Dade undervotes support Bush win
By the Miami Herald staff
Published February 26, 2001
A massive effort by the newspaper - a review of presidential votes in all 67 Florida counties that had not been detected by counting machines during the controversial 2000 presidential election - helped answer the question what the ballots would have showed had not the U.S. Supreme Court halted a recount. The results: Al Gore's recount effort probably would have failed to stop George W. Bush from winning Florida and the election. Because cast ballots are public record in Florida, people nationwide gained insight into what would likely have happened - and they can thank Florida's public records laws for the opportunity.

Officials: Water as we say, not as we did
By Steve Huettel, St. Petersburg Times
Published March 22, 2000
A year's review of water bills in Hillsborough County showed the same public officials who backed emergency water use restrictions also used more water than did the average residential household. Customer records for any public water, electric, sewer or natural gas utility in Florida are public. (See Page 332 of the handbook.) They provide an opportunity for the public to monitor how some of the state's most valuable public resources are used.

Lost kids found easily
By Sally Kestin, Diana Marrero and Megan O'Matz, South Florida-Sun Sentinel
Published Aug. 11, 2002
Reporters used court records, police records and other public documents to locate nine missing children that Florida's child welfare system had been unable to locate for as long as eight years. The story is but one of several based on public records the newspaper has written to expose problems at the Florida's Department of Children and Families, which was found to delay by four to seven years the filing of some police reports on missing children. For more on criminal court records and police reports, see Pages 23, 101 and 312 of the handbook.

Minorities scores only look better
By Dave Weber, Orlando Sentinel
Published April 14, 2002
An analysis of Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test results and enrollment numbers suggests minority students are being placed in special-education programs so their scores will not be counted for school grades. Public records such as test results and statistics broaden public awareness and can heighten the debate about public policy methods, accountability and effectiveness. For more on the many school statistics available from state and local sources, see Pages 177 and 338 of the public records handbook.

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40 percent of homes lack inspections
By Steve Patterson and John Dunbar, The Florida Times-Union
Published March 20, 1998
An examination of more than 74,000 inspection records showed at least four of 10 Jacksonville homes built recently had not fully inspected. The records also indicated the city in numerous cases did not reinspect homes that had failed previous inspection, resulting in problems that were never corrected and raising safety issues. The stories prompted an overhaul of the city's inspection process and also resulted in the city making home inspection records available on the Internet. For more on building permits and inspection reports, see Page 58 in the handbook.

Road racket
By Cynthia Barnett, Florida Trend magazine
Published August 2000
A review of Florida Department of Transportation project files and a state audit show state taxpayers spent millions more than projected on highways as some contractors underbid jobs and then sought profits through supplemental claims, settlements and lawsuits. Records showed that DOT often agreed to settle claims generously without proof that contractors deserved the money. Public access to bid and contract files is essential to keeping public agencies accountable to the taxpayers they serve. See Page 33 of the handbook for more on bids and contracts and see also Page 251 for more details about state agency inspector general audits and investigation reports.

Taxpayers foot bill for commissioners trips
By Ted Byrd, The Tampa Tribune
Published Nov. 12, 2001
Travel records from the Hillsborough Clerk of Court's Office show one county commissioner spent six times more than any of his colleagues on publicly funded trips over three years. Travel records provide insights on how elected and non-elected public officials use public money to travel and whether the trips are warranted or a waste. See Page 360 of the handbook for more on travel expenses records.

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Who's watching the children?
By Ron Matus, Doris Chandler and Gayle Brown, The Gainesville Sun
Published Aug. 13, 2000
An analysis of thousands of day care inspection reports found 44 percent of about 70 centers in Alachua County failed at least one routine inspection over a four-year period. The review showed that one in four centers flunked two or more inspections. Day cares are licensed and regulated in most counties by the Florida Department of Children and Families with many reports online at http://www.state.fl.us/cf_web/. These records are profiled in detail starting on Page 76 of the handbook.

West Palm Police overtime costs soar
By Noah Bierman, Palm Beach Post
Published Sept. 5, 1999
Police overtime records indicated $1.9 million spent in one year in West Palm Beach, nearly triple the amount paid five years earlier and more than it costs to run the city library. The report also showed more of a quarter of the money going to a core group representing 10 percent of the force, which raised more questions about overtime pay. Open records showing how public money is being allocated can inspire a healthy dialogue on public policy, practices and decision-making. For related information on government personnel records, see handbook Page 239.

Vanity medicine: Hope, hype and risk
By Fred Schulte and Jenni Bergal, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Published Dec. 12, 1999
Licensing and disciplinary records with the Florida Department of Health helped reveal doctors with histories of disciplinary action or suspect training flocking to Florida's booming vanity and anti-aging medicine industry. The report showed such treatments in private offices can result impossible hazards ranging from serious injury to, in rare cases, death. The report also indicated that the doctors faced sanctions for misconduct more often than other doctors and that more than 200 of them either had no medical malpractice insurance or no ties to hospitals in case of emergencies. This story and related ones resulted in state legislative action to crack down on unlicensed doctors. Licensing and regulatory files are invaluable resources for consumers regardless of the type of professional in question. See page 194 of the handbook for more details about Florida Department of Health licensing and regulatory files.

Code enforcers can't keep up
By Nick Mason, Bradenton Herald
Published July 7, 2002
An extensive analysis of code enforcement records uncovered serious problems with the code enforcement system in Manatee County, including understaffing, inefficiency and favoritism in issuing citations. The report also found that many code violations go uncorrected and that code enforcement officers never issue citations involving county property. Code enforcement records are valuable resources that help people monitor actions against neighborhood eyesores and the agencies responsible for cracking down on them. Code enforcement records are explained on Page 87 of the handbook.

Amputated foot worth more than $1 million
By Jackie Ripley, St. Petersburg Times
Published May 12, 1995
Insurance records required to be filed by the state revealed a Tampa hospital paid more than $1 million to settle a case brought by a man who had the wrong foot amputated. The hospital and the victim had signed a confidentiality agreement but the amount was public in state Department of Insurance records. The settlements, which must be reported by insurance companies regarding doctors, hospitals, lawyers and others specified by law - enable the public to make better decisions on which professionals and health facilities they should choose or keep. See Page 317 of the handbook for more on claim settlement reports.

Autopsy: Suspect died of asphyxia
By Henry Pierson Curtis and Pamela J. Johnson, Orlando Sentinel
Published Sept. 7, 2002
An autopsy report from the medical examiner shows a man shocked 13 times with a Taser gun by Orange County sheriff's deputies suffocated from being strapped facedown on an ambulance stretcher. Autopsy reports are crucial public resources that explain how people died in unusual - and often controversial - circumstances. They can also help determine whether public agencies are upholding the public trust as they should be. See the handbook entry on autopsy report records for more information (Page 28).

Polk candidates answer for past brushes with the law
By Bill Rufty, The Ledger in Lakeland
Published Aug. 27, 2000
A background check using Osceola County sheriff's records discounted a Polk County Commission candidate's claim to the newspaper that he had never been arrested. The candidate, who later lost in the election, said he had answered "no" to the question because his charges were in effect dropped when after he finished his community service work in a pretrial diversion program. People from all walks of life count on criminal background checks using local court records (see Page 103 of the handbook)and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's statewide database on arrests or convictions. For more on how to obtain criminal background checks, see Page 101 of the handbook.

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Case file shows how church dealt with troublesome priests
By Peter Franceshina, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Published March 23, 2002
Church documents in public prosecutor case files "offer a rare look into how the Catholic Church handled abusive priests over most of the last 40 years - sending them to psychiatrists for "rehabilitation" and moving them to other parishes, while tormented parents struggled to do what church authorities asked: keep quiet." State prosecutors subpoenaed the church records in a 1995 investigation into allegations of sexual abuse by a priest. Officials eventually decided the priest could not charged more than 30 years after the fact. Prosecutor case files become public records after the case is officially closed or no longer under active investigation. For more on those, see Page 328 of the handbook.

Regency to get Cracker Barrel Store
By Karen Brune Mathis, The Florida Times-Union
Published May 29, 2002
Engineering site plans filed with the city revealed a new Cracker Barrel restaurant is planned for Jacksonville, even though the company had not announced the project and would not discuss it at that time. Growth reigns as one of Florida's most important continuing stories. These records - along with zoning applications, building permits and land use plan amendments, among others - allow Floridians to stay informed about proposed construction near and far. See handbook Pages 58, 90 and 382.

System doesn't prevent felons from voting
By the Miami Herald staff
Published Feb. 13, 1998
The newspaper used property records, voter registration records, criminal records and other public documents to show that at least 2,800 ineligible felons wee registered to vote in Dade County. This story and others on voter fraud overturned Miami's mayoral election of 1997, prompted state law changes and earned the Miami Herald a Pulitzer Prize. Property records showing ownership and appraised value are some of Florida's most practical and most used public records, with many county property appraisers posting the documents online. For more on property appraisal records and voter registration records, see handbook Pages 322 and 372 respectively.

Lobbyists bundle their contributions
By Paige St. John, Gannett News Service
Published July 13, 2002
Campaign contribution records show how Florida associations and companies pool the money they give to political candidates and causes to bypass a $500 spending limit. Elected officials and political action committees file regular reports on the contributions they receive and the source of them. These records, filed either with the Secretary of State's Office or the local Supervisor of Election's Office, help the public evaluate the relationship between campaign contributions and how decisions are made by their elected officials and public office seekers. Campaign contributions are explained in detail starting on Page 60 of the handbook.

Many errors found in 'nutritional facts' on food labels
By Mitch Lipka, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Published Sept. 2, 2001
An analysis of lab results from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer services discovered nearly 1,000 food items with inaccurate nutritional labels. The story notes: "Some of the mistakes are so bad that people on sugar-free diets were eating spoonfuls of sugar without knowing it. People hoped to eat lean are ingesting fat. And those counting their carbohydrates will have to redo their math and add a whole lot more to get the right total." The report also noted that the department rarely made its testing findings public. Food for thought: Public records are great friends of consumers. See more of what the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services regulates on handbook Pages 167-168.

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