Orient Road Jail

After reading multiple news stories defaming Orient Road Jail, I was less than optimistic about their standards and regulations. Before going on a tour of the jail, I envisioned a chaotic and dangerous environment. Much to my surprise, Orient Road Jail was more like a progressive rehabilitation center than an unruly penitentiary. Sheriff Robert Lucas was kind enough to enlighten our class about Direct Supervision and its revolutionary role in jails. According to Lucas, behavioral management is proven to be much more affective in preventing crime. By rehabilitating inmates, Orient Road Jail is less likely to see inmates return, and more likely to see them pursue education and job training.

Direct supervision, along with strategic layout of the jail, makes Orient Road one of the first facilities to offer such great care of inmates. The safety of the inmates and the employees is greatly elevated due to Orient Road’s “modern way of running things”. Inmates are encouraged to spend time out of their cells and are free to walk safely around their housing pods.

Housing pods include recreation like basketball and television. Inmates also have access to a library, a computer lab and GED prep courses. Orient Road Jail commonly offers referrals to schools and jobs in attempts to reintegrate inmates to their community after they are released. In order to help improve the quality of their lives, Orient Road Jail also offers substance-abuse programs. One of the major reasons for the jail’s success is their emphasis on relapse prevention.

Orient Road Jail is also home to the Work Release Center; a program that allows inmates to work during the day and then return to the jail at night. The Work Release Center teaches inmates how to function in the real world by entrusting them with responsibilities. In 2007, there was a daily average of 118 participants involved with the program.

Though Orient Road Jail is currently facing challenges and is in the process of fixing many problems that occurred within the past year, Orient Road is still one of the best jails in the country. Their commitment to improving the lives of their inmates is reassuring and gives me hope for the future of Hillsborough County.

J.D.Callaway- Hillsborough PIO

Public Information Officer J.D. Callaway revealed the inner workings of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday Sept 17, 2008. Callaway, a credentialed Tampa Tribune reporter and University of South Florida alumni, joined the sheriffs department in 2004. Some key points Callaway explained were public records, transition to digital media, incident reports, and criminal report affidavits.

According to Callaway, the most common public records that junior reporters deal with are documents related to law enforcement. The transition to digital media is greatly affecting the way reporters gather and report news. One example given by Callaway was the consequence of police scanners. Currently, 30 percent of reports rely on information from police scanners. Due to the ever increasing fast pace of our society, the public demands news instantaneously. However, information transmitted on scanners can be incorrect or incomplete. In attempts to be the first reporter to break a story, accuracy is replaced by timeliness. News organizations are placing less value on verification, which leads Callaway to conclude that new technology can be damaging to our communities.

Although technology has been shown to harm journalism, if used correctly it can improve the validity of a news source and can even help solve criminal cases. Callaway shared a story about a 26-year-old male named Kristopher Russ. Through use of surveillance tapes, police were able to arrest and convict Russ after he stole hundreds of dollars from a Charity Jar used to raise funds for a child with cancer. Police used technology to enhance their chances of catching Russ by releasing a picture of the child and a description of the crime. Eyewitness testimony is often sought through similar means. Many cases would yet to be solved without the help of witnesses who willingly came forth after seeing signs like the one about the Charity Jar.

Public Meeting: Canal Dredging

Coastal Canal Dredging Ordinance

The Coastal Canal Dredging Ordinance was presented by the County Attorney's Office and the Public Works Department on Wednesday September 10, 2008 at 6:30 PM. The meeting was surprisingly electrifying and passionate. People from all over Hillsborough County attended Wednesday's meeting at Sickles High School in hopes of preventing the costly Costal Canal Dredging Ordinance.

Martin Montalvo, General Manager of the Public Works Department, opened the meeting with a presentation that explained the situation at hand. Montalvo explained that canal dredging is, "the municipal services and essential facilities utilized for cleaning, deepening and widening a navigable salt or brackish water canal-type waterway including but not limited to, the use of a dredge, or any other type of machinery or equipment used to clean, deepen or widen such waterways." In other words, dredging is the process of removing the sediment in canals, or other waterways, to make it easier for boats to maneuver. Especially during hurricane season, canals become shallow after sediment collects in the center. At times the waterways become so eroded that it is impossible for owners of waterfront properties to use their boats. Montalvo stated many times throughout his speech that dredging raises recreation and navigation and therefore raise property values.

Montalvo continued to try and convince owners of waterfront property to gather their neighbors and create a MSBU (Municipal Service Benefit Unit). He explained that residents need 40 petition signatures in order to begin the process. After a series of formalities, the county will bring in machines and dredge the canal. This is where it gets sticky; usually houses down stream of the dredging location will also reap the benefits and will therefore be mandated to pay for the dredging regardless if the resident wanted it or not.

Montalvo then broke down the estimated costs which averaged $15,231,489 for a normal neighborhood. This would mean that each resident would be taxed hundreds of dollars annually for twenty years until the project is paid off. This is when people began to protest. I got the feeling that I was not the only one who felt as though Montalvo's speech was more like a sales pitch than anything else.

A major issue was that residents are charged in spite of if they have a boat or not, because of the "perceived property value" dredging adds to the house. However, as many people pointed out, if they were to spend millions of dollars on dredging their canal and a hurricane were to come and ruin the canal a year later, all of their money would be wasted. Montalvo proclaimed that it was not his job to insure that the canals would stay clear. The dredging ordinance is a one time deal and by no means a permanent solution.

Many other protesters including homeowner Brad Wear, claimed the Board of County Commissioners should simply re-budget and maintain storm water runoff so that this problem would stop reoccurring. Wear later explained that no house built before 1984 has a retention pond. This means that all untreated storm water runoff empties directly into the Bay, thus further devastating our environment. Homeowner Tom Phinney commented that he lives "in the largest estuary in Tampa, and the government is treating it like a sewer."

Though most were displeased with the ordinance, some people tried to convince fellow residents to come together for the common good. Norm Coffman admitted he did not agree with the manner in which the government has ignored the issue. However, he stated that there is nothing else to do but to support the proposition, "If we don't fix this, no one will. We need to do this because even though some of us don't need it now, we might need it later. It's like any tax."

USF alumni and Meeting Secretary Frances M. Valdes added, "People may not feel they should have to pay taxes for schools, but one day they might have a child that needs school. Or if not, we need to look at is as an investment for our future. The same thing goes for this. If we don't fix the canals, they could dry up for good."

Though the meeting brought many great points to light, strong disagreements insure that there will most likely not be a definite decision in the near future.

Phone Numbers:
Norm Coffman: (813)-885-5090
Tom Phinney: (813)-577-2525
Frances M. Valdes: (813)-744-5671
Brad Wear: (813)-695-8779

Database Reporting Matt Doig

Herald Tribune database reporter Matt Doig exemplifies what good reporting should be. I truly gained a newfound respect for the time and energy that goes into "explaining complexity of life" as apposed to merely spitting out headlines. Doig's passion was inspiring. He showed us how devoting oneself to a story and spending months, even years, investigating will not only impact readers but might also contribute to solving crimes and changing laws.

One of Doig's works that I found particularly interesting was a study he did on poor education in poor areas. He compiled a database of teacher test scores and searched for the correlation between smarter teachers going to more affluent schools and average to below average teachers going to underprivileged schools. Doig was able to prove that lower class children were receiving considerably worse teachers, thus continuing the cycle of poverty and expanding the polarization between class systems.

Another precedent story that caught my attention was one where social security numbers of public employees were being released to research groups. The rule changed to only allow the release of the last four digits of social security numbers. However, there are many people with identical last four numbers, and there are even more people with the same name. Therefore, the new rule made it difficult to ensure the validity of reports rendered. One example given by Doig was if the reports of buss drivers with DUIs were incorrect, then that could lead to grave consequences. A sex offender is also a sensitive issue where the charges and the picture being shown better be correct or it could ruin many people's lives.

Another conflict concerning the release of social security numbers is that many companies are selling social security numbers to insurance companies, for example. Driver's license records cost ten dollars to produce because there are companies willing to pay for them.

In short, Doig taught us that stories will always be better with public records research.

Ms. Harper Public Records

Ms. Harper's visit clarified the Sunshine Law and used thorough examples to illustrate how public records affect the community. Everything from knowing that copies should cost no more than 15 cents, to understanding how to request a specific access statutory citation, is helpful information that most students would not otherwise be aware of. She explained how to know if your rights are being violated and what to do if an agency overcharges you. Ms. Harper taught us that state agencies and local government boards or commission meetings have to be open and accessible to every person in order to ensure public participation.

Agencies must give adequate notice of meetings. Meetings qualify as conversations between two or more officials of any public agency, and any private company, committee, or advisory board that does business with a public agency. Notice of time, location, and content are required in advance. If a person’s behavior is disorderly, he or she cannot be asked to leave a public meeting. Press is therefore allowed cameras and equipment as long as it does not get in the way of proceedings. As with most laws, the Sunshine Law has many exemptions that are created by the legislature.

According to the Sunshine law if meetings purposely do not follow the protocol, agencies can be subject to fines of maximum 500 dollars. If agencies knowingly fail to adhere to the rules, they can be charged with a second degree misdemeanor, jailed up to 60 days, and/or have to pay up to a 500 dollar fine. If someone knowingly disobeys the Public Records Law they can be suspended, impeached, or fired and be found guilty to a first degree misdemeanor with up to one year in prison, and a fine up to 1,000 dollars. Violators of chapter 119—which states that “all state, county, and municipal records shall be open for inspection and copying by any person”—can be guilty of a noncriminal infraction, and charged a fee of no more than 500 dollars.