Saturday, November 7, 2009
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
 

Public Records - A Tale of Two Requests

Requesting public records from Mayor Peyton's staff can often be a daunting task. Even though state law guarantees these records to you, (after all, they are YOURS) you quickly begin to see the unrolling of the red tape as you are passed from person to person. Delay upon delay piles up until you are often discouraged and frustrated to the point of not caring anymore (this CERTAINLY would not be the intention of the administration though)! But it doesn't have to be that way...not if your name is Mary Kelli. Follow us as we examine A Tale of Two Reqests .

Published August 21, 2006 in Opinion     Digg Digg   Share this article on Facebook Share on Facebook   twitterTweet this!


The hurdles before Mr. Hurley

 
 Ken Hurley is the local Jacksonville ACLU President.  He has been trying for over a week to get answers to why the Mayor's office used "taxpayer funds used to promote A Day of Faith" at the Veterans Coliseum.  Initially he was passed to an internal staffer (Cindy Laquidara) who promptly told him that Florida state law did not require her to respond.  Hurley then responded back, re-wording his previous email in the form of an official record request.  This was last Friday, August 18, 2006.  As of this evening, August 21st, there appears to be no public records indicating Mr. Hurley's request has been filled yet.
 
 
 And the fast-track for Mary Kelli Palka
 
 In contrast to Mr. Hurley, Mary Kelli Palka of the Florida Times-Union glides smoothly over the hurdles of beaurocracy in obtaining public records.  This unfettered access to public records for Ms. Palka is nothing new to journalistic insiders though.  Reporters at the Jacksonville Daily Record, Folio Weekly and even peer reporters at the Times-Union have complained since John Peyton took office of an unfair bias in granting Ms. Palka access.  Apparently she has some kind of "Mayor's office key" that allows her back-office access, that is not granted to other journalists.  This is a holdover from the previous mayor's administration.  It is our understanding that at the changing of the mayoral guard, keys were taken from all journalists except Ms. Palka. 
 
 Follow with us the timeline of one of Ms. Palka's recent public record requests:
 
 August 14, 2006 3:46 PM
 Palka emails Susie Wiles and requests "a copy of the city's wood and yard waste mulching operation contract".
 
 August 14, 2006 3:53 PM
 Wiles forwards Palka's request to Ebenezer Gujjarlapudi, Interim Environmental Director. 
 
 August 14, 2006 4:09 PM
 Gujjarlapudi responds to Wiles telling her Cindy Laquidara (remember her from above?) will get it for her.  Laquidara's boss, Alan Mosley, is CC'd on the email.
 
 August 14, 2006 4:13 PM
 Laquidara responods to Gujjarlapudi, Wiles and Mosley, saying, "Let me get Belinda and our new paralegal to provide me with the copies of everything we have produced.  Susie – do you want me to bring them over?"
 
 How's that for public service? Four related emails, involving four high-level staffers - in less than thirty minutes!  

It's too bad ordinary citizens aren't granted the same level of service as one favored journalist.

 



Share this article   digg   facebook   twitter   delicious   reddit   myspace   technorati   google   newsvine  




Metro Jacksonville on Facebook

Must Read from around the web


New JTA Bus Stops signs jaxdailyrecord.com - New JTA bus signs, like this one on Newnan Street across from the Yates Building, have started popping up at stations Downtown.

Panera Bread in San Marco to close jacksonville.bizjournals.com - The Panera Bread restaurant in San Marco is scheduled to close in December.

Florida's 11% unemployment is a 24-year high jacksonville.bizjournals.com - Florida's unemployment rate hit 11 percent in September, a level not seen since October 1975. The state's unemployment rate was up 0.2 percentage points from August, according to the Florida…

Future of Sunset Limited train service through Jacksonville unclear jacksonville.com - Until 2005 the Sunset Limited ran from Orlando to Los Angeles going through Jacksonville. But service from here died when Hurricane Katrina decimated the Gulf Coast in August 2005 and…

City Council Amends Sign Ordinance to Allow for Bus Shelters urbanjacksonville.info - This morning on First Coast Connect at 9:00 we'll be discussing the City Council's decision to allow the JTA to hire an independent company to build dozens of bus shelters…

Florida East Coast will roll out AMTRAK in 2.6 Years jacksonvilletransit.blogspot.com - 1968, it was an overcast afternoon when train number 2, The Florida East Coast Local to Jacksonville, whistled through St. Augustine, for the last time.

Urban Jacksonville Wins Best Jacksonville Blog urbanjacksonville.info - For the third year in a row Urban Jacksonville was nominated by Folio readers as Best Blog in Jacksonville. It's an awesome honor and I'd like to thank everyone who…

Placement of bus shelters stirs debate through Jacksonville jacksonville.com - In the half-shade of a droopy palm tree, Kise Jones did his best to stay comfortable and patient as he waited for the bus Sunday afternoon in downtown Jacksonville.

Urban Jacksonville Weekly #35 urbanjacksonville.info - Taverna in San Marco and Farm to Table Tour

JEDC to amend Downtown historic restoration agreement, restart project jaxdailyrecord.com - An agreement approved by City Council five years ago to grant $400,000 from the Historic Preservation Trust Fund to rehabilitate a building on West Adams Street got some new life…




Follow us on the web!


Facebook Twitter Youtube Delicious Flickr RSS

» 2 Comments

Lysander

August 22, 2006, 09:35:36 AM

Susie Wiles made her bones smoozing the media. Cindy works for Rick, not Alan, Rick works for the Mayor, so dont look for them to be anything but lackies of  the administration. Perhaps you should ask for anything that is released to the Media. This will not get any better during the current administration.

Joe

August 29, 2006, 10:39:23 PM

If Ken Hurley would publish congratulatory fluff pieces about the current City administration, then I am sure that he would also be granted "most favored nation" status by City Hall as well. Thats just how the club works. Just because there is some offbeat interest in the "Constitution", thats no reason to make them upset.
View forum thread
Welcome Guest. You must be logged in to comment on this story.

What are the benefits of having a MetroJacksonville.com account?
  • Share your opinion by posting comments on stories that interest you.
  • Stay up to date on all of the latest issues affecting your neighborhood.
  • Create a network of friends working towards a better Jacksonville.
» Register now
Already have an account? Login now to comment.