Naples police celebrate zero traffic fatalities in city in '04: Traffic statistics reported by Brigid O’Malley of the Naples Daily News are an eye-opener: Not a single driver, passenger or pedestrian died on Naples streets in 2004. Notes the story: “Achieving this perfect game of traffic safety is no small feat for a 13-square-mile city teeming with cars in the busy winter tourist season and luring local drivers from around all of sprawling Collier County.” An estimated 100,000 vehicles pass through Naples in a 24-hour period. In better years, there have been fewer than a half-dozen deaths on Naples streets but never a fatality-free year that officers can remember. In unincorporated Collier County, the story says, “sheriff's deputies reported their own decline in traffic deaths with 58 fatalities in 2004, 20 fewer than were logged in 2003.” Read the story for some of the factors attributed for the Naples feat. The public records handbook covers traffic crash reports on Page 357.

Other hit records:
Florida Senate Education Committee report, court records: Kimberly Miller of the Palm Beach Post on a new state report that says private schools getting state vouchers should not have to be accredited, saying it would take too much state oversight and accreditation doesn’t guarantee a quality education …
Settlement proposal, court records, lien records, financial disclosure forms : Beth Reinhard and Erika Bolstad of the Miami Herald on Broward County Commissioner Josephus Eggelletion agreeing to pay a $2,500 fine to the Florida Ethics Commission in a conflict-of-interest case …
Police report, personnel records: Joe Black of The Florida Times-Union on a Jacksonville sheriff's officer charged with burglary and criminal mischief after police say he broke into his girlfriend's home on New Year's Eve …

Florida Sunshine Review:
Fort Myers News-Press, by Dave Breitenstein: The Chamber of Southwest Florida has refused to supply the dollar amount paid a marketing firm for a controversial sales tax poll, despite Florida's public records laws requiring private agencies to disclose records if they work for public entities …
South Florida Sun-Sentinel, by Patty Pensa: Receipts found in trash of West Palm restaurant raise security concerns …

January 13, 2005

BayWalk brawl was a chain reaction, police report says: Police reports can provide information on incidents and arrests of all sizes. A report obtained from St. Petersburg Police by Carrie Johnson “provided new details about Friday night's brawl at BayWalk, describing a chain reaction of fights that took officers more than two hours to control.” About 1,500 people ages 11 to 25 were hanging out at the BayWalk at 10:30 p.m. when a fight broke out between two 13-year-old boys. “Police were able to quickly control the first fight …” the story says. “But the situation quickly escalated,” with a second fight and then a third. "Soon there were groups of people engaging in fights in the courtyard area, as well as the surrounding sidewalks and streets around the BayWalk complex," the story quotes from the report. “Soon 69 officers were at the scene and a Pinellas County Sheriff's Office helicopter was buzzing overhead,” the story said. Seven adults and seven juveniles had been arrested by the time the situation was under control. The bulk of the city’s officers responded, leaving 45 officers to patrol the rest of St. Petersburg while the ruckus was going on. The public records handbook covers police offense and incident reports on Page 312 and arrest reports on Page 23.

More hit records:
Divorce records: WFTV.com 9 says the pastor of one of Central Florida’s largest churches lived a lavish lifestyle, largely financed by his congregation …
Traffic tickets: Gabriel Margasak of the Fort Pierce Tribune shows a massive law enforcement presence on Treasure Coast highways over the December holidays didn’t deter lawbreakers …
Federal lawsuit, state corporation records: Kristen Zambo of the Naples Daily News on a racial discrimination lawsuit filed by a Jewish man who claimed his former employer urged him to renounce his religion and attend Catholic prayer meetings at work …

January 12, 2005

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Miami-Dade grand jury proposes expanded use of Tasers: Grand jury reports often generate much public discussion on hot-button topics. A report from a Miami-Dade grand jury regarding stun gun use by police drives this story by Catherine Wilson of The Associated Press. The story says the grand jury "strongly" recommended expanded use of Tasers by police as an effective alternative to gun use in crisis situations and in spite of reports about deaths of stun-gun targets. "We believe Tasers save lives," said the grand jury’s final report, which focused on the handling of mentally ill people in the criminal justice system. "We are not hesitant to make this recommendation." The grand jury did not study Tasers use involving children. Among other recommendations, the grand jury urged more training and better oversight regarding stun guns. Scott Hiaasen’s story in the Miami Herald includes a link to the grand jury’s presentment.

More hit records:
Port audit: Scott Wyman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on a an audit that concludes Port Everglades contractors overbilled Broward County at least $314,000 and that port officials did not monitor the work closely …
Federal sinkhole records: Dinah Voyles Pulver of the Daytona Beach News-Journal on where sinkholes are most likely to occur in the Daytona area. Nice regional map on sinkholes based on U.S. Geological Survey data…
Court records: Dana Treen of The Florida Times-Union reports that a couple who must turn over their 3-year-old boy to his biological mother dispute court records a judge released in their custody case, saying they distort the truth …

January 11, 2005

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Lauderdale officer accused of road rage has history of reprimands: Public records can reveal more than meets the eye regarding police officers. Personnel records obtained by Jaime Hernandez and Shannon O'Boye of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reveal a Fort Lauderdale police officer charged with pointing a gun at a motorist “has a history of department reprimands, including two involving aggressive, threatening behavior.” The story says officer John Gonzalez has been admonished for several incidents, “including firing his gun in his own home in 1999 and being combative toward Palm Beach County sheriff's deputies in 2001.” Gonzalez currently faces a felony charge of aggravated assault involving a man who said an off-duty Gonzalez threatened him with a gun on Interstate 75. His attorney said any actions taken by Gonzalez were done in self-defense. The public records handbook covers personnel records of government employees on Page 239.

Other chart makers:
Criminal court records: James L. Rosica of the Tallahassee Democrat on a woman accused of stealing her boss’s identity and using it to obtain $120,000 in goods and services …
Sales tax polling results: Dave Breitenstein of the Fort Myers News-Press on results of a controversial Lee County schools tax survey the newspaper had to fight to get …
School audit: Kimberly C. Moore of Florida Today on bookkeeping problems and missing money at Brevard County schools …
Police incident report, 911 tape: Alice Wallace of the Leesburg Daily Commercial follows up on a Saturday fight that left one man killed and another injured in Mount Dora …

Florida Sunshine Review:
Fort Myers News-Press, by Dave Breitenstein: Chamber of commerce turns over school-tax polling data sought by the News-Press. The story includes links to the survey questions and cover letter …
Naples Daily News, by Deirdre Conner: Lee County school district reveals polling results regarding a half-cent sales tax for local schools …
WFTV.com 9, Orlando: Court documents released in Orlando mayoral election lawsuit …

January 10, 2005

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Paper Paradise: Land records help Ron Hurtibise of the Daytona Beach News-Journal do this piece on how the sale of swampy undeveloped Florida land to unsuspecting buyers is back with a vengeance via eBay and the Internet. People are buying properties as part of “paper subdivisions” that have no roads, surveys or much of a chance of being developed in some cases because of county development codes. A side effect, the story says, is the “trend is undermining county wetlands protection efforts as competition by eBay sellers drives prices out of reach of a voter-approved program to preserve the region's water supply.” The story notes regulators with the state Division of Land Sales, Condominiums and Mobile Homes say they're investigating the practice for possible violations of laws regulating the sale of unimproved subdivided lots. The division is responsible for reviewing ads of sellers for misleading or fraudulent claims. The story includes examples of people who are selling these properties for profit through the Internet, which is not illegal depending on the manner and circumstances. The public records handbook profiles deeds on Page 113, property appraisal records on Page 322 and division land sales registration records on Page 257.

Other hit records:
Florida Medical Examiner’s Commission 2004 Interim Report on Drugs: Lise Fisher of The Gainesville Sun on how statewide autopsy statistics through June indicate the abuse of prescription drugs at lethal levels is rising …
Campaign finance reports: Eileen Zaffiro of the Daytona Beach News-Journal on leading money raisers for a seat on the Ormond Beach City Commission …
PDF map, photos and description on Palm Beach County homicides of 2004: This map accompanies Susan Spencer-Wendel’s Palm Beach Post story on the county’s first homicide victim of 2005 …

Florida Sunshine Review:
Bradenton Herald, by Aimee Juarez: Court officials meet to discuss records access on the Internet …
Hernando Today, by Paul Quinlan: School board opens Ransaw’s records …
Bradenton Herald, by Brian Haas: Records lawsuit puzzles Manatee circuit court clerk …
*Miami Herald, staff report: Competitors go to court to get public records (*free registration required) …

January 9, 2005

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Worries grow over county’s unsolved murders: An analysis of police homicide statistics by Andrew Marra of the Palm Beach Post indicates “more and more people are getting away with murder in Palm Beach County.” Notes the story: “Boosted by a late-year killing wave in West Palm Beach and Riviera Beach, the number of homicides in the county skyrocketed from 64 in 2003 to at least 93 in 2004 — the most since 1996. And police have been able to make arrests in just half of the year's slayings, well below the national average,” according to the Post’s review. In two cities hardest hit by the 2004 killings — West Palm Beach and Riviera Beach — the cities hardest hit by 2004's rash of killings — 31 people were shot, stabbed or beaten to death in 2004. But only eight of those homicides have been resolved with an arrest, the story says. The public records handbook profiles police incident reports on Page 312 and arrest reports on Page 23.

More chart toppers:
State and federal traffic fatality records: Mike Schneider of The Associated Press reports transportation-related accidents are the leading cause of work-related deaths for Florida's farmworkers …
State and federal records on doctors: Bob LeMendola of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on a suspended doctor who has worked for at least four other clinics under investigation or closed for medical fraud …

Florida Sunshine Review:
Palm Beach Post, by William Cooper Jr.: Parents and activists are upset with a federal law that gives military recruiters access to high schoolers …
Palm Beach Post, by Dara Kam: A panel helping the Florida Supreme Court figure out how to balance the public's right to access with the right to privacy wants to stop inflammatory documents from getting into court files …
Library Journal: Florida State University’s School of Information Studies is among two universities to help American Libraries Association study law enforcement access to library records in an effort to gauge the effect of the USA PATRIOT Act on libraries and patrons …

January 3, 2005

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Sprawl takes rising toll on imperiled black bears: Look who is visiting Central Florida roads and neighborhoods more often these days: black bears. Robert Sargent of the Orlando Sentinel taps Florida Fish and Wildlife Game Commission reports on road kills and sightings for this story about how black bear encounters are increasing. “Vehicles killed about 130 bears across Florida in 2004, according to Fish and Wildlife reports. The deaths in 2003 totaled 105. A record high of 133 was reported in 2002. Road kills in Central and Northeast Florida reached 78 in 2004. A total of 58 were killed in those areas during 2003, and 85 died in 2002.” Officials also logged “more than 1,500 reports of bear sightings statewide in 2004, topping 1,079 in 2003 and the former record 1,340 in 2002.” The public records handbook does not cover statistics on black bears.

State lax on bikers, foes say: Harry Pierson Curtis of the Orlando Sentinel shares an interesting statistic in this story about how few bikers in Florida carry insurance. “State records show about 70 percent of the 24,153 riders injured in Florida in the past four years were uninsured,” the story says. The story indicates only Florida, California, Montana, New Hampshire, Washington and Wisconsin allow bikers to ride without personal-injury and property-damage coverage. Car drivers, meanwhile, have no choice but to obtain insurance under Florida law. “Uninsured Florida motorcyclists are responsible under state law for the costs of any injuries and damage they cause. No database tracks how often uninsured riders meet their obligations, such as paying for a passenger's injuries or burial,” the story notes. A 2003 study for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says motorcycle claims cost 1.6 times more than auto claims if both are insured at the same levels.