The presentation by Cheryl McCoy was much more effective in person than recorded. When someone isn't there I tend to dose off and not may attention as much as I would if the person was physically there. You don't want to disrespect the person giving the presentation because if you were up there, you would want the students attention.
Unfortunately I couldn't follow along with her because the computer I was at wasn't working nor was the one next to me. Upon taking a few notes here and there, and trying to pay attention, I was able to retain a good amount of helpful information.
She taught a lot about public records that will be helpful in our project of researching a public official. The marriage, birth, and property certifications will be helpful in guiding me to other information about Mark Sharpe. A problem I seem to run into is that a lot of the sites try to charge for everything.
Cheryl seems to be a very genuine and caring person. I feel like she would love to help us anytime she can. I get that sense that a lot of teachers say they want to help, but when it comes down to it they take a week and a half to return an email. Don't even get me started on them giving out their office phone number.
I felt a sense of relief when she showed us exactly how to find out information about the public meetings. Last Thursday Tim told us about the rule of meetings between two public officials, but as far as I can remember never gave us the information on where they show it. Cheryl saved much of the class stress near the end of the semester when we all realize that we have to go to some of these meetings.
I'm glad the information is out there for us. Now we just have to figure out how navigate through all the records and information we've been given. I'm sure it will take some getting used to, but once we become accustom, it will be a piece of cake.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Tim Nickens presentation
It's amazing what I've been able to learn in such short period of time. The amount of knowledge that can be obtained by any individual about someone through public records is mind boggling. Many things Tim Nickens went over will be very helpful in future classes and assignments. Him being with the St. Petersburg Times gives him a great deal of integrity.
When I found out that you could search the value of properties on zylo.com, I immediately started searching for anywhere I 've ever lived. I soon found out many apartment complexes I've lived in are making a ton of money off it's residents.
The best part of Tim's presentation was the explanation of politifact.com. I favored this part because it calls politicians out for making outlandish statements while on the campaign trail. The candidate now has to say what they feel, rather than promising what he or she actually plans on doing. It creates a sense of accountability to politicians who have to stand behind what they promise while on their platform.
The story about Ray Sampson was interesting. I hadn't heard about it until Tim told us. It was a prime example of using public records to expose someone abusing their power. The fact that Mr. Sampson got a building built with people's tax dollars for his own personal airport hanger make me disappointed in the system we live in. Nobody should be aloud to manipulate tax dollars for personal use. This happening during the Recession, when there's not a lot of expendable many out there. Many people are struggling just to pay their mortgages.
Speaking of sneaky politicians. It was funny knowing how both politicians and reporters play a cat and mouse game with public meetings and records. Like texting or emailing each other things instead of meeting in person. I didn't know council members had to inform the public about any meetings of two or more in person.
This presentation is definitely beneficial to the students. If the opportunity arises to have him come back next semester, I would jump at the chance of having him speak to the class. With such an awkward and uncomfortable feeling right now, never using or being familiar with public records, it's nice to have someone teach so much about it. The eleven question hand-out was helpful as well. It gave me a sense of where I'm at knowing what you can and can't do when obtaining public records.
When I found out that you could search the value of properties on zylo.com, I immediately started searching for anywhere I 've ever lived. I soon found out many apartment complexes I've lived in are making a ton of money off it's residents.
The best part of Tim's presentation was the explanation of politifact.com. I favored this part because it calls politicians out for making outlandish statements while on the campaign trail. The candidate now has to say what they feel, rather than promising what he or she actually plans on doing. It creates a sense of accountability to politicians who have to stand behind what they promise while on their platform.
The story about Ray Sampson was interesting. I hadn't heard about it until Tim told us. It was a prime example of using public records to expose someone abusing their power. The fact that Mr. Sampson got a building built with people's tax dollars for his own personal airport hanger make me disappointed in the system we live in. Nobody should be aloud to manipulate tax dollars for personal use. This happening during the Recession, when there's not a lot of expendable many out there. Many people are struggling just to pay their mortgages.
Speaking of sneaky politicians. It was funny knowing how both politicians and reporters play a cat and mouse game with public meetings and records. Like texting or emailing each other things instead of meeting in person. I didn't know council members had to inform the public about any meetings of two or more in person.
This presentation is definitely beneficial to the students. If the opportunity arises to have him come back next semester, I would jump at the chance of having him speak to the class. With such an awkward and uncomfortable feeling right now, never using or being familiar with public records, it's nice to have someone teach so much about it. The eleven question hand-out was helpful as well. It gave me a sense of where I'm at knowing what you can and can't do when obtaining public records.
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