What’s it worth to run the state?: Lucy Morgan of the St. Petersburg Times reviews financial disclosure forms of the Legislature, Cabinet and governor since 1978 for a definitive two-part analysis on the finances of the state’s leading decision makers. The story says that while 22 of the 160 legislators report their legislative salary as their main income, "37 House members and 16 senators reported net worths of more than $1-million in 2004. Thirty-one of them have become millionaires while in office.” Meanwhile, a dozen lawmakers report a net worth of less than $50,000. “And two of those, including House Speaker-to-be Marco Rubio, R-Miami, have negative net worths – their debts exceed their assets,” the story says. In part two of Morgan’s report, she notes the annual financial disclosure filed by the elected leaders don’t always add up. The Times found at least 40 lawmakers who did not disclose their assets, liabilities or sources of income correctly. The Florida Commission on Ethics can fine them, the story notes, but has little teeth and rarely takes action. “File the right disclosure form by the deadline and the odds are pretty high that no questions will be asked unless a reporter or political opponent takes a look,” the story says. This is the most comprehensive work I’ve read on this subject. The public records handbook profiles financial disclosures and other disclosures starting on Page 121.

February 18, 2005

Police to record all homicide interrogations: A memo on a policy change aids The Florida Times-Union’s Paul Pinkham in this story on the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office decision to videotape all suspect interrogations and not just confessions. "Effective immediately, all homicide and serious life-threatening battery suspect interviews will be ... recorded in their entirety unless extenuating circumstances exist," Sheriff John Rutherford wrote in a memo to detectives. "Any deviation from this policy will be approved by the commanding officer of the homicide unit or higher ... and properly documented in the case file." The story notes prosecutors and defense lawyers applauded the decision, saying “it will help dispel concerns about unsavory police tactics.” The tapings also become public records at some point in the life of a criminal case.

More hit records:
Dangerous dog records: Tammie Wersinger and April Hunt of the Orlando Sentinel on how pet owners in Central Florida pay for having dogs deemed dangerous …
Federal lawsuit, state sewage discharge records: Aaron Deslatte of the Fort Myers News-Press on a federal lawsuit by the Sierra Club claiming Florida has failed to follow federal law by allowing treated sewage injected underground to leach into drinking water …
Annexation records: J.J. Andrews of the Venice Gondolier Sun on how a petition to amend Venice’s city charter has been scrapped …

Florida Sunshine Review:
Associated Press, by Vickie Chachere: Pinellas judge shields doctor records sought under constitutional amendment …
Daytona Beach News-Journal, by Jay Stapleton: Judge rules Florida Hospital Deland must keep meetings, records open to the public …
*Miami Herald, by David Kidwell: FEMA refuses to release names of people who received emergency aid (*free registration required) …
Palm Beach Post, by George Bennett: Group seeks electronic voting records from Palm Beach County …

February 17, 2005

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NBC 6 investigation leads to major changes: Patricia Andreu of NBC 6 in South Florida reports that her station’s investigation based on 911 records has changed the way 911 calls are being handled by the Broward County Sheriff’s Office. "NBC 6 randomly selected two weeks worth of 911 calls to BSO's headquarters and found that only an average of 65 percent was answered in the first ten seconds – well below the state standard of 90 percent.” Before the station’s “911 Disconnect” report exposing long delays in 911 pick up times by operators, the sheriff’s office did not keep track of how long it took to answer emergency calls, the story says. The station created its own database to track the nearly 29,000 calls it eventually reviewed. As a result, the BSO has acquired its own software to better track calls and has made other changes to improve the system. “Freeing up emergency operators and improved training have led to better response times. BSO records now show that in December, an average of 81 percent of emergency calls was answered within ten seconds. In January, the percentage was up to 84,” although some calls are still falling through the cracks, the story says. The public records handbook covers emergency calls to police and 911 on Page 129.

A real paper jam:
Linda Kleindienst reports in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation has 7 million paper documents waiting to be copied …

February 16, 2005

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Housing permits grow in Sebastian: Building permits are among the key indicators of economic vitality in a community. The records spark this story by Tony Judnich of the Vero Beach Press-Journal about Sebastian city officials issuing a record number of single-family home permits in December followed by a strong January showing. The city typically issues 35 building permits for new homes a month but witnessed 81 in December and 71 in January. City officials attributed the high numbers in part to the city staff's working hard to catch up on a backlog of new construction permit requests that was caused by last fall's hurricanes, the story says. Meanwhile, home prices keep on rising. The public records handbook profiles building permits and inspection reports on Page 58.

More chart makers:
State and federal records on trucking: Andrew Ryan of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on the safety record of a trucking firm involved in a deadly Interstate 595 crash …
Unpaid property taxes: Cathleen O’Toole of First Coast News in Jacksonville on unpaid property taxes in Northeast Florida with the Palatka mayor among those on the delinquent lists …
City annexation map: Ryan Hiraki of the Fort Myers News-Press on a Bonita Springs annexation proposal that would make the city as big as Baltimore and the sixth-largest in Florida …

February 15, 2005

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Outside contracts help schools meet unusual needs: Government sometimes pays for surprising services. Contract and expenditure records drive this story by Deirdre Conner of the Naples Daily News about some of the Lee County School District’s more unusual expenditures. The story explains that the district signs short- or long-term contracts with citizens and businesses. A look at four months of those deals show such payments as $50 for a ticket-taker at a football game, $1,500 to a consultant to be a life coach, and $2,500 for someone to teach a course in practical handgun operation. This story is one that can be done on local governments and school systems in any market. The public records handbook profiles bids and contracts on Page 33 and government payment records on Page 72.

The records rock on:
Police call response records: Nicole Johnson of the St. Petersburg Times on extra security hired for the Oldsmar movie theaters …
Marriage licenses: Willoughby Mariano of the Orlando Sentinel on couples flocking to Vegas-style wedding sites in the Orlando area to get hitched and save a bundle …
Audit: Thomas R. Collins of the Palm Beach Post on an audit that identified sloppy handling of cash and other problems at the West Palm Beach parks and recreation department …

Florida Sunshine Review:
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, by Bob Mahlburg: Newspaper wins partial victory in records lawsuit regarding Social Security numbers …
Associated Press, by Jill Barton: Prosecutor argues seizure of Limbaugh’s medical records …
The Tampa Tribune, by Lenny Savino: Prosecutors say they can’t act on list of cases triggered by evaluation of public records …

Records with bite:
Ron Word of The Associated Press reveals the keeper of the world’s largest database on sharks …

February 14, 2005

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Pastor took long road to prosperity: Divorce records are a primary resource for Mark I. Pinsky and Linda Shrieves of the Orlando Sentinel in this profile of FaithWorld megachurch preacher Al Brown. Brown arrived in Orlando 12 years ago without a job or a flock to gain national prominence and wealth as a leading proponent of prosperity gospel. “Two developments have cast a spotlight on Brown and his 6,000-member church. A former congregation member filed a lawsuit claiming $200,000 she gave Brown in 1999 for a new church was a loan, and not a gift, as the church maintains. And Brown's 38-year-old wife, Angela, filed for divorce last year in Seminole County. Using details from the divorce file, news accounts provided a rare glimpse into the lavish lifestyle of the minister who runs the 25-acre FaithWorld complex, all the while nurturing a music career on the side,” the story says. The divorce file includes details about some big spending, including $70,000 on a credit card for clothing that Angela Brown claims the church covered. Property and corporation records are among the other types of documents used in this story. The public records handbook profiles divorce records on Page 130, deeds on Page 113, mortgages on Page 287 and corporation records on Page 96.

Statistics find young drivers in Florida having fewer accidents: State transportation and U.S. Census data analyzed by Leon Fooksman, John Maines and Chris Kahn of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel show that Florida’s “rate of car crashes for drivers between ages 15 and 19 dropped 23 percent from 1996 to 2003, the last year of available statistics.” Crashes for other age groups have declined, too, but the research indicates the car crash rate for teens is down twice as much as any other age group. Experts told the newspaper teen crash rates are down across the country because states have tougher license standards that prohibit young people from driving late at night and restrict the number of friends they can have in the car. The public records handbook covers traffic crash records on Page 357.

More records in play:
Police internal affairs records: Brigid O’Malley of the Naples Daily News on two Naples police officers suspended for not following policy in May car crash …
Audit: Nancy Cook Lauer of the Tallahassee Democrat on an audit critical of the Florida Department of Management Services regarding its online procurement system …

Florida Sunshine Review:
South Florida Sun-Sentinel, by Andrew Ryan and Georgia East: Paper stonewalled by Miramar fire chief in request for names of suspended firefighters …
*Orlando Sentinel, by by Linda Kleindienst: Lawmaker wants lobbyists to report salaries and fees (*free registration required) …
*Vero Beach Press Journal editorial: Vero Beach and Sebastian officials play dodge ball with newspaper on public records requests (*free registration required) …

February 11, 2005

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Persistent sleuthing uncovers state flaw: Digging through public records can unearth huge discoveries – and help make things right. Robert Farley of the St. Petersburg Times tells the story of Ken Kramer, a scientologist who pored over disciplinary records on medical professionals to find a flaw in Florida’s system for disciplining them. Kramer spent months going through state Department of Health disciplinary records on psychiatrists to conclude that those disciplined for having sex with patients had not been referred to authorities for criminal prosecution as required by law. The agency’s inspector general took notice and started its own investigation. The end result? State Health Secretary John O. Agwunobi recently announced “more than 15,000 disciplinary cases investigated by the department since 1992 are being sent to prosecutors throughout the state to determine whether any criminal acts should be pursued.” The department admitted Kramer had uncovered a system flaw that may have spared hundreds of medical professionals from criminal prosecution. The public records handbook profiles regulatory and disciplinary records of the Department of Health on Page 194.

Worthy on the Web:
New Florida Department of Environmental Protection Web site with video clips and coastal mapping of storm damaged counties across the state …
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission manatee mortality data for 2004 that includes sex, size, region, and cause of death …
Florida Department of Health Florida Mortality Atlas is loaded with statistics and data about human deaths in Florida …

Florida Sunshine Review:
St. Petersburg Times editorial: Information priced out of reach by U.S. Department of Justice …
St. Petersburg Times, by Thomas Tobin: Two Pinellas County school board members warned about private chats …

February 10, 2005

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BSO deputy ordered to lie to clear cases, transcript reveals: Revelations from public records can be explosive. Prosecutor transcripts obtained by Paula McMahon of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reveal a “Broward Sheriff's deputy admitted he blamed five crimes on a man because, he said, his sergeant ordered him to do so.” Deputy Scott Jordan’s sworn statement is the first to be released in which a deputy admitted falsifying reports in the State Attorney's investigation of a crime statistics scandal at the Sheriff's Office. According to Jordan's testimony, a supervisor “told him to clear the five cases by blaming a suspect arrested in an unrelated burglary. Jordan wrote the man confessed to the five crimes even though they had never spoken about them.” Meanwhile, this scandal gets even nastier. The Miami Herald’s Jay Weaver reports other records released by prosecutors in this case show Broward Sheriff Ken Jenne was so upset with a Herald reporter's coverage of his department that he tried to embarrass her and the newspaper. And finally, Evan S. Benn and Samuel P. Nitze of the Herald examine depositions that indicate “BSO internal investigators tried to broaden their look into allegations of improper crime reporting but said they were stymied by higher-ups.” The newspaper has posted with this story a link to 112 pages of testimony in the case. The public records handbook covers criminal court records on Page 103 and prosecutor case files on Page 328.

February 9, 2005

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Amway chief gave GOP $1 million: Public records can reveal record-breaking facts. State campaign finance records obtained by Adam C. Smith of the St. Petersburg Times show Amway co-founder Jay Van Andel may have set a record for generosity to the Republican Party before he died. Veteran Florida fundraisers told the times Van Adel’s giving of $1 million – 10 donations of $100,000 – likely amount to the largest contribution any individual has ever given to a state party in Florida. “The donations were revealed in state records obtained by the St. Petersburg Times, but were unknown even to some state party leaders because the Secretary of State's Office has yet to post detailed information about campaign finance activity leading up to Election Day,” the story says. The money rolled in when the presidential race was still a toss-up and helped pay for a massive get-out-the-vote push for President Bush. The public records handbook profiles campaign finance records on Page 60.

Fort Lauderdale tops list of code violators in crackdown: Code enforcement records enable Brittany Wallman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel to identify an unlikely culprit that’s been making Fort Lauderdale ugly: the city itself. “Midstream in a code crackdown targeting three poor, black neighborhoods, the city has racked up 59 code violation notices, making it the top single violator in the cleanup program,” the story says. Records show violations on public property ranging that include missing landscaping, trash heaps, discarded construction debris, derelict vehicles and overgrown grass. “The city of Fort Lauderdale is directly cited 45 times for 30 properties, most of them vacant lots. Two additional city agencies, the Fort Lauderdale Community Redevelopment Agency and Northwest Neighborhood Improvement District, have received a combined 14 citations.” The public records handbook explains code enforcement records on Page 87.

Records roll call:
Administrative complaint, licensing records: Liz Freeman of the Naples Daily News on an East Naples family doctor who has decided to give up his license rather than fight the state …
Highway fatality statistics: Lise Fisher of the Gainesville Sun on a January record for traffic fatalities in Florida …

February 8, 2005

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Fear of rank fed strippers coverup: Public records can speak about investigations when the subjects won’t. Taped testimony from firefighters obtained by Brady Dennis and Jeff Testerman of the St. Petersburg Times show a fire captain cowed four colleagues into stubbornly denying the photo shoot of strippers that took place in October at a Hillsborough County fire station. The pictures of strippers in various stages of undress at the fire station made their way to several Web sites and has resulted in punishment for five firefighters, including high-ranking officer Al Suarez who is retiring after 20 years stemming from the shoots. “On the tapes, his fellow firefighters say Suarez used his position as a high-ranking officer, threatening his subordinates with their jobs if they refused to lie about a photo session with two strippers that took place inside Station 21 in North Tampa,” the story says. Pictures of the firefighters involved along with descriptions of their punishments accompany the story.

State analysis finds deficts at charter schools: Karla D. Shores of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel gets advance details of a soon-to-be released report indicating almost one-third of the state’s 294 charter schools operated with serious money troubles fiscal difficulty during 2002-03 school year. The story says the state report will be handed to state legislators this month for review and will not name the struggling schools. “But public records in Broward and Palm Beach counties reviewed by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel show a dozen charter schools had built up $100,000 to $2.7 million in debt as of June 2004,” the story notes. This is a strong overview piece on the financial problems of Florida’s charter schools.

Neat stuff:
Chelsea Conaboy of the Concord Monitor on a New Hampshire man who uses documents to help adoptees – including at least one Floridian – find their biological parents …
Pedro Ruz Gutierrez of the Orlando Sentinel on a new University of Central Florida database project that is connecting cops in constructive ways …

February 7, 2005

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Dyer kept mum on OUC plan for a year: Public records can often unveil what is happening beyond the surface in local government. City reports, notes and memos analyzed by Mark Schleub of the Orlando Sentinel show Orlando Mayor Buddy Dryer’s administration “has quietly spent more than a year studying ways to sell off the local water utility and use the cash as a piggy bank to shore up the city's troubled budget.” Records show city officials are already pondering ways to spend the $322 million the changes to city water and sewer services could bring. But the changes also could bring steadily escalating bills for customers, the story says. “The behind-closed-doors planning calls into question the mayor's insistence three weeks ago that making money was not the motive behind his push to consolidate the Orlando Utilities Commission's water division and the city sewer system under one umbrella.” Utility officials are calling the mayor’s deliberations a power grab. “OUC board members say they would have to approve any merger, but the documents reviewed by the Sentinel indicate the city has considered proceeding without the utility's OK,” the story says.

More hit records:
Police reports: Ron Word of The Associated Press on Super Bowl-related arrests in Jacksonville regarding ticket scalping, counterfeit tickets …
Civil court records: Stephanie Slater of the Palm Beach Post on the state attorney general suing a contractor who bailed out of work in Palm Beach County …
Auditor general’s report: Carol Marbin Miller of the Miami Herald on a scathing audit that says a ranking official with Broward County's privately run child-welfare program violated program rules by contracting with his wife's company …
Complaint records on mangrove cutting: Mike Salinero of The Tampa Tribune on how several west coast counties want to take over mangrove enforcement from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection …
County property records, state licensing records: Angel Streeter of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on neighbors resisting a senior care facility in their Wellington neighborhood …

February 3, 2005

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Teacher’s bizarre behavior comes to light: Personnel records bring a Hernando County elementary school teacher’s unusual behavior into focus in this story by Abhi Raghunathan of the St. Petersburg Times. The records indicate Susan Bartlett mooned her colleagues at a staff meeting, dropped a joint and reeked of marijuana smoke another time, yelled at her students and burped loudly to disrupt staff meetings. Although district officials fired Bartlett after she refused a drug test, “there is no record they reported the account of her suspected drug use to law enforcement authorities,” the story said. The public records handbook covers public employee personnel records on Page 239.

Other chart makers:
Hospital occupancy records and Baker Act statistics: Carol Marbin Miller of the Miami Herald on the psychiatric unit of a Lauderdale Lakes hospital being at the center of a state investigation into allegations that doctors are filling beds with confused elders …
State prison records: Selina Roman of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune on a home invasion in Manatee County that turned deadly …
Florida Commission on Ethics records: Suzanne Wentley of the Stuart News on state ethics commissioners dismissing a complaint against the Treasure Coast's top water management official regarding an alleged voting conflict …

Florida Sunshine Review:
Leesburg Daily Commercial, by Michelle L. Smart: Daily Commercial to file complaint that Kids Central Inc. violated the state’s Sunshine Law …
Boca Raton News, by Nicol Jenkins: Palm Beach County school officials, station spar over broadcast of school board meetings …
Daytona Beach News-Journal, by Jay Stapleton: Judge dismisses lawsuits against Daytona Beach News-Journal …

February 2, 2005

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Burglar’s case out due to cop’s troubles: Public records can provide insights into previously unreported side effects of big stories. State attorney’s office records obtained by Paul Pinkham of the Florida Times-Union reveal prosecutors have scrapped battery charges against a career criminal, “citing credibility problems with the Jacksonville police officer who arrested him – the same officer who resigned amid brutality allegations after a handcuffed man died in his custody in December.” Former Jacksonville officer Kaleb Underwood faces allegations of violence in three other arrests, the story says. The man in the dropped battery case was classified as a habitual criminal and faced a potential 10-year sentence. Records show the state attorney’s office has identified 187 cases that involve Underwood as a potential witness, although only one case involving his direct testimony has been thrown out so far because of Underwood's circumstances. This story also relies on pre-employment records involving Underwood (researched by Pinkham colleague Jim Schoettler) and a police report involving Underwood when he was 17.

Florida Sunshine Review:
Daytona Beach News-Journal, by Michael Reed: Ex-Volusia sheriff broke the law when he refused a public records request …
Editor & Publisher: There’s a Web site to track much of the coverage related to the national Sunshine Week coming in March and focusing on freedom of information …

February 1, 2005

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School bus, dump truck collision injures 12: Public records can help answer key questions about people involved in the breaking news of the day. Driving records obtained by Bob Koslow of the Daytona Beach News-Journal show a dump truck driver who collided with a school bus had a laundry list of previous driving citations. The a.m. crash sent 11 Deltona High School students between the ages of 13 and 19 to the hospital with minor injuries, and a school resource officer was also hurt in a related incident, the story said. Driver Michael D. Tully of South Daytona was cited for failing to yield the right of way and driving a commercial vehicle with an expired inspection sticker. “Since 1992, Tully has received at least 11 driving citations in Volusia County, records show. Citations include driving with suspended/revoked license, driving a commercial vehicle with improper/unsafe equipment, speeding in a construction zone and improper overtaking/passing a vehicle,” the story said. The public records handbook covers driver history records on Page 134, traffic court records on Page 354 and traffic crash reports on Page 357.

Worth noting:
Florida Department of Health’s Florida Child Abuse Death Review, an annual report that features findings on the nearly three dozen children who died in state custody in 2003 …
The Florida Department of Corrections 2003-2004 annual report, the online guide to the state prison system, is full of state prison and prisoner facts …
The State Health Data Catalog offers various searchable databases on health care statistics in Florida …