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HOT!: Catch the latest Florida open government news with The Florida Sunshine Review ...
Open records and meetings links, resources.
September 26, 2006
Florida Sunshine Review:
 *Naples Daily News, by Liz Freeman: New Web site allows public to check background of physician assistants (*free registration required) …
September 25, 2006
The more cash candidates raise, the more you kick in: Campaign finance reports and state budget records help John Kennedy of the Orlando Sentinel drive home this story on how statewide candidates can spend $21 million on campaigns and still get taxpayer cash to fuel their candidacies thanks to changes by the state Legislature. For instance, governor candidate Charlie Crist has raised more than $13 million in contributions but has still received $2.2 million in public financing. “Under the old spending limits, candidates for governor could spend no more than $6.7 million if they wanted public money. But lawmakers last year reset that cap to more than $21 million, creating a ceiling never before reached,” the story said. The $8.8 million that Florida gubernatorial and Cabinet candidates have accepted would “pay the annual salaries for 212 new teachers, build 8 1/2 miles of highway, or buy 212,500 schoolbooks, state budget figures show.” The story explains in detail how the financing works and how it originated. There’s also a chart on tax dollars for gubernatorial campaigns since 1994.
Records spotlight:
Employee time sheets: John Holland of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on how administrators and managers in the town of Davie racked up big overtime checks during Hurricane Wilma because of a generous town policy …
Federal Small Business Administration study: *Jim Wyss of the Miami Herald on a new federal study that shows small business have not gotten their share of government contracts compared to big corporations (free registration required) …
Court depositions: Susan Spencer-Wendel of the Palm Beach Post on a shooting case that raises questions about the reliability of eyewitness testimony in criminal cases …
Property appraiser data: The Naples Daily News offers a custom-built database of Collier and south Lee counties condo and home sales from 2003 through 2005 as part of a year-long series titled “Paradise at what cost? Affordable housing crisis in Southwest Florida” …
Florida Sunshine Review:
The Tampa Tribune, by Gretchen Parker: Legislative action after 9/11 attacks means families with loved ones in nursing homes are barred from seeing the homes’ evacuation plans …
September 23, 2006
The secret world of campaign financiers: Campaign finance reports enable Marc Caputo, Breanne Gilpatrick and Gary Fineout of the Miami Herald to show how secret political organizations are raising more money than political candidates and are playing a major role in state elections. The story notes how special interests “can easily sidestep contribution limits by simply giving to electioneering communication organizations, known as ECOs.” When this story was written last month, such groups responsible for shifty attacks and get-out-the-votes drives had raised at least $2.6 million in just under three weeks. That was nearly six times more money than all major governor candidates and the Cabinet combined during that period, the story says. This is a great explainer piece for those who want to make sense of who these shadowy groups with apple pie names really are and just what impact they are having. The public records handbook covers campaign finance reports on Page 60.
September 22, 2006
Records roll call:
Letter to the governor: Jennifer Jefferson of the Tallahassee Democrat on a Wakulla County commissioner who violated state law by not voting during an emergency meeting but will not be penalized for it …
Civil lawsuit: Lorri Helfand of the St. Petersburg Times on a lawsuit involving a proposed charter government amendment in Pinellas County that includes allegations of a Sunshine Law violation …
Civil lawsuit, condominium declaration: *Patrick Danner of the Miami Herald on a lawsuit involving a condo owner who says developer’s of Fort Lauderdale’s tallest downtown building, the plosh Las Olas River House, exaggerated the size of her apartment (*free registration required) …
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle driving records: Allyson Byrd of the Palm Beach Post on a Port St. Lucie head-on crash that killed two people …
September 17, 2006
The line of fire: Public records can provide unprecedented overview on issues that tend to be evaluated one instance at a time. In this case, Valerie Kalfrin of The Tampa Tribune reviewed 10 years of records on police shootings that offer new insights into the trends involving cases when Tampa officers are under attack or use firearms. Six police shootings occurred each year, with five so far this year. The newspaper analysis shows officers who are involved in such cases most likely confront a 29-year-old man with a gun and a criminal record. The average officer involved was 37 with 11 years of law enforcement experience, the research showed. Forty-five of the 65 cases reviewed unfolded between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. The state attorney ruled force to be justified in all but three of the cases examined. The public records handbook covers police use of force reports on Page 315 and police internal affairs investigation reports on Page 310.
Are local pools making you sick?: John McCarthy of Florida Today analyzed swimming pool inspection records in Brevard County to find that “that pools and hot tubs in local hotels, condos and apartment complexes frequently had inadequate amounts of germ-killing chlorine or had other water-quality problems.” The health department ordered pools closed 292 times this year because of serious deficiencies, including 10 cases where pools stayed closed for longer than a month. Fifteen percent of the 538 pools tested by the health department had at least one chlorine violation and 42 percent had at least one water-quality violation. Eighty-eight of 140 hot tubs inspected had at least one water quality violation this year, the story says. The story includes a PDF of the Brevard pool inspections for those interested in reports on specific pools.
More records in play:
Probable cause affidavit: Daniela Valazquez of the Tallahassee Democrat on a Maclay School teacher facing 100 charges of possessing child pornography regarding videos and pictures downloaded from the Internet …
Florida Criminal Justice Standards and Training Commission records: *Jasmine Kripalani of the Miami Herald on the lapse of state law enforcement certification for South Miami’s top cop, Police Chief Vincent Landis, who lacks the power to arrest a suspect or issue a ticket to a motorist (*free registration required) …
Sexual predator and offender records, Florida Statutes: *Amy L. Edwards of the Orlando Sentinel on Polk County placing more restrictions on where registered sex offenders and predators can live. An interesting stat from the story: Polk has the highest per capita of sex predators and offenders of all Central Florida counties (*free registration required) …
Florida Division of Elections campaign finance reports: Jack Gurney of the Venice Gondolier on the role of political action committee money in the recent Sarasota County Commission election …
September 10, 2006
Records roll out:
Florida Department of Health disciplinary records: Phil Galewitz of the Palm Beach Post on the failings of the state’s disciplinary process involving doctors …
Deeds, mortgages, court records: Michael Braga of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune about questions surrounding a lawsuit settlement between congressional candidate Vern Buchanan and a developer of Sarasota’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel …
Divorce file, property appraiser records, lien records: Kristen Zambo of the Naples Daily News on the divorce settlement of U.S. Rep. Connie Mack IV and his wife …
Jail records, police video, court records: Valerie Kalfrin of The Tampa Tribune about about a man accused of offering to pay a mother to have sex with her 2-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter …
Lawsuits, city legal bills: Aisling Swift of the Naples Daily News about how a dispute about $7,000 is costing the city of Naples almost $200,000 to defend …
September 9, 2006
Florida Sunshine Review:
Associated Press: Florida Supreme Court may make it harder to seal cases (*free registration required) …
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, by Matthew Doig: Circuit court clerk’s association recommends new rules to restrict a judge's ability to seal court records without the public's knowledge …
Palm Beach Post, by Susan Spencer-Wendel: Florida’s highest court considers requiring judges to hold hearings and give advance public notice before sealing a court case …
Fort Myers News-Press, by Denes Husty: Water management district denies records request concerning excavation done on district property near Bonita Springs by a private developer …
September 7, 2006
Florida Sunshine Review:
*Miami Herald, by Dan Christensen and Patrick Danner: Florida Supreme Court considering rules that would prevent court cases being hidden from public view (*free registration required) …
*Miami Herald, by Dan Christensen and Patrick Danner: Chief justice of Florida Supreme Court seeks new rules for sealed court cases (*free registration required) …
*Miami Herald, by Fred Grim: Broward’s “Bubba judges” up to old tricks again with super sealing of cases (*free registration required) …
All Headline News, by Patricia Shehan: Private companies charging fees for public records in Palm Beach County …
September 4, 2006
300 more civil cases uncovered in Broward court: The secret docket stories unearthed by the Miami Herald continue to be amazing. Staffers Patrick Danner and Dan Christensen report that more than 300 civil cases filed between 1989 and 2001 in Broward County were kept from public view, indicating that “the hiding of select lawsuits was a deep-rooted practice.” Many of the confidential divorce and lawsuits involve politicians, judges, lawyers and law enforcement officers. Among the big names with divorce files sealed and off the public docket: Broward County Commissioner Diana Wasserman-Rubin, Broward Circuit Judge Ana Gardiner and Broward Circuit Judge Jeffrey Levenson. “Those cases come on top of another 107 civil cases that were kept off the public docket between 2001 and 2006, reported by The Miami Herald in April. At the newspaper's request, the Broward clerk's office searched its records and located another 314 cases. All the cases are now on the public docket, under new rules issued this summer by Chief Judge Dale Ross, but their contents remain sealed,” the story says. A list of cases on the secret docket accompanies this story. The public records handbook covers civil court records on Page 82.
Florida Sunshine Review:
*Orlando Sentinel staff report: Maitland mayor complains about Sunshine Law but isn’t the first to do so (*free registration required) …
Tampa Tribune, by John W. Allman and Lindsay Peterson: Bush calls for probe of highway authority in wake of ethics and Sunshine Law concerns …
St. Petersburg Times, by S.I. Rosenbaum and Michael Van Sickler: Governor orders review of expressway authhority in Hillsborough County after accusations it violated ethics and Sunshine Law in awarding a big contract …
Pensacola News Journal, by Michael Stewart: Pensacola City Council members did not violate Sunshine Law in discussing proposed downtown Community Maritime Park, state attorney says …
Fernandina Beach News-Leader, by Benjamin Price: No penalty for Sunshine Law violations in Nassau County, state attorney’s office says …
September 2, 2006
Wilkinson’s rapid road trips noted: Government vehicle records reviewed by Diane Lacey Allen of the Lakeland Ledger reveal that “County Commissioner Randy Wilkinson drove a county car at speeds up to 100 miles per hour to a Florida Association of Counties meeting.” Polk County vehicle tracking records show several other times this year when Wilkinson clocked better than 80 mph. Headed to the same conference last fall, Wilkinson drove at 90 mph or higher 19 times on a turnpike with a 70 mph, the story says. Wilkinson admits he was wrong. The newspaper got on to his leadfoot ways from his county commission opponent in the upcoming election. The newspaper verified the tip through public records. The public records handbook covers vehicle maintenance records on Page 368.
Florida Sunshine Review:
Bradenton Herald, by Stephen Majors: Suit involving Republican Congressional candidate Vern Buchanan remains sealed until the election, judge says …
Daytona Beach News-Journal staff report: Man found not guilty of disrupting Oak Hill city commission meeting …
Ocala Star-Banner, by Mabel Perez: Judge seals documents in the Leo Boatman murder case until after the trial …
Florida Times-Union, by Mary Hurst: Sunshine Law violations in Nassau County will not be prosecuted …
Tampa Tribune, by Scott E. Rupp: Man’s bus photos for newsletter get him kicked off the public bus in Hillsborough County …
September 1, 2006
Florida Sunshine Review:
St. Petersburg Times, by Colleen Jenkins: Judge to rule on whether Latin Kings gang tapes will be open to public inspection …
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