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Records/Archives in the News Part 02 01/12/00
Records/Archives in the News r000111a
There are 6 stories in this posting.
Atlanta Journal Constitution 1/11/00
Survey will hold mirror to world
Denver Post 1/11/00
?52 time capsule opened
Bergen Record 1/11/00
Oakland box dispute in hands of receiver
Minneapolis/St. Paul Star-Tribune 1/11/00
Court ruling is used to withhold records
The Oregonian 1/11/00
ACLU asks government to make a list of its databases
The Collegian (U. of Toledo) 1/10/00
U. Toledo student information found in hall, again
_________________________________________________________________
Atlanta Journal Constitution 1/11/00
Survey will hold mirror to world
by Mark Bixler
<SNIP>
When Samarendranath Mitra moved to Atlanta in 1963, the only place he could
get traditional Indian spices was from a mail-order company in New York. He
was one of about 50 Indian immigrants living in the city then.
Now that 13,000 Indians live in metro Atlanta, he can get the spices in one
of several ethnic groceries.
?Now you can get almost anything,? said Mitra, a retired sociology professor
born in Calcutta.
Mitra has been witness to the evolution of the local Indian community, and
his experience is of great interest to the Atlanta History Center. The center
is in the midst of its Atlanta Immigrant and Refugee Project, a yearlong
survey of immigrants and refugees from 39 countries.
The goal is to find documents, such as newsletters, diaries and church
bulletins, that could help authors, historians and researchers interested in
the growth of international communities. The history center plans to compile
a list of those documents for use as a future guide for those studying the
international influx.
Mitra piqued the center?s interest when he described brochures in English and
Bengali that he has saved for 15 years. They contain stories and poems
written by Indian children living in metro Atlanta and advertise religious
ceremonies conducted at an Indian community center in Smyrna.
Martha Nelson, a folklorist conducting the survey, said Mitra?s collection is
just the kind of thing she?s looking for.
<SNIP>
<SNIP>
The Georgia Department of Archives and History gave a $15,000 grant for the
survey. The history center does not plan to publish a history of immigration.
Instead, it will compile a database next spring to be used as starting points
for future researchers. It also will publish a list of immigrant groups.
Nelson said she wants to know about letters, books, press releases, meeting
minutes, scrapbooks, family registries and other papers maintained by
immigrants or refugees. She mailed about 100 surveys and received 44
responses from organizations and their members, representing immigrants from
Afghanistan, Cuba, Haiti, China, Greece, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Poland,
Russia, several Latin American countries and other nations.
?It?s a snapshot?in 1999, these were the groups, and this is what they had,?
said Susan Illis, a manuscripts archivist. ?We?re trying to lay the
groundwork for future work.?
The history center is not asking for documents, but it will accept those that
are offered. A few survey participants have agreed to donate some.
Lisa Littlefield, spokeswoman for the history center, said the survey
acknowledges that immigration is changing Atlanta.
?Drive down Buford Highway,? the heart of immigrant communities in Atlanta,
she said, ?and you just scratch the surface of how many different groups are
here.?
For more information on the Atlanta Immigrant and Refugee Project, call Susan
Illis at 404-814-4044 or Martha Nelson at 404-814-4108.
<SNIP>
________________________________________________________________
Denver Post 1/11/00
?52 time capsule opened
by Kieran Nicholson
<SNIP>
GOLDEN -Jefferson County officials unlocked a bygone era Monday when they
opened a time capsule from 1952. Inside the small copper box, which had been
welded shut almost half a century ago, were newspapers, photos, postcards,
county documents and a book from 1877. Duncan McCollum, the county archivist,
gingerly handled one of the newspapers.
?It?s yellowed a little bit, but it doesn?t seem to be to brittle,? he told
onlookers, including members of the Jefferson County Historical Commission.
As Jack Raven, chairman of the historical commission, examined the county?s
budget from 1952, he noted that it totaled $2.9 million. ?You notice that
everything is in the black,? he said. To which county Commissioner Richard
Sheehan, who was born in 1959, shouted: ?And it still is!? Only now, the
budget is hundreds of millions.
<SNIP>
<SNIP>
The materials were placed in the time capsule on August 2, 1952, and buried
behind the cornerstone of the old county courthouse, which was then state of
the art, at the corner of 17th and Arapahoe streets in Golden. The county
sold the buildings to the Colorado School of Mines in 1994, and the stately
courthouse was torn down in November. Officials knew about the time capsule,
retrieved it and decided to open it Monday.
?I think it is great to pass things on to our children and grandchildren,?
said Larry Lotito, a member of the county historical commission whose family
for years ran a vegetable market in Jefferson County.
The collection will go into the county archives and will be on display to the
public, McCollum said.
<SNIP>
________________________________________________________________
Bergen Record 1/11/00
Oakland box dispute in hands of receiver
by Pia Sarkar
<SNIP>
OAKLAND?A court-appointed official is expected to determine this week whether
files taken by the departing mayor belong to the borough.
In clearing out his office at the end of his term, former Mayor J. Peter
Kendall packed 15 boxes of documents, which new Mayor Robert Piccoli contends
should have stayed in Borough Hall.
Kendall filed theft charges against Piccoli two weeks ago after Piccoli
intercepted the boxes and sent them back to Borough Hall. Kendall maintains
the contents are his; Piccoli argues they are public documents.
A hearing officer last week dismissed Kendall?s charges. In turn, Kendall and
Piccoli agreed to have a court-appointed official review the files and decide
to whom they belong. A date for the review has not yet been set, but Kendall
said it should happen this week.
?This makes it nice and neat and clean and doesn?t let this drag on forever,?
Kendall said. ?The idea is just to get the files where they belong.?
?I am more than happy with the arrangement,? Piccoli said. ?My only intent
was to preserve the integrity of the records.?
<SNIP>
________________________________________________________________
Minneapolis/St. Paul Star-Tribune 1/11/00
Court ruling is used to withhold records
Associated Press
<SNIP>
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- Law enforcement agencies are withholding public records in
response to a Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling that the state attorney general
insists applies only to personal privacy matters.
The ruling in July authorized public employees to seek court orders against
releasing personnel files that might embarrass them.
Some law enforcement agencies are now withholding other types of records to
avoid the risk of being sued by people who object to public scrutiny.
? My understanding is this case may be opening the door to all records
instead of just personnel records, even though the attorney general? s office
is not interpreting it that way, ? said Police Chief David Tellock of De
Pere, president of the Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association.
The office of Attorney General James Doyle Jr. has said the Supreme Court
opinion only affects personnel records and that law enforcement records must
remain public.
However, Wauwatosa City Attorney David Bretl advised his city? s Police
Department last week to withhold a report on a road-rage incident involving a
Milwaukee County prosecutor and an off-duty Mequon policeman, giving the two
motorists time to have the files sealed.
? On one hand, we? re required by the Open Records Law to furnish records in
a timely fashion. On the other, we have a case that says you can? t unduly
create an invasion of privacy, ? Bretl said.
The Supreme Court decision involved efforts by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
to obtain Milwaukee School District files of its employees? backgrounds.
The 4-3 decision in favor of letting employees block the disclosure followed
a 1996 ruling that said a public employee can block records held by a
district attorney.
Now there is a question of whether the court? s guideline applies to all
people or just public employees.
<SNIP>
<SNIP>
The Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council will request legislation to
clarify the matter, said council president Dave Zweifel, editor of The
Capitol Times of Madison.
<SNIP>
<SNIP>
Some journalists disagree with the Supreme Court? s interpretation, saying it
contracts the state Open Records Law.
? The press believes it is essental to keep access to public records open so
that they can report how well public officials are doing their jobs, using
their authority and spending tax dollars, ? said George Stanley, Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel managing editor.
<SNIP>
_______________________________________________________________
The Oregonian 1/11/00
ACLU asks government to make a list of its databases
by Hunter T. George
Associated Press
<SNIP>
OLYMPIA (AP) -- Ever wonder how many government databases contain personal
information about you?
The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington believes the answer to that
question will spark a discussion about one of the fastest-growing concerns
about the 21st century?the loss of privacy.
The ACLU urged lawmakers Tuesday to pass its proposal to require the state to
list all ?information systems or databases? maintained by Washington agencies
that contain personal information.
?This bill, while rather simple, starts the conversation we need to have
about privacy,? House Bill 2228?s sponsor, Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish,
told the House State Government Committee. ?I don?t want government to become
HansDunshee-dot-com.
?I want to know what they?ve got on me.?
The committee took no action during Tuesday?s hearing. But the measure was
co-signed by the panel?s bipartisan co-leaders, Republican Rep. Cathy
McMorris of Colville and Democratic Rep. Sandra Romero of Olympia, so it has
a shot at advancing to the House floor.
Secretary of State Ralph Munro said the proposal marks ?the tip of the
iceberg.?
Indeed, Attorney General Christine Gregoire, Gov. Gary Locke, key
legislators, U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, Supreme Court Justice Phil Talmadge and
other influential leaders all say privacy could be the biggest policy
question in the first decade of the new millennium.
<SNIP>
<SNIP>
A citizen committee appointed by the attorney general is to release a report
next week with recommendations for lawmakers to consider regarding consumer
privacy and identity theft.
The ACLU proposal is limited to information collected by state government.
ACLU lobbyist Jerry Sheehan noted that Wisconsin lawmakers passed a similar
law in the early 1990s, and it resulted in a 550-page report in 1995 that
found 2,000 databases.
But some state officials questioned the need for such a list.
State Librarian Nancy Zussy said agencies already operate under a legislative
mandate to collect as little personal information as possible, use it
responsibly and discard it when finished.
<SNIP>
<SNIP>
The state Department of Information Services would be given the task of
collecting the information about databases. Sam Hunt, a lobbyist for the
department, predicted the effort would be expensive and questioned whether it
would be worth the cost.
<SNIP>
________________________________________________________________
The Collegian (U. of Toledo) 1/10/00
U. Toledo student information found in hall, again
by Matt Griswold
<SNIP>
TOLEDO, Ohio?Private student information was found in the third floor hallway
of the Student Union Building for the third time in a three-month period.
The documents were obtained by The Collegian Dec. 9 when they were discovered
sitting on top of a large trash receptacle just outside the newspaper?s
office.
The papers, produced by the student affairs office in 1996, listed multiple
University of Toledo students along with their telephone and social security
numbers. Placement test scores were also included.
Similar documents were found in the same hallway in September. Those papers,
from 1993, were produced by the student activities office, which was
essentially the dean of students office then.
UT graduate Andrew Miller was less than thrilled to learn his name was among
those listed on the most recently discovered printouts.
?Obviously, I?m not very happy about it,? Miller said Sunday. ?Someone is
going to get a phone call from me tomorrow.?
Miller said he was concerned about his social security number floating around
the university with the potential of falling into the wrong hands.
?The opportunities are out there for someone to use that information for
their gain and my injury,? he said. ?I never had a high opinion of the
university in these matters to begin with, so it doesn?t shock me that it has
happened again. I?ve never had anything constructive come from the university
other than what I?ve taken out of there myself.?
<SNIP>
<SNIP>
Some UT administrators said they were as surprised as the students to learn
of the newfound papers.
Julia Wingard, director of student unions, called it ?strange? that the
documents appeared in the hallway to begin with.
?My office is trying to make sure that this doesn?t happen,? Wingard said. ?I
have no clue who put those out there.?
She added that all of those types of records lying around are to be properly
disposed of by shredding.
?All I can do is wait until tomorrow and ask around,? Wingard said. ?I?m at a
loss. I would think most administrators know better.?
Tom Trimble, associate director of student unions, said he was unaware of the
documents? existence as well.
?This is the first I?ve heard of it,? Trimble said. ?I?m trying to determine
where they would have come from. I can?t put my finger on the situation at
all.?
The documents found in September were located just outside the office of
Greek Life.
Todd Adams, director of Greek Life echoed the statements of Wingard and
Trimble in having little idea as to where they might have come from.
?I can see why there would be concern,? Adams said. ?They certainly didn?t
come from our office.?
With the documents originating from the office of student affairs, they could
have come from just about anywhere in the Student Union Building, he said.
<SNIP>
PETER A. KURILECZ CRM, CA
PAKURILECZ@AOL.COM
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