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RAIN 0316 Weekly Update: Open Records (24)



Orlando Sentinel 03/10/02
Your right to know could be eclipsed by state lawmakers
By Bob Mahlburg | Tallahassee Bureau
TALLAHASSEE -- Trying to establish credit to buy a car?
Need to collect child support from your ex? Want to figure out how much that new house you're eyeing would cost you in utility bills?
All of these could become more difficult or even impossible under measures Florida lawmakers are pushing this year to restrict public access to information kept by state and local government agencies.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/orl-asecflarecords10031002mar10.story



The Roanoke Times 03/10/02
On secrecy: Old habits die hard
by Tommy Denton
http://www.roanoke.com/roatimes/news/story127157.html


Orlando Sentinel 03/10/02
White House clamps down on information
By Tamara Lytle
WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration is enforcing the toughest public-records lockdown in decades, activists on both sides of the political spectrum say.
The reason, say watchdog groups and attorneys who lobby for public access, is twofold:
l President Bush favors secrecy over openness in the balancing act of democracy.
l The Sept. 11 attacks raised new concerns about information that could be used by terrorists.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/orl-asecnatrecords10031002mar10.story



Washington Times 03/11/02
Army reins access to weapons papers
By Rowan Scarborough
The Army has tightened controls over the public release of documents pertaining to stocks of weapons of mass destruction, an internal memo shows.
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20020311-19489084.htm



Florida Capital News 03/11/02
Editorial: Preserve your rights
Florida Sunshine, open records laws strong, enemies many
A News-Press editorial
Florida is a leader in open government, with a legal tradition stretching back
almost a century, but legislators and special interests are gnawing away at that
tradition every year.
http://www.floridacapitalnews.com/legislature/stories/031002npedit.htm



Sun-Sentinel 03/11/02
Exemptions erode public's oversight
By Barbara A. Petersen
Floridians enjoy the most permissive governmental oversight and public access laws in the nation, laws that set the standard for open government in most states and many foreign countries. Under the state Constitution, the records and meetings of government are presumed open to the public, unless there is a specific statutory exemption, and
only the Legislature can create exemptions -- exceptions -- to our constitutional right of access. Each year, there are a number of bills filed during the legislative session that would create new exemptions to the Public Records Law and the Open Meetings Law.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/opinion/sfl-10forum11mar11.story?coll=sfla%2Dnews%2Dopinion


Durango Herald 03/12/02
Group appeals ruling on A-LP papers
By Bob Schober
Herald Staff Writer
Taxpayers for the Animas River filed an appeal Friday of a judge’s ruling that a fee for obtaining public documents was not excessive or illegal.
District Judge David Dickinson ruled Jan. 23 that a $20-per-hour research-andretrieval
fee charged by the Southwestern Water Conservation District, a partner in the Animas-La Plata Project, was not improper.
http://www.durangoherald.com/asp-bin/article_gener...icle_type=news&article_path=/news/news020312_6.htm



Associated Press 03/12/02
Florida Papers Demand Open Records
By BRENDAN FARRINGTON, Associated Press Writer
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Concerned about legislative efforts to restrict access to public records, more than half of Florida's daily newspapers published editorials Sunday stressing the importance of maintaining an open government.
"I don't want to characterize it as us versus the Legislature, but one of the roles newspapers play is to galvanize public opinion around issues," said Pat Yack, president of the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors and editor of The Florida Times-Union of Jacksonville.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020312/ap_on_re_us/sunshine_sunday_4


Denver Post 03/12/02
Police 'spy files' assailed
ACLU criticism spurs city review of log on protesters
Sean Kelly
Denver Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 12, 2002 - Denver police have been keeping secret "spy files" on local activists and protest groups, the American Civil Liberties Union said Monday, prompting Mayor Wellington Webb to call for a review of department procedure.
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1002,53%257E456680,00.html


Des Moines Register 03/13/02
State told to yield patient's death records
A judge rules that reports in a Woodward case can't be withheld from Iowa Protection
and Advocacy.
By CLARK KAUFFMAN
Register Staff Writer
http://www.dmregister.com/news/stories/c4788993/17600973.html



Miami Herald 03/14/02
Fears raised over access to documents
BY LESLEY CLARK
lclark@herald.com
TALLAHASSEE - The House on Wednesday passed a measure to keep teachers' identities secret in some cases, two days after a Senate panel endorsed a slew of new exemptions to Florida's public record laws.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miami/news/politics/2854464.htm



The Indianapolis Star 03/14/02
Lawmakers vote to retain state's open-records law
By Michele McNeil Solida
michele.mcneil.solida@indystar.com
State legislators are still bound by Indiana's public records law. The House voted 68-29 Wednesday to uphold the governor's veto of a controversial bill that had been assailed as an attack on open government.
http://www.starnews.com/article.php?veto14.html



Lansing State Journal 03/14/02
High court hears request for records
State Journal is seeking copies of police complaints
By Adam Emerson
Lansing State Journal
An attorney for the city of Lansing argued to state Supreme Court judges Wednesday that releasing internal police investigations showing citizen complaints could prevent others from filing similar complaints.
http://www.lsj.com/news/local/020314_court_1b-2b.html


Lexington Herald Leader 03/14/02
Panel takes mixed views on expunging court records
Lexington Herald-Leader
FRANKFORT -- Courts could erase some emergency-protective orders from their files under a bill passed Wednesday by the House Judiciary Committee.
Senate Bill 97 would let people accused of domestic violence ask the court to expunge protective orders if their alleged victims don't prove violence occurred. Sponsors said protective orders embarrass people accused of violence and can prevent them from getting certain jobs, even when there isn't an arrest.
http://www.messenger-inquirer.com/news/kentucky/4244442.htm



Government Technology March 2002
Do It Yourself
A content management system eases the task of disseminating information to workers at the Oregon Employment Department.
By Merrill Douglas - March 2002
Todd Brown was spending too much time with his webmaster.
Brown is executive and technical assistant in the Employment Services section of the Oregon Employment Department (OED). He posts a great deal of material on Edweb, OED's internal Web site for employees. A few years ago, when he needed to update or add a document, he called on Bill Rickman, OED's Internet administrator and webmaster, to handle the mechanics.
http://www.govtech.net/magazine/story.phtml?id=3030000000007594


DeSoto Times 03/15/02
State Open Meetings law may finally be getting some teeth
Government documents and meetings opened to Mississippi citizens in the 1980s, thanks to ³sunshine\ legislation in the Magnolia State. Despite much gnashing of teeth from local government officials who feared opening their processes to the public, the state's Open Meetings law and Public Records act have worked relatively well for more than a decade.
http://www.desototimes.com/display/inn_news/Opinion/news01.txt



St.Petersburg Times 03/15/02
Senate voting flurry chips at open records law
In a frantic rush, senators sign off on 14 exemptions to the state's Sunshine Law.
http://www.sptimes.com/2002/03/14/State/Senate_voting_flurry_.shtml



Los Angeles Daily News 03/14/02
Board's secret emerges from closed doors
By Troy Anderson
Staff Writer
In the aftermath of a controversial closed-door meeting that eventually became public, Los Angeles County supervisors tightened security by doing away with minutes of their secret discussions, the Daily News learned Wednesday.
http://www.dailynews.com/news/articles/0302/14/new03.asp



The Morning Sun 03/15/02
Committee postpones debate on utility records
TOPEKA (AP) -- A Senate committee has postponed debate until next week on a bill allowing government agencies to close some records on electric and telecommunications systems in the name of security.
Sen. Stan Clark, chairman of the Utilities Committee, wants the committee to review a proposal from the Kansas Press Association for revising the bill's language.



Denver Post 03/16/02
ACLU wants secret files preserved
The Associated Press
The American Civil Liberties Union on Friday urged the city to preserve secret police files on protesters because they may become evidence in lawsuits.
Mayor Wellington Webb has ordered that police review the files and remove any that have no links to criminal activity.
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1002,53%7E466153,00.html



Rocky Mountain News 03/15/2002
ACLU urges city to unlock 'spy files'
But officials against opening records to subjects of police investigations
By John C. Ensslin, News Staff Writer
People under scrutiny by the Denver Police Department's intelligence unit ought to be able to know there's a file compiled on them, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union argued Thursday.
But city officials countered that it makes no sense to share information with people who are the subject of a legitimate criminal investigation.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_1031447,00.html



Rocky Mountain News 03/15/02
Opinion: Release spy file names
Mayor Wellington Webb deserves credit for ordering a review of the police department's "spy files" and admitting that detectives have kept tabs on political activists who were not suspects in a criminal case.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/opinion/article/0,1299,DRMN_38_1030795,00.html


Rocky Mountain News 03/14/02
Mayor Webb's statement regarding the files
I have asked the Denver Police Department in coordination with the Denver City Attorney's Office to review issues that were raised by the ACLU relating to intelligence files that are kept by the Denver Police Department.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_1029826,00.html



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