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HOT!: Catch the latest Florida open government news with The Florida Sunshine Review ...
Open records and meetings links, resources.
January 1, 2007
 Criminals do the darndest things: Public records offer insights into the criminal way of thinking (or lack of it) in this year-end roundup by Bridget Murphy of The Florida Times-Union. This piece is packed with oddball items from Jacksonville-area police reports, including the tale of the 250-pound naked guy pushing a cart down the street, the plight of a woman who pulled up beside a police cruiser and stuck out her tongue (read on to find out why this was really stupid) and a wanted man who should not have chosen police headquarters as the place to be a painter. The public records handbook covers arrest reports on Page 23 and police offense and incident reports on Page 312.
State legislators get head start, submit 290 bills for '07 session: Michael C. Bender of the Palm Beach Post reviewed bills filed by Florida lawmakers to generate this piece about some of the legislation in store for the upcoming legislative session that begins in March. Bills in the pipeline would, among other things, end school grades, require voting machines to produce paper trails and allow Floridians to put their phone number on a no-call list for the campaign season. “While the list is expected to keep growing, chances are slim that many will become part of the Florida Statutes. Last year, legislators introduced 2,480 bills, of which only about 40 percent were approved by the House and the Senate. By this year's holiday season, lawmakers already had filed more than 290 bills for the session that begins in March,” the story notes. Check out the bills for yourself online through the Legislature’s Florida Online Sunshine.
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 …
November 22, 2006
Florida Sunshine Review:
*Miami Herald editorial: False record filing should be stopped (*free registration required) …
*Miami Herald, by Breanne Gilpatrick: FDLE to probe Cooper City dinner allegations regarding open meetings (*free registration required) …
The Santa Rosa News, by Deborah Nelson: “Boo bears” spark changes in Santa Rosa regarding oversight of e-mails, electronic records …
*Orlando Sentinel, by Nin-Hai Tseng: New Lake County commissioner Elaine Renick proposes ban on zoning change discussions outside of public meetings (*free registration required) …
November 20, 2006
Documents doctored to shield snitches: Just when you think Dan Christensen and Patrick Danner have plowed all the ground there is to plow on court records irregularities in South Florida, the Miami Herald reporters turn up something else. They now reveal that judges and prosecutors in Miami-Dade “have had official court records altered and kept secret dockets to disguise what was actually happening in some court cases.” In two cases, the reporters found circuit court dockets altered to cover felony convictions for informants for the state attorney’s office. And prosecutors say the practice has been going on for decades, even though it’s a crime for anyone to alter court cases or proceedings. “Miami-Dade prosecutors argue that court rules that exempt some sensitive records from public disclosure also authorize judges to misrepresent the public record to protect informants,” the story says. “But no rule explicitly gives judges power to order the creation of a false court record.” This story includes a link to an altered court document.
November 17, 2006
Florida Sunshine Review:
Lakeland Ledger, by Dana Wilhoit: Lawyer for Polk County Opportunity Council asks judge to overturn decision that 10 members of the board violated the state’s open meetings law …
Palm Beach Post, by William Cooper Jr.: Riviera Beach resident arrested while speaking at city council meeting …
November 15, 2006
Records roll out:
City commissioner expense records: Thomas Monnay and Buddy Nevins of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on how Cooper City commissioners charged taxpayers for meals and drinks together before commission meetings …
Campaign finance reports: Wayne Garcia of Creative Loafing explores the big money given during Tampa Bay area local election campaigns and what “The Money Men” want in return. Nice work …
Lawsuit case file: Colleen Jenkins of the St. Petersburg Times on a Florida Bar ethics complaint brewing against local attorney Arnold Levine …
Florida Sunshine Review:
Palm Beach Post, by Jason Schultz: Martin County backs off curbs on speaking during public meetings …
*Miami Herald, by Breanne Gilpatrick: Cooper City mayor defends premeeting dinners (*free registration required)…
*Miami Herald, by Nirvi Shah: Broward School Board lacks training on public records (*free registration required)…
November 12, 2006
Tollway chief quits, linked to porn sites: Public records can help uncover jaw-dropping revelations that lead to resignations of public officials. California and Florida public records help John W. Allman, Lindsay Peterson and Catherine Hammer of The Tampa Tribune blow the lid off the secret life of Ralph Mervine, who resigned as executive director of the Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority amid the reporting of this story. The story revealed Mervine headed a San Diego-based company, Coast Productions, that “operates at least two adult Web sites and has an adult Yahoo membership group. All three advertise and display young men, ages 18 to 21, offering photos and video clips of explicit sexual activities.” Various documents filed with the San Diego County Recorder in 1999 and after name Mervine as the sole owner and business contact of Coast Productions. A renewal change to one document in 2004 switched Coast Production’s address from San Diego to Mervine’s home address in Polk County’s Mulberry. Mervine did not list Coast Productions as required in his financial disclosure form filed as part of his Hillsborough expressway authority job, the story notes. Mervine resigned his $208,000-a-year public post last week amidst the Trib’s investigation. The public records handbook profiles personnel files on Page 239 and disclosure forms for public officials on Page 121.
E-mails give insight into scandal: E-mails released by state prosecutors in the Keith Wasserstrom case enable Todd Wright and Amy Sherman of the Miami Herald to report on behind-the-scenes schmoozing and arm twisting aimed at persuading politicians to approve millions in contract work in Broward County. Suspended Hollywood City Commissioner Wasserstrom pleaded not guilty last month to five felony charges regarding Schwing Bloset obtaining an $18 million contract in Hollywood in 2004. “Wasserstrom and his cohorts schmoozed with elected officials, formed alliances with neighborhood associations, and pressured high-ranking city workers in an effort to get lucrative contracts for a sludge-processing company,” the story said. In one e-mail referring to the competition for a sludge contract, a list of tasks by lobbyists includes “Destroy N-Viro publicly” as a No. 1 priority. Florida N-Vitro was a big competitor of Schwing’s. This is rare glimpse into how the sausage is made at times behind the scenes in local government. The public records handbook profiles bids and contract records on Page 33 and e-mails on Page 140.
November 7, 2006
Florida Sunshine Review:
Lakeland Ledger editorial: Florida Bar encourages open court-case files …
Daytona Beach News-Journal editorial: Sealing actions in Florida courts should not be so easy …
Pensacola News Journal, by Jeff Cull: Three Gannett newspapers seek FEMA records in federal appeals court …
*Gainesville Sun, by Deborah Ball: Floridians have wide access to election information (*free registration required) …
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