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RAIN 01/11: Making Sausage



No not really but the various state legislatures are back in session and IIRC
it was Will Rogers who once opined that one should not watch laws or sausage
being made since both were very messy processes. Several state legislatures
are examining open records laws, public information on the web and whatever
else they want. So expect that these postings to contain news of sausage,
no,no, legislation making during the coming months.

If you ever see a story that you think others might be interested in and it
is available on line, just mail the link to me. Can't guarantee that I will
include it, but if I do you will get credit for it.



Florida Today 01/09/01
Firestone, Ford divulge documents in settlement
http://www.floridatoday.com/news/local/stories/2001/jan/loc010901d.htm

Associated Press
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A woman paralyzed in a rollover crash of a Ford
Explorer with Firestone tires reached a settlement Monday under which Ford
and Bridgestone/Firestone agreed to make public thousands of pages of
internal memos and reports.
"We're talking about an incredible, locked-up vault of information," said
Mikal Watts, a lawyer for 43-year-old Donna Bailey. "This case will go a long
way toward uncovering some of the secrets around these tire failings."



The Herald 01/07/01
Family Roots
http://www.heraldonline.com/lifestyles/index/0,2754,,00.html

by Karen Bair
Surfing the Net might lack the historical charm of inscribed Bibles, quaint
old tombstones and visits with great-Aunt Edna. But it has made ancestral
links accessible to millions of family historians lacking resources to
physically follow family migratory routes and discover long-lost cousins.
But local experts warn that documentation is hit-and-miss on the Web because
most public agencies lack the manpower to word process their records. And
research by fellow genealogy enthusiasts encountered via the Web can be
unreliable, particularly since in days of yore members of the same family
often spelled the surname differently.



The News Journal 01/09/01
Delaware reveals crime records
Board agrees to newspaper's request for data
http://www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2001/01/09records.html

by Mary Allen
Delaware will release a decade's worth of computerized criminal justice
records to The News Journal under a settlement that follows a nearly
three-year court battle.
The executive board of the Delaware Justice Information System, which manages
the computerized judicial records, recently voted 6-3 in favor of the
agreement. One member abstained.
The News Journal sought the information under a Freedom of Information Act
request to examine how well the justice system is performing in Delaware.



The Oregonian 01/07/01
Lawsuit unlocks thousands of sealed records
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/news/oregonian/01/01/lc_11

bpsea07.frame

by Kim Christensen
BP Amoco and Arco handed over millions of pages of records in response to the
Federal Trade Commission's demands for information about their proposed
merger.
Then -- with the consent of the FTC and three states' attorneys general --
they sought to keep nearly all from public view, sealed by a court order to
protect trade secrets.
But when The Oregonian sued to open the files, a federal judge in San
Francisco found that much of the "confidential" information was anything but.



Rediff 01/09/01
Fire devastates Meghalaya assembly building
http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/jan/09meg.htm

A blaze reduced the historic Meghalaya legislative assembly building to
ashes. The fire was was still raging, Speaker E D Marak said in Shillong.
"There was however no report of any casualty," Marak who was supervising fire
fighting operations told PTI.
Firemen with 15 fire tenders were battling the blaze which raced through the
colonial-style pinewood building, Marak said.



Las Vegas Sun 01/09/01
Romanians to see Securitate files
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-eur/2001/jan/09/010900913.html

Associated Press
BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) -- More than a decade after the collapse of
communism, ordinary Romanians will soon be able to find out who spied on them
during the dark, totalitarian years.
Starting Jan. 15, any Romanian citizen may submit a request to the body that
makes public the files of the feared Securitate to see records kept on them
or close deceased relatives. A panel has been preparing for the access, which
was provided for in a law passed in 1999.
Most of the estimated 125 million blue and cream files are kept in archives
of the Romanian intelligence service, and others are kept by other state
archives.



CNN.com 01/09/01
England begins Internet catalog of historic structures
http://www.cnn.com/2001/STYLE/design/01/09/capturing.history.ap/index.html

Associated Press
After conquering England in 1066, William of Normandy wanted to find out what
he'd won and ordered a survey of every estate and manor in his new kingdom.
Almost 1,000 years later, England is doing it again -- sort of. Some 700
photographers are engaged in a three-year mission to photograph every
historically and architecturally important building in the country.
But unlike the Domesday Book of 1085 -- sometimes called the Doomsday Book
and so named because the thoroughness of William's inquiry invited
comparisons with Judgment Day -- this survey isn't being conducted to collect
taxes or settle property disputes.



ST. Louis Post-Dispatch 01/09/01
Settlement made in Toysmart case to protect customer names
http://www.postnet.com/postnet/news/wires.nsf/National/B7F2F7C15AA687A0862569C

F007E6C8A?OpenDocument

by D. Ian Hopper
Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) -- In a case that could affect other fledgling dot-coms, a
defunct online toy store will be paid $50,000 and have its customer database
destroyed rather than being sold off to pay creditors, federal regulators
said Tuesday.
Toysmart.com assured its customers that their personal information would
never be shared with a third party, but the company took out an advertisement
in The Wall Street Journal to sell the database after going out of business
last May.
Internet privacy activists protested, claiming that if the sale of that
information were allowed, it could encourage a wave of other failing dot-coms
to abandon privacy assurances in return for cash.



Los Angeles Times 01/10/01
Access to Carnahan files angers GOP
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/elect2000/pres/wire2/20010110/tCB00V0789.

html

by Lib Quaid
Associated Press
WASHINGTON--Supporters of John Ashcroft are angry that foes of his nomination
as attorney general have access to boxes of opposition research done by the
late Gov. Mel Carnahan's campaign.
The files of news clippings, speeches and votes cast by Ashcroft were shared
with the liberal advocacy group People for the American Way by the Democratic
governor's campaign manager, political consultant Marc Farinella. The
organization is part of a broad coalition working against Ashcroft.
GOP operatives asserted late Tuesday that the loan reflects poorly on the
governor's widow, U.S. Sen. Jean Carnahan. Farinella says he is distributing
the information on his own and that Mrs. Carnahan and her staff are
uninvolved.



Birmingham News 01/10/01
Research may pave way to Hollywood's day in sun
http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/?Jan2001/10-e421394b.html

by Melanie Jones
A historical researcher said she's nine months away from completing the work
she hopes will win national recognition for Homewood's Hollywood
neighborhood.
Historian and researcher Pam King has worked since last year on a two-year
grant from the Alabama Historical Commission.
The commission awarded a 50 percent grant of $5,725 to the project after the
Homewood City Council voted to match the grant last February.
"It says a lot for the Alabama Historical Commission to award the grant to
research Hollywood," said Hollywood resident Angela Comfort.



Huntsville News 01/10/01
Police won't charge TV team over report
Owens says he accepts responsibility for files left behind in move
http://www.al.com/news/huntsville/?Jan2001/10-e24169.html

by Wendy Reeves
Huntsville Police Chief Compton Owens said Tuesday he accepts responsibility
for not checking the old police headquarters building downtown after the City
Jail and Records Division moved out last spring.
Nearly two weeks ago, a local television reporter found police documents left
in the building and removed some of them before airing a news story about it.
Although police threatened to charge WAAY-TV reporter Sharon Dowiat (she uses
Doviet for broadcast) and a videographer with criminal trespassing and
tampering with governmental documents, Owens said no charges will be filed.
"Personally, I don't believe there was any criminal intent," Owens said. "But
I do think she exercised very poor judgment and that her conduct was
unprofessional."



Billings Gazette 01/10/01]
Public records bill gets hearing
http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?section=local&display=content/local/a

ccess.inc

Associated Press
HELENA (AP) - A bill introduced in the Montana Legislature would expand
release of information from marriage records, and could end confidentiality
for people who examine public records, such as property deeds.
The Montana State Genealogical Society requested the marriage portion of
Senate Bill 148, considered Tuesday by the Senate State Administration
Committee. The measure's sponsor, Sen. Jon Tester, D-Big Sandy, said the
other portion was requested by a constituent who was harassed anonymously
after someone examined records pertaining to him.



Excite.com 01/10/01
Bush - he's 'da man' at Whitehouse.gov
http://news.excite.com/news/zd/010109/18/bush-hes-da-man

by Lisa M. Bowman
ZDNet News

Along with moving into the real White House, the president-elect will command
the presidential Web site.
Where do old government Web sites go when they die? To cybercemeteries, of
course.
As the Bush administration and new Congress move into the Capitol, they'll
also be taking over the federal Web, casting aside the content that appeared
at sites such as Whitehouse.gov in favor of fresh, updated pages.
In early January, links to older Congresses were stripped off the front page
that now belongs to the 107th Congress. And Whitehouse.gov, currently the
domain of Bill Clinton, will be turned over to George W., Laura, and the
twins Jan. 20 when the new president takes office.



Forbes.com 01/08/01 (thanks to Cal Lee for the tip)
Everywhere network
http://www.forbes.com/futuretech/forbes/2001/0108/242.html

by Chana R. Schoenberger
In a lab at the University of California at Berkeley, computer scientist John
Kubiatowicz is designing a networking scheme that, in ten years, just might
take over your life.
The idea, dubbed OceanStore, is an architecture for the next next-generation
Internet. It is aimed at solving one of the Net's looming big problems:how to
reliably and securely retrieve data from anywhere in the world, on any
computing device.



Lincoln Journal Star 01/10/01
Historical society seeks license plate directories
http://www.journalstar.com/local?story_id=2416&past=

If you're from small-town Nebraska, you remember the old license plate number
directories. They were pretty handy - if you saw somebody in the wrong place
at the wrong time you could just whip the little "snoop" book out of your
glove box and identify the culprit from his or her license plate number.



The Beacon Journal 01/10/01
Summit pays legal fees for photocopy lawsuit
Man who fought to lower costs will be reimbursed
http://www.ohio.com/bj/news/docs/026321.htm

by Mark Schlueb
Summit County's past refusal to stop gouging folks for making photocopies is
costing the county another $53,719.
That amount -- for lawyer fees -- is on top of more than $150,000 already
refunded to hundreds of residents who were charged 50 cents a page for copies
of public documents, even after the Ohio Supreme Court said that fee was too
high.
The legal bill caps a four-year, David-and-Goliath battle started by Kenneth
P. Barth, a local man who set out to change county policy after he was
charged $5 for a copy of a sheriff's department report.



Associated Press 01/10/01
Man who fought over 50-cent courthouse photo copies wins again
http://www.ohio.com/bj/news/ohio/docs/021854.htm

AKRON, Ohio (AP) -- A man who won a four-year fight against a 50-cent per
page charge for public document copies has won a second battle for $53,719 in
attorney fees.
The Summit County Council's finance committee voted Monday night to approve
paying attorney fees for the fight waged by Kenneth P. Barth.



Modesto Bee 01/10/01
Court to hear confidentiality case in tribal water dispute
http://www.modbee.com/state/story/n2001-01-10-0115-1.html

by Bart Jansen
Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court is weighing the confidentiality Indian tribes
enjoy with federal agencies that protect their natural resources against the
public's right to know how water is allocated along the California-Oregon
border.
The decision in the case to be heard Wednesday could ripple across the
country. The federal government is obligated to protect tribal resources on
54 million acres of reservations held in trust under treaties, many dating to
the 19th century.



The Daily Star 01/10/01
New Jbaa office makes paperwork easier
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/10_01_01/art12.htm

by Samer Wehbe
Nabatieh Governor Mahmoud Mawla supervised the opening of Iqlim al-Touffah's
new Civil Registration Department office in Jbaa on Tuesday.
The department will serve the villages of Houmin Fawqa, Houmin Tahta, Azza,
Roumin, Sarba, Arab Salim, Jarjou, Jbaa, Ain Bouswar, Ain Qana, and Kfar
Fila.
The new office will issue personal and familial civil-registration documents,
in addition to birth, death and marriage certificates for the area's 60,000
residents.



St. Louis Post-Dispatch 01/10/01
Grant will put Lincoln's papers in law schools
http://www.postnet.com/postnet/news/wires.nsf/StateRegion/3AD87973C5820BC38625

69D00076994D?OpenDocument

Associated Press
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- Wondering how Abraham Lincoln would handle a vexing
legal issue? Soon you can head to a law library to find out.
DVD-ROMs containing the complete legal papers of Lincoln are being sent to
law schools across the country, thanks to a grant given to The Lincoln Legal
Papers research project. There will be 150 copies sent out, and plans are to
put at least one in every state except Alaska.



Atlanta Journal Constitution 01/10/01
Online files urged for abuse victims
Gov. Barnes back legislation to make protective orders available on the Web
http://www.accessatlanta.com/partners/ajc/epaper/editions/today/news_a3c5a0bb7

1a7326c002f.html

by Kathey Pruitt
After Valerie Roberson invoked a protective order against her ex-husband, he
retaliated.
He had her whole family arrested.
Police and a judge in another county about 100 miles away carried out the
arrest warrants without knowing the family's history of domestic abuse, or
Roberson's protective order against her former spouse. It took $1,500 for
Roberson, her mother, brother and sister to bail out of jail on what she said
were trumped-up charges.



E-Commerce Times 12/29/00
Web-based prisoner info questioned
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/6340.html

by Elizabeth Kiggen
www.NewsFactor.com

Web-based public information on prison inmates, sex offenders and, in some
cases, death row inmates is becoming increasingly widespread, with 18 U.S.
states now offering online information and searches for prisoners.
Some sites, such as Utah's Department of Corrections Web site, offer prisoner
information such as marital status, race, age, religion, education,
citizenship and the nature of crime -- including inmate photos. Others, such
as Colorado's Department of Corrections Web site, offer information on death
row inmates.



The Missoulian 01/10/01
Committee weighs bill to open e-mail
House legislation would clarify records law to include government electronic
messages
http://www.missoulian.com/display/inn_news/news04.txt

by Shannon Dininny
Associated Press
HELENA - Electronic mail used in government offices should be treated like
any other public record and be available to Montanans, supporters of a bill
told lawmakers Tuesday.
House Bill 112 would make it clear that any e-mail correspondence of official
government business is included under Montana's open records law. The bill
also would make it a crime to use e-mail to extort money or in a threatening
or harassing manner.




WRAL-TV 01/09/01
History museum associates name new director after probe
http://www.wral-tv.com/news/state/North_Carolina/NC--MuseumFundraising___=TOPA

P.html

Associated Press
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- A new executive director has been named by the North
Carolina Museum of History Associates, filling a vacancy created last year
during a criminal probe of the group's finances.
Dorothea Lowendick Bitler, who has served on the group's board of directors,
replaces Eve R. Williamson, who retired in May during the investigation.
Williamson, 63, and a former bookkeeper were charged in September with using
thousands of dollars in money raised for the museum for their personal
benefit. Williamson denied the charge and last appeared in court in December
and the case was continued.








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

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