellas County judged released the records after requests by The Tampa Tribune and the St. Petersburg Times. “DCF investigators found no evidence that either her husband or parents were exploiting her, and often noted in its records that investigators found Terri Schiavo well cared for on their visits to her Pinellas Park hospice.”
Cost to fix road budget: $760 million: Public records encompass more than documents or paper. Writings on a dry-erase board seen by Mary Kelli Palka of The Florida Times-Union City prompt this story about almost $760 million Jacksonville officials now say it will take to deal with shortfalls, and some additions, in the Better Jacksonville Plan's road and overpass projects. The amount marks the first time Mayor John Peyton's staff has publicly tallied how much it would need to fix most of the city's current transportation woes. “The ideas with amounts each might generate were written on a dry-erase board in Peyton's small conference room and totaled $304 million. That doesn't include state funding the city is seeking.” The voter-approved Better Jacksonville Plan covers infrastructure ranging from roads and drainage to new libraries and a baseball park.
Florida Sunshine Review:
The Weekly Planet, by Allyson Gonzalez: Where the sun don’t shine: Is open government an oxymoron? …
South Florida Sun-Sentinel, by Maya Bell: DCF told to share files on Schiavo …
*Orlando Sentinel, by Jeff Libby: ACLU chief vows to stop the misuse of records (*free registration required) …
Palm Beach Post, by Dara Kam: Internet dating firm hires ex-Bush aide to seek safety checks law…
Bradenton Herald, by Bill Cotterell: Bill to amend net ban fails after questionable private committee meeting to talk policy …
Florida parks online!
The Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s new online parks guide offers park descriptions and maps, details on upcoming events and activities …
April 12, 2005
Florida Sunshine Review:
Charlotte Sun-Herald, by Elaine Allen-Emrich: North Port lots sale clouded by potential Sunshine Law violations …
Vero Beach Press-Journal, by Tony Judnich: Law says Sebastian city manager interviews can be kept private …
Palm Beach Post editorial: Require full disclosure of growth committee …
Associated Press: Jessica Lunsford Act requires tight checks on sex offenders …
April 11, 2005
City pays into red for jazz fest: Public records can show an important other side to big public events. City spending records obtained by Thomas Lake of The Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville show the city’s popular Jazz Festival has lost $1.19 million since the city revived it in 2003. Meanwhile, the story notes, the city has nearly doubled the free festival’s budget with the break even point officials once envisioned becoming out of reach. Expenses now triple revenues. Artist fees have soared with Chris Botti getting $30,250 for playing during this year’s festival and Al Jarreau making $44,000. Last year, the entertainer the city paid the most, crooner Tony Bennett, received $100,000 for a 75-minute set, plus $10,000 for first-class airfare, deluxe hotel rooms and limousine rides, records show. City officials say they see the festival as more of a public service than an event to make money. The public records handbook covers payments made by state and local governments on Page 72.
Gotta read this one!
Sally Kestin, Megan O’Matz and John Maines of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on how Florida officially recorded 123 fatalities from last year's hurricanes but the federal government has paid funeral expenses for at least 315 deaths, including a man who shot himself and another who died a week before the last storm hit … Story includes a a county-by-county breakdown on official deaths and FEMA payments.
Florida Sunshine Review:
Vero Beach Press-Journal, by Keona Gardner: Investigation clears Vero Beach Mayor Mary Beth McDonald of extortion and Sunshine Law allegations …
Sarasota Herald-Tribune editorial: North Port sends wrong message on public access regarding e-mails …
St. Petersburg Times, by Justin George and Abbie Vansickle: Proposal pushes sharing of criminal records …
*Orlando Sentinel, by Anthony Colarossi: Agency to see if Orange sheriff misused database to write critic (*free registration required) …
April 7, 2005
Bill seeks quick wetlands permits: Bills filed in the state Legislature are public record, and their text and related staff analysis can be read online through the Legislature’s Florida Online Sunshine Web site. Craig Pittman and Matthew Waite of the St. Petersburg Times report on a bill that the story says would make it easier to wipe out wetlands. “The bill would put the state Department of Environmental Protection in charge of approving projects that would destroy 10 acres of wetlands or less. The change would require the consent of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has primary authority for protecting Florida's swamps and marshes.” Developers are unhappy with how long it takes to get a wetlands permit approved by the corps, which has no deadline and can take longer than a year to issue one. State law, meanwhile, gives the DEP 90 days to say yes or no with a permit automatically issued if state officials do not decide by then. The story says DEP records indicate the agency averaged 44 days to issue permits in 2003. Environmental activists are blasting the proposed legislation (HB 759/SB 1730) as bad for wildlife and too favorable to developers. The public records handbook profiles Florida Online Sunshine on Page 216.
More chart placers:
Legislative study: Jeff Harrington and Joni James of the St. Petersburg Times on a state study recommends that Florida create a reinsurance pool to help insurers pay sinkhole claims …
Office of the State Courts Administrator records: Rocky Scott of the Tallahassee Democrat on a House committee passing a bill that curtails civil lawsuits and shifts liability away from businesses …
Florida Public Service Commission records: Kristi Swartz of the Palm Beach Post on the state’s top consumer attorney saying Florida Power & Light Co. has booked a $1.24 billion surplus in its depreciation reserve and should move some of that money into a hurricane fund depleted by last year's storms …
Florida Sunshine Review:
South Florida Sun-Sentinel, by Jean-Paul Renaud: Fort Lauderdale promises to tweak list of banned items for public gatherings …
Palm Beach Post, by Kimberly Miller: Conservative champions bill to limit what college professors can say …
Fort Myers News-Press editorial: Kudos to the state for online guide to physicians and their backgrounds …
South Florida Sun-Sentinel, by Jeremy Milarsky: ID is needed to speak at Sunrise transit meeting …
Independent Florida Alligator, by Dwayne Robinson: University of Florida keeps records out of the sunshine …
Records power to the extreme?
Henry Pierson Curtis of the Orlando Sentinel on the Orange County sheriff ordering his staff to use restricted records to find a Winter Park mother of four who criticized him as being too fat for basic police work in a newspaper letter-to-the-editor … Sheriff Kevin Berry later apologized but defended his use of the database.
Not records driven, but interesting:
Ron Matus of the St. Petersburg Times on how 39 percent of the state lawmakers who responded to a Times survey indicated they enrolled their children in private schools …
April 6, 2005
Tickets going fast for beachside speeders: Traffic citations records power this story by Rick Neale of Florida Today about the traffic ticket tendencies of Brevard County law enforcement agencies. Those with lead feet in Brevard’s beaches communities beware. “Beachside police ticket at far higher relative frequencies than their mainland counterparts. Indialantic handed out more tickets (3,072) than the town has residents (2,958). Melbourne Beach police issued 71 tickets for every 100 residents and Satellite Beach police wrote 48 tickets per 100 residents.” Brevard’s biggest cities – Palm Bay, Titusville and Melbourne – issue fewer tickets per capita than smaller cities such as Melbourne village, records show. Tickets are rising in some communities because of new police programs and increased patrols, the story says. The public records handbook profiles traffic court records on Page 354.
More chart makers:
Judicial panel report: Carol Marbin Miller of the Miami Herald on an eight-page report by a judicial panel that the the Department of Children & Families routinely discharges foster children with a poor education, few skills and often no place to live …
Court records: Susan Jacobson of the Orlando Sentinel on the execution of convicted killer Glenn Ocha …
Legislative bills: Columnist Mark Lane of the Daytona Beach News-Journal injects some humor into the 60-day annual legislative session currently in play …
Statewide crime report: Jack Snyder of the Orlando Sentinel on a Florida State University professor’s report that pegs Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater as having Florida’s highest white-collar/business crime total last year …
Florida Sunshine Review:
*Orlando Sentinel, by Sandra Mathers: Recalled leader says he didn’t violate state Sunshine Law (*free registration required) …
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, by Erin Bryce: North Port City Commission is exploring whether to remove two City Hall computers that give the public access to city e-mails…
Associated Press, by Bill Kaczor: Four Florida newspapers come close to winning a Pulitzer Prize …
April 4, 2005
For police, tracking sex offenders can get tricky: Yet another story reminding that, for all their virtues, public records are not infallible. Robert Farley, Abbie Vansickle and Matthew Waite of the St. Petersburg Times examine the state’s sexual offender and predator database in reporting how some people on the list are missing. “The state's database of 34,281 sex offenders and predators (3,369 in the Tampa Bay area) is regarded as one of the most accessible and accurate in the country. With the click of a mouse, anyone can find out if a registered sex offender is living in their neighborhood. In most cases, a user can even view a mug shot …” However, since 1999, “223 sex offenders in the Tampa Bay area have been convicted at least once of not living at the address they had registered.” The story notes the list’s accuracy depends in part on law enforcement efforts to track offenders. And some agencies are more aggressive than others. A Florida Department of Law Enforcement told the newspaper the percentage of missing sex offenders typically hovers around 5 percent, which is better than most states. The public records handbook profiles the sexual predator and offender database on Page 341.
April 2, 2005
Florida Sunshine Review:
Associated Press: Pinellas judge denies St. Pete Times request to see Schiavo DCF records …
Associated Press, by Jill Barton: Limbaugh argues his medical records are protected by state law …
Florida Times-Union editorial: Internet records committee is reaching some sensible conclusions …
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