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Joe's Hit Records
October 31, 2003  Holiday event loses luster as details emerge: Public records are vital resources for examining the track record of business people. Brady Dennis of the St. Petersburg Times employs “a bevy of public records” to background a local event promoter who is coming under fire because of problems surrounding a 26-day festival he has now put on hold. Records of various kinds indicate the promoter has a “lengthy past of arrests, money problems and bankruptcies.” A statewide criminal background check showed the promoter “has been arrested eight times in Florida since 1989 on numerous worthless check charges, as well as failure to return a rental car, probation violation, larceny and grand theft.” Civil court records reveal “he has lost a laundry list of judgments over the years to numerous creditors, for thousands of dollars.” Several of his past ventures wound up in bankruptcy, and the city of Tampa says he owes nearly $1,200 in unpaid parking tickets back to 1994. “In addition,” the story says, “state and local records show [he] has listed his name various ways on official documents such as leases, contracts and corporate registration papers.” The public records handbook covers criminal background checks on Page 101, civil lawsuit case files on Page 82 and corporation records on Page 96. Bankruptcy records are federal records that aren’t covered in the handbook, but there are references to them on Pages 85, 106, 258 and 364.
October 30, 2003 State AG's opinion puts severe limits on scooter use: The Florida Attorney General’s Office issues advisory opinions that often generate news. The office’s opinion on “Go-peds” – that they are motor vehicles that require driver’s licenses – triggers this story by Jay Stapleton of the Daytona Beach News-Journal. The Ormond Beach Police Department asked for the opinion in trying to sort out the legalities surrounding the scooters. “The law is confusing, parents of ‘Go-ped’ users say. While the law says any motor vehicle must be registered to be operated, there is no official classification for motorized scooters.” Since the noisy contraptions can’t be registered, the story says, they can't be operated on the street. “And since they're still considered vehicles, they can't be operated on sidewalks either.” The opinion, which is online, would appear to relegate them to driveways, parking lots and other open spaces. The opinion recommends the state Legislature re-examine this issue, which is my opinion as well. The public records handbook profiles advisory opinions from the AG’s office on Page161.
October 28, 2003 In 911 call, wife foretold death at hands of abusive husband: Sheriff’s records, including 911 recordings, reviewed by Jon Burstein of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel indicate a mother of six told a police dispatcher where and when she would be killed the day before it happened. "He says he is going to take care of me at work tomorrow," Catalina Casarrubias said about her husband in a 911 call to authorities. The next day, Andres Casarrubias showed up at the greenhouse where his wife worked and gunned her down along with two co-workers, according to a sheriff’s report. Records chronicle the couple’s stormy relationship leading up to the slayings, including the wife’s two calls two 911 and a local police warning to the husband to leave her alone. He could face the death penalty if convicted in the triple slaying. The story notes the husband “had been arrested at least five times in the past three years for domestic violence for failing to obey restraining orders taken out by his wife.” The public records handbook explains how to research police reports on Page 23, emergency 911 calls on Page 129 and restraining orders on Page 337.
October 27, 2003 Gridiron payoff: School budget and booster club records are the basis for this special report by Alan Snel and John A. Torres of Florida Today on how money makes a difference in high school sports. Football games are apparently a much bigger deal than most people would suspect in Brevard County, particularly when it comes to financing overall athletic programs. “Ticket sales and other revenue from football games have raised nearly $7 out of every $10 schools can spend on prep sports in Brevard, records show. Other sports events generate another $2, with the School District chipping in $1. Meanwhile, football typically consumes $2 to $2.50 of every $10 spent,” the story says. You read it right: The Brevard school district provides less than 10 percent of the money high schools spend on sports. “The picture that emerges is a system that spends little public money yet receives much in return. High school sports, an American tradition, prevent kids from dropping out while rallying community support for local schools, experts and educators said.” Of course, some schools fare better than others, depending on such factors as on-field performance, ticket sales and booster clubs. The public records handbook covers budgets starting on Page 53.
October 24, 2003 Church kept accused priest on the job: Internal church and company documents can become public as part of criminal probes. A case close-out memo from the state attorney’s office reviewed by Daniel de Vise and Jay Weaver of the Miami Herald documents the “first hard evidence that the Archdiocese of Miami knew of alleged sexual improprieties by a priest and allowed him to keep working with children.” The diocese knew the priest had been accused of molesting at least three boys and young men but continued to place him with children, according to church documents cited in the state attorney investigation. The story says “Miami church leaders ‘could be considered criminally culpable for failing to report’ the allegations of child abuse, Broward prosecutor Dennis Siegel wrote in his memo. 'However, because the statute of limitations has expired on this matter, no action can be taken by this office.' '' The priest faces no charges in the case. This piece provides other important insights on what has been an explosive issue nationwide for the church. The state attorney’s case file becomes open for public inspection once a case has been closed or decided. State attorney case files are profiled in detail starting on Page 328 of the public records handbook.
October 23, 2003 Miami Seaquarium has no record of safety inspections: Public records showing no inspections have been done at a facility can be just as alarming as poor inspection results, as evidenced in this story by Andres Viglucci of the Miami Herald. Says the lede: “Until a recent complaint from a Miami Seaquarium visitor prompted Miami-Dade fire inspectors to cite the park's operators for 36 safety violations, the popular but aging attraction had gone years without required annual inspections, the county fire department says.” There is no record of inspections at the park since it opened in 1955, and the fire department is reviewing how many other attractions under its jurisdiction may have been missed as well. The lack of inspections came to light from a report generated by the Dolphin Freedom Foundation designed to see how safe the Sequarium is for its 600,000 visitors each year. The public records handbook addresses fire safety inspection records on Page 151.
October 21, 2003 Marge Jenkins keeps MADD on track in Collier DUI cases: This fun read about a Collier County civic activist also reveals some of the keys to gathering information at the courthouse. Chad W. Colby of The Naples Daily News writes about Collier County’s only active member of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, a public records hound who has tracked every single DUI case in the county since 1986. Those cases now total between 150 and 200 a month for “MADD” Marge Jenkins, 71. “In her notebook where she has listed every DUI arrest, she color codes the defendant's name after the case is over. In blue fluorescent pen she notes those cases in which she agrees with the sentence. In green are those she doesn't,’’ the story says. The story also notes that Jenkins doesn't have a personal link to DUI. “No family member has ever been a perpetrator or victim of DUI. She simply fell into the court monitor task and enjoyed it.” The public records handbook profiles traffic court records on Page 354 and criminal court records starting on Page 103.
October 20, 2003 Florida's courtship of Scripps a quick, quiet affair: Nice behind-the-scenes piece by Joel Engelhardt and Mary Ellen Klas of the Palm Beach Post on Florida’s hottest story: the Scripps drug research center proposed for Palm Beach County. The state Legislature begins a special session today to consider the financial incentives package for the $140-million center, which Gov. Jeb Bush terms as “a once-in-a-lifetime chance to diversify the state's economy, ending its long reliance on tourism and service industries.” In chronicling how the Scripps deal unfolded, the story notes that Scripps took advantage of an exemption in the state’s public records laws to conceal its plans until it had a chance to brief its board of trustees. Notes the story: “Communities submitted packages without knowing to whom they were pitching. Scripps selected four finalists: Palm Beach County, Orlando, Tampa and one still-unidentified city and dispatched a four-man team to see them first-hand. The team, cautious to assure nothing could identify Scripps, gave out only their first names. They were introduced to university presidents, elected officials and business executives simply as Bill, Bob, Ben and Doug.” In another recommended read on the Scripps deal, Lucy Morgan, Steve Bousquet and Alisa Ulferts of the St. Petersburg Times note that the legislation lawmakers will consider this week would eventually require the company to repay Florida up to $155-million, or half of the state's investment. “The legislation calls for a five-member board known as the Scripps Florida Funding Corp. to control the money. The board, with three members chosen by Bush and two by the Legislature, would negotiate details of the Scripps deal, and would be exempt from some public records laws,” the story says. For more details on the legislation and the special session, see the state’s Florida Online Sunshine Web site. The public records handbook profiles the Web site on Page 216.
October 17, 2003 Maloy ethics case dropped: Records produced through Florida administrative hearing process can be a big deal. James L. Rosica of The Tallahassee Democrat offers a story about how the Florida Commission on Ethics grudgingly accepted an administrative hearing judge’s decision that a Leon County commissioner decision did not break state ethics laws “when he allegedly engaged in romantic and sexual behavior with female subordinates.” The commission sent the decision back to the judge for reconsideration but he refused, which “left commissioners holding their noses as they approved a result they did not agree with.” One ethics commissioner said the ruling would “dumb-down” behavioral standards for public officials and that the judge should not handle more ethics cases. The county commissioner’s behavior in question involved four women. The story says court records indicate the commissioner “still faces a Florida Elections Commission probe into allegations of financial improprieties involving the campaign account for his 2000 election.” The state’s Division of Administrative Hearings posts many of its case documents online. Check it out. The public records handbook explains the administrative hearing process and the records that result from it starting on Page 143. Records from Florida Commission on Ethics rulings are outlined on Page 166, while civil court records are explored on Page 82 and criminal court records are addressed on Page 103.
October 16, 2003 "Dirty Dining" reports: Reporters at WFTS ABC
28 News in Tampa Bay rely on state restaurant inspection reports in producing this continuing series on some of the best and worst restaurants in the Tampa Bay area. The station archives previous installments, which include links to the video as shown on TV. The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation inspects restaurants in Florida and publishes a regular online listing of final disciplinary actions taken against restaurants that do not comply with state regulations. The public records handbook explains how to obtain restaurant and food store inspection reports, and what you can find on them, on Page 334.
October 15, 2003 Report cards for hospitals proposed: This is a story about a public records resource that doesn’t exist yet. Sanjay Bhatt of The Palm Beach Post reports on the proposal of the Florida Senate’s only doctor to create a state-produced online report card for every hospital in the Sunshine State.
As envisioned by Pensacola Sen. Durell Peaden Jr., the report card would include “the percentage of unexpected deaths and injuries, the types of procedures related to those bad outcomes, the types of malpractice claims filed and disciplinary actions taken against the hospital's medical staff.” The state’s hospital association dislikes the idea, but Peaden notes the state produces similar report cards on nursing homes. Language for Peaden’s bill, SB 1912, had yet to be posted on the Florida Legislature’s Online Sunshine Web page as of this listing. This story is one of the better overviews on medical facility report cards that I’ve seen in some time. But this piece is just one of several in an extensive Post series on Florida’s insurance crisis.
The public records handbook profiles hospital regulatory records on Page 156, nursing home licensing and regulations records on Page 297 and the Florida Online Sunshine Web site on Page 216.
October 14, 2003 Man charged in assaults has 90 arrests on record: Results from a routine criminal background check can be surprising. A criminal background check from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement by Akilah Johnson of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel revealed 90 arrests dating to 1977 for a man most recently charged with breaking into a Delray Beach apartment and trying to rape a woman. The 45-year-old man had at least 40 criminal convictions on charges such as for gambling, forging checks and stealing cars, records showed. The story also relied on a police report for the basic details surrounding the man’s most recent arrest. The story says the latest charges facing him are armed robbery, attempted sexual battery, aggravated battery and battery on a police dog, which he is accused of attacking after the dog went into the bushes to find him. Florida statewide criminal background checks are available online for $23 a search through the FDLE. The public records handbook explains how to conduct criminal background checks on Page 101. The handbook addresses the offerings of arrest reports on Page 23.
October 13, 2003 Star ballplayers like local turf: Property records help James Thorner of the St. Petersburg Times detail how retired and active Major League Baseball stars are making some big plays in the Pasco County real estate market. Don Mattingly, Tino Martinez and Fred McGriff are familiar names to baseball buffs. But their names, along with related companies in some cases, also factor into some prime Pasco County properties. Former New York Yankee great Mattingly owns dozens of acres along both sides of Interstate 75 along State Road 54 while Tampa native Martinez of the St. Louis Cardinals owns 10.5 acres along busy Oakley Boulevard. McGriff, a former Tampa Bay Devil Ray who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers this season, owns a dozen acres north of State Road 54. A common thread among the three is their Clearwater agent, the story says. The public records handbook profiles deed records on Page 113 and property appraisals on Page 322.
October 10, 2003 State orders UF to assess landfill contamination: Records from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection are important in this story by Greg C. Bruno of The Gainesville Sun about contamination beneath two landfills the University of Florida operated more than three decades ago. A draft consent order from the DEP “instructs the university to determine the impact to ground and surface water in the vicinity of the closed dump sites, map the extent of the pollution and identify the site's current exposure risks to humans and the environment.” Two former students are considering legal action against UF, claiming the cancers they have now resulted from drinking well water tainted by the university's dumping activities. The story also references a DEP report from Sept. 26 that pointed to the UF sites as the culprit for high amounts of contaminants – arsenic, benzene and radiological material – in the acquifer immediately to the west of the university's site. The report indicated officials recorded pollutants at 24 times beyond the state's allowable drinking water standards.
October 9, 2003 Tickets next stop for runners of red lights: Public information often shapes public policy. Sean Smith of the Pensacola News Journal relates how law enforcement officials use accident statistics and complaint information to determine where to crack down on motorists who run red lights. “In 2001, red-light runners cost Florida citizens about $375 million in an array of costs such as higher insurance premiums. The violators caused 9,111 crashes in which there were 107 fatalities and 13,680 injuries, statistics from the Florida Highway Patrol show.” The story includes a list of area law enforcement phone numbers for reporting problem intersections in the Pensacola area. The public records handbook explores traffic crash reports on Page 357.
October 8, 2003 Task force's papers allege pill trafficking: Investigative records released by a Palm Beach County State Attorney task force on the dealings of an alleged pill mill drive this story by Peter Franceschina of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. The story says a 60-year-old Loxahatchee man “controlled a pharmacy and a medical clinic that authorities say illegally dispensed hundreds of thousands of narcotic painkillers that brought him an estimated $1.4 million over three years, even though he was a convicted felon and on probation for practicing medicine without a license.” The man was arrested on March 13. The story says nothing in the documents linked him to talk show host Rush Limbaugh or his former Palm Beach housekeeper who claims she sold Limbaugh thousands of prescription drugs. The public records handbook covers arrest reports on Page 23. Licensing and regulatory records of the Florida Department of Health, which regulates pharmacists and pharmacies in Florida, are explained starting on Page 194.
October 7, 2003 County workers yank junk cars, boar from yard: Code enforcement records typically chronicle fights against blight. The records play an important role in this story by Corey Schubert of Florida Today about an eight-year county battle to clean up a family lawn doubling as a junkyard in Brevard County. Old vehicles at the house piled up for years contrary to local zoning laws. The story says the records show “the owners have accumulated about $22,240 in fines over the years, which started with $25 a day in early 1997 and capped when they totaled 35 percent of the property's assessed value. This imposes a lien on the property effective for 20 years or until it's paid.” The cleanup in this case also involved removing a 250-pound black boar from its pen in the back yard. The public records handbook profiles code enforcement records on Page 87 and liens on Page 266.
October 6, 2003 Council calls on honor system: News stories based on public records can inspire results even before they appear in print. Matt Galnor of The Florida Times-Union reviewed cell phone records for the 19-member Jacksonville City Council to determine that one council member had reimbursed the city for personal cell phone calls only once since 1999. After being questioned about the $14,200 in charges he had racked up during his term, the council member wrote a personal check to the city for $4,655 as reimbursement for his personal calls. This story appeared the next day, noting the city has spent $87,000 for council member cell phone use since 1999. “A review of cell phone records found some council members stay on top of their bills every month, some pay every three or six months and others are far less regular in their payments,” the story said. The public records handbook profiles telephone records of public officials on Page 350.
October 3, 2003 Man in standoff had job troubles: Lise Fisher of The Gainesville Sun used state employment records, county court records and a statewide criminal history check for this story about a man shot to death by police Tuesday after a high-speed chase that ended in a crash. Among other details, the 59-year-old nurse’s employment records at a state psychiatric hospital indicated he faced termination after another employee said he threatened her. A statewide criminal background check from the Florida Department of Law Enforcment showed he had a clean criminal history, while a county traffic court check showed he had one speeding infraction last month. The public records handbook profiles government personnel records on Page 239, criminal background checks on Page 101 and county traffic court records on Page 354.
October 2, 2003 Fatal crash driver once suspended: Florida driving records are a standard check for reporters writing about vehicle crashes. The records enable Gabriel Margasak of the Stuart News to report that a man who told authorities he blacked out before crashing into and killing an Indian River Community College student had been suspended from driving for medical reasons but reinstated about a month before the crash. State officials suspended the license of the 45-year-old driver on Jan. 2 because he was incapable of operating a vehicle due to a medical reason, which officials would not specify because of privacy concerns. Martin County sheriff’s records showed the same driver had blacked out and crashed into some parked cars in 2002. The deputy who filed that report noted the driver was an epileptic who was taking medication at that time. The story explains a general state review process for Florida drivers “who might have a condition or problem that could be a danger on the road.” The public records handbook explains how to find and research driver license and history records on Page 134 and traffic crash reports on Page 357.
October 1, 2003 Public to track Witham Field flights on Net: Government Web sites can be invaluable sources of practical information. Jim Turner of the Stuart News reports an Internet tracking system is coming soon for residents who want to track departing, arriving and over-flying planes at Witham Field in Martin County. Says the story: "Only a handful of airports nationwide use the MegaData system, which can show air traffic within a 5-mile radius from the main runway or up to 80 miles from an airport." At least one community activist said the system would help people who make noise complaints who will soon be able to track flight patterns over their neighborhoods. The system will be accessed through the Martin County Web site at www.martin.fl.us. The Boca Raton Airport has been using the system for a year with public access provided at www.bocaairport.com. Click on "Flight Tracks."
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