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September 29, 2004
Out-of-state roofers can apply in Orange: Licensing records reviewed by Jack Snyder of the Orlando Sentinel indicate few out-of-state contractors so far have accepted Gov. Jeb Bush’s invitation to pitch in and help out with hurricane repair work in Central Florida. The governor signed an executive order Sept. 14 easing the way for local governments to issue licenses to out-of-state contractors. But, so far, records show only two special licenses issued in Seminole County and four in Osceola County with officials in Orange and Lake counties yet to report any, although that picture could change soon. The story explains the requirements the contractors must meet. In Seminole County, for instance, an official said, “We won't issue a license to someone from a state that doesn't require a license.” The public records handbook profiles Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation licensing files on Page 172 and occupational licenses on Page 302.
Outages a fact of life in storms: Tallahassee utility records tapped by Todd Wright of the Tallahassee Democrat provide an interesting news nugget in this story about power outages from big storms and how underground electric lines aren’t always the safeguard residents and officials want them to be. The records show the average city customer is typically out of service only about 55 minutes a year. Of course, normalcy gets blown away when the big storms rumble through …
September 27, 2004
Court records show caregiver's differing stories: Court records obtained by Jon Burstein and Paula McMahon of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel shed new light on the case of Rilya Wilson,
the little girl in custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families who has been missing since 2002. Even before the state discovered Rilya was missing, caregiver “Geralyn Graham had offered friends and relatives an explanation for the girl's apparent disappearance at odds with what she later told authorities, according to court records. Police reports detail that sometimes she claimed to people that she willingly let the girl go up to either New York or New Jersey with an unnamed friend.” Graham has said Rilya was taken by DCF worker for a medical exam and never returned. The contradiction is among 511 pages of court documents released by prosecutors in the kidnapping and aggravated child abuse case brought against Graham last month relating to Rilya’s treatment before she vanished. The documents detail efforts by Miami-Dade police detectives to determine what happened to the girl, who was 4 at the time she disappeared. The public records handbook profiles criminal court records on Page 103.
As injuries rise, debate over ATV’s heats up: Public records are essential sources of statistics for many types of stories. Gary White of the Lakeland Ledger draws upon state statistics for all-terrain vehicle registrations and accidents for this story on the dangers of ATVs. “Florida began requiring titles for new ATVs in late 2002. As of June, the state had issued 42,953 titles, said John Waldron, forest recreation coordinator for the Florida Division of Forestry. That works out to roughly 2,150 per month.” The story says 200 Florida deaths were attributed to ATV accidents between 1982 and 2002. “The state's Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reported 488 people were injured in ATV accidents last year, 19 of them fatally. The injury figure marked a peak since 2000, though 20 people died in 2001.” The public records handbook explains how to research motor vehicle registrations on Page 290 and traffic crash records on Page 357.
Shooting not woman’s first run-in with law: Criminal and driving records accessed by Mike Hoyem of the Fort Myers News-Press show a woman shot by Hendry County sheriff's deputies after fleeing a minor traffic accident has a history of trouble with the law. “Deana K. Hall, 27, whose last available address is in Clewiston, has been in and out of courts in Hendry, Collier and Broward counties on numerous occasions since 1994 for drunken driving, possession of marijuana, driving without a valid license and giving law enforcement officers a false name, records show.” Hall was shot several times during a confrontation with seven sheriff's deputies. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating. Meanwhile, officials with the sheriff’s office refused to discuss the case. The public records handbook covers criminal background checks on Page 101, criminal, criminal court records on Page 103, driver history records on Page 134 and police use of force reports on Page 315.
September 24, 2004
Andrew’s lessons help save homes: Damage reports and property records allowed Chris Davis and Matthew Doig of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune to answer a huge question: How did new Florida building codes prompted by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 hold up to Hurricane Charley? Very well, apparently. “An analysis by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune found that homes and businesses built before Andrew were eight times more likely to be destroyed than newer buildings. Of the 1,030 buildings destroyed, only 20 were built after Andrew. Even newer mobile homes seem to have sustained less damage than their older counterparts.” The newspaper reviewed damage reports generated by Charlotte County and Punta Gorda inspectors for more than 12,000 buildings and then matched them with property records to determine a building's age and value. The story notes that the “analysis is preliminary, and there may have been building codes and construction practices in place before Andrew that made a difference.” Expect to see other newspapers in storm-ravaged areas doing similar stories in the near future. The public records handbook profiles property appraiser records on Page 322 and deeds on Page 113.
September 21, 2004
Businessman arrested in gouging case: Public records factor prominently in some follow-up stories about Florida’s recent hurricanes. A police report and a lawsuit drive this story by Alicia A. Caldwell about the arrest of a Volusia County businessman “on charges that he was selling generators at highly inflated prices and misleading buyers about how many appliances they could power.” Gary D. Altman, 60, faces a charge of fraud and a related lawsuit alleging price gouging from the Florida Attorney General’s Office, which has now filed nine price-gouging suits since Gov. Jeb Bush declared a state of emergency on Aug. 10 in anticipation of Hurricane Charley. The story quotes the police report as saying Altman had an advertisement that showed the "list price" of a generator as $1,492. Altman told an investigator that he was selling the generators for $863 as part of a "hurricane sale." “But the same small generator had been selling in Central Florida for about $400 before Hurricane Charley hit Florida. Altman's company, E Z Ryder Motors, was selling the same product on the online auction site eBay for $599.” The public records handbook explores police arrest records on Page 23, civil lawsuit case files on Page 82, and Florida Attorney General active consumer-related investigations on Page 160.
September 20, 2004
Plans point to new future for site of city landmark: Public records are an important source of information about potential changes to community landmarks. Zoning records and property appraisal details obtained by Janet Zink of the St. Petersburg Times fuel this story about changes the owners have in mind for Malio’s Steak House, a South Tampa restaurant and night club famous for hosting power brokers, sports figures and Hollywood stars. “James Shimberg Jr., an attorney for the restaurant, last week asked the city to rezone the property so a 40,000-square-foot office building and 4,500-square-foot bank can be built in its place. The Tampa City Council is scheduled to review the request Dec. 9.” Notables who have spent time at Malio’s during its 35-year history include Burt Reynolds, Michael Jordan, John Travolta, Rudolph Giuliani and Muhammad Ali. New York Yankees owner and Tampa resident George Steinbrenner has his own booth with a phone. As might be expected, long-time patrons aren’t thrilled about the proposed change. The story notes the Hillsborough County property appraiser values the Malio’s property at $1.5-million. The public records handbook profiles zoning records on Page 382 and property appraisal records on Page 322.
Collier County School Board evaluations of the superintendent: Newspaper Web sites can offer volumes of relevant public records that traditional space-limited news pages can’t. As part of a Sunday column, Naples Daily News Editor Phil Lewis says the newspaper is providing 47 pages from the personnel file of former Collier County School Superintendent Ben Marlin, who promptly quit last month following written evaluations by all five School Board members. “These documents and their role in Marlin's decision to resign have been the subject of many news stories — radio and television included — but have never been so easily accessible by the public. The documents include five evaluations, Marlin's resignation letters and a lengthy self-evaluation prepared by Marlin with comments written in the margin by board member Linda Abbott.” Click here to see the records. The public records handbook profiles government personnel records on Page 239.
Autopsy on FSU woman supports initial findings: Medical examiner reports help answer important questions about how deaths happened. A final autopsy report obtained by Brian Landman and Zachary Spain of the St. Petersburg Times backs up preliminary findings that a genetic disorder led to a fatal aortic rupture of Florida State women's basketball player Ronalda Pierce in June. It appears the 19-year-old had Marfan syndrome, a connective tissue disorder. “The report, obtained … through a public-records request by the Times, pointed out that Pierce had some of the unseen indicators: An umbrella-like ballooning of the mitral valve of the heart and, perhaps most telling although not 100 percent conclusive, the mutation of the gene (Fibrillin-1) that's known to cause Marfan syndrome.” A cardiologist said the findings should prompt Pierce’s immediate family to be genetically tested. The public records handbook explains how to research autopsy reports on Page 28.
September 1, 2004
Scripps reveals spending details in its first report: New government deals with private businesses can result in new public records. Cadence Mertz of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports that Scripps Florida just filed its first annual report
as required under the research institute’s development deal with the state for Palm Beach County. Details provided to the Scripps Florida Funding Corp., which oversees the state’s $369 million investment into the future research facility, include “more than $550,000 spent on equipment for offices and labs in Palm Beach County; its top two professors earn an average of $260,000; and administrators earn nearly $87,000 on average.” The story notes Scripps' responsibilities are somewhat limited as the institute still is getting started and won't have permanent headquarters until 2006. Scripps Florida Funding Corp. will give Scripps more than $20 million in its first year in Florida. The corporation is due to report to the state Dec. 1 about the institute's performance.
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