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RAIN 12/10 Part 2: Weekend Update



Wilmington News Journal 12/09/00
N.J. officials demand slave documents' return
Delaware man found 18th century ledger at yard sale
http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2000/12/09ledger.html

by Mike Chalmers
A retired Newark, Del., man and the 18th-century slave-transaction ledger he
bought at a yard sale have raised the hackles of New Jersey officials who say
the book is legally theirs.
Charles Mason tried to sell the sheepskin-bound Burlington County ledger
through the online auction site eBay for $4,651 this week.
But New Jersey officials have threatened federal court action to keep Mason
from selling it. A federal judge in Trenton late Friday issued a temporary
restraining order to keep Mason from selling the book.
New Jersey and Burlington County officials also have demanded Mason turn over
the 261-page leather-bound tome immediately without compensation.



Denver Post 12/9/00
Arrest records going online
http://www.denverpost.com/news/news1209.htm

by Julia C. Martinez
If you're wondering if your babysitter or neighbor has a criminal record, a
quick check of the Internet soon could provide the answer.
Arrest records will be available online starting in July for about $5,
Colorado lawmakers learned Friday.
Under Colorado's open-records law, such information is already available by
going to a Colorado Bureau of Investigation office, said Al Stanley, CBI
deputy director. The information is mailed within 72 hours for a $10 fee.
But as more people seek information on everyone from their daughter's
boyfriends to the new neighbor, the CBI is being overrun with requests. So
the agency plans to make it easier for citizens to conduct their background
searches instantly.



Birmingham News 12/09/00
Judge: OK to view 1963 bombing informant files
http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/Dec2000/9-e415471b.html

by Chanda Temple
Lawyers for the two men accused of bombing Sixteenth Street Baptist Church
will get to examine prosecutors' files on confidential informants, according
to the judge handling the case.
There's a catch - the informants' names will be kept secret from the lawyers
for now.
Former Klansmen Bobby Frank Cherry and Thomas E. Blanton Jr. each face murder
charges in the 1963 bombing that killed four girls. They are set for trial in
April.
The men have wanted the FBI to release documents and other information
gathered from confidential informants during the 1960s.
On Friday, U.S. Attorney Doug Jones, one of three prosecutors in the case,
asked a judge to keep the names confidential to protect people who talked to
authorities years ago.



COURTTV.com 12/09/00
Former Chancellor Helmut Kohl blocks release of personal files
http://www.courttv.com/news/2000/1208/kohl_ap.html

Associated Press
Former Chancellor Helmut Kohl has asked a court to block publication of the
files the East German Stasi spy agency compiled on him, his lawyer said
Friday.
Kohl wants to stop material from the files from being turned over to
lawmakers investigating a party slush fund scandal during his 16 years in
power.
The Stasi systematically recorded the conversations of Kohl and other West
German politicians, sparking speculation that the eavesdroppers picked up
talk that could help the parliamentary investigation on whether Kohl's
government traded favors for money. Kohl hotly denies the accusation.
Leaders of the investigating committee have said they won't use the files as
evidence, but may use information from them to question witnesses.



Portsmouth Herald 12/09/00
Deleted Files prompt action
http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/12_9c.htm

by Michelle Firmbach
EXETER - An Exeter man is gaining support as he attempts to seek sanctions
against School Administrative Unit 16 for failing to report that many of the
Internet history log files from Exeter schools no longer exist.
After a Rockingham County Superior Court judge last month ordered the logs be
made public, Jim Knight thought he had earned the right to see the list of
Web sites accessed by students from Jan. 1, 1998 to the present.
However, school officials revealed recently the records no longer date back
to 1998. Instead, the logs have been regularly deleted to keep the computer
network cleaned out.
In light of this, State Rep. Marshal "Lee" Quandt, R-Exeter, is pursuing
legislation that would make it a crime to destroy documents after receiving a
request for information under the Right-to-Know Law.



Cherry Hill Courier Post 12/09/00
Sale of historic book on hold
A Delaware couple the Slave Land Deeds Ledger on eBay where someone bid $4,561
http://www.southjerseynews.com/m120900c.htm

by Carol Comegno
A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order Friday to prevent the
eBay Internet auction site and a Delaware couple from completing the sale of
a 1700s slave ledger from Burlington County.
State lawyers are demanding the couple return the Slave Land Deeds Ledger,
which the lawyers and county officials say is an original book missing from
either the state archives or the county clerk's office.
Deputy Attorney General John Turi obtained the temporary order at 5 p.m.
Friday from U.S. District Court Judge Mary Cooper in Trenton. It temporarily
prohibits eBay and the couple, Charles and Valerie Mason of Newark, DE, from
consummating the sale of the book, which fetched $4,561 Thursday night in an
online auction.
A Hearing on the state's demand is set for 11a.m. Monday.



Las Vegas Journal-Review 12/09/00
Court throws out lawsuit against DMV over privacy
Justices say perennial political candidate's complaint baseless
http://www.lvrj.com/lvrj_home/2000/Dec-09-Sat-2000/news/14999197.html

by Ed Vogel
CARSON CITY -- The state Supreme Court threw out a lawsuit Friday from
perennial political candidate Mike Schaefer, who charged that giving his
address to the Department of Motor Vehicles was an invasion of his privacy.
Justices said in a 3-0 decision that Schaefer, recently of North Las Vegas,
did not prove that furnishing his address to the DMV was a denial of his
constitutional right to privacy. Schaefer has failed in repeated attempts to
win election to public office in Clark County, including last month's race
for North Las Vegas justice of the peace.
"This court has not recognized a fundamental right to the privacy of one's
residential address," added the court in the decision by Justices Cliff
Young, Nancy Becker and Bill Maupin.
They said the Legislature may have a right to limit privacy rights if it is
necessary to advance a compelling state interest.



Washington Post 12/09/00
Hacker accesses patient records
http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46320-2000Dec8.html

by Robert O'Harrow Jr.
A hacker gained access to confidential medical information at the University
of Washington Medical Center, using the Internet to download thousands of
files containing patient names, conditions, home addresses and Social
Security numbers, hospital officials said yesterday.
Working through a publicly available Web site, the intruder planted a
software program to sniff out passwords for the school's sprawling internal
network. Then he assumed the identity of a legitimate computer user and
tapped into two databases containing 4,000 or more patient records in May and
June.
The break-in is one of the most penetrating breaches of medical privacy in
memory. Specialists say it demonstrates the increasing vulnerability of
confidential records as the health-care system rushes to computerize files
and make them available via computer networks.



Ottawa Citizen 12/09/00
An heiress's fight for justice
The Nazis killed Ernst Pollack and sold off his magnificent art collection.
Now his niece, a retired Toronto woman, wants it all back
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/national/001209/5016728.html

by Ian MacLeod
TORONTO - The liquidation commenced on Tuesday, June 22, 1943, inside the
prestigious Dorotheum auction house at Wien 1, Dorotheergasse, in the heart
of Nazi-occupied Vienna.
Kunstauktion No. 483 offered fine art lovers a feast of artifacts from the
private collection of Vienna industrialist Ernst Friedrich Pollack.
A notation on one of the auction documents revealed what the bidders already
knew: Mr. Pollack was a Jew and his precious artworks were now the property
of the Third Reich.
The Pollack Collection included oil paintings by Dutch, Flemish and Austrian
masters, six enormous and stunning 17th-century tapestries, ceramics and
antique amouries and weapons.



Indiana Daily Student 12/08/00
Kinsey Institute opens doors to famed sex collection
http://news.excite.com/news/uw/001208/university-178

by Holly Johnson
(U-WIRE) BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- As a result of a decision Director John
Bancroft deemed instrumental in promoting "accessibility and understanding,"
the controversial Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and
Reproduction will open its doors for public tours. Tours are slated for Dec.
15, Jan. 19 and Feb. 16.
The idea was suggested by Jennifer Bass, head of information services at
Kinsey. Providing tours to the public was a natural "next step" in the
institute's evolution, Bancroft said.
Established in 1947 by professor Albert Kinsey, the nonprofit organization
was supported by former University Chancellor Herman B Wells. In addition to
research and teaching, the institute maintains the Kinsey Institute Sexuality
Information Service for Students (KISISS), an interactive Web site. The group
also runs the Sexual Health Clinic in the Health Center.



The Oregonian 12/09/00
Governor orders state agency to cooperate in fish kill inquiry
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/news/oregonian/00/12/lc_71

odot09.frame

by Les Zaitz
SALEM -- The head of the Oregon Department of Transportation has been ordered
by the governor's office to "fully cooperate" with a criminal investigation
into how a culvert cleaning job went wrong and killed federally protected
steelhead in the Columbia River Gorge.
The investigation includes determining whether state workers falsified
documents, The Oregonian has learned.
The unusual directive was issued last month to Grace Crunican, Transportation
Department director, by Gov. John Kitzhaber's chief of staff.
The directive came after two Transportation Department supervisors directed
employees not to talk to investigators until the agency had consulted its
attorneys.



Philadelphia Inquirer 12/09/00
Historical book's sale is halted
http://inq.philly.com/content/inquirer/2000/12/09/city/JBOOK09.htm

by Marc Levy
A federal judge has issued a temporary restraining order on the eBay sale of
a 215-year-old handwritten ledger of Burlington County land deeds and the
emancipation of some enslaved individuals.
A complaint was filed by state Deputy Attorney General John C. Turi
yesterday. State and county officials had tried to retrieve the 261-page
leather-bound tome on Thursday by contacting the seller and prospective buyer
by telephone and through their e-mail addresses, which were listed on the
online trading site, officials said.
If the ledger is sold, "the people of Burlington County and the state will
suffer irreparable harm by being deprived of a document which is integral to
their history," the complaint states.
The officials also ordered the sellers, Charles Mason and Valerie Mason of
Newark, Del., to stop the auction effort, said Burlington County Solicitor
Evan H.C. Crook.



Washington Post 12/09/00
Md. Builder apologizes for 'mistake'
http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46845-2000Dec9.html

by Angela Paik and Maureen O'Hagan
A Howard County home builder apologized to the public yesterday, two days
after the Howard state's attorney charged the company with falsifying
engineer's documents.
"It was a horrendous mistake," said Greig Altieri, vice president of Altieri
Homes Inc. "We're certainly embarrassed by what has taken place."
The Columbia-based company was charged with three counts each of using the
license of another, making false entry in a public record and unlawful
endorsement of documents. Its president, Altieri's brother, Daren, also was
charged.



Surrey Advertiser 12/08/00
Man who drew Pooh puts Guildford on the map
http://www.surreyad.co.uk/news/08-12-00/news04.html

A large watercolour map of Guildford by Winnie-The-Pooh illustrator, E.H.
Shepard, will be displayed at a major exhibition after its discovery in the
University of Surrey's archive of his work.
The map, painted in 1940 for a company of the Home Guard which Shepard
commanded in Guildford, was found by the university's archivist Arthur
Chandler in the back of a map case.
"I'm not sure if Shepard would have known it was there as it was wedged
between the two layers forming the back of the case," said Mr Chandler, whose
book based on the archive material held at Surrey will be published in
December.



London Free Press 12/09/00
Tories defend sharing private health records
It's "an awful bill," Critic warns
http://www.canoe.ca/LondonNews/10n1.html

James Stevenson
Canadian Press
TORONTO -- One day after tabling legislation that raised serious concerns
over the government's handling of private health records, Ontario's Health
Ministry insists its intentions are good.
Health Minister Elizabeth Witmer's office was busy yesterday trying to
clarify the reasons behind the proposed law, called the Personal Health
Information Privacy Act.
Spokesperson Barry Wilson said the bill is part of the government's plans to
restructure health care throughout Ontario with telemedicine and primary care
networks.
"The reality is, there's going to be exchanges of medical information.
Medicine is moving into the information age and there is an electronic
exchange of information," he said.



Willimantic Chronicle 12/09/00
Columbia won't fight judge's FOI decision
http://www.thechronicle.com/news/co_trans.htm

By Roger B. Snow
COLUMBIA - Selectmen will not contest a Superior Court judge's order that the
town release transcripts of an arbitration hearing with a general contractor.
Resident John Leahy had requested the transcripts from the town's contract
dispute with J.S. Nasin of Windham in August 1999. When town officials denied
the request, he filed a complaint with the state Freedom of Information
Commission on Sept. 13. The commission ruled Feb. 23 in Leahy's favor. The
town challenged the ruling in New Britain Superior Court, but its appeal was
dismissed Nov. 28.
The selectmen met with the town's attorney, Stanley Falkenstein, during their
regular meeting Tuesday and Falkenstein advised against appealing the court's
decision.





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

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