Florida Sen. Dorothy Hukill wants to permit online account access after an account holder has died. The Act seeks to open the book on our digital lives, even after we have uploaded to the great cloud in the sky, writes Peter Schorsch.
secrecy
Florida Lawmakers Seek Secrecy For College and University Searches and Vetting of Candidates
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.
County Calls Supervisor of Elections Kim Weeks’s Taping of a Conversation “Illegal”
County Administrator Craig Coffey says Weeks’s secret recording of a conversation between the county attorney and a county commissioner on Aug. 25 was illegal, so was its distribution, though nothing in the recording speaks ill of either men in the conversation.
More Secrecy, Harsher Punishment for Pregnant-Women Beaters, Parasailing Regulations: 32 New Laws Go In Effect
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
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
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.
Judge Upholds Blind Trust Law, Allowing Gov. Scott to Shield Assets From Public
Critics say the device contradicts constitutional safeguards requiring Florida voters to be made aware of what a public official owns and how it might affect his or her decisions. Scott, who reported a net worth of $132.7 million as of the end of last year, is believed to be the only official using a blind trust.
Sunshine Lows: Cities and Counties Do a Lousy Job of Sharing Information With Citizens
When the First Amendment Foundation publicized its transparency scorecard last month, it found that on average, cities and counties in Florida had lots of room for improvement in sharing the workings of government with the governed.
Ordered to Unseal Secret Redistricting Papers, GOP Operative Seeks High Court Intervention
Pat Bainter on Wednesday asked U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to issue an emergency stay blocking an order by the Florida Supreme Court less than 24 hours earlier that granted permission for the documents to be used in an ongoing trial challenging the constitutionality of the congressional map approved by the Florida Legislature in 2012.
Progress Florida Launches Executive Accountability Project as Culture of Secrecy Pervades Scott Administration
The culture of self-serving deal-making that grips many of our state capitals has operated essentially in secret, relying on tactics to avoid Government in the Sunshine laws and a lack of public attention. The Executive Accountability Project will focus on providing the public a never-before-seen look at the inner workings of how their elected officials are conducting “the people’s” business behind closed doors.
Gov. Scott’s Secret Travels, Boy Scout Bigotry Loses Disney, Here Come Hillary and Jeb: The Live Wire
Gov. Scott travels secretly on his private jet, claiming a dubious security exemption, the Boy Scouts deservedly lose Disney grants for insisting on remaining homophobes, a town in Nebraska enshrines anti-immigrant racism in its ordinances, Israel invites tourist target-practice against Palestinians, and a farewell to Paco de Lucia.
Palm Coast Quietly Plans Community Center Expansion For Bridge Club, Raising Questions
The Palm Coast Bridge Club and the Palm Coast city administration have agreed in principle on a plan that would have the bridge club writing a $250,000 check and the city building a facility it would lease to the Bridge Club as an expansion of the Community Center on Palm Coast Parkway.
Florida Voter Group Argues for a Free Speech Right to Secrecy and Unregulated PACs
The state says it is justified in requiring disclosures of information about political action committee contributions and expenditures. Plaintiffs, arguing their case before a federal appeals court Tuesday, say they should be free to express themselves on political issues without registering as a committee and filling out campaign documents.
Sunshine Week: Improving State Legislatures’ Transparency
Think about the American Legislative Exchange Council’s secret lobbying in favor of “Stand Your Ground” legislation to at least 15 states. Lobbyists were backed by corporate special interests – a fact the public was left in the dark about. Additionally, there was little way to easily track how this law was passed in Florida. That’s just one example of the kind of copycat legislation peddled to state legislatures.
Commissioner Alan Peterson Logs His Last Meeting, But Not Without One Last Showdown
Flagler County Commissioner Alan Peterson served his last meeting Monday evening, but not before taking on Clerk of Court Gail Wadsworth’s raised for her employees and reminding fellow-commissioners what had made him their most ardent bean-counter.
The Palm Coast City Council’s Arrogance Problem
The secret, undemocratic way the Palm Coast City Council went about picking its latest unelected member is the latest disturbing example of a council’s contempt for the public, and of the maneuverings of a manager with a Donald Trump complex.
David Ferguson, a Conservative Business Consultant, is Appointed to Palm Coast Council
David Ferguson, a 60-year-old business consultant, will fill out the two years remaining in Frank Meeker’s term, ensuring that the panel will remain an all-male fraternity until at least 2014, when the seat is one of two up for election. That of Bill Lewis, also an appointee, is the other.
How Two Council Members, Out of View, Got WNZF to Back-Pedal on Synthetic Marijuana
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
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.
Sunshine Lessons Clouded By Possibly Dimmer Visibility as Jobs Council Meets for 1st Time
Flagler’s nine-member Economic Development Council conducted the equivalent of a meet-and-greet for itself on Tuesday and promptly reversed a promise that all meetings would be televised live, opting instead for audio broadcasts.
Rick Scott’s Sunshine Problem: Missing E-Mails and a Questionable FDLE Probe
From a supposedly accidental purge of entire Rick Scott administration email accounts to an FDLE probe that appears to be a conflict of interest, the governor’s problems with open records continue.
Public Money, Public Purpose, Closed Doors: Enterprise Flagler and Chamber Carry On
In a closed-door session, the Flagler Chamber of Commerce is hosting a delegation from Enterprise Flagler today to discuss economic development plans that would be publicly funded and publicly governed.
Palm Coast’s Secret Deal With Solar Company: Long Tax Holiday and Other Perks for 180 Jobs
Dubbed “Project Iceman,” the deal calls for at least a $49 million investment and average wages of $34,500, though the fine print reveals exclusive perks and secrecy provisions that prevent public scrutiny of the deal’s implementation.
In Praise of Wikileaks: Undressing The Scams and Shams of Government Secrecy
With rare exceptions, it’s never been true that secrecy protects national security or interests. Rather, secrecy damages both, often with costly, lethal consequences. That’s why Wikileaks is an indispensable service to democracy.