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HOT!: Catch up on Florida open government and public records news with The Florida Sunshine Review ...
Open records and meetings links, resources.
December 29, 2006
Records roll out:
 Court records: *Niala Boodhoo of the Miami Herald on how a clerk at the Broward County labor agency paid herself $2 million and without anyone at the agency apparently noticing (*free registration required) …
Arrest records, criminal records, jail records: Abbie Vansickle of the St. Petersburg Times on a Hillsborough County youth sports coach charged with having sex with a 14-year-old. The coach had a previous history of arrests but had convinced the sports league to let him coach any way …
Arrest warrant, probable cause affidavit: Rebecca Blue of the Bradenton Herald about a repeat drug offender and convicted felon charged with murder …
Florida Inventory of School Houses report: Mary Maraghy of The Florida Times-Union references how students tap into state school information on the Web for a project …
Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation records, deeds, mortgages, property appraiser records, tax auction records: Hector Florin of the Palm Beach Post about state fines of two groups who bought northern Palm Beach County swampland and flipped it for huge profits …
December 22, 2006
Florida Sunshine Review:
Panama City News Herald, by David Angier: Courtroom recordings reopened to public but with conditions …
*Orlando Sentinel editorial: McCollum should follow Crist’s lead with strong open-government effort (*free registration required) …
Florida Times-Union editorial: Crist starts strong with open government effort …
Lakeland Ledger editorial: Crist’s open government move is refreshing…
Hernando Today editorial: Crist’s new idea for more sunshine is a welcomed change …
December 18, 2006
Florida Sunshine Review:
*Miami Herald, by Dan Christensen and Patrick Danner: Dade will stop falsifying court records to protect informants in criminal cases (*free registration required) …
*Miami Herald editorial: Judges, prosecutors wise to protect public records and remove false files from court records (*free registration required) …
South Florida Sun-Sentinel, by Anthony Man: Legislators cool to request to change Sunshine Law on public meetings …
*Orlando Sentinel, by Mark Schlueb: Orlando Magic and city work in secret on how to divvy profits (*free registration required) …
St. Petersburg Times editorial: Crist makes a strong stand for openness in government …
St. Petersburg Times, by Elena Lesley: Prosecutor says no evidence of crimes in Yankeetown regarding Sunshine Law violations …
Lakeland Ledger, by Rick Rousos: Prosecutors probing whether two Mulberry city commissioners violated the Sunshine Law …
*Fort Pierce Tribune, by Lamaur Stancil: Barefoot Bay recreation chairman accused of violating Sunshine Laws (*free registration required) …
Florida Times-Union, by Deborah Cearnal: Time for public comment at Clay County Commission meetings won’t be changing …
December 13, 2006
State’s files on doctors fall short: Despite all the good public records can do, they aren’t perfect. This piece by Jacob Goldstein of the Miami Herald underscores how the state’s online profiles of doctors and other health practitioners are not always what they should be. In one example, the story notes that a Miami Beach once pleaded guilty to 82 counts of Medicaid fraud and lost his New York podiatry license. The Florida Department of Health fined Jack J. Cohen $1,100 for failing to report the New York problems. Yet, the state’s online profile did not mention Cohen’s New York woes or the state discipline. The story also documents how malpractice payments are not reported sometimes as they should be. The public records handbook explores DOH licensing and regulation files of state practitioners on Page 194 and professional liability closed claims on Page 317.
Florida Sunshine Review:
Tampa Tribune, by Kevin Begos: Crist expected to ease access to public records …
Associated Press, by Brendan Farrington: Crist establishes office for open government …
December 11, 2006
Three out of four Project H.O.P.E. supervisors do not meet FEMA guidelines: Counseling program job applications and other records help Sally Kestin of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reveal that Florida flopped in selecting supervisors that met federal guidelines for a $23-million counseling program for hurricane victims. The Florida Department of Children and Families assured the Federal Emergency Management Agency that its team leaders in the program are “mental health professionals.” But “only one in four of those hired met federal education and licensing guidelines,” the story said. One man hired in the Daytona Beach area even had on his application that he had been convicted of robbery twice, cocaine possession and aggravated assault, the story notes. The man spent more than five years in prison and had 14 arrests from 1966 to 2002. Of 29 program leaders reviewed statewide, only one was state-licensed and seven had mental health-oriented master’s degrees.
Records a rumblin’:
Court records, police reports, autopsy reports: Ron Matus and photographer Lara Cerri of the St. Petersburg Times spent the school year at St. Petersburg’s Northeast High School to examine why ninth grade is such a tough year. Check out this “Ninth or Never” special report …
Medical examiner records: Jeff Schweers of Florida Today on how cocaine use is on the rise again in Florida, contributing to more deaths than any other drug …
Civil court records: Stephen Hudak of the Orlando Sentinel about a Eustis woman who lost a chase-related injuries case against the Lake County Sheriff’s Office …
Florida Sunshine Review:
*Miami Herald, by Breanne Gilpatrick: State Sunshine Law is fraught with woes (*free registration required) …
Florida Times-Union editorial: Elected officials, board members throughout Florida should heed St. Johns County commissioner Ron Sanchez’s take on doing business in the sunshine …
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