Child welfare officials suspend adoption agency's license: Megan O'Matz and Sandra Hernandez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel rely on a letter from the Florida Department of Children’s Services for this story on the state’s suspension of an operating license of a Coral Springs adoption agency. The three-page letter says a letter that International Adoption Resource Inc. company representatives failed to disclose their ties to a jailed Costa Rican attorney and that a key employee used aliases. “The department's suspension of the agency's license came on the day the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported that an employee of IAR is wanted in Costa Rica on an international arrest warrant for trafficking in minors.” Among other public documents, this story also uses agency regulation files and state corporation records, which are profiled on Page 96 of the public records handbook.

Schools' attorney fees rise by 25 percent: Public records give taxpayers valuable insights into local spending issues. Jeffrey S. Solochek of the St. Petersburg Times relies on school system payment records for this piece about the growing legal needs of the Hernando County School Board, which saw its expenses for a part-time lawyer rise 25 percent in the last year. Notes the story: “From December 2001 through November 2002, the district paid board attorney [Karen] Gaffney $117,337.50, according to the district finance office. From December 2002 through November 2003, the district paid Gaffney $147,247.75.” The numbers have the board pondering whether to hire a full-time, on-staff attorney. The public records handbook details payments made by state and local governments starting on Page 72.

December 9, 2003

December 8, 2003

'Trampled' Wal-Mart shopper has history of injury claims: Public records show there can be more to a story making international headlines than meets the eye. Tony Pipitone of WKMG-Local 6 News in Orlando used court files and other records to report that a woman and her sister reportedly “trampled” by frenzied Thanksgiving Day shoppers in Orange City had previous claims of injuries while shopping or working. One woman had 16 prior claims at Wal-Mart stores and elsewhere and her sister had one previous claim at a Wal-Mart, the story says. The story – using workers comp records and civil court records – details incidents dating back to 1978, including claims of separate falls at a bowling alley and a Walgreen's. The story notes the Thanksgiving Day incident has “provoked much comment around the world.” The public records handbook profiles civil lawsuit case files starting on Page 82.

Officials: Land owners fail to meet reporting deadlines: Records from the Southwest Florida Regional Planning council reviewed by Jeremy Cox and Larry Hannan of the Naples Daily News indicate “owners of 22 massive developments that comprise thousands of acres in Lee and Collier counties failed to tell the government how they are developing their land this year, violating state law.” The story adds that officials in the two counties had done virtually nothing to get the information until recently. Violators include developers of several gated golf communities, commerce parks, sprawling marinas, an unbuilt regional mall and a hospital complex, the story says. Many of these developments are so big that they are deemed developments of regional impact by the state. This story provides an excellent overview of how developers of DRIs are supposed to be held accountable through monitoring reports, although “there are some developers here who haven't updated authorities on their projects in more than a decade.” The story includes a glance box of DRI delinquents. The public records handbook explains the extensive records generating by the DRI process starting on Page 117.

Sales tax promotion draws battlelines: Political action committee records aid this story by Jeffrey S. Solochek of the St. Petersburg Times involving local government efforts in Hernando County to promote passage of an upcoming sales tax referendum. County commissioners plan to use tax money to drum up support for the half-cent tax while the school board prefers to back an independent political action committee in support of the measure. Notes the story: “In 1998, the Children First PAC raised $1,275 to advertise the school district's sales tax, according to records filed with the county Supervisor of Elections office.” The story points out, however, that school board attorney Karen Gaffney cautioned members in a recent memo that school employees “cannot advocate passage of the referendum while on duty, nor can their work time be used for advocacy.” The public records handbook covers more on how to research political action committee records on Page 88. Legislative files of local governments – which often include memos and other documents relating to important local issues – are explored on Page 263.

December 5, 2003

Judge’s campaign tactics rebuked: Public officials – even judges – are sometimes reprimanded for their behavior. A written reprimand of an Escambia County judge by the Florida Supreme Court sparked this story by Alisa LaPolt and Brett Norman in the Pensacola News Journal. The story says Judge Patricia Kinsey received a reprimand plus a $50,000 fine for crossing ethical lines in her campaign against a then incumbent judge in 1998. “Chief Justice Harry Lee Anstead rebuked Kinsey for engaging in the "political rhetoric of partisanship," criticizing Green for holding herself out as a pro-law enforcement candidate who would put criminals behind bars,” the story says. But Kinsey noted it’s difficult for voters to make intelligent decisions about judges without details about how they do their jobs. She has also maintained her comments were protected as free speech under the First Amendment. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected her case in October. The story links to the full written text of the reprimand, which, of course, is public record.

Hundreds with rap sheets work for prisoner agency: Public documents can reveal important details about government agency hiring practices and deficiencies. Records reviewed by Carol Marbin Miller of the Miami Herald show “about 350 of almost 2,000 state Department of Juvenile Justice detention workers and supervisors have arrest records, including four superintendents and another four assistant superintendents.” The story says department records show employees currently employed by the agency have “convictions for perjury, contempt of court, aggravated assault, assault and battery, drunken driving, hit-and-run driving and ''terrorist threats.'' One officer, convicted of aggravated stalking, was recently deported.” Another example cited in the story: A 53-year-old Broward man hired as a detention worker in 1988 despite arrests for carrying a concealed weapon, robbery and burglary. Since landing the job, authorities have charged the officer with disorderly intoxication and battery. Agency officials say they are making strides to “toughen up” hiring practices, but others say the agency hasn’t gone far enough to weed out people who shouldn’t be there. A variety of records factor into a story such as this one, including criminal background checks and personnel files. The public records handbook covers criminal background checks on Page 101, criminal court records on Page 103 and government personnel records on Page 239.

December 4, 2003

December 3, 2003

December 2, 2003

Doctors' checkered pasts rarely halt practices: Public records often help uncover serious problems with how regulatory systems work – or fail to do so. Fred Schulte’s awesome “Drugging the poor” series in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel continues with this piece about how dozens of doctors are “allowed to continue freely prescribing dangerous drugs at state expense, even after multiple patients have died of an overdose, and even in extreme cases where they have been charged with drug crimes or serious misconduct.” Among its many findings, the report says: “Seven of 16 doctors who each wrote more than $1 million worth of narcotics prescriptions had professional misconduct charges or criminal arrests in their pasts, including two doctors arrested for narcotics trafficking. Nine of 29 doctors who ordered OxyContin for 100 or more Medicaid patients last year had serious disciplinary action or arrests in their pasts. No state agency has set up a system to monitor the practices of troubled doctors whose patients wind up dying of pill overdoses. Even when investigations have been opened, they took years to complete and the doctors continued to see patients and to hand out prescriptions.” The story spotlights questionable practices of several individual doctors. This series is based primarily on a computer analysis of pharmacy billing data from the state and reviews of autopsy reports with the Florida’s two dozen medical examiner offices. Other records tapped include regulatory files from the state Department of Health and criminal records. The public records handbook covers autopsy report files on Page 28, DOH regulatory files on Page 194 and criminal court records on Page 103.

Official opposing Lauderdale airport expansion still receiving business bucks:Campaign finance reports can help peg interesting political trends and relationships. The records trigger a story by Scott Wyman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on how business leaders are sinking thousands of dollars into a Broward County commissioner’s re-election despite being at odds with him over expansion of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Commissioner John Lindstrom’s has opposed the building of a second major runway that local business leaders deem vital to the area’s growth. But records show $4 of every $10 raised by John Lindstrom since he announced for re-election has come from development, construction and real estate interests. He has raised $84,000 in six months – which is $84,000 more than his opponent so far. "The airport issue has overblown somewhat and is only one issue," Rodstrom told the newspaper. "People look at you in balance. There are a lot of business decisions that we make as a commission aside from what length a runway should be." The story also points out a political reality: Many top business leaders do business with the county and “cannot afford to have an incumbent commissioner as an enemy.” The public records handbook outlines campaign finance reports on Page 60.

December 1, 2003

11 died from pills local doctor prescribed: Medical examiner files provide important details for this story by Rene Stutzman of the Orlando Sentinel about how at least 11 people “overdosed and died from drugs prescribed by one of the most prominent psychiatrists in Central Florida.” The story says medical examiner records show 10 of those who died were patients of the same psychiatrists and all had taken drugs he had prescribed for the treatment of pain or mental disorders. At least eight of the people who died abused drugs or had been addiction to them, according to police and medical examiner records. The psychiatrist – who says he is not to blame for the deaths – is being investigated by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Florida Attorney General's Office and the Florida Board of Medicine. Officials with those agencies aren’t commenting, which makes access to the records critical in informing the public about concerns surrounding the psychiatrist’s practices. Medical examiner records on autopsies are covered on Page 28 of the public records handbook. Arrest reports are addressed on Page 23 and criminal background checks are profiled on Page 101. The handbook outlines licensing and regulatory records of health care professionals on Page 194.

Despite fixes, child agency faulted: Reports from state and local public agencies are often helpful in evaluating how well various public services are working. Deborah Circelli of the Daytona Beach News-Journal used reports from the state’s Department of Children and Family Services for this story on how local foster care services have fared during the last year. The story focuses on the state’s transition of contracting with a private provider for foster care services, which the story indicates was rough going early on. Now, the story says, turnover with the private contractor is down, caseloads are more manageable and many of the problems identified in a scathing DCF report from last year have been ironed out, although various problems remain. Some of the improvements are dramatic. For instance, the percentage of children being seen each month by caseworkers went from 53 percent in August 2002 to 96.6 percent in October 2003. A box with the story highlights areas of improvement and areas needing more of it based on the reports and other information.

Maps to shift Naples students set for viewing: School boundary maps of public school systems are public record. The maps drive this story by Ray Parker of The Naples Daily News about new boundary maps proposed for three Naples middle schools. The maps will be displayed at two public hearings with the school board to make its final decision on Dec. 18, the story says. The public records handbook covers school boundary maps on Page 339.