3 run on no record: criminal, that is: Criminal background checks involving political candidates are a big deal for the public – and to some candidates themselves. Amy Wimmer Schwarb of the St. Petersburg Times reports that three Citrus County Republican candidates for local offices “each hired a Brooksville-based private investigator to peer into the public records of their private lives, looking for any information that might give voters pause. The result? No bankruptcies. No arrests. In short, according to the private investigator's reports, nothing to hide.” The newspaper’s own review of Florida Department of Law Enforcement records and federal courts resulted in similar findings. The candidates are underscoring their non-criminal backgrounds because of the problems from two years ago after the Times discovered an indecent exposure arrest for a Citrus County School Board candidate, who then pulled out of the race before the election. The public records handbook explains how to research criminal backgrounds on Pages 101 and 103.

March 30, 2004

Boss’ parting gifts: Clients: Payment records from the Broward County Public Defender’s Office help Noah Bierman of the Miami Herald report how Broward Public Defender Al Schreiber hands out dozens of routine criminal cases as parting gifts to the young lawyers who leave his office. “Most cases are worth at least $1,000 – more than the county pays other lawyers to represent comparable poor clients. The system ensures young lawyers don't wander into the stream of private practice without a paddle, and it helps create lifetime loyalty to Schreiber,” who acknowledges the practice as patronage but “good patronage” that saves taxpayers money. But there are critics, and Schreiber’s assistant and heir apparent says he will adjust the policy if elected to the position after his boss retires. The reporter reviewed 18 months of payments that show, among other things, that Schreiber spent $447,486 on outside attorneys with most of the money going to attorneys who used to work in the office. The public records handbook profiles payment records of government agencies on Page 72.

March 29, 2004

Battle lines formed over growth plan: Statistics from the Florida Department of Community affairs obtained by Wendy Fullerton of the Fort Myers News-Press help provide context for this story on a proposed constitutional amendment to allow voters to decide whether their city or county growth plan will be changed or adopted. Elected officials with city and county governments currently make those calls after public hearings with the state reviewing approved changes. State records show Lee County has adopted 366 comprehensive plan amendments during the last five years while adjoining Collier County adopting adopted 1,620. Backers of the amendment are still trying to get enough signatures to put the measure on the ballot. The public records handbook covers records regarding comprehensive land use plans and amendments on Page 90.

March 25, 2004

March 24, 2004

March 23, 2004

NBC2 obtains school board's phone records: Jessica Ritter of NBC Channel 2 reviewed cell phone records to explore a hot story in Fort Myers: accusations from a former Lee County School Board auditor who claims members sidestepped the state’s open meetings law in conducting school business. “The calls NBC2 analyzed ranged in length from one minute to 13 minutes. The longest call was made by board member Robert Chilmonik to board chair Jeanne Dozier in July of 2003.” The records also indicated instances where a board member would hang up with one member then immediately call another one, the story says. The TV station found no evidence that board members text messaged one another to avoid the law as previously alleged. The public records handbook explores phone records on Page 350.

March 22, 2004

Man charged in cart collision has a record of DUIs: Court records enable Austin L. Miller of the Ocala Star-Banner to report this story about the DUI background of a man who was charged with DUI manslaughter following a collision with a golf cart that killed a 70-year-old retiree. Records showed the 34-yer-old pickup truck driver had been arrested for driving under the influence in 1997 and his license revoked for six months. Two years later, his license was suspended again for five years following his second DUI offense. The public records handbook outlines criminal court records on Page 103.

March 10, 2004

March 9, 2004

March 8, 2004

Inside Southern Strategy, connections help: Public records are often invaluable in providing insights on high-profile companies. In this sidebar to her MoneyWorld special report, Lucy Morgan of the St. Petersburg Times taps various records for this closer look at Southern Strategy Group Inc., “a Tallahassee lobbying firm not 5 years old that illustrates how fast wealth can accumulate for lobbyists with connections.” Lobbyist registration records indicate the firm – headed by Paul Bradshaw, David Rancourt and John Thrasher – now has 80-plus clients that include AT&T, Walt Disney World and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The story notes the firm’s strong ties to the governor, and that firm clients have faired well in landing multi-million dollar contracts from the state. In the meantime, divorce and disclosure records show Bradshaw went from a net worth of minus $2,000 in 1998 to at least $1.4 million four years later. This story also uses property appraisal records to reveal information about company leader land holdings, plus governor’s appointment records also help chart the trio’s prominence on the state scene. The public records handbook profiles lobbyist registration and expenditure records on Page 271, divorce files on Page 130, governor’s appointment files on Page 245, bids and contracts on Page 33, property appraisal records on Page 322, and disclosures of public officials on Page 121.

Top parking offenders sought: The city of Tallahassee provided a “most wanted” list of parking offenders at the request of the Tallahassee Democrat. Staffer Todd Wright’s story says violators owe the city at least $215,000, with $2,000 being among the most owed. “Over the past five years, the city has seen a steady decline in parking-ticket revenue, which can be attributed to offenders' ignoring tickets and the mailed reminders issued by the city. Two of the main methods the city uses to nab violators are towing and placing holds on vehicle registrations,” the story says. City officials are exploring how they can collect more money while discouraging violators from ringing up too much debt.

State struggles to prepare kids for kindergarten: Records from two state auditing groups help Leslie Postal of the Orlando Sentinel point out how past problems raise questions about the starting of a new “universal” pre-kindergarten program state voters demanded two years ago. Recent by the Florida Auditor General’s Office and the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability pointed out a variety of problems with the $690 million “school readiness” system launched earlier with the same goal as the new program. The story says those problems include more than 52,000 poor children statewide on waiting lists for subsidized child care. The public records handbook profiles records from the Florida Auditor General’s Office on Page 162 and OPPAGA resources on Page 212.

March 4, 2004

Routine case reveals disputes between law partners: Court documents help Chase Squires of the St. Petersburg Times write this unusual story about a routine divorce overshadowed by “a bizarre dispute between law partners that involved claims of mental incompetency and a Pinellas County sex scandal.” Attorney James L. Slater of Palm Harbor was scheduled to begin a Feb. 23 divorce trial when Bruce R. Young faxed a motion to delay the trial to a judge that included this line: “The undersigned believes that Mr. Slater has suffered a complete mental and psychological breakdown.” Slater discounted the allegations as absurd and accused his partner of “making things up.” Catch the story for more on who said what. Meanwhile, the story says, Young was already the subject of sexual misconduct allegations involving sex contracts with clients, according to Pinellas County court records. The public records handbook covers divorce records on Page 130 and criminal court records on Page 103.

March 2, 2004

March 1, 2004

Documents show agency ignored abuse claims: Internal Florida Department of Children and Families e-mails, memos and reports filed in court obtained by Paul Pinkham of The Florida Times-Union indicate “Florida child welfare workers in Jacksonville regularly blew off reports of abuse and danger to children.” The agency’s inaction contributed to at least one child’s murder in 2001. An audit of the death case and 70 others found “workers in the unit routinely didn't do background checks, contact witnesses, assess risks or follow up on basic information ‘critical to the safety of the child.’ ’’ This report comes as two federal appellate judges hearing arguments about a Jacksonville foster home where another child was murdered in 2001 denounced the state's child welfare system as "a tragic situation" and "a bad scene."

Aging Florida prison inmates send health care costs soaring: Statistics and other information gathered from the Florida Department of Corrections by Ron Word of The Associated Press shows a growing elderly population in state prisons is driving up state health care costs for inmates. “In the past five years, Florida's prison population has grown about 17 percent, but medical costs soared nearly 26 percent from about $223 million in fiscal 1998-99 to more than $280 million in fiscal 2002-03,” the story says. State statistics show most of Florida’s elderly inmates are locked away for sex crimes or murder. This story is full of interesting statistics, including the name, age and crimes committed by the state’s oldest inmate, a 90-year-old man who is serving 23 years for three counts of sexual battery on a victim under 12. The public records handbook profiles state prisoner records on Page 347.