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RAIN 09/24 (Part 1):



Wisconsin State Journal 9/23/00
Falsifying documents alleged in state firing
http://www.wisconsinstatejournal.com/stories/local/local1.html

By Ed Treleven
Dr. Anthony Thomalla, who led the state's treatment program for sexual
predators, was fired in July in part because he allegedly falsified documents
in at least two patient files, according to state records.
The allegation has prompted state public defenders to seek an investigation
into sexual predator commitment cases for which Thomalla testified or wrote
reports. They also are questioning whether some convicted sex offenders held
for treatment under the state's sexual predator law truly belong under lock
and key.



Lexington Herald-Leader 9/23/00
Herald-Leader sues, seeks inspection records
Newspaper says Code Enforcement reports should be open
http://www.kentuckyconnect.com/heraldleader/news/092300/localdocs/23openrecord
s.htm

By John Cheves
The Lexington Herald-Leader filed a lawsuit yesterday against the
Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, seeking access to records
concerning the city's Division of Code Enforcement.
In the last month, the city denied several requests for documents made by
reporter Tom Lasseter under the Kentucky Open Records Act. The city cited
different reasons for the denials, including attorney-client privilege and an
alleged protection for memos, letters and e-mail sent between employees of
the same city department.
In its suit, filed in Fayette Circuit Court, the newspaper accuses the city
of ``a siege mentality.'' Too often, city officials assume their records are
private, and they search for reasons to shield them from public scrutiny, the
suit alleges.


Topeka Capitol-Journal 9/23/00
Open records legal battle to begin in November
http://cjonline.com/stories/092300/com_openrecords.shtml

By Steve Fry
The legal battle between The Topeka Capital-Journal and Shawnee County to
determine whether an investigative report of the Shawnee County Jail should
be made public will start Nov. 15.
The Capital-Journal is seeking the release of the jail report, which the
Shawnee County Commission opposes making public. District Judge Jan
Leuenberger on Sept. 11 denied the county commission's request to dismiss the
lawsuit and granted the newspaper's request that the judge examine the report
in chambers.
The newspaper requested a copy of the report on May 3 under the Kansas Open
Records Act. The report was written by Mark Bennett, a Topeka attorney hired
by the county in November 1999 to conduct an investigation of the jail. The
commission refused on May 5 to disclose the jail report, also known as the
Bennett Report, citing the attorney-client privilege.


Bergen Record 9/23/00
Racial profiling papers to be public
http://www.bergen.com/region/racial23200009237.htm

Associated Press
TRENTON -- New Jersey residents will be able to view more than 50,000 state
police documents related to racial profiling by troopers, records now being
sought by defense attorneys.
Attorney General John J. Farmer Jr. told The Associated Press on Friday that
the public deserves to examine the documents. "I've decided to make these
documents public outside the context of litigation," Farmer said.



Washington Post 9/23/00
Lost e-mail calls Gore's 1996 events fundraisers
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/politics/A64498-2000Sep22.html

By George Lardner, Jr.
Staff memos from Vice President Gore's office depict the White House coffees
he hosted for the 1996 campaign as fundraisers and indicate that his visit to
a Buddhist temple in California was also considered a fundraiser.
The memos were among the first stack of e-mails that were covered by
subpoenas issued during past Justice Department and congressional
investigations, but were not reviewed because they had not been properly
archived. They were reconstructed by the FBI from a small set of backup tapes
that the White House provided to the bureau because its own restoration
efforts were proceeding so slowly.
Gore has said he never thought of the coffees as fundraisers and never even
heard of them described as "fundraising tools." He also testified last April
that he never understood his April 29, 1996, luncheon at the Hsi Lai Buddhist
Temple near Los Angeles to be a fundraiser.


Richmond Times Dispatch 9/23/00
Failed project cost VDOT $11 million
http://www.timesdispatch.com/vametro/MGA7JZ2MGDC.html

By Peter Bacque
A failed records computerization project has cost the Virginia Department of
Transportation $11 million for no return on the money - and the amount could
be much more.
Reacting to the flaws in its contracting system, the $3.2 billion highway
agency is shaking up its management and creating positions for a departmental
inspector general and a chief information technology officer, in an effort to
control quality and performance on large-scale information technology
projects.
Meanwhile, the contractor on the $54 million integrated document management
system project has given the state notice it will file a claim against the
agency.


The Irish Times 9/23/00
Russian Patriarch was a KGB agent, files say
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/world/2000/0923/wor10.htm

By Seamus Martin
The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Alexiy II of Moscow and
All Russia, was a long-serving KGB agent and even received the agency's
"Certificate of Honor", according to archive documents left behind by the
Soviet spy agency in Estonia.
The papers detail the activities of Patriarch Alexiy, who was code-named
"Agent Drozdov" (the thrush), in actions against orthodox clergy and
believers.
Patriarch Alexiy has been a strong supporter of President Putin, himself a
former KGB agent, and has issued public statements defending Mr Putin's
conduct of the war in Chechnya and his stance on the sinking of the nuclear
submarine Kursk. He has consistently opposed all proposed visits to Russia by
Pope John Paul II.


Anchorage Daily News 9/23/00
Kenai College seeks data for archive
http://www.adn.com/metro/story/0,2633,197567,00.html

Associated Press
Kenai -- A history professor at Kenai Peninsula College is seeking old
photographs, journals, letters, and audio or video tapes for an archive of
the area's history.
"We have such a diverse history here," said professor Cathy Pearce. "We have
so much material in the area, but it is so scattered. Something needs to be
done."
Pearce, along with anthropology professor Alan Boraas, began working on the
history archive idea about two years ago. Last year, she brought the
college's librarian, Sandy Hershberger, into the project.
They plan to use the college as a place where the public can study a variety
of documents about the Peninsula and its people.


Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 9/22/00
PSC told to create new rules on records
Move aimed to speeding up access to documents
http://www.jsonline.com/bym/news/sep00/records22092100a.asp

By Lee Hawkins Jr
Concerns that the state Public Service Commission takes too long to respond
to open records requests has prompted a legislative committee to order the
agency to create a new set of rules.
The state Legislature's Joint Committee for the Review of Administrative
Rules voted 8-1 this week to require the PSC to adopt new guidelines for
keeping electric, natural gas and telephone records from the public if a
company has characterized the records as confidential.
In the past, utilities have wanted to keep some documents confidential,
claiming they contain trade secrets. The PSC will now have to establish rules
within 30 days that outline how a utility could do so in the future.


The Age 9/22/00
Electronic health records unveiled
http://www.theage.com.au/news/20000922/A11533-2000Sep21.html

By Darren Gray
Canberra -- Patients could get access to their confidential medical records
while sitting at a home computer in five years if a nationwide system of
electronic health records goes ahead.
And in 10 years, 80 per cent of Australians could have their medical records
kept electronically, federal health officials predicted yesterday.
Detailed plans for a national system of electronic health records, which
would aim to pick up every Australian newborn, were unveiled in Canberra
yesterday by officials from the federal health department.


Arkansas Democrat-Gazette 9/22/00
Lead archivist tours Clinton clearinghouse
http://www.ardemgaz.com/week/Fri/ark/B5_xarchives_22.html

By Elisa Crouch
The showroom's gone, and so is the grease.
"I wouldn't know if it was a car dealership unless someone had told me," said
veteran archivist David Alsobrook Thursday, after he toured the Balch Motor
Co. on LaHarpe Boulevard for the first time.
In about a month, Alsobrook's team from the National Archives and Records
Administration will invade the Balch Building and begin sorting through the
tens of millions of documents and gifts belonging to President Clinton.


APBNews.com 9/22/00
Two charged in theft of lawyers' files
Allegedly tried to sell documents for $2 million
http://www.apbnews.com/newscenter/breakingnews/2000/09/22/tobacco0922_01.html

Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) -- A law student and his brother have been charged in federal
court with stealing the "trial plan" of lawyers suing cigarette makers and
then trying to sell it for $2 million to industry attorneys.
Said Farraj, 27, and Yeazid Farraj, 24, were arrested by the FBI in July on
charges they stole the 400-page plan and tried to peddle it through e-mail to
attorneys for Philip Morris Inc. and other companies.
If convicted on the most serious charge -- interstate theft -- they could be
put behind bars for up to 10 years.
In court papers filed Wednesday, prosecutors revealed they were trying to
negotiate a plea deal with the brothers.


Los Angeles Times 9/22/00
The secret (insurance) agent men
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/20000922/t000089809.html

By Mark Fritz
COLLEGE PARK, Md.--They knew which factories to burn, which bridges to blow
up, which cargo ships could be sunk in good conscience. They had pothole
counts for roads used for invasion and head counts for city blocks marked for
incineration.
They weren't just secret agents. They were secret insurance agents. These
undercover underwriters gave their World War II spymasters access to a global
industry that both bankrolled and, ultimately, helped bring down Adolf
Hitler's Third Reich.
Newly declassified U.S. intelligence files tell the remarkable story of the
ultra-secret Insurance Intelligence Unit, a component of the Office of
Strategic Services, a forerunner of the CIA, and its elite
counterintelligence branch X-2.



Peter A. Kurilecz CRM, CA
pakurilecz@aol.com
Richmond, Virginia

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