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RAIN 10/14: Weekend Update



There are 29 stories in this posting.

AP 10/09/01
Court turns down magazine appeal
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/ap/20011009/pl/scotus_national_geographic_1.html

by Gina Holland
WASHINGTON (AP) - In the second computer-age victory this year for free-lance journalists who contend they were cheated by big media companies, the Supreme Court turned down an appeal Tuesday from National Geographic (news - web sites) over reprinted photos.


The Bulletin 10/10/01
AG office looks into missing records
http://www.bendbulletin.com/news/story.cfm?story_no=5288

by James Sink and Anne Aurand
The Oregon Attorney General's Office is investigating the disappearance of public records and the deletion of computer files at the Deschutes County Sheriff's Office.
The state launched an investigation because of a request from the county, Deputy Attorney General Peter Shepherd said Tuesday. He declined to comment further, citing the ongoing inquiry.


The Coldwater Daily Reporter 10/11/01
Southern Michigan registers of deeds discuss technology, legislation in Coldwater
http://www.thedailyreporter.com/archives/index.inn?loc=detail&doc=/2001/October/11-350-news4.txt

by Roland Stoy
COLDWATER - Nearly 30 registers of deeds from southern Michigan traveled to Coldwater Wednesday for a district meeting and a look at Branch County's cybersteps into current and future technology.
Branch County register Linda Lee Morrison-Mathews, outgoing district chair, hosted the event which featured a look at upcoming legislation, an e-recording presentation and lunch at Carnegie's.



Philadelphia Daily News 10/12/01
Snoop data on Scarfo Jr. to stay shut
http://dailynews.philly.com/content/daily_news/2001/10/12/national/KENF12W.htm

Reuters
NEWARK, N.J. - The details of an FBI computer snooping system used to spy on "Little Nicky" Scarfo's son, will remain under wraps as classified information by order of a federal judge, according to court papers obtained yesterday.
Federal prosecutors have instead filed an "unclassified summary" of the so-called keylogger system, which broadly describes the system's decoding ability.


Associated Press 10/12/01
Federal judges, agencies block online access to public records
http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=15143

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A few weeks ago, online access to federal criminal filings suddenly stopped. Though court records remain publicly available on paper at courthouses, they were deemed too public when it came to the Internet.


New Have Register 10/08/01
Gun-tracking system has flaws
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=2464292&BRD=1281&PAG=461&dept_id=7576&rfi=6

by Joe McGurk
NEW HAVEN - The state's first-ever system of tracking where criminals get their guns has misfired, at least for now, because some municipal police departments either aren't tracing the guns or aren't reporting their findings to the state.



The Oklahoman 10/12/01
TU Houses prize winner's writings
http://www.newsok.com/cgi-bin/show_article?ID=766496&pic=none&TP=getarticle

by Danny M. Boyd
AP
TULSA -- Sir V.S. Naipaul's Nobel Prize in literature has bolstered the prestige of the University of Tulsa, which houses his original manuscripts and other materials.
The 69-year-old British novelist and essayist was awarded the Nobel Prize on Thursday. The Tulsa school has kept Naipaul's materials since 1991.



The Oklahoman 10/12/01
Records seekers meet roadblocks
http://www.newsok.com/cgi-bin/show_article?ID=766347&pic=none&TP=getarticle

by Ziva Branstetter
People seeking public records in electronic format should be ready to face a host of reasons why public agencies cannot comply with their requests.
Even if the records, such as salary information for city employees, are unquestionably public, asking for them in computerized form sometimes results in delays or denials, a survey by The Oklahoman and the Tulsa World found.


Playbill Online 10/11/01
NY Public Library for the Performing Arts gets 'Cast Party' prior to open house
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/playbill/20011011/en/ny_public_library_for_the_performing_arts_gets_cast_party_prior_to_open_house_1.html

by Kenneth Jones and David Lefkowitz
For three years, the vast holdings of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts have been held in temporary midtown locations and storage while its Lincoln Center home underwent a mega-renovation.


New York Times 10/12/01
Mexicans move to pry open potentially explosive files
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/12/international/americas/12MEXI.html

by Ginger Thompson
Mexico City, Oct. 11 --More than a year after Mexicans celebrated the most free national elections in their history, the struggle for democracy has shifted from the ballot box to the most secretive corners of the government.
A politically diverse coalition of lawyers, scholars, journalists and publishers presented Congress today with draft legislation that would guarantee citizens unparalleled access to government documents. The bill, rare in Latin America, aims to open records from the mundane like property records and reports on school performance to the potentially explosive like documents about official corruption and government- sponsored attacks against citizens.


New York Times 10/12/01
Swiss banks find $10 million from Holocaust
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/12/international/europe/12HOLO.html?searchpv=nytToday

by Elizabeth Olson
Geneva, Oct. 11 -- A search of Swiss bank accounts dormant since World War II recovered $10 million that has been awarded to families of Holocaust victims, an international tribunal announced today.
The Claims Resolution Tribunal for Dormant Accounts in Switzerland, based in Zurich, was established as part of a comprehensive examination of bank accounts in response to allegations that Switzerland's financial institutions improperly held funds deposited by Jews trying to flee Nazi Germany.


Orlando Sentinel 10/12/01
FDLE shelves plan to create database of pawn records
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-locpawn12101201oct12.story?coll=orl%2Dnews%2Dheadlines

by Doris Bloodsworth
A controversial statewide database to keep pawnshop records and customer information on file, with an eye toward recovering stolen goods, has been put on hold.



Reuters 10/11/01
Secrecy foe joins US move to scrub data on Web
http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/011011/n119985_2.html

by Jim Wolf
WASHINGTON, Oct 11 (Reuters) - Qualms about publishing data that could be used to plot terror attacks have prompted a leading official-secrecy foe to scrub its Web site -- joining a trend well under way among U.S. government agencies. The Federation of American Scientists, a staunch advocate of government openness, said Thursday it had yanked about 200 of its estimated half-million Web pages since Sept. 11 terror attacks killed some 5,500 people in the United States.



Copley News Service 10/11/01
Chamber in dilemma on computer monitoring
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20011011-9999_1b11privacy.html

by Michael Gardner
SACRAMENTO -- In its guide to labor law, the California Chamber of Commerce strongly suggests that companies tell workers if their computer habits and e-mail are being monitored.
But the chamber waged a successful campaign this year to persuade Gov. Gray Davis to veto legislation that would have written those very same privacy protections into law.



Seattle Post-Intelligencer 10/12/01
His job is to make sure Microsoft doesn't drop the ball on privacy
http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/business/42475_purcell12.shtml

by Dan Richman
Many observers believe Microsoft is going through the biggest change in its 25-year history: transforming itself from a software company into an online software-and-services provider.
In doing so, the Redmond company's foremost challenge may be persuading millions of computer users it can be trusted with the personal information needed to provide those services.


Seattle Post-Intelligencer 10/12/01
Security hole leaks Microsoft customer needs
http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/business/42489_microsoft12.shtml

by Dan Richman
Human error at Microsoft created a security hole that, for at least a month, permitted outsiders to view phone numbers, street addresses and other personal information on the company's customers.
"This sounds like one of the biggest data leaks Microsoft has ever had," said Rob Enderle, an analyst with Giga Information Group. "It's certainly among the worst-timed."



Saint Petersburg Times 10/11/01
Web turns up ancestors
http://www.sptimes.com/News/101101/Floridian/Web_turns_up_ancestor.shtml

by Donna Murray Allen
Where on the Web are your ancestors? Practically everywhere. Today's column features information about helpful Web sites from readers as well as my own discovery:


Baltimore Sun 10/12/01
F. Garner Ranney, 82, diocese archivist
http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/bal-md.obits12oct12.story?coll=bal%2Dlocal%2Dheadlines

by Frederick N. Rasmussen
F. Garner Ranney, archivist and historiographer of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, died Tuesday of cancer at Union Memorial Hospital. He was 82 and lived in Mount Vernon Place.
For 40 years, Mr. Ranney oversaw the Maryland Diocesan Archives at the Diocesan Center at the Episcopal Cathedral Church of the Incarnation in North Baltimore.


Business Week Online 10/10/01
Truth could be the Web's first casualty
http://biz.yahoo.com/bizwk/011010/k_fcey56w_9qoyeglzkl0w_1.html

by Alex Salkever
The U.S. government threatening to put to death a programmer accused of breaking copyright laws? Sure sounds draconian, but that's what some visitors to Yahoo! News could read on Sept. 18 if they searched through the archives for stories about Dmitry Sklyarov. The Russian programmer wrote software that disables the copyright-protection scheme on Adobe's eBook digital publishing package -- hardly an offense that merits capital punishment.


ZDNet 10/12/01
Where is the Web when we need it most?
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/zd/20011012/tc/where_is_the_web_when_we_need_it_most__1.html

by Joyce Bosc
COMMENTARY-- Not surprisingly in the new reality created by the events of September 11, 2001, the confirmed cases of the anthrax virus in Florida this week have led to a nation-wide public health scare. But blame for the burgeoning national panic does not lie solely with the deadly disease. The panic blame also belongs to local governments and officials who have not adequately informed and calmed the public--officials who have not taken advantage of the tools at their disposal and thus have contributed to the paranoia plaguing our country.



Saint Petersburg Times 10/13/01
State targets loopholes in license rules
http://www.sptimes.com/News/101301/State/State_targets_loophol.shtml

by Alisa Ulferts
TALLAHASSEE -- By the time of the Sept. 11 attacks, the immigration papers for three of the hijackers had expired. They were here illegally in the eyes of the federal government.
But they still had valid Florida identification cards and drivers' licenses, which they could have used to board the planes that were later crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and rural Pennsylvania.



Toronto Star 10/13/01
City audit shows big holes
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?GXHC_gx_session_id_=56309dca228f73e8&pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1002948609429&call_page=TS_News&call_pageid=968332188492&call_pagepath=News/News&col=968793972154

by Robert Cribb
The City of Toronto paid dozens of consulting firms millions of dollars last year without receipts or purchase orders, according to audit records.
The documents, obtained by The Star under access to information laws, show a host of accounting irregularities including missing purchase orders, standard documents that authorize city expenditures.



Burlington County Times 10/14/01
Time Capsule mystery stumps Riverside society
http://www.phillyburbs.com/burlingtoncountytimes/news/news/41199683.htm

by Josh Bernstein
RIVERSIDE - Did you ever put something away for safe keeping and then forget where you put it? Residents in this riverfront municipality are having just that problem.
The Riverside Historical Society is trying to discover the location of a time capsule that might have been buried in 1951 for the township's centennial celebration. The society is scheduled to bury another one later this month in honor of Riverside's sesquicentennial, and wanted to see what officials preserved 50 years ago.



Key West Citizen 10/14/01
Clerk puts records at public's records
http://stories.keysnews.com/kwc/277169944431380.bsp

by Laurie Karnatz
Did you ever want to check up on somebody? Perhaps see if they've been convicted of a crime, lost -- or won -- a court battle? Been married before?
Maybe you wanted to find out when and what the Monroe County Commission did regarding a certain issue. Or who holds the mortgage or deed on a particular property.



National Post 10/14/01
Tighter birth-certificate systems said only small step to tighter ID security
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/updates/story.html?f=/news/updates/stories/20011014/national-1264038.html

by Colin Perkel
Canadian Press
TORONTO (CP) - Ontario's steps to tighten procedures for issuing replacement birth certificates will go some distance toward preventing identity fraud but it could take decades before the country's hodgepodge system is foolproof.



Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 10/14/01
Philosophical Society offers look at colonists' way of life
http://www.post-gazette.com/regionstate/20011014philo1007p8.asp

AP
PHILADELPHIA -- Early colonists needed more than just high ideals to build a government; they needed the practical instruments to create a nation.
They needed the devices that could gauge the depths of ports, draw property boundaries and standardize money.



Poughkeepsie Journal 10/14/01
Slave settlement yields its secrets
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/today/lifeentertainment/stories/li101401s1.shtml

by Rebecca Rothbaun
To get to the best-kept secret in Hyde Park, you have to cross a grassy field, a barricade of bramble and a tumbled-down spot in an old stone wall.
There, hidden in the woods of Hackett Hill, are the remains of New Guinea -- what is believed to have been a settlement of freed and fugitive slaves -- and a trove of historical information.



The Oklahoman 10/14/01
Gilcrease curator guards treasures
http://www.newsok.com/cgi-bin/show_article?ID=767265&pic=none&TP=getentertainment

by Marcia Shottenbrink
TULSA -- Beneath the glass case, on brittle paper and in faded brown ink, the words still captivate and stir emotions.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."





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