March 18, 2012 Last August, when Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings finally convened his Citizens Advisory Committee, he declared: “We have asked you to do a bit of very, very serious business for Orange County.” An understatement. After all, the committee was conceived in the wake of community blow-back in the controversial Torey Breedlove case.…
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10:50 p.m. EST, March 10, 2012|By Anika Myers Palm, Orlando Sentinel Laura Williams’ interest in public records was born of tremendous personal tragedy: In 1996, her then-husband, who had abused her, killed both their 2-year-old daughter and himself. In the years that followed, she joined groups that helped domestic-violence victims. And in 2007, she began…
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•Curious about what’s behind that latest city-council action? Emails received and sent by public officials, such as mayors, city council members and state officials, are generally considered public records. Check with the government agency about how to inspect or get copies of messages. •Want to know whether your friend has a history of speeding tickets before planning…
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By Jan Bergemann 8:20 a.m. EST, February 24, 2012 FS 718.112(12) states very clearly which association records are public records – and which are not. The statutes even explain in detail the rights of the owners to inspect these records and get copies of the records on demand. Nevertheless, record requests are most likely the…
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By Aaron Deslatte, Tallahassee Bureau Chief10:48 p.m. EST, February 16, 2012 TALLAHASSEE – A House committee voted Thursday for a bill that would shield legislators and their staffs from ever being required to testify or produce public records when they get sued. The Republican-controlled Legislature’s proposal to grant itself what’s called “absolute privilege” in any civil suit…
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The Florida Society of News Editors and the University of Central Florida are partnering to produce a three-day workshop on writing and journalism Feb. 16-18 in Orlando. The Florida Writers Project features writers from Florida and around the country. Come hear expert advice on writing and publishing narrative, mass-market fiction, screenplays and anthologies. Bring your…
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BY BETH KASSAB If Doug Darling, the state’s new “economic opportunity” director, really wants to get aggressive when it comes to holding accountable companies that accept public incentive dollars, there’s an easy way to do it. Make the information public. A radical idea? No, but it’s one Florida has simply shrugged at for decades. Read…
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EDITORIAL Open government is a constitutional right in Florida, but you might never know it from watching state lawmakers. Lately they’ve been indifferent or even hostile to this principle. Lawmakers have left it up to more enlightened leaders, such as those in Sanford, to stand up for open government. Late last month, Sanford’s mayor and…
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