Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Jim RosicaOctober 13, 2016

The head of a nonprofit that runs prisoner re-entry programs in the state said she had “no evidence” her group and others were being muscled out by private prison operator The GEO Group. But, Lori Costantino-Brown quickly added, there’s been a “lot of speculation” that the company has somehow been involved. Costantino-Brown, president and CEO of Orlando-based […]

Jim RosicaSeptember 26, 2016

The state’s Department of Corrections and Bridges of America, an Orlando-based nonprofit, are once more warring over transitional programs for the state’s inmates. On Monday morning, Bridges representatives and supporters say they will rally at the organization’s Orlando Transition Center “to respond to (DOC’s) plans to shut the center down,” the group said. Lori Constantino-Brown, president […]

Jim RosicaAugust 29, 2016

A Florida appeals court has ruled state agencies don’t have to give a specific reason when they black out an individual bit of information in a document produced under a public-records request. Specifically, a three-judge panel of the the 1st District Court of Appeal said the state’s “Public Records Act does not require agencies to […]

Jim RosicaAugust 15, 2016

A transgender woman, currently held in a men’s prison, is suing the state Department of Corrections for denying her “hormone therapy and other medically necessary treatment.” The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, which is representing Reiyn (pronounced “rain”) Keohane, filed suit on her behalf Monday in federal court in Tallahassee. The complaint says the state is […]

Jim RosicaJune 21, 2016

Michelle Glady, who had been press secretary for the Department of Children and Families, has become the Department of Corrections‘ new communications director. The move was effective last Monday but not announced by the department until Tuesday in a press release. Corrections Secretary Julie Jones said she was “proud and excited to welcome Michelle Glady to the FDC […]

Jim RosicaMay 11, 2016

The battle over Broward Bridge is over. The state’s Department of Corrections and Bridges of America announced a settlement Wednesday afternoon. The state had been planning to pull the plug on Broward Bridge, a residential program offering transitional counseling, drug treatment and other services to inmates on work release. Bridges, the Orlando-based nonprofit that runs the program, had […]

Peter SchorschMay 8, 2016

How many times can Department of Corrections officials tick off Greg Evers before they’re really in for it? The Republican state Senator from North Florida has been on a one-man crusade against the department. Evers chairs the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice, which has held hearings about the agency’s ability and integrity. Evers, a farmer from Baker, has even made some unannounced […]

Jim RosicaMay 4, 2016

Almost all of Broward County’s legislative delegation is telling Gov. Rick Scott: Keep the Bridge open. In a new letter, 17 of the county’s members in the House and Senate — 16 of them Democrats — are the latest lawmakers to protest the Department of Corrections’ planned shutdown of a prisoner re-entry program. “The impact of this […]

Jim RosicaMay 3, 2016

At least three inmates have filed suit in Tallahassee over the Department of Corrections‘ shutdown of a south Florida prisoner re-entry program. Michael Brammer, John McDougle and Douglas Rahn sued in Leon County Circuit Court late Monday, records show. They seek a court order preventing the state from closing Broward Bridge, a residential program offering transitional […]

Jim RosicaMay 2, 2016

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A state senator says the Department of Corrections “lied” to him about the closure of a prisoner re-entry program. But a department spokesman says he may have misunderstood the conversation. Greg Evers, the Baker Republican who heads his chamber’s Criminal Justice Committee, spoke at a Tallahassee news conference on Monday. Evers told reporters he wanted to insert special […]

Tag: Department of Corrections
Crowds gather to see Atlantis at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. (Gabrielle Russon)

‘No evidence’ GEO Group behind prisoner rehab grab

Dept of Corrections, Bridges of America battling again over inmate programs

Miami Herald loses appeal of ‘black outs’ in public records

Transgender woman sues state prisons agency

Personnel note: Michelle Glady moves to FDOC

Corrections settles case over prisoner program shutdown

Peter Schorsch: Irritated senator, no love for Guv, panther numbers

Broward delegation protests prisoner program closure

Inmates now suing over state shutdown of prisoner re-entry program

Greg Evers says prisons agency “lied” to him