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Joe's Hit Records!
 New from iDig!: Check out the new links page on Florida county school board meetings. Get agendas, meeting minutes and more ...
HOT!: Catch up on Florida open government and public records news in one place with The Florida Sunshine Review ...
Open records and meetings links, resources.
See public records power at work through these selected stories driven or bolstered by public documents in Florida and sometimes elsewhere. Related records profiled in The Florida Public Records Handbook are often noted for those interested in doing similar research on their own. Nominations for this list are always welcome!
August 19, 2008
Florida Sunshine Review:
 Sarasota Herald-Tribune, by Aaron Kessler: Manatee and Duval County clerks of court will soon offer foreclosure sales online …
Miami Herald, by Matthew I. Pinzur: Online public records become issue in Miami-Dade clerk of courts race …
August 17, 2008
Florida Sunshine Review:
St. Petersburg Times, by Rita Farlow: It’s OK to look at photos in D.C. Madam suicide case but not to publish, judge says …
Tallahassee Democrat, by Bruce Ritchie: Judge orders Jefferson County Tax Collector Lois Howell-Hunter to turn over public records she had denied Caroline Carswell, her opponent in the primary election …
Naples Daily News, column by Phil Lewis: Opinions differ on open government and journalism practice with interviews …
Naples Daily News, by Leslie Williams: State lawmaker questions whether Alligator Alley lease meeting by Florida Department of Transportation officials violated Sunshine Law …
August 16, 2008
Miami grand jury calls for mental health law reform: A local document occasionally can have statewide implications. A Miami-Dade grand jury report obtained by Susannah A. Nesmith of the Miami Herald calls “for sweeping reforms of the state's law dealing with the dangerously mentally ill, warning of another Virginia Tech-like tragedy if the system isn't fixed." Similar to the man who killed 32 people and himself at Virginia Tech last year, the report says that Florida has similar laws to Virginia’s and also has mentally ill people who are falling through the cracks. The grand jury made 19 recommendations for changes to help diffuse the dangerously mentally ill in Florida before they hurt themselves and others. See the report here.
August 15, 2008
Records on a roll:
Wal-Mart annual report on jobs: Craig Cox of Alachua County Today on how the Wal-Mart Distribution Center has met its obligations to create at least 600 jobs in Alachua based on an annual report the retail giant must make each year until 2014 ...
Inspection reports on health facilities: Bob LaMendola of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel about inspection reports and results of complaint investigations involving most Florida health facilities now being put online by the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration ...
Search warrant, criminal court records, police report: Nomaan Merchant of the St. Petersburg Times on a 66-year-old sex offender caught up in a youth online sex sting by a state CyberCrime Unit ...
Campaign finance reports: Eric Pfahler of TCPalm.com on the latest St. Lucie County financial reports for local candidates ...
Overtime pay records: Mark Schlueb of the Orlando Sentinel on the soaring costs of overtime as Orlando Police confront crime ...
August 14, 2008
Computer error strikes teen’s DUI conviction: Sometimes the mere checking of a record can lead to righting a wrong. Florida Times-Union reporter Bridget Murphy’s check on a drunken driving conviction revealed “a teenager whose drunken driving paralyzed another motorist disappeared from some state records after computer errors, causing government officials to mistakenly reinstate his driving privileges." Murphy’s check of records at the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles found that Brandon Hoffman, the 17-year-old driver who hit Don Worley and left him in a wheelchair following the 2005 crash in Flagler County, had no felony conviction on his record. The revelation prompted the state to revoke Hoffman’s license and restore his conviction record. It also pointed out computer problems to be fixed in the Flagler County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office.
August 13, 2008
Records on the case:
Foreclosure records: Mary Wozniak of the Fort Myers Free-Press about foreclosures of big-ticket homes in Lee County, looking at the Top 10 foreclosures on single-family residences and how “if you live big, you can also lose big." The story includes a photo gallery of the foreclosure mansions and a link for looking up foreclosures in Southwest Florida …
Police personnel files: Corey Clark of the Tallahassee Democrat on the “exemplary" records of two Tallahassee Police Department officers before a drug-and-gun sting operation that went terribly wrong, leading to an undercover informant’s death …
City attorney’s report on contract procedures: Timothy J. Gibbons of The Florida Times-Union Jacksonville city attorneys calling for upgraded procedures at the Jacksonville Port Authority in the wake of an FBI investigation into former board member Tony Nelson and port contracts …
Civil lawsuit that included liens and sworn affidavits: Aisling Swift of the Naples Daily News about a man’s efforts to market, tie up and sell property that its owners did not want to sell ...
August 12, 2008
State let crooked brokers keep stealing: Public records can help expose how devastating it can be for consumers when government regulators do not regulate as they should. Regulatory files and orders, criminal court records, agency reports and other documents fuel this Miami Herald story by Rob Barry, Matthew Haggman and Jack Dolan about how the Florida Department of Financial Services repeatedly caught mortgage professionals breaking the law – including stealing from clients – but allowed them to remain in business with few consequences. One woman with a mortgage company “had forged documents to fleece lenders. She had skimmed money off a customer's loan. She had lied to conceal 19 questionable mortgages," the story said. Regulators, however, didn’t revoke her license or call for a criminal probe. Instead, she got fined, promised to stop breaking the law and then “went on to steal $2.5 million in loans and nine more homes – including one from a recently widowed, disabled Vietnam veteran and another from a blind, 79-year old woman with Alzheimer's disease." Only after a judge had tossed the woman in jail did the department revoke her license, the story says.
August 10, 2008
The Caylee Anthony Case: Public records such as case documents and jail audio recordings make this multi-media presentation from the Orlando Sentinel about the ongoing saga of missing 3-year-old Caylee Marie Anthony one of the most engaging stories you’ll read online. The presentation includes a video backstory, key players and a timeline of the Caylee case, which has become one of the most followed across the nation. There’s video that includes crime scene technicians visiting Caylee Anthony’s grandparents house; a photo gallery that includes Casey Anthony, Caylee’s mother and a key “person of interest" in the case; and, of course, all the recent stories reported by Sun-Sentinel staffers Sarah Lundy, Amy L. Edwards, Bianca Prieto and Walter Pacheco. Be sure to check out the phone recordings of Casey Anthony and her brother Lee from the Orange County jail, plus the case documents, which include a search warrant in the case and Casey Anthony’s arrest report.
Florida Sunshine Review:
Palm Beach Post, by Jennifer Sorentrue: Former U.S. Attorney Dexter Lehtinen sues South Florida water managers and alleges regarding proposed $1.75 billion U.S. sugar buyout …
Naples Daily News, column by Phil Lewis: State attorney should put Collier School Board to the test on possible Sunshine Law violations …
The News Sun, by Kevin J. Shutt: Clerk grants access to video regarding the theft of county fuel despite attorney’s advice …
July 26, 2008
Florida Sunshine Review:
Fort Myers News-Press, by Jacob Ogles: Cape Coral officials face allegations of possible Sunshine Law violations …
Fort Myers News-Press, by Jacob Ogles: State investigates Cape Coral city council members on possible Sunshine Law violation …
Panama City News-Herald, by Ryan Burr: Anti-dissolution group alleges Sunshine Law violated by Cedar Grove officials …
Palm Beach Post, by Susan Spencer-Wendel: Judge rules that Wendy’s shooting video can be viewed regarding fatal death of Palm Beach County firefighter …
Florida Times-Union editorial: Voters will be watching for candidate positions on open government laws enforcement in Duval County State Attorney race …
Lakeland Ledger editorial: Judge used common cense and concern in recent ruling of private e-mails by Venice city officials …
July 3, 2008
Florida Sunshine Review:
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, by Kim Hackett: Judge grants access to three City Council members’ e-mails in case alleging open meeting violations …
Lakeland Ledger, by Rick Rousos: Legal fee information released regarding Polk County Opportunity Council defense of alleged open meeting violations …
Florida Times-Union editorial: Jacksonville City Council members have no excuses for any future Sunshine Law abuses given new model training program …
June 29, 2008
Records roll out:
E-mails: *Leslie Williams of the Naples Daily News on protest letters and e-mails pouring into Gov. Charlie Crist regarding a plan to put Allegator Alley up for rent (*free registration required) …
Nurse licensing records with the Florida Department of Health, police report: Molly Moorhead of the St. Petersburg Times about a Pasco-Hernando Community College instructor whose fraudulent nursing license was discovered after an online check by the college revealed her license number belonged to someone else …
Impact fees report: Nicholas Azzara of the Bradenton Herald on the struggle to track millions of dollars in impact fees for new roads collected from developers. The story includes a link to 39-page PDF report …
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services report: Patty Pensa of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on five Palm Beach County hospitals cited for denying ER care ..
Federal Trade Commission statistics: Jacob Schneider of The Tampa Tribune on tips to help the elderly avoid identity theft scams. The story says Florida residents reported more than 50,000 cases of fraud or identity theft last year and lost an average of more than $2,000 per case ...
Florida Sunshine Review:
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, by Todd Ruger: Sarasota Sheriff’s Office settles Sunshine Law lawsuit, required to undergo training and pay $15,613 in legal fees …
Lakeland Ledger editorial page: Cloudiness on how to keep electronic communications records can lead to abuse and controversy regarding public officials …
St. Petersburg Times, by Dave DeCamp: Records of county commission candidate withheld in Pasco County due to law exemption …
Sarasota Herald Tribune, by Kim Hackett: Judge asked to order volunteer government board members to turn over computer e-mails in ongoing lawsuit over alleged Sunshine Law violations in Venice …
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, by Kim Hackett: E-mail training is insufficient for elected and appointed officials in Venice …
Tampa Bay Business Journal: Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation upgrades its online services …
June 15, 2008
Records in play:
FBI scam statistics, foreclosure records: Duane Marsteller and Brian Neill of the Bradenton Herald on how “rescue scams" are resulting in troubled homeowners signing away their rights to their own properties …
Tax revenue statistics on Seminole Tribe operations: John Holland of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on how Seminole Tribe gambling operations are thriving while Broward County is struggling...
Court files, dockets: Chris Tisch of the St. Petersburg Times on how post-conviction motions by prisoners are clogging Tampa Bay area courts ...
Utility records: Pedro Morales of the Fort Myers News-Press on how Southwest Florida utility companies are losing big money from customers not paying their fees …
Florida Sunshine Review:
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, by Kim Hackett: Open records case with Venice City Council draws national attention on freedom of information front …
Daytona Beach News-Journal: Gelber earns First Amendment award from First Amendment Foundation …
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, column by Eric Ernst: Laws don’t take sides on public records at Venice City Council …
June 13, 2008
Florida Sunshine Review:
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, by Kim Hackett: Judge says Venice City Council members must hand over home PCs for retrieval of government-business e-mail …
ABC Action News.com: Florida Attorney General’s Office launches new Web site on most wanted fugitives …
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, by Todd Ruger: Sarasota County arrests posted online ask a judge to rule that recorded telephone conversations of jail inmates are not public record …
Florida Times-Union editorial: Public records prices from Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office fall after newspaper inquiries …
Orlando Sentinel editorial: Attorney General McCollum’s “sunshine" advocate has an important role to play…
Florida Times-Union, by Paul Pinkham: Duval State Attorney Harry Shorstein changes policy on copying files sought by outside agencies …
Tallahassee Democrat, by Nic Corbett: Leon grand jury selection held in private …
Cape Coral Daily Breeze, by Matt Blumenfeld: Cape Coral conversations before meeting cloud open meetings mandate …
June 4, 2008
Florida Sunshine Review:
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, by Kim Hackett: City of Venice promises to stop deleting records in open government case …
The Tampa Tribune, by Ray Reyes: Florida Attorney General’s Office launches new Web site on most wanted fugitives …
St. Petersburg Times, by Jonathan Abel: Attorneys for Nick Bollea, Hulk Hogan’s son, file lawsuit asking a judge to rule that recorded telephone conversations of jail inmates are not public record …
June 3, 2008
Florida Sunshine Review:
Florida Times-Union editorial: City attorneys should seek attorney general’s opinion on legality of local ordinance allowing higher-than-usual costs for public records copies from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office …
Fort Myers News-Press, by Paul Flemming: Florida Attorney General’s Office appoints new attorney to focus on open government issues …
June 1, 2008
Leno may not get to meet Tallahassee’s best-known 101-year-old driver: Sometimes individual records aren’t public but the statistics derived from them are. Gerald Ensley of the Tallahassee Democrat proves the point in this story about 101-year-old Tallahassee driver Lillian Cox who has been invited to join Jay Leno on “The Tonight Show" but probably won’t go because of recent heart problems. Says the story: “Cox drives her 1984 Cadillac de Ville on short trips around Tallahassee. She never drives at night and admitted her family wants her to quit driving." The story also notes the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles cannot release information about individual drivers (at least not much) but would provide stats showing 11,218 people age 95 and over in Florida still have driving privileges whether they use them or not.
Records rewind:
Foreclosure records, property appraisals: Dick Hogan of the Fort Myers News-Press on how foreclosures are wrecking havoc with the budgets of homeowner groups in Lee County ...
Civil lawsuit: Elliott Jones of the Vero Beach Press-Journal on sexual harassment lawsuit by a former female employee at the Vero Beach office of the 19th Judicial Circuit Public Defender’s Office ...
Internal affairs report, police personnel file: Lisa J. Huriash of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on an internal affairs investigation in Coral Springs that concluded one police officer meant to embarrass or intimidate another during a traffic stop …
State campaign finance records: Adam C. Smith of the St. Petersburg Times about the role of Democratic Party rabble-rouser Jon Ausman in resolving the bitter dispute over Florida’s votes in the Democratic presidential primary …
May 31, 2008
Florida Sunshine Review:
Florida Times-Union, by Tia Mitchell: Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office fees for public records copies are several times more than state law specifies …
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, by Zac Anderson: Accusations of behind-the-scenes dealing in Venice ramp up requests for public records and raise questions …
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, by Kim Hackett: Council member in Venice apologizes for possible violation of state public records law …
Fort Myers News-Press editorial: Crist keeps the sun shining for open government in capital…
Fort Myers News-Press, column by attorney Joe Adams (not the iDig Joe Adams): Records of condo associations must be made available to members …
May 29, 2008
Logjam snarls contractor complaints: Mc Nelly Torres of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel tapped complaint and other records from the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation to peg a dramatic rise in complaints about unlicensed contractors in recent years along with a state backlog in getting to them. The story says consumer complaints against contractors are up 83 percent over the past four years, with jumps during and after the active hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005. Check out these numbers: 5,733 complaints were filed in 2003 followed by 8,758 in 2004, 11,557 in 2005 and 10,498 in 2006. Enforcement staffing, meanwhile, has stayed flat.
May 28, 2008
State knew about toxic Pinellas plume in 1999, records show: Public records can shed light on crucial agency decisions with consequences on public safety. In this case, for instance, Mark Douglas of News Channel 8 and Carlos Moncada of The Tampa Tribune report on documents that showed state regulators knew a toxic chemicals from industrial waste was migrating from a defense plant toward the Azalea neighborhood at least nine years ago and long before residents did. The records show a Florida Department of Environmental Protection staffer was concerned enough that he prepared a letter for the agency’s district director by 2001. The letter instructed plant owner Raytheon Network Centric Systems to relook the risk to the public and to alert neighbors with irrigation wells. The letter was never sent, and tests have since shown eight homes near the plant with contaminated irrigation wells. The DEP, after initially saying there was no health risks, says the risks are now unclear. This revealing story also includes a link to an irrigation wells database with reports, maps, videos, documents and stories.
May 26, 2008
Money no issue in investigating Boca Raton area abductions, killings: Public records can provide the taxpayer side of issues that might be overlooked otherwise. Spending records obtained by Leon Fooksman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel indicate aggressive spending on a nine-member task force investigating a series of abductions and killings linked to the Town Center mall in Boca Raton. The records show the task force formed in January has spent more than $108,000, with almost $94,000 for officer overtime pay and $14,700 in DNA testing. A federal grant will cover the money spent on overtime. The story says Boca Raton police and Palm Beach County deputies “are trying to determine if the Dec. 12 slayings of a mother and her 7-year-old daughter are related to an August carjacking and robbery of a 30-year-old woman and her 2-year-old son and the March 2007 killing of a 52-year-old mother who lived west of Boca Raton." This story also includes a link to a database with five years of violent crime data at South Florida malls.
Records roll call:
Audit, property appraisals, Florida Department of Law Enforcement records: Sarah Okeson of Florida Today on a proposed $2 million state land buy along the Indian River that raises several concerns, in part from an auditor’s report that said the purchase “would not be based on sound valuation, would not be consistent with the public purpose for land acquisition by governmental agencies, and is not necessary" ...
Jail records, arrest report, Florida Department of Corrections prison records: Neil Johnson of The Tampa Tribune about a registered sexual offender released from prison on November who is now charged with raping a 10-year-old girl in Tampa …
Federal campaign contribution records: Jim Saunders of the Daytona Beach News-Journal on fundraising efforts by New Smyrna Beach Democrat Suzanne Kosmas to unseat U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney in the District 24 post in Congress …
School district leave records, city meeting records: Ihosvani Rodriguez of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Hollywood city commissioner Beam Furr defending his use of leave time from his library job at Flanagan High School ...
Florida Sunshine Review:
Fort Myers News-Press, by Jim Ash: Sunshine Law supporters beaming over how open government fared with recent legislative session …
Missouri Associated Press, analysis by David A. Lieb: Missouri governor responds to Sunshine Law violation allegations by retaliating with his own use of Missouri’s open-records law …
Hot off the presses:
Thomas Conner of the Chicago Sun-Times writes about the MTV reality show “The Paper," which follows the staff of the Circuit, the student newspaper at Cypress Bay High School in Florida’s very own Weston …
May 25, 2008
Florida Sunshine Review:
Orlando Sentinel, by Josh Robbins: State schools are inconsistent going public with records …
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, by Kim Hackett: Sunshine lawsuit against city of Venice by activist stirs up talk, speculation …
Sarsota Herald-Tribune, by Kim Hackett: City manager claims Sunshine Law was violated …
Florida Times-Union, by Paul Pinkham: State attorney candidates in Jacksonville share views on open government laws …
Stuart News editorial: Florida’s open meeting law still enables government to pull down the shades …
Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota resident files complaint against Venice officials, alleging Sunshine Law violations …
May 12, 2008
Florida Sunshine Review:
Highland Today editorial: Negotiation with proposed Highlands County administrator illustrates how fortunate Floridians are to have strong government access laws …
Bradenton Herald, column by Joan Krauter: Let’s keep the Sunshine beaming for Trailer Estates residents …
Florida Times-Union, by Paul Pinkham: Times-Union plans to sue state attorney over handling of probe records …
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, by Anthony Cormier: Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office accused of violating Florida’s open meetings law …
Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Venice mayor disputes claim that Sunshine Law was broken …
Stuart News editorial: Fellsmere follies trample open government and taxpayers …
Highlands Today, by Bill Rettew Jr.: Local public watchdog Preston Colby is back in court seeking public records …
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, by Kim Hackett: Venice Mayor Ed Martin denies violation of Sunshine Law …
Boca Raton News, by John Johnston: Proposed "Voice of the People Act" on meetings draws mixed reviews …
Broward New Times, The Daily Pulp blog by Bob Norman: Public records request shows how in government gets around the spirit of and intent of the Sunshine Law …
Bradenton Herald editorial: Manatee County needs to upgrade its act in following-open government laws …
Florida Times-Union, by Kevin Turner: Fernandina Beach Inn owners legal actions include allegation of Sunshine Law violation …
South Florida Sun-Sentinel, by Sarah Talalay: Suit against new Marlins ballpark moves forward but open records violation point dismissed by judge …
Daytona Beach News-Journal, by Mark I. Johnson: Public records access getting easier in New Smyrna Beach …
Sunshine Sunday, March 16, 2008
Sunshine Sunday is an annual focus by Florida newspapers and other media on the value of open government. Since it began in Florida, the effort has gone national and expanded to “Sunshine Week." Aside from sample stories posted here, read more articles and see cartoons through the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors’ Web site …
Tallahassee Democrat: Gov. Crist proclaims a week of sunshine …
South Florida Sun-Sentinel editorial: Sunshine Sunday calls attention to Florida’s open records and meetings laws …
Tampa Tribune, guest column by Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum: Florida should be proud is of Sunshine Week …
Florida Times-Union editorial: Practical power of public records can help people make better life choices, keep government accountable …
Bradenton Herald, by Nicholas Azzara and Grace Agostin: Manatee government works in the sunshine …
Lakeland Ledger, guest column by Barbara Petersen: Latest audit of agencies regarding open records requests proves to be enlightening …
Tallahassee Democrat editorial: Bloggers, pontificators have equal access to government information under open government laws …
Palm Beach Post editorial: Story examples from Post show how public records make a difference to society …
Panama City News-Herald, by Tony Bridges: Cell phone records lacking in newspaper response to public records requests …
March 6, 2008
Florida Sunshine Review:
Associated Press, by Bill Kaczor: Florida hospitals lose court fight against patients’ right to know …
Florida Times-Union editorial: Sunshine law is strong but not absurd …
Sarasota Herald Tribune, by Anna Scott: Editors criticize limits on records before state open government panel …
Tampa Tribune editorial: Horse rules by state agency come up lame on medical history, names …
American Chronicle, by Lanny Britnell: The changing face of identity theft requires new awareness …
February 13, 2008
Florida Sunshine Review:
Daytona Beach News-Journal editorial: Unjustified secrecy gives hospitals cover when they mess up …
Fort Myers News-Press editorial: Proposed state legislation would open up spending practices of local governments to the people …
Daytona Beach News-Journal, guest column by Barbara Petersen: Access to public records is critical to democracy …
Tampa Tribune, by Michael D. Bates: Decision coming soon on whether state attorney will pursue an inquiry into whether a Spring Hill Fire Rescue District commissioner violated the Florida Government-in-the-Sunshine Law.…
February 11, 2008
Florida Sunshine Review:
*Naples Daily News, by Leslie Williams: Collier judge finds Marco City council member guilty of violating public records law (*free registration required) …
Florida Times-Union, by Beth Kormanik: State attorney dismisses any notion of prosecuting a sunshine violation unless it involves kickbacks or other serious problems …
Florida Times-Union editorial: State Attorney Shorstein sends devastating signal to officials in three counties by saying he won’t prosecute open government violations …
Florida Times-Union editorial: Grand jury accepts lack of candor by Jacksonville City Council in Sunshine probe and declines to call key witnesses …
Florida Times-Union, column by Mark Woods: Grand jury probe of Jacksonville City Council Sunshine culture leaves much room for doubt …
Florida Times-Union, by columnist Mark Woods: Jacksonville City Council woman who testified before a grand jury wins praise for being more open than her colleagues …
St. Petersburg Times editorial: People have a right to know what business of theirs is being litigated in their name …
Lakeland Ledger editorial: Don’t close lawyer records as government lawyers are pitching…
January 27, 2008
Florida Sunshine Review:
Florida Times-Union, by Mary Kelli Palka: Grand jury returns no indictments in Jacksonville City Council Sunshine probe with release of presentment pending …
Tampa
Tribune editorial: Tampa Bay Water board’s secretive vote leaves public high and dry …
*Naples Daily News: Legal defense fund set up for Marco Island city councilman accused of violating public records law by deleting public e-mails on private account (*free registration required) …
Tallahassee Democrat, by TaMaryn Waters: Fish fry raises Sunshine questions in Leon County …
Fort Myers News-Press editorial: Refresher on open meetings in Cape Coral is a good idea …
Daytona Beach News-Journal, guest column by Barbara Petersen: Access to public records critical for democracy …
January 12, 2008
Florida Sunshine Review:
Florida Times-Union, by Jim Schoettler: Florida Times-Union’s Sunshine Law probe earns top honors in North Central Florida SPJ awards …
*Naples Daily News, by Katherine Lewis: Secrecy prevailed among Collier County School Board before firing, attorney says (*free registration required) …
Florida Times-Union, by J. Taylor Rushing: Governor’s Sunshine panel marks its first year (*free registration required) …
South Florida Sun-Sentinel, by Vanessa Blum: Gag order raises questions in Liberty City terror trial (*free registration required) …
*Miami Herald, by Susannah A. Nesmith: Judge issues gag order in Sean Taylor murder case (*free registration required) …
*Naples Daily News, by Liam Dillon: Marco Island city council member vows to fight charges that he broke state public records laws (*free registration required) …
December 22, 2007
Florida Sunshine Review:
Fort Myers News-Press editorial: News-Press receives $105,000 in attorneys fees relating to FEMA public records release …
*Fort Pierce Tribune, by Alexi Howk: Fort Pierce Mayor Bob Benton, two others accused of Sunshine Law violations (*free registration required) …
*Fort Pierce Tribune, by Alexi Howk:Sunshine Law allegations against Benton, others likely to be hard to prove, State Attorney’s Office says (*free registration required) …
*Naples Daily News, by Katherine Lewis: Former Collier County Schools Superintendent Ray Baker’s Sunshine Law lawsuit heads to court (*free registration required) …
December 18, 2007
Records home for the holidays:
Florida State University coaching contract: Scott Carter of The Tampa Tribune on the $2.5 million contract of Florida State University assistant football coach Jimbo Fisher, who would have to pay $2.5 million to take another coaching job or receive $2.5 million if he remains at FSU and isn’t offered the head coaching job by Jan. 9, 2011 ...
Ticket distribution records, invoices, guest lists: Beth Kormanik of The Florida Times-Union about how spotty record-keeping makes it hard to peg who is benefitting from the mayor and Jacksonville City Council’s use of taxpayer financed perks …
E-mails: S.V. Date of the Palm Beach Post on efforts by former top aide of Gov. Jeb Bush to undo court rulings that found vouchers unconstitutional …
Court records: Henry Pierson Curtis of the Orlando Sentinel about how Orange County Sheriff’s deputies were surprised to learn a man they arrested on gun and drug charges had obtained a state concealed weapons license despite having two prior drug convictions...
December 17, 2007
Florida Sunshine Review:
Tampa Tribune editorial: Gov. Crist shouldn’t let CSX Railroad derail open government …
St. Petersburg Times, by Shannon Colavecchio-Van Sickler: University of Florida clash pits free speech against faith …
Tampa Tribune editorial: Suppressing speech on campus hurts University of Florida’s prestige …
December 16, 2007
Florida child deaths skyrocket: Government reports can chronicle disturbing trends. A preliminary draft report from the Florida Child Death Review Committee reviewed by Rachel Myers of the Fort Myers News-Press indicates the “number of Florida children who died after suffering some form of abuse or neglect spiked 80 percent from 2005 to 2006." That translates into 170 children dead from verified abuse and neglect, up from 95 deaths the year before. Officials said part of the reason for the higher numbers is a change toward more accurate reporting. For instance, swimming pool deaths weren’t considered child abuse before but are now being factored in the statistics. A box with more statistics from the draft report accompanies the story.
December 15, 2007
Records in the round:
NASA e-mails: The Associated Press on NASA’s release of some saucy e-mails among more than 200 pages of messages relating to the criminal case against former astronaut Lisa Nowak and also involving astronaut William Oefelein and Air Force Capt. Colleen Shipman …
Divorce records, police reports, school records: Stephen Thompson, Mike Wells and Mark Douglas of The Tampa Tribune/News Channel 8 on the slayings of two adults and two children and the father suspected of the killings who apparently shot himself …
Civic association letter: William Cooper Jr. of the Palm Beach Post about the Singer Island Civic Association writing State Rep. Carl Domino asking for the state to take over Riviera Beach city government ...
December 14, 2007
Records in the spotlight:
Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigative records: Lisa J. Huriash of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on former Parkland Mayor Robert Marks receiving almost $157,000 over four years from his business ties with the city's largest developer …
Grand jury report, police reports, court documents: Pat Gillespie of the Fort Myers News-Press about the defendants in the shooting death of NFL star Sean Taylor in Miami ...
Audit: Mark Hollis of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on an audit that gives the Palm Beach County Convention and Visitors Bureaus mixed reviews on how it accounts for millions of dollars a year…
Indictments: John W. Allman and Elaine Silvestrini of The Tampa Tribune on 13 indictments in a Tampa housing fraud scheme, including a former Hillsborough County sheriff’s corporal and a former University of Florida football standout …
December 13, 2007
Florida Sunshine Review:
South Florida Sun-Sentinel, by Andy Reid: Everglades cleanup could dodge public records laws …
Palm Beach Post editorial:Curb SLAPP court harrassment of development critics …
Gainesville Sun, by Jack Stripling: State Attorney General Bill McCollum blasts University of Florida over free speech …
Tallahassee Democrat, by Bill Cotterell: Public records access takes leap into 21st century …
Tampa Bay Newspapers Beach Beacon, by Bob McClure: Former Reddington Beach Town commissioner Sam Maniotes awarded fees after winning a public records-related lawsuit against the city …
December 11, 2007
TiCo Air chairman: No response needed: Great to see more newspapers presenting public records in new ways to report stories. Sarah Okeson of Florida Today uses audio tapes and auditing records for this story about the chairman of the Titusville-Cocoa Airport Authority saying he didn’t plan to speak to a state investigator looking into authority spending and suggesting other board members do the same. The inspector general of the Florida Department of Transportation is investigating the authority after an audit found “that just $6,329 of a $1.7 million grant had been properly spent under plans to build a new terminal at Space Coast Regional Airport." The terminal has yet to be built, and audio tapes from an authority board meeting last month reveal chairman Jerry Sansom telling the board he didn’t plan to speak to an investigator from the FDOT. The story includes links to four related audio clips from that meeting, such as this one.
December 10, 2007
Florida Sunshine Review:
Sarasota Herald-Tribune editorial: State, google will make public records easier to find …
Daytona Beach News-Journal, by Mark Harper: Freedom of speech limited at University of Central Florida …
December 9, 2007
On the records radar:
State Board of Administration statistics: David DeCamp of the St. Petersburg Times on Pasco County impacts of having money tied up in a state-run investment pool that’s been in turmoil …
Lease documents: Matt Galnor of The Florida Times-Union about how more than half of the 70 associations and nonprofits coordinating activities out of Jacksonville recreation centers and parks are doing so without a required lease ...
Florida Auditor General’s audit: Angeline J. Taylor of the Tallahassee Democrat about Florida A&M University’s first positive audit in three years …
U.S. County criminal, jail records: *Henry Pierson Curtis of the Orlando Sentinel reveals that a man shot by an Orlando cop in Rosemont had been arrested by the same cop twice in the last year on charges of drug dealing and loitering (*free registration required)…
Civil lawsuit: Susannah Bryan of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel about a college student filing an invasion of privacy lawsuit against her former landlord, accusing him of having a hidden camera installed in her bedroom and spying on her ...
December 8, 2007
Florida Sunshine Review:
Tampa Bay 10, by Mike Deeson: Sunshine violation may have occurred at Devil Rays news conference …
Bradenton Herald, by Nicholas Azzara: Activist from First Amendment Foundation shines light on state Sunshine Law …
Palm Beach Post, by Larry Keller: Taunts prompt conservative columnist Ann Coulter to get address of her Palm Beach home removed from property appraiser’s records …
Palatka Daily News: Palatka city commissioners reverse stand, allow reporters in interviews …
DeLand-Deltona Beacon, by Pat Hatfield: DebaryPOP Web site by bloggers turned elected city officials will continue …
Naples Daily News editorial: State Attorney’s Office decision to file non-criminal charge of violating state’s open records law against Marco Island City Council member sends important message…
Palm Beach Post editorial: Crist opens up Florida with open government moves, including executive order on Open Government Bill of Rights …
Computerworld, by Linda Rosencrance: State of Florida, Google team up to make it easier to access government Web sites …
Lakeland Ledger editorial: Florida, Google deal should help untangle Florida’s Web …
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