Journalist Suggests Public Records May Be "Too Public"; In Other News, Pigs Fly

In this interesting article by Jason Fry of the Wall Street Journal Online, which surely amounts to some form of media heresy, Fry actually suggests that some forms of modern technology that provide immediate and virtually unlimited access to "public" records could, well, be a bad thing.

Wow . . . did a journalist just suggest that public records can actually be "too public"?`

Public Tongue Lashing for Jax City Council

As reported here, the Jacksonville City Council received a well-deserved and highly public scolding from State Attorney Harry Shorstein last week. The mess in Jacksonville has yet to be cleaned up and is likely to get worse before it gets any better.

Jacksonville City Council Under Investigation . . .

for flagrant and ongoing violation of the Sunshine Law on a regular basis. For details, see the Times Union's coverage here, here, here, here and here.

A grand jury is currently considering the matter. Early prediction: indictments forthcoming.

Governor Appoints Commission of Foxes to Guard Hen House

Well, officially it's the Governor's Commission on Open Government, but given the makeup of the Commission you could probably predict with reasonable accuracy the substance of the recommendations that are likely to issue from this group.

Here's Executive Order 07-107 creating the Commission. Here's the Commission's membership and meeting schedule.

And some selected -- and predictable -- media reaction can be found here, here and here.

I'll of course be following the activities of the Commission and posting as developments warrant.

Chapter 2007-39, Laws of Florida, Amending Chapter 119

Here's Ch. 2007-39, Laws of Florida, as enacted in the last legislative session. Records custodians, take note.

Kudos to the Legislature - Your Open Records Laws at Work

If you've spent any time here, you know that I won't hesitate to criticize actions or decisions that continue to extend the open government laws beyond the government. But at heart, I'm all in favor of just about all routine GOVERNMENT records being available -- and easily and cheaply available -- to us, the governed.

So here's kudos to the Florida Legislature (don't get the opportunity to say that much) for having lots of important documents pertaining to the ongoing tax reform debate and special session available for easy access on its website. Access the tax reform documents here.