Florida Open Government Watch

One of my readers sent  me the following email this morning.  With his permission I’m posting it here.  Perhaps we can make a difference. Hello, I just wanted to thank you for all that you are doing to ensure that … Continue reading →

The Palm Beach Post and the Sun Sentinel have reported that the City of Boynton Beach has taken steps to reopen the lobby of its Police Department.  The lobby has been closed six days per week.  Members of the public … Continue reading →

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Emmy award winning investigative journalist (and perpetual troublemaker) Mike Deeson is at it again.  This time Deeson has been poking around Hardee County. Located about an hour South of Lakeland and about an hour East of Sarasota, Hardee County is … Continue reading →

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From time to time I am reminded why newspapers are so important to a free and open society.  They provide the public with the ability to see what is being done in their name and at their expense. Sometimes those … Continue reading →

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I ran across an article published by NBCNews.com that I found inspirational.  It tells the story of Clarence Earl Gideon, a convicted felon who was languishing in a Florida prison in the early 1960s.  Gideon, without the assistance of counsel, filed … Continue reading →

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During Sunshine Week, which ended earlier this month, numerous editorials appeared around the State of Florida.  This one was insightful and is worth consideration.  It appeared on NorthFortMyersNeighbor.com.

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Another article has been published by the Palm Beach Post covering a number of lawsuits filed by my brother Robert and myself.  It’s short, but worth a quick look.

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Yet another disturbing story about Hillsborough County School personnel neglecting or abusing disabled children has come to light.  While the story was originally reported months ago, only recently has the video been released. This is one more example of why … Continue reading →

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      One of my readers turned me on to a blog (see below) called FOIA Shaming.  For the uninitiated “FOIA” stands for Freedom of Information Act, which is the federal equivalent of Florida’s Public Records Act.  The acronym … Continue reading →

  Two events highlight the First Amendment Foundation’s 2013 observance of Sunshine Week, the national initiative to promote a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information. Sunshine Week 2013 runs from March 10-16. Sunshine Recognition Luncheon: … Continue reading →

Over the years I’ve made thousands of public records requests and conducted hundreds of audits. Unfortunately, the performance of most public agencies and state contractors that are subject to Florida’s exceptionally broad open government laws has been poor. Some of … Continue reading →

In Florida access to public records and public meetings is a constitutionally protected civil right.  See Article 1, Section 24 of the Florida Constitution. I’m a civil rights advocate; so much of my time is spent auditing public agencies for … Continue reading →

In a recent television interview former School Board of Polk County member and former Mayor of Lakeland, Frank O’Reilly objected to my advocacy for open government when he described my methods as “gotcha” activism.  That’s an objection that I’ve heard … Continue reading →

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Yesterday a television news crew tagged along with me while I did a short in-person audit of several public agencies in Lakeland. Rick Elmhorst of BayNews 9 asked if he and his cameraman, Calvin, could shadow me as I did … Continue reading →

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This morning the Tampa Bay Times (formerly the Saint Petersburg Times) published an article about FOGWatch.  The article went into some detail about our in-person public records audits and some of the subsequent litigation. In the article Florida Senate President … Continue reading →

The following article was published this morning by the Broward-Palm Beach New Times: Joel Chandler, Open Government Guru, Slaps South Florida Cities With Lawsuits By Kyle Swenson Published Mon., Jan. 21 2013 at 9:00 AM On the national stage, Florida … Continue reading →

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The Orlando Sentinel published an article on January 17, 2013 titled “Back-and-forth over Transparency 2.0 includes eye-opening Alan Hayes comment.”  That’s the same day that FOGWatch addressed the Florida Senate Committee On Government Oversight and Accountability regarding the efficacy of Transparency … Continue reading →

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Yesterday, I had the opportunity to speak before the Florida Senate Committee on Government Oversight and Accountability regarding Transparency 2.0.  (The full video may be seen by clicking the photo above or clicking here). Transparency 2.0 is a web site … Continue reading →

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Today I had the opportunity to meet with Florida Senate President Don Gaetz (R-District 1) about various open government issues.  Senator Gaetz was joined by his Chief of Staff Chris Clark. The nearly one hour meeting covered a variety of … Continue reading →

In a tersely worded editorial, the Lakeland Ledger has called out Lisa Womack, the Chief of the Lakeland Police Department.  Last week the Ledger reported that Womack admitted that under her direction the Lakeland PD plays “cat and mouse” games … Continue reading →

Transparency is important. I make a big deal about state and local agencies (and those acting on their behalf) being open about what they are doing in the public’s name and at the public’s expense. Although, http://www.FOGWatch.org is not in … Continue reading →

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The readers of http://www.FOGWatch.org may have noticed some changes to the site lately.  There are several reasons for that and their names are Anna, Hope and Grace Grover.  These three wonderful ladies have volunteered to become the first staff members … Continue reading →

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Since my first foray into open government issues back in 2007, for the most part, I’ve been laboring alone.  Certainly, I’ve had the benefit of excellent legal representation, principally from the wonderful minds at Thomas & LoCicero.  I’ve also had, … Continue reading →

One of my readers, “James”, posted a series of questions under the blog post “More News Reports About Boynton Beach Lawsuits.”  Instead of answering James’ questions within the comments section I’ve decided to address them in a new blog post.  James … Continue reading →

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    In a stunning revelation to The Lakeland Ledger, Lakeland Chief of Police Lisa Womack has admitted that it is the policy of the LPD to play games with public records requests.  To the uninitiated that may be a … Continue reading →

Over the past several weeks, Robert and I have filed dozens of new public records lawsuits. All of these lawsuits stem from our in-person audits of public agencies and state contractors who are expressly subject to Florida’s Public Records Act. … Continue reading →

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The Sun Sentinel has published an article about my lawsuit against the Boynton Beach Police Department and my brother Robert’s lawsuit against the City of Boynton Beach.  In both instances, the lawsuits deal with institutionalized policies that violate Florida’s Public … Continue reading →

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In an article written by Steve Bousquet and published by various newspaper, including the Lakeland Ledger, it has been reported that William Schossler, President of the nonprofit Henry & Rilla White Foundation was paid $1.2 million in 2010. The Henry … Continue reading →

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The Palm Beach Post has reported that the Boynton Beach Police Department is being sued for violations of Florida’s Public Records Act.  The article states that “Joel Edward Chandler” filed the lawsuit.  That is correct. The lawsuit is one of … Continue reading →

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The Lakeland Ledger has reported that School Board of Polk County voted yesterday to accept the terms of a proposed settlement agreement, which will bring to a close, my third lawsuit against the School Board. Later today, I will also … Continue reading →

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Generally, I limit my blog posts to brief commentaries about public records and open meetings issues or simple links to news stories and editorials on the subject. Over the past few of weeks, however, a series of stories have come … Continue reading →

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Although, I am posting this somewhat tardily, it’s worth noting (and reading) that The Lakeland Ledger published an thoughtful editorial regarding the apparent failure of the School Board of Polk County to comply with Florida’s Public Records Act.  Hopefully, the … Continue reading →

News reports and editorials (see the Orlando Sentinel and the Tampa Bay Times) have revealed that the Florida Senate paid more than $5 million to develop a web site that would have allowed the public to see amazing amounts of … Continue reading →

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One of the most well established principles of open government law in Florida, is that, with very few exceptions, we have the right to inspect, photograph and copy public records and to attend open meetings without having to explain why … Continue reading →

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As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, Robert and I have been crisscrossing the state conducting in-person-audits of public agencies to check for compliance with Florida’s Public Records Act. We have done audits in Manatee, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Polk, Lake, Putnam, … Continue reading →

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The photograph above was taken on December 4, 2012 outside of a building owned and operated by the Florida Department of Management Services, (“DMS”), on behalf of the citizens of Florida. This particular facility houses numerous other Florida State agencies, … Continue reading →