Polk educator arrested in sex case: An arrest affidavit factors prominently in this story by Lauren Glenn of The Lakeland Ledger about a Polk County school administrator charged with having a sexual relationship with a girl that began when she was 11 and continued into her late teens. The arrest affidavit by the Polk County Sheriff’s Office details several sexual encounters between the man and the girl, including one on a car trip while the man’s wife and infant daughter were asleep in the back seat of his family's car. The girl is now 25. The same administrator at Donald E. Woods Opportunity Center in Dundee was targeted in a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a woman against the district in 2002 and later settled, the story says. The public records handbook reviews arrest report records on Page 23 and civil lawsuit case files on Page 82.

May 27, 2004

Why laws don't stop the danger of asbestos: A variety of public records help Steve Patterson of The Florida Times-Union document how businesses hired to remove asbestos for the city ignored safety rules without City Hall knowing about it. Among the findings: Surveys to find asbestos in buildings are being done by a demolition company that isn't licensed to do them but advertises in the Yellow Pages and even wins government contracts. In addition, City Hall's regulators didn't know about an asbestos-removal project at the new Duval County courthouse site, despite a law that requires contractors to give notice, the story says. “Building demolition elsewhere that might stir old, dormant hazards had also been overlooked. And notices that were filed over the years sometimes drew startling responses. "Who cares," a government worker wrote in records used by a city environmental agency.” Records used in this story include city and state abatement/demolition notices, building and plumbing permits, Florida Department of Business and Professional regulation licensing records and city contract records. The public records handbook profiles building permits on Page 58, DBPR licensing records on Page 172 and bids and contracts on Page 33.

NBC2 examines politicians' voting records: Whether someone voted or not in an election is public record in Florida. Mark Greenblatt of NBC2 News in Fort Myers used data from the local supervisor of elections office to explore the voting records for 34 elected officials registered to vote in Lee County, from local mayors, on up to local U.S. Rep. Porter Goss. Based on their voting habits, some officials made the station’s “Hall of Fame” while others qualified for the “Hall of Shame.” The public records handbook covers voter registration records on Page 372.

May 26, 2004

Report criticizes Miami-Dade juvenile center's response to teen's suicide attempt: An inspector general’s report obtained by Megan O’Matz of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel found staff at the Miami-Dade Regional Juvenile Detention Center unresponsive to the attempted suicide of a 16-year-old boy. This is the same center that came under fire last year for ignoring the pleas a young man who later died of a burst appendix. The report “states that a guard radioed a supervisor and waited for help to arrive before entering the cell of a 16-year-old suicidal boy found face down on the floor March 3 with a pillowcase around his neck.” The report also says lockup administrators regularly discouraged mental health providers from assigning a staff worker to watch suicidal youths around the clock, as required in serious cases, "due to staffing shortages." The story notes 14 workers at the center were fired for failing to help another child, 17-year-old Omar Paisley. He died June 9 died of a burst appendix June 9 after begging for help for three days. As a result, state juvenile justice officials instructed workers to "treat every child like your own" and to dial 911 immediately in an emergency rather than wait for supervisory approval. The public records handbook explores inspector general records on Page 251.

May 25, 2004

Can stand-alone hospitals survive?: The state keeps detailed public records on the finances of hospitals in Florida. John Dorschner of the Miami Herald used financial data from the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration to explore how standalone hospitals are faring against the chain providers. The data made it possible for the reporter to share with readers information such as this: “In South Florida, the hospitals of the major systems – HCA, Tenet and Baptist Health – generally show substantial profitability … Kendall Regional returned 23 percent. Cedars had a margin of 18.3 percent. Aventura's was 17.8 percent. All are HCA facilities.” The public records handbook profiles ACHA financial data reports and Medicaid cost reports on Pages 249 and 250, respectively.

May 24, 2004

Oakland Park-based HomeCo Unlimited leave residents with unfinished business: Public records can help document the trail of devastation left behind when a construction company goes bankrupt. Jon Burstein of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reviewed more than 2,000 pages of court documents, police reports and government records to help show how HomeCo Unlimited got paid for work it never started or completed in some cases in Broward and Palm Beach counties. “HomeCo customers have sued the company 36 times since it was founded five years ago. Another 39 homeowners have filed complaints with county or state agencies. Almost all say that they gave HomeCo deposits for home renovations and that the company refused to give their money back when problems arose.” Some customers said the company’s leader verbally attacked and sometimes threatened them when they complained. Despite the mounting problems, the story says, “authorities never took action to stop HomeCo from taking on new clients.” The public records handbook profiles civil lawsuit case files on Page 82 and police reports on Page 312.

Monster in Mayport: Public records make it possible to delve more deeply into how and why shocking crimes happen. Paul Pinkham of The Florida Times-Union taps a variety of records – police reports, hostage negotiator's notes, telephone transcripts, autopsy reports, statements by a suspect to police, plus doctors' recommendations and audiotapes of negotiations and 911 calls – for this one-year-on look at murder suspect Bill Wells and the five people found slain inside his “death trailer” in a small fishing village. The story includes portions of Wells’ statements to police throughout in explaining what happened and the disturbing signs that led up to the killings. The story also includes links to Wells’ statements on audio. Wells is scheduled to stand trail in November with prosecutors seeking the death penalty. The public records handbook explores prosecutor case files on Page 328.

May 21, 2004

May 20, 2004

May 17, 2004

As gas prices rise, so does JTA ridership: Public information on public bus ridership helps define a trend in this story by David Bauerlein of The Florida Times-Union. High gas prices are putting more people in the seats of Jacksonville Transportation Authority buses. “The JTA says that from February through April, buses provided 40,000 more rides than usual because of high gas prices.” JTA officials are hoping that high gas prices prompt more people to try the bus system, which charges a 75-cent fare for most trips. This story is probably one that is emerging throughout Florida for communities with public transit.

Teacher gets second DUI in five days: An arrest report obtained by Scott McCabe of the Palm Beach Post triggers this story about a teacher’s second DUI arrest within five days. Police found special education teacher Allen Jeffrey Cohen, 54, passed out in the driver's seat with the engine running with an open, half-consumed 1 1/2 liter bottle of Carlo Rossi Rhine wine beside him, according to the report. The report added that “he took a Breathalyzer test and recorded a blood alcohol level of.275 percent, nearly four times the 0.08 standard at which Florida considers a person too drunk to drive.” Just five days earlier, Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies had arrested Cohen on charges of DUI, driving on a suspended drivers license and child abuse. The public records handbook covers arrest reports on Page 23 and driving records of Florida drivers on Page 134.

May 14, 2004

Scolding fills commission seats: Public records detail how often Leon County commissioners show up for the public’s business at workshops in this Tallahassee Democrat story by Jeff Burlew. “A review of 29 workshops held since May 13, 2003, revealed that Commissioner Bill Proctor missed 15, or slightly more than half. Commissioner Dan Winchester missed eight. Commissioner Tony Grippa missed three, and Commissioner Rudy Maloy missed one. Commissioners Bob Rackleff, Jane Sauls and Cliff Thaell attended all the meetings.” The newspaper’s review involved Tuesday workshops and not meetings “such as joint workshops with other elected officials. The commission’s chairwoman scolded those colleagues who have missed the workshops. Officials in some cases cited illness or family emergencies as reasons why they didn’t attend. The public records handbook profiles minutes of public board and agencies, which note which public officials attend public meetings, on Page 284.

May 12, 2004

Florida's crime rate down for 12th straight year: Public records can help answer the question of just how safe people are in Florida when it comes to crime. Annual Florida Department of Law Enforcement statistics obtained by Mary Ellen Klaus of the Miami Herald show that on a daily basis last year “there were on average three murders in Florida, a robbery every 16 minutes, a burglary every three minutes and five seconds, and a victim of forcible sex every 41 minutes.” Those numbers are brighter than they appear when Florida’s population growth of 600,000 people is considered as the state’s crime rate reached a 33-year low. “The raw numbers, complied by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, show there were 18,540 fewer reported serious crimes – murder, forcible sex, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and larceny – in 2003 than there were the year before.” The story says the only crime that had a recorded increase was murder, with 18 more people murdered across the state than the year before, most of them with guns and knives. The story notes, however, that the reporting of local crime statistics to the state isn’t flawless. Many news organizations across the state generated their own local crime stories based on the statistics.

St. Johns in line for new development: Development of regional impact records are invaluable resources for anyone who wants to monitor huge construction projects in Florida. The records enable Christopher Calnan of The Florida Times-Union to reveal that a Parkland company plans to build 5,000 residences on 3,000 acres in St. Johns County over a 5-year period. The development includes 2,000 single-family homes, 3,000 multi-family units and school sites, and 900,000 square feet of office and commercial space, and 2 million square feet of light industrial space, according to records filed with the Northeast Florida Regional Planning Council. The developers now face a year of approvals for the project. The public records handbook profiles what development of regional impact files have to offer on Page 117.

May 11, 2003

Washington Mutual: We'll add 700 jobs: Companies often reveal their plans for a community through public documents filed with local governments. A business development plan obtained by Christopher Calnan of The Florida Times-Union indicates Washington Mutual Inc. plans to add 700 workers to its Jacksonville office over the next three years as it consolidates seven national locations. The story says the Seattle-based financial services company is requesting a tax refund credit of $2.1 million, or $3,000 per job, from the state to help offset some of its expansion costs. Jacksonville would foot $420,000, or 20 percent, of the total refund. The Jacksonville Economic Development Commission is reviewing the proposal.

Doctor suspended over drug-related deaths: Emergency orders suspending licensed professionals are typically of high interest and relevance to consumers. The records drive this story by James L. Rosica of The Tallahassee Democrat about an Apalachicola doctor suspended from practicing medicine by the Florida Department of Health. The emergency order said Thomas G. Merrill "was prescribing controlled substances, such as OxyContin, to patients without any medical justification for doing so." He is accused of prescribing drugs that contributed to the deaths of six his patients. The story says Merrill now has 30 days to contest the emergency suspension with the Department of Health and the 1st District Court of Appeal. The Health Department also plans to seek Merrill's formal suspension and discipline. The order describes Merrill as one of the state’s most frequent prescribers of controlled substances to Medicaid providers. It also says the Florida Department of Law Enforcement began investigating him about a year ago after “several people they arrested on drug-trafficking charges said they were Merrill's patients and got the drugs from him.” The public records handbook profiles disciplinary actions involving doctors beginning on Page 194. Also, starting on Page 143, the handbook explains the records generated as part of proceedings such as those involving Merrill.

Neighborhood schools edge S. Florida back toward segregation: Statistics from the Broward County school system help Bill Hirschman, Karla D. Shores and Scott Travis of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel explore local school desegregation in light of the 50th anniversary of the hallmark Brown vs. Board of Education Supreme Court decision. A key conclusion from the story: Broward schools are more segregated today than they were 30 years ago. The story includes various charts illustrating the percentage of schools integrated or segregated. It also taps into test scores to provide more perspective on the issue. The public records handbook explores a variety of school statistics starting on Page 177.

University giving away house to free up land: Property appraiser records assist Christine Girardin of the Daytona Beach News-Journal in providing prospective about a home Stetson University is seeking to give away in Deland. The home, donated to Stetson University in the early 1990s, had a 2003 taxable value of $42,949, Volusia County Property Appraiser records show. The story says Stetson University has been looking for two years for someone willing to adopt and move the 100-year-old farmhouse, which would cost between $60,000 and $100,000 to renovate by one estimate. The home is part of land the university could use for classrooms or dorms in the future. The public records handbook explains how to research property appraiser records on Page 322.

May 10, 2004

May 7, 2003

Judge: McPherson may train for NFL: James L. Rosica of the Tallahassee Democrat draws upon criminal court records for this update on former Florida State University quarterback Adrian McpHerson, who pleaded no contest last year to charges that he stole a check, passed bad checks and gambled on sporting events, including FSU football games. "McPherson had to complete 90 days in the sheriff's work camp, 45 days before Jan. 1 and another 45 days by Aug. 1, records show. He already has completed the first 45 days," the story says. At the request of McPherson's attorney, a circuit judge modified McPherson's to allow him to participate in a summer National Football League training camp. The public records handbook covers criminal court records on Page 103.

Traffic light to help with flow, safety at U.S. 27, Johnson St.: Traffic and accident statistics provide important safety data for government and communities as well. Nicole T. Lesson of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel taps into both resources for this story on a new traffic signal being installed at the entrance of a Pembrooke Pines mobile home park. Florida Department of Transportation statistics peg the average daily traffic on U.S. 27 at 16,000 vehicles. Local police records show two traffic deaths at the Johnston Street intersection since 1997. The public records handbook profiles Department of Transportation project files on Page 201 and police rankings of dangerous intersections on Page 314.

May 4, 2004