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HOT!: Catch the latest Florida open government news with The Florida Sunshine Review ...
Open records and meetings links, resources.
September 30, 2005
Florida Sunshine Review:
 The Florida Times-Union, by Gregory Richards: Jacksonville resident sues City Council regarding alleged violation of the state’s open meetings law at a restaurant …
Lakeland Ledger editorial: Polk County Opportunity Council comes under criticism for possible violation of the Sunshine Law …
St. Petersburg Times, by Thomas C. Tobin: Cell phone chats between two Pinellas County School Board members raise concerns about violation of the state’s Sunshine Law …
Tallahassee Democrat editorial: Public officials should take heed that the Sunshine Law applies to their cell phone calls …
September 29, 2005
Florida Sunshine Review:
Associated Press, by Ron Word: Florida officials learn about open government laws at Ponte Vedra Beach conference …
Fort Myers News-Press, by Jeff Cull: FEMA lawyers say privacy is paramount in response to newspapers’ efforts to open the agency’s records …
September 26, 2005
Murder rate: We're No. 1 (gasp): Public records can alert people to alarming trends. Florida uniform crime reports obtained by The Florida Times-Union editorial page reveal Duval County’s murder rate has topped other Florida counties for six years in a row, even though several counties have a larger population. The research also showed Duval's murder rate outpaced other Florida counties in 12 of the last 17 years and finished second to Miami-Dade during the other years. Miami-Dade finished second to Duval when it wasn't the leader, records show. Meanwhile, Duval is on pace to top last year’s final murder total of 105, the editorial said. In response to prior reports, Mayor John Peyton is working with other top city leaders to create a task force to explore the reasons behind the rate and what can be done to curb it. The public records handbook covers arrest reports on Page 23, death certificates on Page 109 and jail logs on Page 257.
Other chart toppers:
Federal court records, Congressional Record: Jay Weaver of the Miami Herald on a federal inquiry into the role of Ohio congressman Bob Ney during negotiations in the sale of Fort Lauderdale-based SunCruz Casinos in 2000 …
Judicial case load records: Aaron Deslatte of the Fort Myers News-Press on warnings from Southwest Florida's chief circuit judge that the court system may have to appoint special magistrates to keep up with the increasing caseload . . .
Florida Department of Business and Professional permits, administrative complaint records, bankruptcy records: Denise Zoldan of the Naples Daily News on state efforts against the owner of a bankrupt Naples roofing company accused of taking tens of thousands of dollars from Charlotte County hurricane victims and failing to complete their roof repair work . . .
Driver history records: Seth Robbins of the Daytona Beach News-Journal on a Daytona Beach driver in a fatal crash who turned himself in . . .
Florida Sunshine Review:
St. Petersburg Times, by Donna Winchester: Cartoonist with Independent Florida Alligator at the University of Florida draws a racially charged cartoon that generates a march on newspaper’s offices and a death threat …
Fort Myers News-Press editorial: Circuit Judge James Seals deserves praise for opening confidential files of the Florida Department of Children and Families regarding the handling of a 14-year-old human trafficking victim …
St. Petersburg Times, by Yuxing Zheng: Largo police halt trashing of accountant’s files in effort to thwart identity theft …
St. Petersburg Times, by Steve Thompson and Rebecca Catalanello: Pasco County school scanner leads to sex offender’s arrest …
September 21, 2005
Florida Sunshine Review:
St. Petersburg Times, by Candace Rondeaux: Judge bars explicit police photos of former teacher Debra Lafave, accused of having sex with her 14-year-old student …
Florida Times-Union editorial page: Editorial urges Florida consumers to beware in regards to deed scam reported by the News-Press in Fort Myers …
Society of Environmental Journalists report, by Elizabeth Bluemink and Mark Brush with contributions from Darren Samuelsohn and Lacey Phillabaum: Report by SEJ task force says journalists who cover the environment are having an ever-tougher time dragging information out of the federal government …
September 19, 2005
FEMA: A legacy of waste: Stories driven by public records are seldom timelier than these investigative pieces on the Federal Emergency Management Agency by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. Reporters Megan O'Matz, Sally Kestin,
John Maines and Jon Burstein analyzed data obtained from FEMA on 1 million claims for 20 disasters in various states from 1999 to 2004 to show that “the federal government’s disaster response system is driven by politics at every level, invites bloated and false claims and lacks oversight.” This multi-day series nails how Hurricane Katrina is only the latest example of fraud and miscues that have plagued FEMA. Among the findings: The Baton Rouge area received $15.4 million for a hurricane that barely touched the city and the Cleveland area raked in $51.3 million for flash floods that happened elsewhere in Ohio. This series – which appears just as the president has committed hundreds of millions in federal recovery aid for Katrina-ravaged areas – is some of the most revealing work you’ll likely ever see on a federal public agency.
Brevard’s neediest on edge of disaster: Federal census records and hazard data are used to underscore an important local issue in this piece by Matt Reed and John Kelly of Florida Today. Their reporting shows that in a hurricane like Katrina “thousands of Brevard County's most vulnerable people could find it hard to evacuate areas almost certain to flood.” Notes the story: “Like New Orleans, tens of thousands of seniors, poor people and families with no cars live in neighborhoods likely to be overcome by storm surge or flooded rivers in a powerful hurricane.” This is a story that would be a great public service in many hurricane-prone communities. A map shows 55 neighborhoods with high concentrations of people who are elderly, poor and/or without cars.
More chart makers:
Property appraiser records: Gina Edwards of the Naples Daily News on how deep-pocketed buyers are insulating the Naples home market from a bust. The story says records show that more than 1,400 properties sold for more than $1 million from January through August …
Court records, concealed weapons licensing records: Mike Hoyem of the Fort Myers News-Press on a North Fort Myers man hospitalized after shooting his son in the leg . . . …
Water management district records on tree deaths: Craig Pittman and Matthew Waite of the St. Petersburg Times on Wal-Mart winning an Arbor Day award for transplanting trees to man-made wetlands, even though 83 trees died along the way …
September 14, 2005
Florida Sunshine Review:
St. Petersburg Times, by Candace Rondeaux: Ex-teacher Debra Lafave’s attorney tries to block access of explicit police photos taken of the Hillsborough County woman accused of having sex with a student …
Fort Myers News-Press, by Mike Hoyem: Forged deed surfaces in Flagler County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office as ripoff of dead property owners continues …
WKMG TV-6, Orlando: Mother of 11th grader in Deland complains the book Cracking India is pornographic and should not be required reading for her daughter …
September 13, 2005
Florida Sunshine Review:
Tampa Tribune, by Thomas W. Krause: Court files in girl’s slaying are available online from the Hillsborough County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office …
Florida Times-Union, by Brad Schmidt: Clay County official used political clout to help official obtain records …
Palm Beach Post, by Larry Lipman: Local law enforcement agencies can check evacuees backgrounds using the FBI’s criminal database …
USA Today, by Sandy Grady: Time for U.S. Supreme Court reality TV …
September 12, 2005
In Miami, harsh words came before harsh audit: Public records can pull back the curtain on how government decisions are debated. Michael Vasquez of the Miami Herald explored hundreds of e-mails and supporting audit papers to show that city leaders tried – and mostly failed – to alter the content of an audit critical of the city’s bond spending. Miami Auditor General Victor Igwe review delved into several contentious issues, including “city leaders' decision last year to award most of about $39 million in contracts to companies represented by lobbyist Steve Marin, a friend of both [City Manager Joe] Arriola and Diaz.” The audit questioned the no-bid contract and whether city leaders followed solid business practices when they departed from the normal practice of competitive bids. Notes the story: “In e-mail discussions -- and personal meetings alluded to in the e-mails – Arriola and others argued strongly that the no-bid contract had no place in the audit. The story notes several e-mails that show the intensity of the debate between Igwe and the city administration. The public records handbook covers e-mails on Page 140 and audits on Page 162.
Schools pay price for growth: Michael Van Sickler and Melanie Ave of the St. Petersburg Times use zoning records to show school leaders have done little to sound the alarm on growth concerns, despite saying they can’t build schools fast enough to satisfy the demand. “Of the 188 proposed county rezonings for new homes and apartments reviewed by school officials since 2003, only 14 were flagged by the school district for exceeding capacity. The other 93 percent of the projects - representing more than 32,000 proposed homes and 13,000 projected students - either met with no objections or were deemed to be in areas with an adequate number of schools.” Yet, the school district's five-year construction deficit for the same two years climbed from $25-million to the current $364-million. School officials say more impact fees or a sales tax may be needed to close the gap. The story looks at the school board’s strong ties to the development community and considers how tough adjustments may be politically. This is a well-done overview on a pressing community problem that also taps building permits to help make its points. The public records handbook covers zoning and development records on Page 382, developments of regional impact files on Page 117 and building permit records on Page 58.
Records rock on:
State attorney’s office close-out memo: John Dorschner of the Miami Herald about the decision of prosecutors not to charge former Miami Herald columnist Jim DeFede in the illegal taping case of Arthur Teele Jr., who killed himself in the Herald lobby. The story includes a link to the state attorney’s office memo explaining the decision …
Certificate of need records: Anne Geggis of the Daytona Beach News-Journal on how two hospitals feuding over a proposed new facility are drawing nearer to a settlement …
Corporation records: Liz Freeman of the Naples Daily News on a Florida Attorney General’s Office investigation of a Naples marketing company …
September 10, 2005
Florida Sunshine Review:
Florida Times-Union editorial: City Council should heed the Sunshine Law regarding “informational” discussions …
*Orlando Sentinel, by Etan Horowitz: Sheriffs can screen evacuees’ histories using the FBIs closely-guarded national criminal-history database and fingerprinting catalog (*free registration required) …
September 8, 2005
Florida Sunshine Review:
Fort Myers News-Press, by Mary Wozniak: Federal judge considers request by News-Press, Pensacola News-Journal and Florida Today to obtain the names and addresses of people who received disaster aid from FEMA after four hurricanes hit Florida in 2004 …
September 7, 2005
Records in play:
Florida Highway Patrol traffic crash report: Dana Willhoit of the Lakeland Ledger about how Polk County traffic fatalities soared by 22 percent over the previous year in reaching a new record …
Civil lawsuit, prosecutor’s records: Wanda J. DeMarzo and Jay Weaver of the Miami Herald about a Fort Lauderdale man’s lawsuit against the archdiocese of Miami alleging a priest raped him when he was 9 …
Voting records: James Miller of the Daytona Beach News-Journal on a 63-year-old Daytona Beach woman who could face a fine for voting twice in the same election …
Florida Sunshine Review:
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, by Laura Green: Online system in Sarasota County gives parents new access to school information about their child’s grades and attendance …
Daytona Beach News-Journal, by Jay Stapleton: Appeals court says rights of Muslim woman who wanted to wear a veil for her driver’s license photo were not violated and that she must follow the state’s law on full-face photos …
St. Petersburg Times, by Melanie Ave: Veterans group denied access to schools in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties …
September 6, 2005
Property transfers under scrutiny: Forging names on public records can lead to criminal investigations and serious consequences. Andy Reid of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports a “suspected real estate scam with Palm Beach County and Broward County connections has federal investigators looking into potentially forged deeds for dozens of properties acquired and then resold in Southwest Florida.” The probe followed reports by the Fort Myers News-Press about how the dead and others who did not consent had started selling land in Lee and Charlotte counties. But the sales have Broward and Palm Beach counties connections. “A lawsuit claims a buyer involved in at least one of the bogus deals came from Broward County. Palm Beach County Tax Collector John Clark fired one of his employees last month after he learned she was notarizing deeds with signatures she did not verify,” the Sun-Sentinel story says. The fraud targeted people with overdue taxes, out-of-town investors and people who died and whose property had not been transferred to heirs. Although the story notes there’s no evidence of these problems spreading to Florida’s east coast, would anyone really want to bet that this kind of thing isn’t happening elsewhere in Florida? The public records handbook covers deeds on Page 113.
The hits keep coming:
Property appraisals, mortgage records: Liz Flaisig of the Jacksonville Business Journal on the sale of one of the largest remaining parcels owned by local Duval County families …
Secretary of State records on political committees: Jennifer Sorentrue of the Palm Beach Post on the disbandment of four political groups used to wage stealth campaigns against candidates across the state …
Civil court records, state corporation records: Jane Meinhardt and Margie Manning of the Tampa Bay Business Journal on how a Pinellas County bank startup and its organizers have parted ways …
Florida Sunshine Review:
South Florida Sun-Sentinel, by Missy Stoddard: Palm Beach County traffic and criminal court records are coming online soon …
Pensacola News-Journal, by Michael Stewart: School officials in Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties struggle to meet requirements of new background check laws …
Associated Press, by Joe Danborn: Proving identity without documents another challenge of hurricane recovery …
September 4, 2005
Florida Sunshine Review:
Palm Beach Post editorial: State must get records online despite the problems …
*St. Augustine Record, by Susan Parker: St. Augustine records spent time in the Midwest (*free registration required) .…
Lakeland Ledger, by Julie Crouse: Lunsford Act requiring background checks will be expensive and will cost some workers their jobs …
*Naples Daily News, by Deirdre Conner: Abiding by new sexual offender law is proving daunting to Florida school districts (*free registration required) …
*Naples Daily News, by Anne Marie Apollo: Lee County school district weeks behind on complying with new background checks law (*free registration required) …
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