J.D. Callaway and the Hillsborugh Sheriff's Department

Visiting the Hillsborough Sheriff’s Department taught me a little bit about how to obtain certain records. In the back of my mind I think I knew that these records were available to the public, but I never thought to actually look at them as a source of information.

Hillsborough Sheriff’s spokesperson, J.D. Callaway, explained the process a reporter would take to find out information on people who have been arrested. First the reporter would check for a news release. As soon as the department has enough correct information to pass along they will send out a public news release. This release will usually have the who, what, when, where, why and how of the case. After that, the reporter would want to request the individual’s charge report. There would be more personal information on this report, such as hair and eye color, address and status of their arrest. The next step the reporter would take would be to obtain a criminal report affidavit. This form would have information about the crime or incident that landed this person in handcuffs. To protect that person, some information, including their social security number would be blacked out. The affidavit would also include the charges that the individual is being brought up on. And then there is always the incident report that might also have some extra information. I learned that it is best to read all of the reports possible so the reporter becomes an expert on the case.

It was very interesting to see the 9-1-1 call center. Operators seem very calm when they are on the phone with potential emergencies. It was an interesting experience to say the least.

Before entering the Sheriff’s Department, I learned that J.D Callaway was involved in a case where he gave out wrong information. Not knowing Callaway beforehand, my thoughts of him were a little tainted. Upon reading into the case, I found out that a man abducted and raped two women after being released in bail from the Hillsborough County Jail. Police in St. Petersburg said he was a rape suspect but Callaway said that the Hillsborough Sheriff’s Department was never told that. Turns out they were made aware of this persons status and Callaway confessed to that. The problem I had with that was in the way he did. According to tampabay.com Callaway said in response, "That was my ignorance. I did find out later that we had been notified by St. Petersburg police that Rigoberto Martinez was a suspect in a rape," Callaway said. "It was my bad."Two women were raped and all he says is “my bad.” That just does not sit very well with me. Citizens should get a sense of safety from their sheriff’s department, and I think Callaway should have taken a little more responsibility, or at least shown some remorse.

Nonetheless, visiting the Hillsborough Sheriff’s Department was a great experience, and I learned more about how to get a hold of certain information.

Coastal Canal Dredging in Hillsborough County

Beautiful crystal clear water, deeper and wider canals; both things waterfront property owners would love to have; but, they do not want to pay for it. At the coastal canal dredging meeting on September 10, 2008, Hillsborough county residents gathered in the auditorium at Sickles High School to learn about how the county wanted to move forward with canal dredging process.
Since Hillsborough County is a large area, Martin Montalvo, Operations Manager of Specialized Services in Hillsborough County explained to citizens that they should form small committees in their own community. Having many small Municipal Service Benefit Units (MSBUs) allows for only the area benefiting form the service provided to be taxed for it. For every small canal, a new MSBU would need to be formed, and the community would need to decide on a leader or representative. It is possible for one resident to belong to multiple MSBUs. Than the MSBU would need to get 40% of the entire community to sign off on a petition agreeing to "discuss" possible drudging for their canal.
It is important to understand that this initial petition phase comes at no cost or obligation to the citizens. After this phase, the government will come in and assess the canal and the soil surrounding it. The assessment is at the expense of the government, not the citizens, and they are using grant money as one source to fund that. Then the government will present a hard cost. "The price will be inflated about 30% so I can present you with the worst case scenario," says Montalvo. If the MSBU later decides that they do not want to go through with the process, they can walk away for no cost. Or if they decide that the price is just too much , they can decide as a group to decrease the amount of work that was recommended, for example, if the experts decide that the canal you live on should be dredged five feet for "x" amount of dollars, your MSBU can request four feet of dredging for less money. "Form the MSBU first, and then fight about money," is Jack Berlin's philosophy. He has been listening to the same arguments from both the government and the citizens for twelve years. From 1995-2007 he served as the Chairman of the Canal Advisory Board, and does not believe anything will get accomplished if the only thought on the residents mind is money.
It is also vital that all residents understand that the Hillsborough County government can and will include all homes that they deem will "reasonably benefit" form the dredging process. That means, all homes upstream of a canal, will benefit and will pay. But how do those houses benefit you might ask? Well the property value of the houses on a canal as well as up steam houses will increase therefore, those homeowners would be responsible for payment. Payments are made along with property taxes; in fact, that is where you will see the tax increase. Failure to pay for the dredging is considered as failure to pay your property taxes.
A common comment from citizens was, "well how does this effect me directly." Frances Valdes, the Administrative Assistant compared canal dredging to education. "It may not directly help or concern you now, but it will in the future." Just as the youth are the future of this country, canal dredging will prove its worth in time.

Martin Montalvo can be reached at (813)744-5671 or via e-mail, Montalvom@hillsboroughcounty.org

Jack Berlin can be reached at JBerlin@jpg.com

Frances Valdes can be reached at (813)-744-5671

Matthew Doig, Investigative Reporter

Matthew Doig, an investigative reporter for the Sarasota Harold Tribune, proved how important public records really are. He put a real-life practical use to all of the information we learned from Adria Harper the week before Doig visited.

I found the story he wrote about teachers in his community to be very interesting. Doig and his partner proved that teachers who pass the required exam the first time teach in more privileged schools, while the teachers who fail the test multiple times teach in the poorer “minority” schools. That is a valuable piece of information for the public to know. The topic was interesting, but what I found more intriguing was that once he gathered all of the information he needed from as many agencies that he needed them from, he simply loaded all of the data into one database which pretty much just spit out the results. It is still exciting to me how technology really does affect every job.

Another part of Doig’s presentation that stood out to me was when someone asked how he goes about obtaining public records from other states. Even though each state has their own laws, Doig goes about getting public records the same way as he would in Florida. If he has problems with the agency and receiving the information he needs, he will than go back and review that stats particular law.
It was all very interesting to me.

Harper’s presentation went hand in hand with Doig’s. While Harper works to educate people about public record laws in Florida, Doig is evaluating those records to uncover corruption and dig for the cold hard facts, all for the betterment of his community. Doig simply illustrated the importance of understanding the Public Record laws in a practical manner. To “investigate” properly, one needs to be able to get their hands on certain information and I believe Doig did a great job exemplifying that.

First Amendment Foundation, Adria Gonzalez

After listening to Adria Gonzalez from the First Amendment foundation speak, I learned more about public records and how easy it is, or should be to obtain certain records as protected by the First Amendment. 

I learned what defines a public record according to the First Amendment, “public records are defined as all documents, papers, letter, maps, books, tapes, photographs, films, sound recordings, data processing software, or other material, regardless of physical form, characteristics, or means of transmission, made or received…in connection with the transaction of official business by any agency.”

As a future journalist it is important for me to know what my rights are and how to obtain the information I need.  It is very important to know and understand Chapter 119, which says “all state, county, and municipal records shall be open for inspection and copying by any person.”   It was also very interesting to learn that the agency, in which you are requesting records, is not allowed to make a profit on providing records.  They are only allowed to charge for raw materials and for the minimum hourly wage of someone qualified to handle the request.  So if the clerk is qualified and he gets paid twelve dollars an hour they are not allowed to charge you fifty for someone more qualified. 

The rules go the other way as well.  If I, as the reporter, called an agency to request a copy of a document two hundred pages in length, and tell them my deadline is in a hour, I would be being unreasonable and they have the right to deny my request. 

I feel Adria did a great job presenting the material and I really enjoyed what she had to say.  I learned very valuable information that I will definitely use in my career as a broadcast journalist.