• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
MENUMENU
MENUMENU
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • FlaglerLive Board of Directors
    • Comment Policy
    • Mission Statement
    • Our Values
    • Privacy Policy
  • Live Calendar
  • Submit Obituary
  • Submit an Event
  • Support FlaglerLive
  • Advertise on FlaglerLive (386) 503-3808
  • Search Results

FlaglerLive

No Bull, no Fluff, No Smudges

MENUMENU
  • Flagler
    • Flagler County Commission
    • Beverly Beach
    • Economic Development Council
    • Flagler History
    • Mondex/Daytona North
    • The Hammock
    • Tourist Development Council
  • Palm Coast
    • Palm Coast City Council
    • Palm Coast Crime
  • Bunnell
    • Bunnell City Commission
    • Bunnell Crime
  • Flagler Beach
    • Flagler Beach City Commission
    • Flagler Beach Crime
  • Cops/Courts
    • Circuit & County Court
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • Federal Courts
    • Flagler 911
    • Fire House
    • Flagler County Sheriff
    • Flagler Jail Bookings
    • Traffic Accidents
  • Rights & Liberties
    • Fourth Amendment
    • First Amendment
    • Privacy
    • Second Amendment
    • Seventh Amendment
    • Sixth Amendment
    • Sunshine Law
    • Third Amendment
    • Religion & Beliefs
    • Human Rights
    • Immigration
    • Labor Rights
    • 14th Amendment
    • Civil Rights
  • Schools
    • Adult Education
    • Belle Terre Elementary
    • Buddy Taylor Middle
    • Bunnell Elementary
    • Charter Schools
    • Daytona State College
    • Flagler County School Board
    • Flagler Palm Coast High School
    • Higher Education
    • Imagine School
    • Indian Trails Middle
    • Matanzas High School
    • Old Kings Elementary
    • Rymfire Elementary
    • Stetson University
    • Wadsworth Elementary
    • University of Florida/Florida State
  • Economy
    • Jobs & Unemployment
    • Business & Economy
    • Development & Sprawl
    • Leisure & Tourism
    • Local Business
    • Local Media
    • Real Estate & Development
    • Taxes
  • Commentary
    • The Conversation
    • Pierre Tristam
    • Diane Roberts
    • Guest Columns
    • Byblos
    • Editor's Blog
  • Culture
    • African American Cultural Society
    • Arts in Palm Coast & Flagler
    • Books
    • City Repertory Theatre
    • Flagler Auditorium
    • Flagler Playhouse
    • Flagler Youth Orchestra
    • Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra
    • Palm Coast Arts Foundation
    • Special Events
  • Elections 2024
    • Amendments and Referendums
    • Presidential Election
    • Campaign Finance
    • City Elections
    • Congressional
    • Constitutionals
    • Courts
    • Governor
    • Polls
    • Voting Rights
  • Florida
    • Federal Politics
    • Florida History
    • Florida Legislature
    • Florida Legislature
    • Ron DeSantis
  • Health & Society
    • Flagler County Health Department
    • Ask the Doctor Column
    • Health Care
    • Health Care Business
    • Covid-19
    • Children and Families
    • Medicaid and Medicare
    • Mental Health
    • Poverty
    • Violence
  • All Else
    • Daily Briefing
    • Americana
    • Obituaries
    • News Briefs
    • Weather and Climate
    • Wildlife

Sunshine Law

Kimberle Weeks Trial Day 3: Defense Opts Against Putting On a Case, Relying on Outlier Theory Instead

April 4, 2018 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

Kimberle Weeks's lawyers have been as if channeling her outlier predilections into their legal arguments to the jury. Closing arguments are Thursday. (c FlaglerLive)

In an echo of Kimberle Weeks’s own irreverence toward established law, her lawyers are arguing an untested and unusual interpretation of what amounts to a public meeting: all conversations between public officials involving public business.

Palm Coast Mayor Milissa Holland’s State Of the City Address at Community Center

April 3, 2018 | FlaglerLive | 21 Comments

Palm Coast Mayor Milissa Holland. (c FlaglerLive) state of the city

The full text of Palm Coast Mayor Milissa Holland’s State of the City Address at an event produced by the Observer Tuesday.

The Selling of Palm Coast:
Mayor’s State of the City Speech: $40 a Plate, Sponsors Sought, Profits Go To The Observer

March 22, 2018 | FlaglerLive | 33 Comments

Palm Coast Mayor Milissa Holland at the commemorative re-opening of Holland Park last June. She will be the oanly main speaker at a $40-a-plate State of the City event at the remodeled city community center in April. (© FlaglerLive)

Palm Coast Mayor Milissa Holland headlines a State of the City event at the city’s new community center in April, but for $40 a ticket. The for profit event is produced by the Observer, which will take all earnings.

Court Allows ACLU’s Public Record Fight Over Police Tracking of Cell Phones

June 20, 2017 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

The ACLU describes Stingrays as 'invasive cell phone surveillance devices that mimic cell phone towers and send out signals to trick cell phones in the area into transmitting their locations and identifying information.' (Gary Lerude)

The ACLU requested the records from Jackson as part of a broader inquiry in 2014 into the Sarasota Police Department’s use of what are known as “Stingray” tracking devices.

Secret Hospital Inspections Revealing Errors and Mishaps and May Become Public at Last

April 22, 2017 | FlaglerLive | 7 Comments

hospital secrecy

The federal government has proposed requiring that accreditors release reports on the problems they find during hospital inspections. Right now, the reports are secret.

Lawmakers Back Secrecy for Murder Witnesses

March 9, 2017 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

murder witnesses secrecy

Witnesses’ identifying information would remain secret for two years after the date of the incidents, except to prosecutors and police.

New School Board Chairman Trevor Tucker Calls For, and Gets, Half As Many Meetings

November 23, 2016 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Flagler County School Board Chairman Elbert Tucker wants to cut the number of meetings from four to two per month, but wants these to be meatier than they've been. (© FlaglerLive)

Relying on a faulty analogy with Duval County schools, Flagler County School Board Chairman Trevor Tucker wants the number of meetings cut from four to two per month, but wants these to be meatier than they’ve been. The board gave its guarded approval.

Gov. Scott’s Office of Open Government Barricades Itself

September 15, 2016 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

Florida once had one of the toughest sunshine laws in the country, and people were proud of that. But it’s no longer the case. Transparency has given way to talk–and barricades.

Appeals Court Sides With Florida Prisons in Public Records Dispute With Miami Herald

August 29, 2016 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

florida prisons censorship

The Florida prisons department was required to provide item-by-item legal explanations for its decisions to black out information on public records requested by the Herald — a process known as redacting the information.

Florida Continues to Suppress Lethal-Injection Records in Face of Challenge by Death Row Inmates

August 24, 2016 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

florida capital punishment

Lawyers for seven Death Row inmates and the First Amendment Coalition of Arizona in June filed a subpoena seeking years of records related to Florida’s triple-drug lethal injection protocol, including the types of drugs purchased, the strengths and amounts of the drugs, the expiration dates of the drugs and the names of suppliers.

Citing “Public Policy Interests,” Florida Refusing to Disclose Information on Drugs Used in Lethal Injections

July 14, 2016 | FlaglerLive | 5 Comments

lethal injections secrecy florida

Lawyers representing seven Arizona Death Row inmates want information about the drugs used in Florida’s lethal-injection procedure, but corrections officials are asking a judge to keep the documents secret.

From DCF to Pam Bondi, Nothing But Contempt for Florida’s Sunshine Law

June 30, 2016 | FlaglerLive | 12 Comments

pam bondi

It’s been decades since Florida had an elected statewide official who paid much more than lip service to open government, and state and local agencies are taking advantage, showing more contempt than respect for the law, argues Florence Snyder.

Media and Orlando Go to Court Over City’s Censoring of Massacre’s 911 Calls

June 23, 2016 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

we are orlando

The city of Orlando wants the court to help determine how to handle the unreleased portions of 911 emergency communications involving the June 12 massacre at the Pulse nightclub.

Public Agencies That Violate Sunshine Law Must Pay Attorney’s Fees, Supreme Court Rules

April 14, 2016 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

attorney's fees sunshine florida

Justices rejected arguments that agencies should be shielded from paying plaintiffs’ legal fees if public-records requests are handled in “good faith.”

Citing Overreach, Senate Kills Public Record Exemption for Hunters’ Personal Information

February 18, 2016 | FlaglerLive | 6 Comments

hunters open records florida

Barbara Petersen, president of the First Amendment Foundation, welcomed the defeat of the bill, which she labeled “the Ted Nugent Act” because of publicity surrounding a bear hunt last year.

More Public Record Exemptions For Gun Owners, This Time For Hunters and Fishermen

February 10, 2016 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

sunshine law open records florida hunters fishermen

People getting hunting, fishing and boating licenses and certificates from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission would be shielded from public record disclosures.

For Flagler’s NAACP, More Trust Than Fear of Local Police as Body Cams Clip On

October 28, 2015 | FlaglerLive | 15 Comments

police body cams naacp

Flagler NAACP members were mostly reassured by use-of-force evidence that, according to the Sheriff’s Office, has declined in Palm Coast, thanks in large part to police body cameras.

Police Body Cams: Exemptions From Public-Record Disclosure Belie Intended Transparency

September 26, 2015 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

cops body cams

Police body cams were intended to improve accountability and public access to cops’ work. Access exemptions in Florida and many other states are instead countering their intended purpose.

Rick Scott, 1st-Ever Florida Governor Successfully Sued Over Sunshine Law, Settles for $700,000 in Taxpayer Dollars

August 8, 2015 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

gov. rick scott sunshine law violation

The suit alleged Gov. Scott and his staff, violated the Sunshine law when they created email accounts to shield their communications from state public records laws and then withheld the documents.

Reporter Kicked Out: When Public Officials Abuse Florida’s Sunshine Law, With Lawmakers’ Blessing

July 22, 2015 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

lakeside medical center nancy smith

A “health district” run by public officials closes a public meeting under a bogus exemption to the Sunshine law, and gets a blank check to secretly talk about whatever it wishes, though it affects public policy.

Flagler Court Clerk Throws a Switch, and Mass of Criminal and Civil Records Becomes Accessible Online

June 16, 2015 | FlaglerLive | 3 Comments

electronic records flagler clerk of court

Flagler County court records, from arrest affidavits to civil, criminal, county and probate court are now all available online, 24 hours a day, in a vast improvement of public record access ordered by the Florida Supreme Court.

Palm Coast Wants Protection From Extortionist Lawsuits Over Public Record Requests

May 28, 2015 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

open government public records lawsuits florida

Palm Coast and the Florida League of Cities are seeking a change in law that would protect local governments from opportunistic groups more individuals who sue governments and companies over public record violations.

Florida Senate Calls For Police Policies on Body Cameras, Addressing Privacy and Data

April 7, 2015 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

Body cams are worn by deputies at the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Jim Manfre instituted the practice when he took office in 2013 and has been an ardent defender of the cameras.

Senate Panel Easily Clears Bill Granting Secrecy to Top College and University Job Applicants

February 17, 2015 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

The Senate Higher Education Committee voted 7-2 to approve the measure (SB 182), which would exempt information about applicants for the jobs of president, provost or dean from the state’s open-records laws.

Florida Lawmakers Seek Secrecy For College and University Searches and Vetting of Candidates

January 11, 2015 | FlaglerLive | 2 Comments

Pointing to the possibility of a “chilling effect” if word gets out, a House bill filed Friday would allow information to be kept confidential about people applying to become presidents, provosts or deans of state universities or colleges.

After “Doubling Down on Stupid,” Lakeland Is Forced to Pay $160,000 in Public Record Settlement

November 24, 2014 | FlaglerLive | 1 Comment

A Lakeland resident filed the lawsuit against the city’s Police Department because the department insisted on illegally charging a flat $23.50 fee for routine requests instead of charging per page or for time worked.

Sheriff’s Office, In Echo of 2001 Violation, Keeps Secret the Hospitalization of Murder Suspect at FHF

October 31, 2014 | FlaglerLive | 4 Comments

For two days, a murder suspect was under arrest in Flagler County but not at the jail. The Sheriff’s Office would not disclose his whereabouts–a dungeon-like disappearance that no law allows or protects.

Sanford, Ferguson, Tallahassee: When Cops Act Like Vigilantes

October 28, 2014 | FlaglerLive | 13 Comments

When police from Sanford to Tallahassee protect themselves or FSU football players and sit on information that should be disclosed and vigorously pursued, they invite mistrust and charges of a cover-up.

More Secrecy, Harsher Punishment for Pregnant-Women Beaters, Parasailing Regulations: 32 New Laws Go In Effect

September 28, 2014 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

A number of the new Florida laws going in effect Wednesday involve public-records exemptions, including one to allow some university boards to meet in private to discuss donors and research funding.

Appeals Court Orders City Government to Release “Shade” Meeting Transcript

August 28, 2014 | FlaglerLive | Leave a Comment

Where the sun don't shine: Clouds over St. Pete Beach. (Robert Neff)

In a highly critical opinion, an appeals court Wednesday ordered the city of St. Pete Beach to release a transcript of a closed-door discussion about the settlement of a lawsuit.

Sheriff’s Deputies Never Wrote an Incident Report After Fatally Shooting Palm Coast Man

August 22, 2014 | FlaglerLive | 17 Comments

A Flagler County Sheriff's deputy examines the garage where deputies had earlier that day shot and killed Troy Gordon, a 32-year-old resident of the house. (© FlaglerLive)

Details of the December 2012 fatal shooting of 32-year-old Troy Gordon on Brownstone Lane in Palm Coast, at a time when Don Fleming was still sheriff, emerged in a court case today that revealed how a union could trump sheriff’s policy even in grave shooting incidents.

How Two Council Members, Out of View, Got WNZF to Back-Pedal on Synthetic Marijuana

September 27, 2012 | FlaglerLive | 14 Comments

What was behind what sounded like a retraction on synthetic marijuana by WNZF’s David Ayres on his Free For All Friday show last week? Private discussions between Palm Coast Council member Bill McGuire with Mayor Jon Netts, and a letter Netts wrote Ayres, that the council never discussed openly–even as the council has yet to vote finally on the matter.

Florida House Candidate Bardley Maxwell Wants Government Employees’ Salaries Kept Secret

July 23, 2012 | FlaglerLive | 18 Comments

Florida House candidate Bradley Maxwell wants to state workers’ salaries and benefits kept secret. He also wants personnel files kept sealed from public view. Maxwell is challenging two-term incumbent state Rep. Michelle Rehwinkel Vasilinda, D-Tallahassee.

3 Flagler Beach Commissioners Attend Closed-Door County Staff Meeting, Clouding Sunshine

July 18, 2012 | FlaglerLive | 17 Comments

The Flagler Beach City Commission's Jane Mealy (left), Kim Carney (third from left)_ and Mayor Linda Provencher, foreground, attended a closed-door county staff meeting with the U.S. Corps of Engineers last week, raising questions of sunshine violations. Joy McGrew, second from left, was not involved. (© FlaglerLive)

Commissioners Jane Mealy, Kim Carney and Mayor Linda Provencher attended the July 12 county staff meeting on beach renourishment with the U.S. Corps of Engineers, which was closed to the public. Dennis McDonald, a candidate for the county commission, raised issues with the potential sunshine violation.

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Page 2

Primary Sidebar

  • grand living realty
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents
Flagler County Sheriff's Expo 2025

Recent Comments

  • Adam Friedland on Two Turtle Nests Halt Flagler Beach Pier Construction Until September as Workarounds Prove Impractical
  • Dennis C Rathsam on The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, August 2, 2025
  • Greg on Two Turtle Nests Halt Flagler Beach Pier Construction Until September as Workarounds Prove Impractical
  • Ed P on U.S. Job Creation Stalls to Lowest 3-Month Total Since Covid, Bankruptcies Spike 27% in Florida’s Middle District
  • Pig Farmer on U.S. Job Creation Stalls to Lowest 3-Month Total Since Covid, Bankruptcies Spike 27% in Florida’s Middle District
  • Bethechange on Two Turtle Nests Halt Flagler Beach Pier Construction Until September as Workarounds Prove Impractical
  • Ray W, on U.S. Job Creation Stalls to Lowest 3-Month Total Since Covid, Bankruptcies Spike 27% in Florida’s Middle District
  • Atwp on U.S. Job Creation Stalls to Lowest 3-Month Total Since Covid, Bankruptcies Spike 27% in Florida’s Middle District
  • Stavros Halkias on Two Turtle Nests Halt Flagler Beach Pier Construction Until September as Workarounds Prove Impractical
  • Atwp on U.S. Job Creation Stalls to Lowest 3-Month Total Since Covid, Bankruptcies Spike 27% in Florida’s Middle District
  • Pogo on DeSantis Sours on ICE Poaching Local Police with $50,000 Bonuses
  • JimboXYZ on Palm Coast Council’s Charles Gambaro Announces Congressional Run Against ‘Outrageous’ Randy Fine
  • Jan on DeSantis Sours on ICE Poaching Local Police with $50,000 Bonuses
  • Sherry on The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, August 1, 2025
  • Ray W, on The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Friday, August 1, 2025
  • Sherry on The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Thursday, July 31, 2025

Log in