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HOT!: Catch the latest Florida open government news with The Florida Sunshine Review ...
Open records and meetings links, resources.
October 29, 2006
 A rapid rise: Shannon Behnken of The Tampa Tribune used a variety of private and public records, including deeds and mortgages, to nail this piece about questionable real estate deals in St. Petersburg. The newspaper found 36 homes that sold for an average $60,000 above the average price with sellers receiving near or below the original asking price. Investor groups involved with the deals got most of the additional money. The story says the creative financing could create a variety of problems, including the inability of the lender to recoup the original loan amount if the buyer defaults. Sellers may have to pay higher taxes on the higher sales price and sales prices could become skewed for other neighborhood homes, the story notes. The public records handbook covers deeds on Page 113 and mortgages on Page 287.
October 22, 2006
Driver in March fatality has a record of speeding: State driver history records and a crash report drive this story by Bridget Murphy of The Florida Times-Union about a federal prosecutor accused of causing a woman’s death in a speeding related accident. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Gallagher received two speeding tickets since 2000 and had his license suspended for 20 days in 2004 after he failed to pay a fine for one of them. Gallagher faces a felony vehicular homicide charge and two misdemeanor counts of reckless driving regarding the death of 23-year-old Coty Hastings in March. Hastings was a passenger in a vehicle Gallagher’s car rear-ended in March. Gallagher, 50, has worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for 17 years. The public records handbook covers state driving records on Page 134 and crash reports on Page 357.
Florida Sunshine Review:
*Naples Daily News, by column by Phil Lewis:Sealed court files: Here’s what comes next (*free registration required) …
*St. Augustine Record, by Peter Guinta: Meetings between incumbent county commissioner and candidates in St. Johns about future decisions could be “problematic,” First Amendment Foundation director says (*free registration required) …
*Miami Herald: Florida International University’s “superior” review is not put to paper (*free registration required) …
October 19, 2006
Missing treasure: Journalists do not have to be full-time professionals to use public records effectively. Jason Parsley of the University Press, Florida Atlantic University’s student newspaper, used gift card applications and a university auditor’s report for this story about a criminal investigation involving irregularities and potential fraud regarding a student government gift card program. Parsley discovered at least 50 student names had been forged to obtain the gift cards, which raised questions about who was making off with the money. In another revealing campus story, Parsley reviewed e-mails and other public records to report on a student government scholarship program in which those presiding approved almost a third of the scholarships for themselves. Way to go, Jason, on some enterprising records work.
October 17, 2006
Records roll call:
County election, property records: Jeff Cull of the Fort Myers News-Press exposes that a longtime member of the Lee Memorial hospital board does not live in the district he represents as required by law …
Florida Bar complaint, letter: *Tim Henderson of the Miami Herald about the chairman of North Miami’s personnel board facing allegations that he may have used his position in an attempt to get a city job (*free registration required) …
Value adjustment board records: Karen Branch-Brioso of The Tampa Tribune on how appeals to the local property Value Adjustment Board are up …
Florida Sunshine Review:
*Miami Herald, by Dan Christensen and Patrick Danner: Judge’s letter says civil cases kept hidden in Miami-Dade County (*free registration required) …
Fort Myers News-Press, by Jeff Cull: Exemption to Sunshine Law enabled talks that produced a $535 million deal that gives the Lee Memorial Health System a virtual monopoly on county health care …
Lakeland Ledger, by Jason Geary: Sealed court cases are coming under review …
*Naples Daily News, column by Phil Lewis: Chief Justice Fred Lewis’ move strikes a great blow on behalf of he people’s right to know regarding court filings (*free registration required) …
October 14, 2006
Officials get free arts hall tickets: Bob Mahlburg and Mike Saewitz of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune tap Sarasota records on free ticket distributions to show who is getting the freebie choice seats at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall. Public officials who have had free tickets set aside for music concerts, plays and other entertainment include Sarasota Manager Mike McNees, U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris and County Commissioner David Mills. In some cases, the tickets weren’t used or the officials paid for them eventually. “None of the government officials reviewed by the Herald-Tribune took large numbers of tickets. But most failed to file state-required gift disclosure reports. A few government leaders took $300 or more in tickets. Most got just a few, usually worth barely $100.” The story notes the practice raises questions about how officials run the hall and how public officials deal with the perks that often come with their positions. A list of public officials and the tickets they received accompany this story.
More records in play:
Toll ramp revenue records: Ludmilla Lelis of the Orlando Sentinel on how Volusia County’s key beach-driving ramps remain down and face future uncertainty two years after hurricanes ravaged the coastline. Includes a revenues per ramp graphic (free registration required) …
Sheriff’s office press release: Amy Leigh Womack of the Northwest Florida Daily News about the arrest of a DeFuniak Springs man in connection with the death of a 48-year-old woman …
Court records: Chrystian Tejedor of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on documents that indicate a man shot repeatedly may have been killed because he tried to sell his roommate’s computer …
October 11, 2006
Florida Sunshine Review:
Associated Press: Miccosukee tribe says water regulators violated public records law …
*Miami Herald, by Patrick Danner and Dan Christensen: Felony cases are among those hidden in Broward County courts (*free registration required) …
Fort Myers News-Press editorial: Sealed court records are undemocratic …
Tallahassee Democrat editorial: Court secrecy should be rare …
Associated Press: Florida Democratic Party seeks Foley records from Attorney General and governor candidate Charlie Crist …
October 8, 2006
Cause for misgivings: Kevin Begos of The Tampa Tribune reviewed records for thousands of Florida charities to reveal a glaring lack of oversight for groups seeking and obtaining charitable contributions from Floridians. The story said the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Division has investigators but they are also responsible “for policing motor vehicle repairs, travel agents, pawnbrokers, dance studios and some business scams. The division … has averaged about one criminal case a year against charities, in part because other high-profile consumer complaints take precedent. The story notes the state does not have a single full-time auditor to monitor the books of Florida based charities and “doesn’t have a single investigator, auditor or prosecuting attorney devoted solely to charity monitoring.” Charity watchdogs say the state does little more than register the charities and make information about bad ones available to the public. The story offers sidebar links to charities that give more money to the cause and charities that give less money to the cause. The state offers a searchable database on state-registered groups seeking charitable contributions that shows amounts they collect and spend on the cause versus administration and fundraising. This is the most extensive look I’ve seen on this subject in Florida. The public records handbook covers charitable contribution records on Page 68.
Florida Sunshine Review:
South Florida Sun-Sentinel, by Jon Burstein: 272 Broward County felony cases, ranging from burglary to murder, were kept from the public …
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, by Todd Ruger: State’s top justice wants review of sealed cases statewide …
DeLand-Deltona Beacon, by Barb Shepherd: Deland-Deltona Beacon sues Volusia County Supervisor of Elections Office over obtaining election data …
Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers, by Dan Garcia: Judge clears Sebastian City Council members accused of violating the state’s Sunshine Law …
October 6, 2006
Foregone foreclosures: Foreclosure data obtained by Scott Barancik of the St. Petersburg Times indicates the party is over for many of the property flip lovers of recent years. Foreclosure proceedings are kicking in on properties throughout the Tampa Bay area, including the former nine-bedroom Clearwater home of singer Lisa Marie Presley and later actor Kirstie Alley. “In August, mortgage lenders filed foreclosure lawsuits against 860 property owners across Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties — a 44 percent increase over August 2005, according to statistics gathered by the clerks of the local circuit courts.” Forty-percent of those facing foreclosure are investors who likely thought they could score big as a landlord or a speculator. The public records handbook covers foreclosure records on Page 237.
October 5, 2006
Florida Sunshine Review:
*Miami Herald, by Dan Christensen and Patrick Danner: Supreme Court Chief Justice Fred R. Lewis says sealed and hidden court cases must get reviewed by judges throughout the state (*free registration required) …
October 4, 2006
Florida Sunshine Review:
Miami Herald, by Patrick Danner and Dan Christensen: Judge agrees to unseal divorce file of Miriam Oliphant, former Broward County supervisor of elections …
*Ocala Star-Banner, by Executive Editor Robyn Tomlin: A 12-step program to help government with its inability to follow the state’s Sunshine Laws (*free registration required) …
Pensacola News-Journal, by Angela Fail: University of West Florida releasing data of students …
October 3, 2006
Who’s on the roof?: State and local contractor licensing and regulation records help Ivan Penn of the St. Petersburg Times report that Home Depot “has repeatedly found itself under fire and saddled with fines from local and state construction regulators for permit and inspection problems and use of unlicensed subcontractors.” For instance, a woman who relied on Home Depot for a $16,196 roof replacement suffered up to $71,000 in damages from the unlicensed contractor hired by the home improvement company, the story says. Home Depot says it is working to avoid such problems. The story illustrates how difficult finding out the track record of a subcontractor can be for consumers. It also exposes some holes that need to be patched in the process. The public records handbook covers Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation files on Page 172.
Records at work:
Autopsy report: Dana Willhoit of the Lakeland Ledger on autopsy results that show the man who killed Polk County Deputy Sheriff Matt Williams was shot 68 times by SWAT team members …
Billing invoices: Lindsay Petersen and John W. Allman of The Tampa Tribune on the lobbyist spending practices of the Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority …
October 1, 2006
Records: Experts critical of parents: Sometimes it takes a court order to make records public. Records released at the urging of the Ocala Star-Banner and the Orlando Sentinel indicate Trenton Duckett’s parents loved and cared for him but "the 2-year-old was used as a pawn by both parents months before he went missing.” Star-Banner reporter Mabel Perez writes that the boy has been missing from his mother’s apartment in Leesburg since Aug. 27. Police have focused on both parents, Joshua Duckett and estranged wife Melinda Duckett, during the course of the investigation. Before she committed suicide, Melinda Duckett blamed her husband for the boy’s disappearance. This story focuses on the light shed by both 549 pages of released court documents and another 2,200 pages of records released by the Department of Children and Families. Judge William “Bud” Hallman III unsealed some of the previously unreleased documents in hopes they might generate tips in the case. The Orlando Sentinel story by Stephen Hudak and Christine Dellert says the “unsealed documents offer vivid detail of the couple's problems, which led the DCF to ping-pong custody of Trenton between his parents' families.”
More records in play:
Tuition reimbursement records: Trenton Daniel of the Miami Herald on how the town of Davie helped cover the legal education of three employees at a cost topping $65,000, even though the town doesn’t have an in-house legal department (*free registration required) …
Letters to a judge: Pensacola News-Journal on letters written to Circuit Judge Nick Geeker regarding former Escambia High School teacher Janelle Bird, who was convicted in July of a having a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student. Sentencing is coming this week …
Florida Sunshine Review:
*Ocala Star-Banner, by Fred Hiers: Munroe Regional Medical Center indicted on charges of not following open meetings, records laws in search for chief executive officer (*free registration required) …
Palm Beach Post, by Susan Spencer-Wendel: Houston Rockets owner’s $150 million divorce unsealed after review …
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