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The Unshine State: A Hazy Forecast for Florida's Sunshine Law

Florida’s Sunshine Law on open records and meetings is coming under increasing attack from exemptions and from state and local governments that refuse to comply with requests in a timely manner.
The 1967 law once was the envy of the nation. Floridians believe that a transparent government is also an accountable government. Yet, more than 1,000 exemptions to the law have been made by different state Legislatures and signed into law by Florida governors.
The exemptions have increased in recent years, and so has the noncompliance. In some cases, local governments balk at records requests because they lack money and staffing to accommodate them. A few individuals can make enormous demands under the Sunshine Law.
In some cases, there is confusion about what constitutes an open meeting, or comments from the public are limited. State government often slow-walks a response and demands large amounts of money for copies of records.
Our Hot Topics panel and moderator will discuss how journalists and the public can be more effective in making records and public meetings requests and what Floridians can do to prevent the Sunshine Law from being eroded further.


DOORS OPEN AT 11AM PROGRAM 11:45-1PM
Hot Topics Overtime in library 1:15PM
Parking Maps below

Panelists and Moderator

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Accordion Widget
Leslie Postal
Leslie Postal

Leslie Postal

Leslie Postal covers K-12 education for the Orlando Sentinel. She previously worked at newspapers in Virginia and is a graduate of Cornell University and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Accordion Widget
Mike DeForest
Mike DeForest

Mike DeForest

Emmy Award-winning investigative reporter Mike DeForest has been covering Central Florida news for more than two decades. When Mike was 5 years old, his grandfather introduced him to broadcasting by handing

him a microphone and a tape recorder. A few years later, Mike ran around his neighborhood in the Chicago suburbs with his family’s bulky VHS camcorder, shooting movies with his friends.

Mike studied broadcast journalism at the University of Southern California. While in Los Angeles, he was mentored by some of the biggest names in television news. Mike's first big assignment was covering the O.J. Simpson case. On weekends, Mike put his voice to work navigating tourists past animatronic hippos on the Disneyland Jungle Cruise.


Mike began his career at KAAL-TV in Austin, Minnesota, better known at the birthplace of Spam. The highlight of the year was covering the annual Spam Jam festival. He then reported for WRCB-TV in Chattanooga, Tenn., where Mike fell in love with the mountains, the barbecue and the woman he would later marry.


Mike joined News 6 just as Florida officials began counting hanging chads in the aftermath of the 2000 presidential election. Since then, Mike has covered some of the biggest news events in Central Florida, from hurricanes to shuttle launches to the trials of Casey Anthony and George Zimmerman. But what Mike loves most about his job is meeting the memorable people who make Central Florida one of the most interesting and exciting places in the country.

Accordion Widget
Bobby Block
Bobby Block

Bobby Block


Robert “Bobby” Block is executive director of the Florida First Amendment Foundation. The former managing editor of Florida Today, Block’s career in journalism and advocacy spans four decades. He contributed to the Wall Street Journal’s coverage of 9/11, which earned a 2002 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news.


He is co-author of the book “Disaster: Hurricane Katrina and the Failure of Homeland Security” and has also reported on conflicts around the world, including coverage of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda as it happened, as well as the summary executions of more than 8,000 men and boys from the Bosnian village of Srebrenica by Serbian forces in 1995.



He was appointed FFAF executive director in 2023 as direct attacks on the First Amendment rights of Florida’s citizens are increasing with callous disregard for the law. According to the FFAF, both state and local governments are restricting citizens’ access to public meetings and records. The right to question state and local officials and hold them accountable has become fraught with problems. Government bodies that are legally required by Florida’s Constitution to act with transparency and are moving more and more into the shade.

Accordion Widget
Beth Kassab-Moderator
Beth Kassab-Moderator

Moderator: Beth Kassab

Beth Kassab is a Central Florida native and long-time journalist who has devoted her career to local news. She arrived at the Winter Park Voice in 2023 with a strong passion for telling the stories of the people and organizations who help define this region.


Beth spent 20 years at the Orlando Sentinel where she covered politics, education, courts, business and local government and also wrote a popular column. She has appeared on CNN, MSNBC, NBC Nightly News, WMFE, WUCF and Fox35.


Beth graduated from the University of Florida, where she was editor-in-chief of the Independent Florida Alligator, and served as chairwoman of UF’s Department of Journalism Advisory Board from 2018-2020.


In 2018, she was a finalist for the Scripps Howard First Amendment Award and has been recognized for her body of work by the Florida Society of News Editors.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITY

Love events and planning them?  The Hot Topics team would appreciate your help.
Email the Co-Chairs for more information:  Diana Smith or Karen Estrin

Parking Options

PLEASE NOTE: If you have a disability or any additional needs and require assistance in order to fully participate in League activities, please email lwvpat.grierson@gmail.com
You will be contacted to discuss your specific needs.

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Hot Topics Recap


Click to read the complete RECAP of MAR 13 event.

If you attended the event or watched it on our Facebook Live stream please consider completing the evaluation linked below:
 bit.ly/Mar13HT



Slideshow
2024 Hot Topics: Running in Place -Legislative Debrief

2024
FEB Recap
JAN Recap
2023

NOV Recap
AI & Elections
OCT Recap
Maxwell & Maxwell

SEPT Recap
Latina Leadership & Legacy
AUG Recap
Superhero Buildings 
June RECAP
Give Me Shelter
May RECAP
Shock and Law: Legislative Session Review

April RECAP
Metro Mayors' Forum
MARCH Recap
A Thousand Disrespectful Cuts: Schools
FEB Recap
Black History Month
JAN Recap
The State of FL's Democracy


Sponsors are vital to our work to empower voters by providing timely information for the benefit of non-partisan civic engagement in our community. To further explore how becoming a Hot Topics Sponsor can align with your business goals, please contact LWVOC Vice President, Lee Rambeau Kemp HERE

A range of sponsorship levels are available.

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The best regular public affairs forum in town, our Hot Topics Luncheons feature speakers and panelists talking about the hottest issues of concern to Central Florida. Open to League members and community guests, your ticket includes a delicious lunch prepared by Cuisiniers to be enjoyed along with food for thought and action. You’ll want to be present in the magnificent and new Winter Park Events Center. Programs are also streamed on the League’s Facebook Live, recorded, and available on the League’s YouTube channel.

Winter Park Events Center

1050 W. Morse Blvd.

Photo courtesy Adjaye Associates