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RAIN 04/09: Weekend Update



Albuquerque Journal 4/6/01
AG pressures lab on pollution data
http://www.abqjournal.com/news/297351news04-06-01.htm

by Jennifer McKee
The state Attorney General has not ruled out going to court to force Los
Alamos National Laboratory to produce information about its radioactive
waste and how the Cerro Grande Fire might have spread it around - 10 months
after the office submitted a federal request for the information.



Albany Business Journal 4/2/01
Accounting firm launches Web organizer
http://albany.bcentral.com/albany/stories/2001/04/02/daily49.html

A Latham-based accounting and consulting firm has created a section on its
newly launched Web site called the Document Doctor, aimed at making record
keeping "a little less of a chore."




NEPA news 4/6/01
Auditors rip township account records
http://www.scrantontimes.com/stories/04062001/regional_news/716.htm

by David Palfrey
Already embroiled in a legal battle with the Board of Supervisors over the
setting of wages for working supervisors, the Board of Auditors has issued a
scathing report on township financial accounts for 2000.
Among other things, the auditors allege failure to follow the adopted
budget, report earnings to the state and withhold federal income taxes, as
well as unapproved overtime, payroll errors, unauthorized pay increases and
falsified timesheets.





Ann Arbor News 4/5/01
City employees asked to delete e-mail regularly
Clerk denies the request is an attempt to circumvent the Freedom of
Information Act
http://aa.mlive.com/news/index.ssf?/news/stories/20010405a915a1aaemail05.frm

by Susan L. Oppat
An e-mail message from the Ann Arbor City Clerk to all employees seems to
suggest that they should regularly delete e-mail so it can't be disclosed to
the public under the Freedom of Information Act.
The clerk and city attorney deny the implication.




Columbus Dispatch 4/5/01
Ohio Supreme Court insurer ordered to release documents
http://www.dispatch.com/news/news01/apr01/649027.html

by Jon Craig
A split Ohio Supreme Court yesterday ordered the release of insurance
documents involving a Reynoldsburg man.
By a 4-3 vote, the justices restricted attorney-client privilege and told
Vanliner Insurance of St. Louis to release two records related to a 1995 car
accident claim.
In a decision written by Justice Andrew Douglas, the court said that when an
insurance company is sued for unreasonable denial of a claim, certain
communications between the company and its attorneys are not protected.





MSNBC 4/5/01
Democrat site exposed donor info
http://www.msnbc.com/news/555361.asp?cp1=1

by Bob Sullivan
A glitch in the California Democratic Party's Web site exposed the names,
addresses and credit card numbers belonging to 54 party contributors,
MSNBC.com has learned. The flaw also meant Web users could rifle through a
flood of other documents intended to be private, including comments e-mailed
to the party. The information was pulled from the Web site on Thursday after
MSNBC.com called party officials.




CNET News.com 4/6/01
E-filing to put 'brief' in legal filings?
http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-5531214.html?tag=cd_mh

by Gwendolyn Marian
An online start-up will launch a test version of an electronic court filing
system Monday that it hopes will eliminate the rush to the courthouse to
file documents.
Alameda, Calif.-based @Court is betting that its electronic-filing service
will let legal professionals deliver secure documents within minutes,
instead of days. The company said its eFiling service, which is set to
launch in its final version in June, will not only eliminate the long,
tedious paper-based filing system but also enable courts and attorneys to
reduce costs.




International Herald Tribune 4/6/01
Meanwhile a U.S. literary archive is fading away
http://www.iht.com/articles/15939.html

by Ammiel Alcalay
New York Times
The ancient Egyptians used stone and parchment, whereas our collective
memory is often stored on acetate, vinyl and emulsion-coated films - forms
that die quickly. Much of the documentation of 20th century American poetry
and literary culture is in evanescent form, and it is being lost. .On a
bicoastal itinerary from New York to San Francisco with detours to Boston,
Vancouver and Los Angeles, among others, you can find thousands of decaying
reels of audiotape, film and videotape.



Los Angeles Times 4/6/01
Serbian Police Documents were destroyed
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/20010406/t000029388.html

by David Holley
BELGRADE, Yugoslavia--After the fall of former Yugoslav President Slobodan
Milosevic, but while his secret police chief remained in office, vast
numbers of police documents were destroyed and illegal copies of files on
former opposition leaders were spirited away, Serbian Interior Minister
Dusan Mihajlovic said Thursday.




New York Times 4/6/01
Legal Victory for internet advertising industry
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/06/technology/06CYBERLAW.html?searchpv=nytTod
ay

by Carl S. Kaplan
In a major legal showdown between Internet data harvesters and privacy
advocates, a federal judge has ruled that an advertising company's conduct
in gathering detailed information about consumers through the use of
"cookies" -- small files containing identification numbers -- and other
technology for the purpose of targeting online ads does not violate federal
laws.




New York Times 4/6/01
Long after Napoleon's conquests, a tale of intrigue leads to court
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/06/arts/06TREA.html?searchpv=nytToday

by Robert D. McFadden
In 1814, Napoleon I and the allies who had defeated his armies - Frederick
William III of Prussia, Francis I of Austria and Alexander I of Russia -
signed the Treaty of Fontainebleau. Under its terms, Bonaparte abdicated,
renounced his claim to conquered lands and was sent into exile on the tiny
island of Elba.
About 10 copies of the treaty were made for the signers and their national
archives. One copy - in French on woven paper, with red wax seals and a
flourish of green silk cord - remained in the French National Archives in
Paris for nearly 175 years. Then, in 1988, it vanished along with 4
ratification documents and 30 letters by Louis XVIII of France.




Seattle Times 4/6/01
Sunken Trawler's complex history
http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis/web/vortex/display?s
lug=arcticrose06m0&date=20010406

by Peyton Whitely
In the 12 years since it left the shipyard in Biloxi, Miss., to the day it
sank in the Bering Sea, apparently claiming the lives of all 15 crew
members, the trawler Arctic Rose had a complicated legal history marked by
court battles and foreclosures.




Sun-Sentinel 4/6/01
Sheriff looks at records of school police
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-psheriff06apr06.story?c
oll=sfla%2Dnews%2Dpalm

by Scott Travis and Kevin Krause
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office wants to know whether it can provide
better law enforcement to county schools for less money than the school
district's own police force.
The Sheriff's Office made an extensive public records request to the Palm
Beach County School District, asking for 40 pieces of information about the
school police department's budget, administration and operations.





Arkansas Democrat Gazette 4/7/01
Auto insurers seek data on all drivers residing with policyholders
http://www.ardemgaz.com/week/Sat/ark/A6xdl7.html

by Noel E. Oman
Companies selling automobile insurance policies want additional access to
driver records kept by the Arkansas Department of Finance and
Administration.
But what insurance companies see as a way to spread risk equitably among the
insured and to make everyone pay his fair share of premiums, others see as
an invasion of privacy.




Messenger-Inquirer 4/6/01
Audit says KSU financial records in utter disarray
http://www.messenger-inquirer.com/news/kentucky/2975492.htm

by Charles Wolfe
Associated Press
FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Internal accounting at Kentucky State University was so
haphazard and inadequate that examiners could not give an opinion about the
school's financial condition, according to a set of state audits released
Thursday.
A former employee's ability to embezzle $845,000, simply by writing checks
for "nonexistent invoices," was directly related to an absence of internal
financial controls, according to auditors.




Waco Tribune-Herald 4/6/01
Baylor sorority records songs of WW II female pilots
<http://www.accesswaco.com/auto/feed/news/local/2001/04/06/986566781.18707.7
779.0295.html>

by Cindy Van Aukent
An organization dedicated to preserving the history of World War II's female
pilots has enlisted the help of a Baylor University sorority for its latest
project.
About 60 members of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority spent two nights this
week recording the marching songs of the Women Airforce Service Pilots. That
was the name of the all-female service unit the pilots served in during the
war. Although the pilots were not allowed in combat, they were the first
women to fly American military aircraft.




Arizona Star 4/7/01
Businesses block open records on hazards
http://www.azstarnet.com/star/sat/10407caplink.html

by Howard Fletcher
Capitol Media Services
PHOENIX - Arizona consumers aren't going to get access to the records of
companies accused of producing hazardous products or creating environmental
hazards.
SB 1530 fell victim to intensive lobbying by the business community, which
objected to what companies saw as unwarranted intrusion into their private
records.




Daily Yomiuri 4/08/01
Govt center said flouting disclosure law
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20010408wo23.htm

A local citizens group is up in arms over what it perceives as an
unwillingness by the National Cardiovascular Center in Suita, Osaka
Prefecture, to act in the spirit of the Freedom of Information Law, which
went into effect April 1.



Des Moines Register 4/7/01
Proposal makes it easier to view teachers' records
http://www.dmregister.com/news/stories/c4780927/14323113.html

by Frank Santiago
State regulators will consider new rules that would make it easier for
Iowans to get information on teachers who get in trouble.
Members of the Iowa Board of Educational Examiners, meeting Friday in Des
Moines, said they will study whether discipline taken against teachers
should be printed on the teachers' licenses, posted on the Internet, or
both.



Dallas Morning News 4/7/01
Register helps research conscripted blacks
http://www.dallasnews.com/lifestyles/columnists/331680_tree_07liv.ART.html

by Lloyd Bockstruck
Special contributor to the Dallas Morning News
Tracing a black family in 19th-century America usually involves the
presumption that prior to the Civil War they would have been slaves. While
the U.S. slave population at that time was 3.9 million, slightly more than
488,000 blacks were free, and 251,000 of those were in the South.
In the state of Virginia on the eve of the Civil War there were more than
491,000 slaves and 58,000 free blacks. The biggest challenge in black
genealogy is bridging the gap between emancipation and slavery.




Richmond Times Dispatch 4/7/01
FOI poll: Virginians in turmoil
Public records access or personal privacy?
http://www.timesdispatch.com/vametro/MGBNU2AN8LC.html

by Michael Hardy
Almost six of every 10 Virginians think the State Constitution should be
amended to guarantee people access to government records and meetings,
according to a new statewide poll.
But 90 percent of Virginians surveyed said they are concerned about personal
privacy. And nearly three of every five people support stronger laws to
protect privacy even if that means they may lose access to some records kept
by government.



Internet Week 4/6/01
Courts reduce paperwork
http://www.internetwk.com/story/INW20010406S0010

by L. Scott Tillett
Even in the electronic age, the legal profession is buried under paper. Now
service providers are offering attorneys and courts ways to turn some of
that paper into bits and bytes.
Service provider @court next week will offer eFiling, a service that
electronically connects law offices and courts. The company equips courts
with a free software tool kit that lets administrators connect their legacy
systems to @court's Internet clearinghouse using Legal XML, an emerging
standard.



The Tennessean 4/7/01
Monteagle men plead innocent in Napoleon treaty conspiracy
<http://www.tennessean.com/local/archives/01/04/03998920.shtml?Element_ID=39
98920>

Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) - Two men from Monteagle, Tenn., charged in a conspiracy to
sell the 1814 Treaty of Fontainebleau - in which Napoleon renounced his
claim to the French Empire - pleaded innocent yesterday in a federal court
in New York City.
John William Rooney, 69, who is suspected of stealing the historic document
in 1988 from the French National Archives in Paris, and Marshall Lawrence
Pierce III, 39, entered the pleas in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.




Ottawa Citizen 4/7/01
Judge holds door open for securities regulator raids
<http://www.southam.com/ottawacitizen/newsnow/cpfs/business/010407/b040711.h
tml>

VANCOUVER (CP) - Yes, Virginia, securities regulators do have the power to
ransack your office. A British Columbia Supreme Court justice has upheld the
B.C. Securities Commission's authority to search business premises for
documents and other information in the course of an investigation.
Justice M. I. Catliff found that an Order to Enter Premises issued under the
provincial Securities Act did not violate guarantees against unreasonable
search and seizure provided by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.



The Register-Herald 4/7/01
Jefferson, Monroe signatures found
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=1643017&BRD=2086&PAG=461&dept_id=3
48406&rfi=6

by Joe Myers
LEWISBURG - An archivist for the Greenbrier Historical Society has
discovered rare documents signed by former Presidents Thomas Jefferson and
James Monroe when they were governors of Virginia.
The documents - dating as far back as 1779 - also include one signed by
Patrick Henry, another governor made famous a year before the Declaration of
Independence for stating, "Give me liberty or give me death."



Toronto Star 4/7/01
Federal task force on information act lags in consulting
Lots of spending but public review still to be created
http://www.thestar.com/cgi-bin/gx.cgi/AppLogic+FTContentServer?pagename=thes
tar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=986604040354&call_page=TS_Canada&call
_pageid=968332188774&call_pagepath=News/Canada&col=968350116467

by Tonda MacCharles
Ottawa Bureau
OTTAWA - Bureaucrats running an in-house federal task force reviewing the
Access to Information Act have spent six months and about $1.2 million
setting up shop, buying new furniture and travelling abroad, documents show.

But the task force, which has just six months left before it is expected to
report, still has not set up an outside advisory committee to consult on
what practical changes are needed to Ottawa's information disclosure laws -
despite a commitment from Justice Minister Anne McLellan last fall to
involve external stakeholders in the review.



Chicago Tribune 4/8/01
Corporate spy case unfolds in lawsuit
Fruit of the Loom worker admits sharing secrets
http://www.chicago.tribune.com/version1/article/0,1575,ART-51039,00.html

by Robert Manor
An international case of corporate spying is playing out in Chicago, with a
former manager at underwear maker Fruit of the Loom confessing she betrayed
her employer and gave critical trade secrets to a competitor.
"This case is about industrial espionage at the highest corporate level and
the lengths to which predatory competitors will go to obtain commercial
advantage," Fruit of the Loom lawyers charged in documents filed in U.S.
District Court here.





New York Times 4/8/01
How to e-mail like a CEO
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/08/magazine/08WWLN.html

by Bruce Headlam
Microsoft may be broken up, Nasdaq may never get off the mat, but one
artifact of the digital revolution is healthier than ever: e-mail remains
the most popular online application, with more than 6.1 billion messages
sent daily. Not only has e-mail opened up a whole new medium for personal
correspondence, it has also launched the modern corporation into the
Internet age with the promise to free workers from the tyranny of too much
paper and too little time. It succeeded so spectacularly, however, that what
was once blissfully asynchronous is now woefully chronic.



New York Times 4/8/01
More papers found in French Archives case
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/08/nyregion/08MANU.html?searchpv=nytToday

by Robert D. McFadden
Two American scholars accused of trying to sell an 1814 treaty that stripped
Napoleon I of his empire and sent him into exile on the tiny island of Elba
may face additional charges because more documents believed stolen from the
French National Archives were found in their Tennessee home, federal
prosecutors say.




New York Times 4/8/01
Using books as evidence against their readers
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/08/weekinreview/08BARR.html

by Felicity Barringer
WHEN the police arrived with a search warrant at the Tattered Cover
bookstore in Denver last spring, they wanted to know what books a particular
customer had bought. The man was suspected of manufacturing illegal drugs,
and two drug "cookbooks" had been found in his laboratory. A mailing
envelope with the bookstore's return address and an identifying order number
were found in a trash can outside.
>From a law enforcement point of view, it was a routine matter, an attempt to
tie a suspect to a crime. But for Joyce Meskis, the store owner, it was an
assault on the First Amendment and the right to privacy. She refused the
warrant and got a lawyer.




Indianapolis Star 4/8/01
Opinion split on public records exemption
Lawmakers back bill that would let them choose what to kept secret, but
residents aren't so sure
http://www.starnews.com/news/politics/articles/access0408.html

by Michele McNeil Solida
Hoosier legislators insist they'll make good rules about public records
should they successfully pass a law exempting themselves from state law.
But can residents be sure?
A proposal that would exempt the Indiana General Assembly from the state
public records law carries overwhelming support from legislative leaders --
and appears to be on a fast track to the governor's desk.



The Age 4/9/01
FoI move a threat to citizens' rights
http://www.theage.com.au/news/2001/04/09/FFXCH5FO9LC.html

by Murray Mottram
A legal tribunal has ruled that Victorians have the right to information on
ombudsman's investigations into their complaints - a right that would
disappear under legislation before State Parliament.
The Whistleblowers Protection Bill, passed by the lower house last week,
provides a blanket exemption from the Freedom of Information Act for the
ombudsman, who investigates complaints against government agencies.



The Tampa Tribune 4/8/01
The Mystery of the Models
http://www.tampatrib.com/Baylife/MGALR2B2ALC.html

Leland Hawes
The city of Tampa's archives and records bureau contains much more than
musty minutes and old statistical reports. Its photographic files contain a
trove of pictures from the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce that easily
could have originated in a modeling agency.
Back in January, this page featured a sampling of the ``cheesecake,'' as it
was called in the 1950s, used by the chamber in its quest of publicity.





Peter A. Kurilecz CRM, CA
Manager, Records Management Group
Woodside Summit Group Inc
Midlothian, Virginia
Office: 804-744-1247 x23
Fax: 804-744-4947
mailto:peter.kurilecz@woodsidesummitgroup.com

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