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RAIN 10/22: Weekend Update Part 3



There are 15 stories in this posting.

Philadelphia Inquirer 10/20/01
Penn State's salary mystery solved
http://inq.philly.com/content/inquirer/2001/10/20/local_news/PREZ20.htm

by James M. O'Neill
A State secret - exposed!
Pennsylvania State University has traditionally rebuffed requests to reveal university president Graham Spanier's salary.
But last year, a nonprofit foundation affiliated with Penn State filed financial documents with the federal government that listed Spanier's compensation.
And when a graduate-student organization got hold of the documents, it published the confidential numbers in its newsletter, which came out yesterday.



Halifax Herald Limited 10/20/01
Privacy czar assails terror bill
http://www.herald.ns.ca/cgi-bin/home/displaystory?2001/10/20+212.raw+Metro+2001/10/20

by Bill Power
Widespread denial of access to government information would be the result of one provision of the new anti-terrorism act, Privacy Commissioner George Radwanski said Friday.
Mr. Radwanski said a provision of the proposed act allows the justice minister to issue certificates that would prohibit the release of information in the hands of government departments or agencies in the interests of national security.
Under these circumstances, "any government department could potentially be severed from the provisions of the Privacy Act," he said in an interview in Halifax.



At New York 10/19/01
Flooz to liquidate, 'currency' no longer good
http://www.atnewyork.com/news/article/0,,8471_907451,00.html

by Ryan Naraine
If you're one of thousands holding onto redeemable 'flooz' digital dollars and hope to receive reimbursements in the company's bankruptcy liquidation, don't hold your breath.
According to documents in the case, about 325,000 individuals and 300 corporate customers collectively hold $12.9 million in the redeemable currency but have no chance of turning their flooz certificates into greenbacks since their claims don't rank high enough in the creditors' pecking order.
Flooz.com filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on August 31, listing creditors' claims in the vicinity of $12.9 million, made up of mostly individuals who hold the Web gift certificates; $1.9 million of that claim is from corporate customers.



Sun Herald 10/20/01
State tightens public access to blueprints
http://web.sunherald.com/content/biloxi/2001/10/20/local_news/it_1020_record_controls.htm

BILOXI - Access to blueprints of public buildings has been tightened in Mississippi in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack.


Decatur Daily 10/21/01
Athens State to honor the woman saving its history
http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily/news/011021/honor.shtml

by Holly Hollman
ATHENS -- Elva Bell McLin's writes in the dedication of her book of Athens State University history, that those who've spent time on campus "don't really give a flip" about the school's history.
"But you will. You will," she warns at the end of her dedication.
But the university appreciates her efforts because it is naming a room, located on the second floor of the library, the Elva Bell McLin Archive Room.
"I'm just pleased as I can be," said Mrs. McLin, who works at saving the school's history by volunteering as its archivist.
She said President Jerry Bartlett kept telling her he had a secret.
"I thought someone must have left a nice gift to the archives," she said. "Then he told me about the name."
Mrs. McLin, 84, retired as a professor of English from the university in 1987.
She has a double major in English and history and decided to combine her two passions to compile a factual history of the school.



El Paso Times 10/21/01
County Web site to display deeds, more
http://www.borderlandnews.com/stories/borderland/20011021-147186.shtml

by David Crowder
The new Web site that El Paso County will unveil at Monday's County Commissioners Court meeting makes a vast array of official records and information available online and is a new level of electronic access to local government in Texas, officials said.
Online information that should be available Monday at www.co.el-paso.tx.us includes county property and vital records -- but not birth and death certificates -- job listings, bidding opportunities and Commissioners Court agendas linked to official minutes that report what actions Commissioners Court has taken.
Online links from each agenda item will allow the public to view and download the same agenda briefing materials and reports -- now hard to get -- that Commissioners Court members receive days before their meetings and use in reaching decisions.



Buffalo News 10/21/01
Lost military records bedevil benefits claim
http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20011021/1017076.asp

by Tom Ernst
The federal government has 80 million sets of personnel records filed away in a five-acre facility in St. Louis, and in an average week gets up to 7,000 requests for copies of files, some of them containing hundreds of pages.
Considering the immensity of the operation, it's small wonder that it can take time to get copies and that sometimes records cannot be found.
But that's of little comfort to military veterans who feel they are entitled to benefits and are told, in effect: Sorry, we have no record of your being injured. Prove you were.



Chicago Tribune 10/21/01
Rare Texts tell medieval tales
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0110210181oct21.story?coll=chi%2Dnewslocal%2Dhed

by Ron Grossman
Documents that Egyptian Jews laid to rest centuries ago in a kind of mausoleum for sacred texts--delicate, crumbling manuscripts that form a priceless archive of everyday life in the Middle Ages--have arrived in Chicago for an exhibition in the Spertus Museum.
The text storeroom, called a geniza, contained 250,000 manuscripts and fragments of manuscripts in Hebrew, most dating to the 11th to 13th Centuries. The exhibit is the most comprehensive showing of that collection ever mounted.
The fragile documents still exist, Spertus curator Jacob Lassner explained, because of the Jewish sensitivity to the use of God's name. Any text with references to the Almighty can't simply be discarded when it wears out, as might another book. Instead, it has to be accorded a proper resting place, as humans are.



St. Petersburg Times 10/21/01
Privacy is just so suspicious
http://www.sptimes.com/News/102101/Columns/Privacy_is_just_so_su.shtml

by Robyn Blumner
There is one phrase that has crept into the American vernacular that I wish I could banish from the hearts and minds of my countrymen: "If you're not guilty, then what have you got to hide?"
The phrase equates the desire for privacy with the presumption of guilt. It suggests that anyone who wants to keep government's prying eyes away is trying to get away with something evil or criminal.
Today, as we try to flush out the terrorists in our midst, that phrase lingers in the air, providing a ubiquitous justification for invading our privacy.
The antiterrorism legislation passed by the House and Senate greatly expands the ability of the FBI to enter our homes and search them secretly. It allows agents to tap any public pay phone if they think one day it might be used by a suspected terrorist. Who cares if innocent people have their homes searched or their conversations intercepted by the FBI? If they're not guilty . . .?



Deseret News 10/21/01
E-mail, Net not private for workers
http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,330009237,00.html?

by Lois M. Collins
Chuckle over the funny e-mail your sister sent you. Feel free to use the company computer to buy that book from Amazon.com. while you're at it.
But don't be surprised if your boss calls you in to explain why you're wasting company time and resources on personal pursuits.
And if you've sneaked a peek at a naughty Web site, you might want to clean off your desk.
Chances are pretty good your on-the-job Web browsing and the messages you've sent and received have been read by someone in your company. And the consequences can be severe.



Deseret News 10/21/01
Firms toughen their background checks
http://www.deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,330009236,00.html?

by Lois M. Collins
More companies are hiring investigators to look into the backgrounds of current and prospective employees. And interest in the practice has increased since the terrorist attacks, according to a Salt Lake City private investigator.
Access Research and Investigations is one of a dozen local companies that do background searches for employers, from property managers to people who hire seasonal workers to clean condos to businesses like jewelry stores.
Companies decide what information's important to them, said private investigator Corey Draper of Access. One company wants a professional license verified; another is looking for criminal background. Transport companies want to know about DUI convictions; child-care centers about any allegations of abuse. Often, the investigators verify only address, Social Security number and educational background. Some companies want all the information they can get.



Greeley Tribune 10/21/01
Use caution with personal documents on Internet
http://www.greeleytrib.com/article.php?sid=4424

by Nate Haas
Do you like to show strangers your financial records? How about revealing confidential and personal documents to them?
As facetious as those questions may sound, people may be sending those invitations when they log on to the Internet.
Many are unaware of the perils that exist in cyberspace. While they're online, their computer's contents can become a haven for hackers.
That is, of course, unless they are armed with a layered security system.
Think of the damage a hacker could create if he pilfered financial and personal information from your hard drive. Sounds absurd, but it's happened.



Worcester Telegram & Gazette 10/21/01
History goes on auction block
http://www.telegram.com/news/page_one/wheeler21.html

by George Barnes
The store closed in 1968 with shelves stocked. It never reopened. Everything is still there, the licorice drops in the boxes, Prince Albert tobacco in cans, toys on the walls, clothing. Paper bags are still hanging suspended above the counter, waiting to be filled. It is hard to focus on one thing because there is so much for the eye to see. It is a nostalgic gem.
The store was built in 1845, and has been owned by the Wheeler family since 1875. The store, along with the 1814 Abijah Clark House located next to it, also owned by the Wheeler family, will be sold at auction Nov. 18 at the Colonial Hotel, 625 Betty Spring Road, Gardner.
The contents of the store and a 1937 Chevrolet delivery truck will be sold separately at the auction, as well as on the Internet at ebayliveauctions.com and icollector.com.



Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 10/21/01
Opinion: The public's information
http://www.post-gazette.com/forum/20011021edcra21p4.asp

by John G. Craig Jr
As I listened to the panelists talk about our "rights to public records," I kept thinking about my checkbook. I don't know about yours, but mine is not ready for prime time.
The First Amendment Forum, organized by the Post-Gazette and three co-sponsors, drew a surprisingly large crowd to a Downtown auditorium the Saturday before last to hear specialists talk about the difficulties Pennsylvanians have when they try to examine public records.
I was not a participant, only a listener, which gave me the chance to ruminate on the condition of my checkbook and the relevance of that fact to the subject at hand. A key problem that gets little recognition is that it's not easy to keep good public records -- any more than it is easy to keep good private records.



Burlington County Times 10/21/01
Judge rules Lenape district must make documents public
http://www.phillyburbs.com/burlingtoncountytimes/news/news/41211219.htm

by Danielle Delfin
MOUNT HOLLY - The Lenape Regional High School District must make backup materials on more than $1.8 million in legal bills available for public inspection, a state Superior Court judge ruled Friday.
The district, however, can black out information in those documents that it feels would violate attorney-client privilege, including any ongoing or anticipated litigation and the names of minor students and personnel, the judge said.
The Courier Post newspaper of Cherry Hill, Camden County, filed suit against the Lenape district to obtain additional detailed legal bills relating to the construction of the district's fourth high school in Tabernacle. In addition, the newspaper asked to see additional bills for all other legal services provided by three law firms from 1997 to the present.


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