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HOT!: Catch the latest Florida open government news with The Florida Sunshine Review ...
Open records and meetings links, resources.
October 25, 2005
 FEMA's waste continues as millions in extra payments given out for Katrina: Public records again expose jaw-dropping waste of taxpayer money involving the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Sally Kestin, Megan O’Matz and John Maines of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel analyzed $1.46 billion in FEMA claims paid following Hurricane Katrina to show FEMA awarded $102 million to at least 51,000 more applicants than local officials said were displaced by the storm in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. “Some of the same patterns of waste and fraud found after Florida's four hurricanes last year are occurring in the Gulf Coast states despite assurances by federal officials that steps have been taken to curb abuses,” the story says. The reporters’ findings are shocking. “In Pike County, Miss., Katrina displaced 25 families, yet 2,494 collected nearly $5 million … In Louisiana's Iberville Parish, 70 miles from Katrina's landfall in New Orleans, the storm knocked down trees and power lines but caused no major damage ... Still, 819 parish residents received $1.6 million from the federal government.” This story includes a sidebar with more tales of FEMA fraud and abuse.
Proposal for Cecil doomed from the start: E-mails from Jacksonville City Hall help David DeCamp of The Florida Times-Union explore the demise of the plan that would have brought the Navy back to the Cecil Field it abandoned in the 1990s. Jacksonville had moved on without the Navy at the base. But federal officials put the city back in play as a contender for the 11,000 jobs a master jet base would bring from Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia, which is where Cecil's resources moved when the Navy pulled them out earlier. Despite major backing from Gov. Jeb Bush and initially Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton, the local political effort to land the base disintegrated as mounting neighborhood opposition convinced City Council members – and eventually the mayor – to take Jacksonville out of the running. The story notes that the governor isn't thrilled. The public records handbook explores e-mail records on Page 140.
October 24, 2005
Florida Sunshine Review:
St. Petersburg Times, by Lucy Morgan: Officials are still closing doors in the public’s face …
Tallahassee Democrat, by Nancy Cook Lauer: A cloud passes over Florida’s Sunshine Law as Gov. Jeb Bush bars press from early morning meeting with state lawmakers regarding the overhaul of education …
*Gainesville Sun, by Diane Chun: Judge dismisses suit over access to e-mail records involving University of Florida President Bernie Machen (*free registration required) …
October 19, 2005
Sex offenders near Hillsborough High School: There’s no age restriction on who can make good use of public records. Journalism teacher Joe Humphrey’s Hillsborough High School students used the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s sexual predator and offender database to report their school has a No. 1 status among Hillsborough County high schools that likely surprised some students and parents. Notes the story: “…The Red & Black reviewed the number of sex offenders living within a mile of all Hillsborough County high schools. HHS had more than any other school.” The total of 44 topped the No. 2 school, Blake, by seven, according to the student analysis. Good to see Joe – a former colleague of mine at The Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville – and his students delving into records-driven research. Way to go Red and Black! The public records handbook profiles the sexual predator and offender database on Page 341.
Time off, expenses fuel inquiry: Credit card and personnel records aid Melissa Griggs of the Daytona Beach News-Journal about scrutiny of the Volusia Soil & Water Conservation District board administrator for “taking 12 weeks off and five weeks of comp time in the past year and charging nearly $2,000 a month on the district credit card.” The story says Phil Giorno makes $55,000 a year as the district’s administrator, overseeing two full-time and three part-time employees. He took almost 17 weeks off in the last year, including 26 in comp time. A conservation district board member says Giorno doesn’t warrant comp time and also questions his credit card bills. Giorno says the concerns are unfounded. The public records handbook covers credit card expenditures on Page 100 and government personnel records on Page 239.
Florida Sunshine Review:
Florida Today editorial: Brevard County court clerk’s lag in providing minutes for county commission meetings is unacceptable …
October 18, 2005
Relating with records:
Property records, Florida Statutes: Steven Ray Haberlin of the Ocala Star-Banner About a citizen adviser to the Ocala/Marion County Transportation Planning Organization accused of serving his own interests …
Florida Highway Patrol crash records and Escambia County Emergency Services ambulance response records: Sean Smith of the Pensacola News Journal about the increasingly dangerous ride drivers experience on Interstates 10 and 110 as accidents increase …
Florida Attorney General settlement records: Nadia Gergis of the Vero Beach Press-Journal about a woman to receive a one-time $18,000 settlement from Vista Royale Association Inc. regarding a dispute over her use of two Shih Tzu dogs prescribed to her by a doctor because of her disability …
Florida Sunshine Review:
*Naples Daily News, by Larry Hannan: Collier County’s Productivity Committee violated the state Sunshine Law, official determines (*free registration required) …
*Naples Daily News editorial: Collier County’s Productivity Committee needs a primer on state’s open government laws (*free registration required) …
*Stuart News, by Melissa E. Holsman: St. Lucie, Indian River counties circuit court clerks said his office is using software to scan about 4,000 documents recorded each day to redact sensitive data (*free registration required) …
*Orlando Sentinel, by Amy L. Edwards: Lakeland man’s Web site, arrest raise questions about obscenity laws (*free registration required)…
Daytona Beach News-Journal, by Seth Robbins: Volusia County court clerk is ready to save his office’s records should a Katrina-style disaster strike …
Florida Today, by Donna Balancia: Letters asking $55 to retrieve $2.50 deeds offer an unnecessary service, officials say …
*Fort Pierce Tribune, by Adam L. Neal: Free seminar in Vero Beach on Thursday will tackle identity theft and computer hackers (*free registration required) …
October 13, 2005
Florida Sunshine Review:
Florida Times-Union, by Joe Black: Jacksonville Beach Police refuse to divulge name of officer who fatally shot a man the day before …
Ocala Star-Banner, by Susan Latham Carr: Ex-library adviser files new challenge against the book Lolita in the Marion County Public Library …
October 11, 2005
Records roll call:
Police incident reports: Grant Boxleitner of the Fort Myers News-Press on how appliance thieves are cashing in on construction sites in Lee County …
Federal Government Accountability Office report: Mike Salinero of The Tampa Tribune on a federal report that says the nation is losing thousands of acres of wetlands because of lax oversight by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers …
Audit records, memos: Buddy Nevins and Scott Wyman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel about Rocky Rodriguez, who, during a stint as the county’s interim property appraiser, “paid himself an inflated $25,346 in sick leave and used another $191,000 in tax money to buy himself and eight others a bigger pension” …
Search warrants: Steve Bousquet of the St. Petersburg Times on state prisons investigation involving seizure of six prison employees' vehicles that may have been built or repaired with inmate labor …
Florida Department of Financial Services Records: Melissa E. Holsman of the Stuart News about a Delray Beach concrete contractor who pleaded no contest to a felony charge of failing to secure workers compensation insurance for his employees …
Personnel records: Bridget Murphy of The Florida Times-Union about the demotion of a 28-year police veteran with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office …
Arrest records: Deborah Ball of the Gainesville Sun on how arrests relating to driving under the influence are steadily increasing at the University of Florida . . . …
October 7, 2005
Now that’s sacrifice: Public records are of value in all kinds of reporting, and not just for the traditional news pages. City take-home car records factor into this editorial by The Florida Times-Union about two Jacksonville city employees who voluntarily gave up their take-home cars to help save the government money. Cheryl Runyon, budget chief for the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and Richard Wallace, the City Council auditor, both recently handed over the keys to the vehicles they have enjoyed during the last two years. In commending them, the editorial notes they did it “on their own. Without edicts or pressure.” The editorial notes a list of city take-home car recipients shows a wide variety of city employees – including the mayor and some of his stop staffers – have the cars and that those employees should ask themselves if they really need the vehicles to do their jobs. “If the honest answer is no, then let the vehicles go,” the editorial urges. The public records handbook covers government vehicle use and maintenance records on Page 368.
Florida Sunshine Review:
Independent Florida Alligator, by Justin Richards: University of Florida instructor who sought records on Gator Bowl funds sues UF president …
*Orlando Sentinel, by Sandra Mathers: Ocoee City Commissioner recently charged with Sunshine Law violation will resign from his city post (*free registration required) …
South Florida Sun-Sentinel, by Susannah Bryan: Deerfield city manager accused of violating Florida public records laws in ethics complaint …
October 5, 2005
Florida Sunshine Review:
Palm Beach Post, by Sally Swartz: Use of laptops by Martin County commissioners during meetings raises concerns …
Florida Times-Union, by Beth Kormanik: “Opt-out” policy on student data at issue …
Associated Press: Judge to rule on whether FEMA must tell who got aid in 2004 …
October 3, 2005
Priced out of the market: Public records can verify what everyone is talking about already. John McCarthy of Florida Today analyzed property sales records for the last five years and U.S. census records to show most Brevard County homeowners could not afford to buy their homes at today’s prices. “In 2000, a family earning the then-median income could afford to comfortably buy a home in 223 of the county's 259 neighborhoods, nearly nine out of 10 of those identified by the U.S. Census Bureau … Today, a family earning the median income can afford a home in only 126 of the 262 neighborhoods, or fewer than half,” the story said. Most of the boom has happened in the last two years. However, the news isn’t all in one direction. “In a few neighborhoods, homes are even more affordable now then they were in 2000. That's because a drop in interest rates has more than offset the rising prices of homes in the area,” the story notes. And some people are cashing in on the trend. This piece includes an explanation of how the newspaper crunched its data along with various links to sidebars and neighborhood charts. The public records handbook covers property appraiser records on Page 322 and deeds on Page 113.
Lesson 1: Turn porn off while driving: Public records can reveal a great deal about lessons learned the hard way. Police reports obtained by David C.L. Bauer of The Florida Times-Union indicate lessons recently imparted by Jacksonville authorities include “(d)on't watch porn while driving down the road; make sure you're sober when you ask police for directions; and don't use 911 to get a date, even with a cop.” Records show police charged a Jacksonville driver and his passenger with sale, distribution or showing of obscene material to minors, a felony, after authorities determined children in surrounding vehicles could see their porno tape playing on a 14-inch TV screen in their vehicle. Meanwhile, an intoxicated Jacksonville woman learned a hard lesson when she kept calling 9-1-1 to reach a Neptune Beach police officer she had seen. “I just didn't know of any other way to get in touch with [him] and I think he's hot and I wanted to hit on him," she explained. The public records handbook profiles arrest reports on Page 23.
October 2, 2005
Florida Sunshine Review:
*Orlando Sentinel: Ocoee City Commissioner Danny Howell charged with violating the state’s Sunshine Law (*free registration required) …
Fort Myers News-Press, by Jeff Cull: Opening FEMA’s books the central issue in lawsuit by three Florida newspapers …
Fort Myers News-Press, guest column by Judge James Seals: Confidentiality no longer benefits children and families in crisis …
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