The Florida-Times Union
March 29, 2020
In times of crisis, people take shortcuts.
Here in Florida, we ended the annual celebration of Sunshine Week on a sad note. Under the guise of the coronavirus pandemic, transparency within our government has become one of its first victims.
Here are examples of what has already occurred:
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- Media calls to confirm the first coronavirus patient at Doctors Hospital of Sarasota were met with the response that it was a “hoax.”
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- Cities and counties across Florida are holding virtual public meetings without the ability of the public to participate.
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- Politicians and sports stars have easy access to testing but our government cannot explain why only .01 (one-tenth of one percent) of Floridians have been tested.
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- Emergency management plans are being pulled from government websites with exemptions claimed for “security” reasons.
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- A North Carolina senator who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee sold much of his stock shortly before the market crash while privately saying the pandemic would significantly alter our economy
- Some units of government seek to deter citizens from attempting to obtain information by quoting exorbitant fees to obtain public records about the true extent of the pandemic.
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- Emergency management plans are being pulled from government websites with exemptions claimed for “security” reasons.