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RAIN 08/02:Adoption records, tainted files and an empty building



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Biloxi Sun-Herald 8/1/00
Archive opens more files
http://www.sunherald.com/region/docs/commission080100.htm

Staff and wire reports
Jackson - More documents kept by Mississippi's now-defunct segregationist
spy agency are now available to the public, but this time there's something
new: rebuttals from spying victims.
The Mississippi Department of Archives and History released 6,000 additional
documents Monday compiled by the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission
from 1956 to 1973. Another 142,000 pages had been released to the public in
March 1998.
The latest files, initially held back at the request of individuals who
argued their right to privacy, contain court-approved edits and blacked-out
text. Their release caused little public stir Monday, compared with the
scene in March 1998.


Birmingham News 8/1/00
Adoptees over 19 get access again to birth records
http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/Aug2000/1-e413639b.html

by Greg Garrison
The reopening of original birth certificates for Alabama-born adoptees over
age 19 begins today, allowing them to get copies of sealed records that
contain the names of biological parents.
Adoptee rights activists hail the new law as a civil rights breakthrough
that helps in their search for family medical histories or personal
information such as identity of biological parents and ancestry.
"There's no reason why anybody's birth certificate should be sealed," said
Sandra Wilson, president of Alabamians Working for Adoption Reform and
Education. "Every other citizen in the country has access to the records of
their own birth. There's no reason adoptees shouldn't."



Mobile Register 8/1/00
Adoption rights law allow adoptees to obtain original papers
http://www.al.com/news/mobile/Aug2000/1-a383932a.html

by William Rabb
Starting today, adoptees will be able to find out their original names and,
in many cases, the identities of their biological mothers, thanks to a new
state law.
The adoption rights law, passed in May, allows people over 19 who were born
and adopted in Alabama to obtain copies of their original, pre-adoption
birth certificates from the state Department of Public Health.
Alabama is one of only five states that now allow the open access, although
a national movement has been building for some time, proponents of the law
say. Ironically, the certificates were accessible in Alabama until 1991,
when they were closed after revisions to the state's vital records laws. For
the past nine years, adoptees wanting their original birth certificates have
had to obtain a court order before the secret files could be opened, said
Sandra Wilson, who is adopted and is president of Alabamians working for
Adoption Reform and Education, which successfully lobbied for the new law.


Fresno Bee 8/1/00
Prison records tainted
http://www.fresnobee.com/localnews/story/0,1724,182045,00.html

State corrections officials possibly tampered with and hid medical records
at a Chowchilla women's prison before a federal audit, two medical staff
members said in court documents filed Monday.
Officials from Sacramento arrived at the prison last year, locked themselves
in a conference room and went through "hundreds of medical charts" days
before court-ordered assessors reviewed the files, said Maryanne Perlmutter
and Monnie Ibrahim.
Perlmutter still works as a medical administrator at the Central California
Women's Facility; Ibrahim, a nursing supervisor, has since left for another
prison.


Knoxville News-Sentinel 8/1/00
UT tightening faculty access to student records
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/12608.shtml

by Laura Ayo
An estimated 800 faculty and staff at the University of Tennessee will find
their access to student records more limited next semester, an official said
Monday.
Richard Bayer, dean of admissions and records, said university officials
will be working to figure out who should have access and what information
they should be able to view.
They'll do that, he said, by having everyone in the "academic community" who
feels they need access to the records for a "legitimate educational purpose"
fill out a form in which they have to explain that purpose.



Worcester Telegram & Gazette 8/1/00
Judge's order offers a peek at police files
http://www.telegram.com/news/page_one/police.html

by John J. Monahan
Worcester -- Police Chief Edward P. Gardella was ordered by a Superior Court
<http://www.state.ma.us/courts/trialC/TriaDept/superior.htm> judge yesterday
to provide lawyers for the Telegram & Gazette with internal investigation
reports on an alleged case of police brutality.
The order is the latest in a series of court actions stemming from the
newspaper's attempts to gain access to information concerning alleged police
misconduct. It authorizes the newspaper's lawyers to review the files, but
prohibits them from disclosing the contents.
Superior Court Justice James P. Donohue issued the order yesterday to allow
T&G lawyers to work on legal arguments to the city's claims that information
in the records should be exempt from public disclosure.


The following will be useful when you develop your disaster recovery plans.
What happens if months later you are not allowed to re-enter your building?
WFAA.com 8/1/00
Tenants evicted from Tornado-damaged tower
http://www.wfaa.com/wfaa/articledisplay/0,1002,12812,00.html

Fort Worth -- Tenants of Fort Worth's Bank One Tower said they were
surprised to learn that the company which owns the tornado-ravaged downtown
skyscraper is abandoning renovation plans.
The landmark building is owned by Loutex Fort Worth, a division of a
Canadian property development company. Loutex spokesman Bill Lawrence told
News 8 that certified letters were sent to the 65 tenants of the 35-story
steel, concrete and glass tower that their leases are being terminated.
Lawrence said it was not feasible to repair the building because of the
tornado damage inside and out.
Lawrence said the company did not want to leave its tenants in limbo any
longer. He said the company planned to try and sell the building as-is.

Australian Financial Review 8/1/00
The e-transaction era begins
http://www.afr.com.au/information/20000802/A44407-2000Aug1.html

by Peter Moon
They're counting down in days, not weeks, and we're not talking about the
Olympics. It's 30 days until the Electronic Transactions Act launches in
Victoria - the law that puts electronic transactions on a par with
paper-based ones.
There's no trans-Murray rivalry in this. The federal act has been in force
since March, and NSW follows in a month or two.
Australia is on the verge of being e-commerce enabled.



Peter A. Kurilecz CRM, CA
Manager, Records Management
Woodside Summit Group, Inc
Richmond, Virginia
Tel: 804-744-1247 extension 23
Fax: 804-744-4947
mailto:peter.kurilecz@woodsidesummitgroup.com

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