[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

RAIN 11/17: Freedom of Information in Colorado



Birmingham News 11/16/00
Chinese archivists record visit
http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/Nov2000/16-e432074b.html

by David White
MONTGOMERY - Comments flew and cameras clicked Wednesday as 13 archivists
from the People's Republic of China looked west from the steps of the Alabama
Capitol toward Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church.
"All Chinese people of my age, even younger, know Martin Luther King," said
Du Mei, 37, an interpreter traveling with the archivists, who work to
preserve the historic papers and relics, such as a 3,700-year-old inscribed
turtle shell, of one of the world's oldest cultures.
Mrs. Du said excerpts from King's speeches were included in schoolbooks when
she was a girl.
Li Liang, 46, deputy director of the Hubei Provincial Archives
Administration, quipped, "I have a dream" in Mandarin. Mrs. Du translated.



Denver Post 11/16/00
Open-records law not always heeded
http://www.denverpost.com/news/foi1116.htm

by Jeff Thomas
The Gazette, Colorado Springs
Deep in rural southwestern Colorado, Hinsdale County citizens are forbidden
to see how much they pay their school superintendent - until he or she is
fired or quits.
In Grand Junction, a police officer's burglary report is off-limits.
"We have to have a good reason to give that kind of information," a clerk
says.
Being an interested citizen is not a good enough reason.


Denver Post 11/16/00
School districts best with records access
http://www.denverpost.com/news/foi1116a.htm

by Sean Kelly
Figuring out what a school superintendent earns in salary and benefits in
Colorado is about as easy as, say, trigonometry.
Of 61 school districts surveyed around the state beginning July 11, only 32
gave the information immediately.
In 14 districts, or nearly 23 percent of Colorado's school systems, access to
the records was denied or they were never provided.
Eight of those districts expressly denied access to the information, and two
of them offered no explanation. Several reporters were told that it was not
public, although Colorado law makes it available.


Denver Post 11/16/00
Some police ignore open-records law
http://www.denverpost.com/news/foi1116b.htm

by Sharon Dunn
The Greeley Tribune
At least 12 law-enforcement agencies are not following the Colorado Open
Records Act when asked for basic information about burglaries in specific
neighborhoods.
According to the law, that information is public, and law-enforcement
agencies must provide records to anyone within 72 hours of a request.
Surveyors set out in 62 of Colorado's 63 counties in the past three months to
ask government agencies for specific records. San Juan County police agencies
were not surveyed.


Rocky Mountain News 11/16/00
Restaurant inspection records easily found
http://www.insidedenver.com/news/1116food2.shtml

by Pam Zubeck
The Colorado Springs Gazette
People who want to find out whether their favorite eatery complies with state
health rules can do so easily, if they know where to look for the
information.
When reporters fanned out across Colorado this summer to request restaurant
inspections from Colorado's counties, they were rarely denied access to the
reports.
Twenty counties, in fact, handed them over immediately, while nine provided
them within 72 hours. But certain counties were unable to provide it quickly
or didnt have the information on hand.
Why? A couple of offices were closed, effectively denying access to the
records. Other health departments cover several counties from a single
office. That means a person might have to drive to a neighboring town to get
the report, or make a long-distance phone call.


Rocky Mountain News 11/16/00
Requests for public records denied a third of the time
http://www.insidedenver.com/news/1116main1.shtml

by Jeff Thomas
The Colorado Springs Gazette
Deep in rural southwestern Colorado, Hinsdale County residents are forbidden
to see how much they pay their school superintendent - until he or she is
fired or quits.
School officials in Greeley won't show you the superintendent's contract,
either. But they will read it to you.
In Grand Junction, a police officer's burglary report is off-limits.
"We have to have a good reason to give that kind of information," a clerk
says.
Being an interested citizen is not a good enough reason.


Rocky Mountain News 11/16/00
Crime report requests often greeted with questions
http://www.insidedenver.com/news/1116crim2.shtml

by Gary Harmon
The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel
Citizens trying to learn who has been charged with crimes in Colorado may be
questioned themselves when they inquire at sheriffs' departments.
Those who can tell deputies that they are news reporters have a decided
advantage over others, according to the Colorado Freedom of Information
Project.
Still, being a reporter offers no guarantee to the information that would
come of this simple question recently put to Colorado authorities:
"Will you please permit me to see records of all persons charged in
connection with any crime during the last (hours or days)?"


Rocky Mountain News 11/16/00.
Jail records tough to access
http://www.insidedenver.com/news/1116jail2.shtml

by Peter Mattiace
Associated Press
It is a simple question grounded in Colonial America: Who is the government
holding prisoner?
In Colorado, sometimes the identities of those being held in county jail are
available to anyone. Sometimes they are denied to everyone.
And, often, the questioner is questioned simply about their reason for
wanting to know.
For example, jail logs in Arapahoe, Jefferson, Park, Bent and Washington
counties are not available to the public.
Adams County jail supervisor Dorothy Medina said it would cost $42.50 just to
look at 68 computer screens of prisoner information.


Detroit Free Press 11/16/00
Former congressman's papers to detail 26 years in House
http://www.freep.com/news/mich/zvander16_20001116.htm

Associated Press
HOLLAND -- Guy Vander Jagt, who spent 26 years in Congress and became a
high-ranking member on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, will be
in Holland today to commemorate the public opening of his congressional
papers.
Since May 1998, employees and students at Hope College's Joint Archives of
Holland have processed the collection, which fills 164 boxes on 81 shelves at
the school.
"I am very excited and thrilled to think that much time and care has been put
into my papers," said Vander Jagt, 69, a Washington lobbyist.


News.com.au 11/16/00
Porteous burnt documents: court told
http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,1424952%255E1245,00.html

A FEDERAL COURT has been told late magnate Lang Hancock's widow Rose Porteous
lit a bonfire two nights after Mr Hancock died and laughed as she burnt more
than of his 10 document files.

The court is investigating the financial affairs of Mr Hancock, whose estate
has been declared bankrupt.


CNN.com 11/16/00
IRS warns 2.4 million to check Social Security numbers, other data
http://www.cnn.com/2000/US/11/16/irs.letters.ap/index.html


Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) -- Millions of Americans may have to dig out their marriage
certificates after the IRS sent out letters warning women that the married
names on their tax returns do not match up with their Social Security
numbers.
Most of the cases involve women who took their husbands' names when they got
married. For various reasons, their new names and numbers were entered
incorrectly into the Social Security system or weren't entered at all.
The IRS said that unless the taxpayers straighten out the problem with the
Social Security Administration, when they file their tax returns in the
spring they could be denied the earned income tax credit or the personal
exemption a spouse gets when a couple files jointly.


Reuters 11/16/00
Holocaust panel finds German insurance policies
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20001116/wl/holocaust_insurance_dc_2.html

by Joan Gralla
NEW YORK (Reuters) - An international panel trying to force Europe's insurers
to honor life and property policies purchased by Holocaust families said on
Thursday its researchers had discovered some 20,000 wartime policies in
German archives.
The International Commission on Holocaust-era Insurance Claims will publish
the policies on its web site to help Holocaust survivors find out if Europe's
insurers still owe them money.
Some potential claimants say they survived concentration camps only to be
turned away by Europe's insurers because they lacked the documents that were
demanded to prove their families owned policies.
The commission, which on Thursday concluded a two-day meeting in Rome,
already has published 19,000 policies on its web site, www.icheic.org, that
its researchers uncovered in insurers' files and Austrian archives.


BBC 11/16/00
EU may open up files
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1026000/1026794.stm

by Colin Blane in Strasbourg
The European parliament has approved new rules which could give the public
unprecedented access to all but the most sensitive official documents.
Under the terms of the proposed Freedom of Information policy, all official
papers, even confidential ones, would have to be listed on a register.





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

A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!

To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
      In body of message:  SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
                    *or*:  UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu

Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
     http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html

Problems?  Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>