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January 2008 - Posts

Wednesday, January 30, 2008 6:13 PM

Pennsylvania open record bill advances

The Pennsylvania Senate approved a public records bill and now it advances to the House (see story). Politicians say it will make the state one of the most open in the country, which, frankly, is hogwash. The law keeps secret criminal investigations,
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Tuesday, January 29, 2008 7:22 PM

Washington lawmaker wants to make police officers' names private

The Seattle Times reports that Washington State Rep. Bill Hinkle, R-Cle Elum, is sponsoring legislation that would exempt information about police officers and their families form public disclosure, even if it is in documents that are normally public
posted by DonaldMeyers | 1 Comments
Monday, January 28, 2008 3:30 PM

Detroit city aide resigns after records show tryst with mayor

The chief of staff to the Detroit mayor resigned after the Detroit Free Press requested public text messages exposing an affair between the two. The public records, gleaned from 14,000 text messages provided by the city, contradicted testimony
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Monday, January 28, 2008 12:09 AM

Bad teachers find ways of hiding criminal pasts by leaving no paper trail

Public records are supposed to help us keep track of things, but one newspaper chain's project found that people who want to hide their bad deeds can often do so. A seven-month investigation by the Small Newspaper Group found that teachers who run afoul
posted by DavidCuillier | 1 Comments
Monday, January 28, 2008 12:09 AM

Virginia debates making concealed weapons database secret

A bill is moving forward in Virginia that would make secret the state database of concealed weapons permits, but provide the data for the NRA and other gun advocacy groups for educational purposes. The measure was proposed in response to The Roanoke Times
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Friday, January 25, 2008 3:24 PM

President considering shifting FOIA ombudsman to Justice Department

President Bush is apparently considering moving the new FOIA ombudsman from the National Archives and Records Administration to the Justice Department, much to the consternation of Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., John Cornyn, R-Texas, and access groups. If
posted by DavidCuillier | 1 Comments
Thursday, January 24, 2008 1:21 PM

Utah reporters now protected by shield rule

According to Jeff Hunt, Utah media attorney, the Utah Supreme Court approved a shield rule for reporters yesterday that promises to offer Utah journalists some of the strongest protection from subpoenas in the nation. The rule creates a near-absolute
posted by DonaldMeyers | 0 Comments
Thursday, January 24, 2008 1:25 AM

Arkansas paper uses documents to find Huckabee secret fund to buy $40,000 portrait, among other things

The Arksansas Democrat-Gazette used public records to expose a secret "special-events fund" run by Mike Huckabee when he was governor to accept private donations for such things as a $40,000 portrait of himself. A great job digging through documents to
posted by DavidCuillier | 2 Comments
Thursday, January 24, 2008 1:13 AM

Colorado bill would make legislative records even more secret

A proposal in Colorado would make e-mails and other records regarding draft legislation secret. The Legislature believes that if citizens find out about proposals before they are crafted then it would chill the deliberative process - that elected leaders
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Wednesday, January 23, 2008 5:13 PM

Sen. Sessions places hold on presidential records bill

On Tuesday Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) put a secret hold on the Presidential Records Act Amendments of 2007 (HR 1255). The legislation, now stymied by the one senator, would re-open historical presidential records made secret by Bush's Executive Order 13233.
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Wednesday, January 23, 2008 1:39 PM

Indiana campus paper stands up to "off-the-record" public speech

The Indiana Daily Student newspaper at Indiana University stood up to a former deputy national security adviser to President Bush who wanted to give a public speech on campus on the condition it be off the record. As a result of the campus paper refusing
posted by DavidCuillier | 1 Comments
Wednesday, January 23, 2008 9:38 AM

Congress to consider resolution condemning countries that imprison journalists

Congress may consider a resolution condemning Middle Eastern countries for imprisoning and harassing journalists. See story in the New York Sun. Now, maybe they also might consider condemning themselves for imprisoning an Associated Press photographer
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Tuesday, January 22, 2008 4:12 PM

South Carolina court to hear records case between county officials

It's always interesting when elected officials have to sue to see public records held by the agency they represent, and here's another one. The South Carolina Supreme Court will hear a case where a county council member wants access to descriptions of
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Tuesday, January 22, 2008 3:32 PM

Cleveland SPJ chapter to talk about Ohio open record law changes

The Cleveland chapter of SPJ is meeting Jan. 23 to get an update on Ohio's public records law. The speaker will be David Marburger, a media law attorney in Cleveland (see more information here if you would like to attend). These kinds of sessions are
posted by DavidCuillier | 1 Comments
Saturday, January 19, 2008 8:33 PM

Meeting minutes reveal that mine owners knew of structural problems at Utah mine

Meeting minutes show that owners of the Crandall Canyon mine in Utah, where nine people killed after a collapse, had been dealing with structural problems at the mine months before the disaster, according to a Salt Lake Tribune story. The paper had received
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Saturday, January 19, 2008 8:29 PM

Missouri to create government e-mail archive

Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt has ordered work on a government e-mail archive to prevent government employee work e-mail from being deleted when it should be provided to the public. The archive system is estimated to cost $1.6 million to set up and about $500,000
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 11:02 AM

Print and Web ads available for Sunshine Week

ASNE's annual Sunshine Week now has print and Web ads available for media publications to use. Check them out at www.sunshineweek.org. Sunshine Week is March 16-22, so now is a great time to start working on projects or editorials!
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 10:56 AM

Dead man talking: Federal court denies ban on face-to-face interviews with death-row inmates

This week a 7th U.S. Court of Appeals judge reversed a lower court's ban on face-to-face interviews with death-row inmates. Many journalism organizations, including SPJ, chimed in on the case and are pleased with the outcome.
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Sunday, January 13, 2008 11:27 PM

Bill in Virginia would make university donor information secret

A bill proposed in Virginia would make university donor information secret (see story). That would be a shame. Already many public universities are able to keep that information secret through the use of non-profit foundations. It would be a shame for
posted by DavidCuillier | 1 Comments
Sunday, January 13, 2008 1:08 AM

Massachusetts needs to make Harvard police subject to open records law

The Crimson student paper at Harvard University has been fighting long to get campus police records open and subject to the state open records law, including a lawsuit filed in 2003. The courts didn't agree with students, saying the university is a private
posted by DavidCuillier | 1 Comments
Sunday, January 13, 2008 12:47 AM

Connecticut city council wants access to public records without mayor's approval

City council members in New Britain, Conn., passed an ordinance Wednesday requiring city officials to provide them public records without having to go through the mayor's office. The mayor responded by restating proper protocol for council members to
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Friday, January 11, 2008 10:56 AM

Public records request of absentee ballot applications helps identify cross-overs

A political consultant requested through public records laws data on 220,000 absentee ballot applications in Michigan to figure out that about 15 percent of voters in each party have chosen to cross over and vote in the other party's primary. This is
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Wednesday, January 09, 2008 3:52 PM

Federal judge says no First Amendment right of access to executions in Arkansas

A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by journalists in Arkansas who were seeking access to lethal-injection executions, saying there is no First Amendment right of access to executions. While that ruling might stand in Arkansas, it isn't
posted by DavidCuillier | 1 Comments
Tuesday, January 08, 2008 10:54 AM

Government e-mail, even from home, scrutinized

More and more government agencies are beginning to acknowledge that e-mail sent by government officials regarding government business should be public, even if it is sent from a personal computer or cell phone. That was the conclusion of attorneys for
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Monday, January 07, 2008 5:07 PM

South Dakota bill would remove date of birth from voter registration data

A bill proposed by the South Dakota Board of Elections would remove dates of birth from voter registration data. The reason is to prevent identity theft, according to a story in the (Sioux Falls) Argus Leader. No evidence is given that identity thieves
posted by DavidCuillier | 1 Comments
Friday, January 04, 2008 12:27 PM

Judge's kin sue for courthouse mold records

The children of a judge who died of a mysterious pulmonary illness are suing the General Services Administration for failing to comply with a FOIA request for documents regarding mold conditions in the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., courthouse where the judge
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Thursday, January 03, 2008 8:29 PM

Amnesty Int. can use journalists' shield

A U.S. court has ordered that Amnesty International and other human rights groups can assert the same privileges that journalists use, allowing them to better protect anonymous sources.Read the entire story at Reuters.
posted by JoelCampbell | 0 Comments
Thursday, January 03, 2008 1:32 PM

Arizona conservation group sues Interior Department over endangered species documents

The Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity is suing the Department of Interior to obtain documents about endangered species decisions the group alleges were tainted by political pressure. See Associated Press story.
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Thursday, January 03, 2008 1:28 PM

Nevada Supreme Court makes it tougher for judges to seal cases

The Nevada Supreme Court adopted new rules making it tougher for judges to seal civil cases, particularly those that would hide public hazards. The court took action following a special report by the Las Vegas Review-Journal exposing a large number of
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Thursday, January 03, 2008 2:12 PM

NASA finally releases airline safety data — en masse

As reported by The Associated Press, NASA has finally released some of the results of its air-safety study. If you remember, this was the same report that NASA refused to publish because it claimed the data would scare the flying public and hurt the airlines'
posted by DonaldMeyers | 0 Comments
Wednesday, January 02, 2008 4:08 PM

Indiana study finds users of public access counselor want stiffer penalties

A survey of people who used the Indiana public access counselor found that citizens and journalists wish there were tougher penalties to make sure agencies comply with open record laws. See the full study.
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments
Tuesday, January 01, 2008 12:31 AM

Happy New Year: President signs FOIA reform into law

On Monday President Bush signed into law the OPEN Government Act of 2007, which creates a federal ombudsman for mediating FOIA disputes, requires agencies to meet the 20-day deadline to respond to FOIA requests, and bolsters FOIA in other ways. What a
posted by DavidCuillier | 0 Comments