Life Science Discovery Fund Won't Let Public Discover What They're Funding

"The first applications for Washington state's new venture in bankrolling biotech research show plenty of requests from researchers at hospitals and universities around the state. But don't try finding out what they might want to study - it's part of the broad swath of information kept secret in the Life Science Discovery Fund's response to a public records request from The Associated Press."

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420AP_WA_Life_Sciences.html

The article quotes Allied Law Group's Michele Earl-Hubbard.

TNT Blasts Tacoma School Board on Open Meetings

"On the surface the motives usually seem innocent when bureaucrats and politicians start down the road of doing the public’s business in secret. For Tacoma School Board members, it started as an effort to be nice to Ethelda Burke, deputy superintendent. ... 'I felt the fair thing to do was not surprise her on Thursday' at the meeting where the board was to vote on the interim superintendent, board member Kurt Miller told a reporter. 'I thought that would have been unprofessional.' What’s unprofessional is forgetting who the boss is. In being 'fair' to Burke, the board cheated the boss (the public). What’s unprofessional is making a decision (the decision not to hire Burke) you keep secret from the boss. What’s also unprofessional is telling Burke your secret on Wednesday, and then preparing to go through a charade on Thursday at the open meeting when you let the boss (the public) in on the decision you really made the day before. In this case the board decided it was more important that Burke know about its decision than that its boss (the public) know about it."

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/columnists/zeeck/story/120997.html

The public is the boss. That's an outdated concept, we know, but it's the law.

Did Tacoma School Board Violate Open Meetings Law?

"The Tacoma School Board might have broken the state open meetings law by eliminating a candidate for the interim superintendent position before it held a public vote. Board members met in executive session Wednesday – a day before the public meeting – to interview and discuss the qualifications of the four interim superintendent candidates to replace outgoing Superintendent Charlie Milligan. The law allows closed meetings to 'evaluate the qualifications of an applicant,' but requires taking a final action in public session."

http://www.thenewstribune.com/front/topstories/story/120516.html

In just the past two months that og-blog has been on the web, the Tacoma School Board has had some interesting Open Public Meetings Act and Public Records Act issues. See here, here, here, and here. Here is a past og-blog posting describing how there is tremendous upside for a government agency to violate the OPMA and almost no downside.

County To Broadcast Public Meetings on Web

"Skagit County is making government more accessible by becoming the first county in Washington to broadcast public meetings on the Web. Commissioners’ meetings, already available to cable subscribers through the county’s Skagit21 television station, will appear on the county’s Web site, http://www.skagitcounty.net, beginning in early August. Viewers can watch the Internet broadcasts live or access meeting archives. Meetings will be available for viewing on the Web within hours after their conclusion."

http://www.goskagit.com/index.php/news/article/county_web_site_to_broadcast_public_meetings/

Great news. More local governments should do the same. This is especially good news because a few months ago Skagit County's misuse of closed executive sessions came to light. Looks like they decided to be more open. This should be encouraged.

TNT Editorial: Retain Court Records

"It’s time for Washington’s municipal and district courts to join the Information Age.
These courts of limited jurisdiction handle a vast number of cases – everything from traffic tickets to serious misdemeanors. The sheer volume of those cases, and the relatively minor nature of the offenses they involve, resulted in the widespread practice of shredding criminal files after a short time (three years is the current state standard). That’s not long enough. Consider the 1992 weapons conviction of Terapon Dang Adhahn – the man now charged with the murder of Zina Linnik – in Tacoma Municipal Court."

http://www.thenewstribune.com/opinion/story/117988.html

Republican Congressman Reichert Says More Openness

"The United States is threatened by its fetish for secrecy, an expanding and often arbitrary impulse that adds 40,000 new documents each day to the federal government's mountain of 'classified' papers. That conclusion comes not from the ACLU or Moveon.org, though both organizations agree. It comes from Rep. Dave Reichert, a Republican from Bellevue and a former King County sheriff who is working on legislation that would refine the government's process for deciding which documents remain secret."

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/325171_secrecy25.html

Open government is not a Republican or Democrat issue; some in each party are pro-disclosure and others are anti-disclosure. Open government is one of the only issues that cuts across ideological lines. Good. We need both parties and people of all viewpoints to keep government open. You need every ally you can get when you're telling government it must do things it doesn't want to do.

Search for Schools Boss Hush-Hush

"Tacoma School Board members are set to pick an interim superintendent in two days.
But they won’t tell the public who their choice is until they vote to hire that person Thursday evening. And they won’t reveal the names of the other three finalists. ... That strategy is legal, assistant state attorney general Tim Ford said. But he also said there are ways the district could release the finalists’ names."

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/tacoma/story/117030.html

eNewsletter No. 1: Legal Bills Subject to Disclosure

In case you're not one of the cool people who is signed up to automatically receive Allied Law Group's eNewsletters, here is eNewsletter No. 1.

It discusses recently enacted House Bill 1897, which clarifies the Legislature's intent that government bodies' legal bills are, and always have been, subject to disclosure (except for minor redactions). The new law took effect on July 22, 2007.

If you want to be one of the cool people, sign up here for future Allied Law Group eNewsletters.

Public Records Show ... 80-Year Old Rusting Ferry Boats

The Everett Herald learned details of the condition of 80-year-old (!) ferry boats in the Washington State fleet via public records. Interestingly, the Coast Guard "lost" the Herald's FOIA request. It's a two-part story.

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20070722/NEWS01/707220364/0/SPORTS01

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20070723/NEWS01/707230335/0/rss

Is there a public interest in knowing the seaworthiness of vessels on which thousands of people ride?

UPDATE: The Tacoma News-Tribune editorializes on the fact that the State Auditor was denied access to the ferry boats in question.

Seattle Times Editorial on FOIA Legislation

"The federal Freedom of Information Act is 41 years old and showing its age. Technology has changed the landscape in and out of government. The backlog of FOIA requests is huge — The Seattle Times has a pending request with the Department of Energy dating to 1995. And it hasn't helped that the Bush administration switched federal policy and adopted a begrudging attitude toward FOIA requests for government information. Now, the U.S. Senate is poised, rightly, to vote on a worthy update that would modernize the law and create consequences for agencies slow to comply. But a stubborn Arizona senator has put a toe on the bill."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2003802702_opened24.html

A request pending since 1995? FOIA is a joke. We hope the pro-disclosure FOIA legislation passes.

Business Community Supports Pro-Disclosure FOIA Legislation

This is from the Association of Washington Business blog:

"In today's New York Times, the business section looks at Congressional legislation pending to reform the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), the law that allows citizens, trade associations, and of course journalists, to pierce the veil of obscurity that often surrounds the machinery of government. The Times, citing examples, notes the federal sunshine law has stopped working, resulting in wrongful denial of public records requests and abusive delays by federal agencies without any meaningful consequences. And so the oddly-if-optimistically titled "Openness Promotes Effectiveness in Our National Government Act of 2007" (OPEONGA?) is moving through the US Senate, with support from AWB national partners the US Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers. It would among other things provide tight deadlines for complying with records requests, provide consequences for wrongful denial, and establish an ombudsman to resolve disputes."

http://awbblog.typepad.com/olympia_business_watch/2007/07/us-chamber-nam-.html

The business community has some of the strongest interests in open government. Business should want to know how government agencies are regulating them and spending their money. Sure, a few giant corporations are anti-disclosure, but most of small business is adamantly pro-disclosure.

Some Laws We Wrote Go Into Effect Today

When Allied Law Group's Greg Overstreet was at the Attorney General's Office he worked on passing Attorney General Rob McKenna's open government legislation. Most bills passed in the 2007 legislative session go into effect 90 days after the close of the session, which is today (July 22, 2007). Two of those bills, both of which Greg wrote and lobbied for, are:

• Senate Bill 5435 (creating a Sunshine Committee to review exemptions from disclosure in the Public Records Act and suggest revisions to the Legislature).
  
• House Bill 1445 (adding statements of statutory construction directing courts to interpret the Public Records Act in favor of disclosure, providing that in the event of a conflict between the PRA and another act the PRA controls, and cleaning up some previous codification errors).

Two more open government laws Allied Law Group's Greg Overstreet worked on take effect today:

• House Bill 1458 (also known as the "Ken and Barbara Miller Fairness Act") (requiring a government body to provide notice to a landowner of the public meeting at which the body will decide whether to condemn their property). Greg co-wrote the bill with the Governor's Office and lobbied for its passage.
  
• House Bill 1897 (clarifying that government legal bills from attorneys they hire are subject to public disclosure for the most part). Greg lobbied for its passage.

Overall, a very good year for open government in the state of Washington.

We have some very tough battles ahead in the 2008 legislative session. Og-blog readers: Make a mental note to take a little time next year to do your part--contacting your legislators, etc.--to pass good laws and defeat bad ones. This stuff matters. A lot.

Public Records Show: Details of Arrestee Killed in Spokane Police Custody

"A police investigative report released last week says Spokane Valley Fire paramedics asked sheriff’s deputies to release Trent Yohe from handcuffs and leg restraints so they could treat the 37-year-old methamphetamine addict after he had stopped breathing. ... Details of the paramedics’ orders to the deputies to remove handcuffs and leg restraints from the unconscious man so they could try to revive him are contained in the Spokane Police Department report obtained by The Spokesman-Review in a public records request."

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/breaking/story.asp?ID=10778

You can read the (redacted) police report referred to in the story.

Postings About Allied Law Group Cases

Og-blog is sponsored by Allied Law Group. ALG opened its doors three weeks ago and already our practice is taking off like a rocket. We are starting to be hired in many of the cutting-edge open government cases in the news--cases og-blog readers want to know about. But it wouldn't be right for us to provide our commentary on a case we're working on, especially if we didn't tell anyone we're involved. We also do not want to comment on our clients' cases when they are pending before a court.

Therefore, when Allied Law Group is involved in a case, we will simply post a link to a news story on the matter or a court document showing the final decision, note that Allied Law Group is involved in the matter, and omit any commentary. That seems to be the fairest way to go about this.

Snohomish County Resumes Recording Court Commissioner Proceedings

"Audio recordings of legal proceedings held in front of Snohomish County court commissioners have resumed after more than three months without recording. Superior Court judges stopped the recordings in March, but ordered resumption after an Everett advocate of equal treatment for all parties in divorce cases lobbied for them. ... 'Even though you don't have to do something, sometimes the better decision is to do it,' [Court administrator Bob] Terwilliger said. Also, he polled 10 other counties in the state and found that they all record commissioner hearings."

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20070717/NEWS01/707170342

Tip of the hat to Mark Mahnkey for sending this to og-blog.

P.S. Assuming for the sake argument that recording isn't required for court commissioner proceedings, we note the words of Art. I, section 10 of the Washington State Constitution: "Justice in all cases shall be administered openly, and without unnecessary delay." Access to court proceedings and court records is extremely important, as demonstrated by this series of magnificent investigative work from the Seattle Times.

Spokesman-Review Editorial on Disclosure of Public Employee Union Bargaining Documents

"It took Judge Christopher A. Washington only four economical paragraphs to make his point last week when he ruled that the public has a legitimate interest in seeing the written proposals as well as Washington state agencies' notes from collective bargaining sessions with public employee groups. 'These records are of interest to the citizens of the State,' he wrote. Contrary to what several public employee unions had contended, they are not exempt from the state's public records law.

Good thing. When the state Office of Financial Management sits down to negotiate contracts with public employee bargaining units, it is representing the citizens of the state and the negotiators are making decisions about how public dollars will be spent. Taxpaying citizens have every right to know what deals are being reached and why."

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/opinion/story.asp?ID=200361

How true.

(Full disclosure: Allied Law Group represents the records requestor in this case, the Evergreen Freedom Foundation.)

Public Records Show: "Physically Intimidating Tirade" of City Council Member and Mayoral Candidate

"A legal consultant’s investigation of an incident at an Oak Harbor City Council workshop last fall offers insight into two candidates for mayor of the city.
The seven-page report concludes that Councilman Paul Brewer, the subject of the investigation and a candidate for mayor, was out of control with anger and went on a 'physically intimidating tirade' at the Sept. 28 meeting. ... The News-Times obtained a copy of the report through a public disclosure request."

http://www.whidbeynewstimes.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=84&cat=23&id=1028715&more=0

Do you think this will be an important fact for voters in the upcoming municipal elections? This is one of the main reasons why the Public Records Act exists: to provide information to the public so voters can make informed decisions.

In Case You Missed Them ...

There haven't been any open government news items for two whole days. Og-blog readers want fresh content. So, in the fine tradition of television network programming, when we run out of original content we will give you some reruns.

Here, then, are a few past og-blog postings that are particularly interesting ... in case you missed them.

• Pierce County Court Orders Paper Not to Publish Story
  
• Why Risk Your Municipal Attorney Job When There's No Downside to Violating the Open Public Meetings Act?
  
• Spokane County Tells AG's Office to Take a Hike on Jail Visit Records
  
• "Paper only" Ruling: Court Fails to Adapt to Time

Public Records Show: UW Pays $480,000 in Sex Abuse Settlement

"A man who claims he was repeatedly molested and raped at age 13 by a female mental patient nearly three times his age has settled a lawsuit with the University of Washington for $480,000. ... The settlement amount was not disclosed in court records as part of a confidential agreement, although the UW recently released the figure and other information in response to a public-disclosure request by The Seattle Times."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003791134_uwsettlement13m.html

If government agencies can hide these kinds of things, do you think they have an incentive to fix problems? The money, you say; the UW had to pay $480,000 and that should create an incentive to fix things. But that's $480,000 of other people's money; not much of an incentive. Having an embarrassing story on the front page of the Seattle Times is much more of a motivator than a $480,000 judgment. And having the story on the front page required the Public Records Act.

Judge Rules Unions' Bargaining Records Are Subject to Disclosure

A victory for a public records requestor.

http://www.effwa.org/SEIUvsWA/pdf/ltr%20frm%20washington.pdf

For more information on the case, click:

• here for great background on the case from the Spokesman-Review's Rich Roesler,
• here for the story from The Olympian, and
• here for the court papers in the case.

(Full disclosure: Allied Law Group represents the records requestor in this case, the Evergreen Freedom Foundation.)

Outgoing School Superintendent Ordered Not to Destroy Public Records on Personal Computer

"Outgoing Tacoma schools Superintendent Charlie Milligan has been told not to destroy any records of district business contained on his personal computer."

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/109064.html

The law is pretty clear: (1) records of agency business on home computers are a "public record" subject to disclosure, and (2) an agency or employee cannot destroy public records that have been requested until the request is resolved.

What to do if an agency destroys requested public records (before the records can lawfully be destroyed under a state-approved retention schedule)? Sue them, as BIAW has done by recently filing a Public Records Act enforcement case against Pierce County's Auditor regarding voter registration records.

Tri-City Herald Blogs About Og-Blog

The Tri-City Herald editors discuss a recent og-blog posting about the Open Public Meetings Act.

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/blogs/askeditors/story/9118738p-9035046c.html

The Tri-City Herald is one of the most aggressive newspapers in the state when it comes to insisting on compliance with open-government laws. Thank goodness: local governments in the Tri-Cities area are some of the most aggressive in the state when it comes to violating open-government laws.

Trip to Europe Violated Open Public Meetings Act

The State Auditor made an audit finding, which is an official notice of a violation of law, against the Annapolis Water District in Kitsap County. The water district board members went to Europe on district business and discussed district business but failed to provide notice of this special meeting. The State Auditor found "Since a quorum was present, the District
should have notified the public that special meetings were going to be held in Germany, Austria,
Hungary and France."

http://www.sao.wa.gov/reports/findings/72940.pdf

The Tacoma News Tribune's David Seago adds a little zip to this story in his post "Let's inspect sewage in Paris!"

"Paper-Only" Ruling: Court Fails to Adapt to Time

More scorn for the recent "paper-only" ruling, this time from the editorial page of The Olympian, which is the hometown newspaper of Judge Pomeroy. Ouch.

"Just when court officials began catching up with 21st century technology, along comes Thurston County Superior Court Judge Christine Pomeroy and throws a monkey wrench into the mess."

http://www.theolympian.com/opinion/story/157343.html

Sound Politics recently called this ruling "ridiculous."

Why Risk Your Municipal Attorney Job When There's No Downside to Violating the Open Public Meetings Act?

The Tri-City Herald's piece on why local governments often close public meetings in violation of the Open Public Meetings Act hits on two often overlooked points: first, many municipal attorneys representing local governments are afraid they'll lose their jobs if they say "You can't do this," and second, there is really no downside to violating the OPMA so who cares.

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/blogs/askeditors/story/9108108p-9024361c.html

The Tri-City Herald piece thoroughly covers the point about terrified municipal attorneys but only mentions the point about the lack of consequences for violating the OPMA. Here's some more detail on the latter point.

Consider the decision making process for a local government looking at whether to violate the Open Public Meetings Act.

The upside of closing the meeting is that you get to talk about the public's business without the pesky public finding out about it. Whew. What a relief--you won't lose any votes in the next election over whatever it is you were supposed to discuss in public.

The downside is pretty remote. Each one of the following eight things must happen in order for you to suffer a measly $100 consequence:

1. maybe a citizen will recognize an OPMA violation has occurred (but since the discussion happens behind closed doors it's pretty hard to get caught),
2. maybe the citizen has the money to hire an attorney to file suit,
3. maybe the citizen can find an attorney who knows anything about the OPMA (only a handful of attorney in the state know this law),
4. maybe you can't grind the citizen down in endless court proceedings and costs (your legal costs are paid by taxpayers so why would you care),
5. maybe the judge knows the details of the OPMA and doesn't think it's a silly law that gets in the way of "efficient" government decision making,
6. maybe you lose the case,
7. maybe the judge awards some of the citizen's attorneys fees because you lost (but don't worry because tax money will pay that),
8. maybe the judge awards the citizen the $100 penalty that you must pay on your own for a "knowing" violation. But relax. This $100 "downside" only happens if the the citizen succesfully made it through each and every one of these eight gauntlets. Besides, it's only $100--the price of a few yard signs in your next election--and you got to discuss a "sensitive" issue without those pesky citizens around.

What's not to love about the current Open Public Meetings Act? If you're the government, that is.

TNT's Zeeck Explains Why Public Access to Pipeline Records Matters

Dave Zeeck, Executive Editor of the Tacoma News Tribune, provides one of the best explanations we've seen of why public records must be open when he answers a question from a judge in the case to obtain pipeline records.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/columnists/zeeck/story/105218.html

These records show details about the 22,000 or so miles of pipelines--loaded with extremely explosive petroleum products--crisscrossing Washington state, including many residential areas. Want to know if a gasoline pipeline in your neighborhood is leaking because of poor maintenance by a profit-focused corporation? Just trust the government and the corporation. They never make mistakes. What could go wrong? A leak in Bellingham that explodes in a giant fire ball and kills an 18-year old and two 10-year olds playing in a park? That could never happen.

But it did.

Dave Zeeck's point is that maybe relying solely on state regulators and giant pipeline corporations to make sure the pipelines are safe isn't such a good idea. If the public can see the records, the public is another set of eyes to make sure things don't, say, explode and kill people.

The Public Records Act agrees with the idea that the public gets to maintain control over the agencies which we created and who work for us. In fact, it's why the law exists. The Public Records Act explains how access to public records allows the public to control our agencies:

"The people of this state do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies that serve them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may maintain control over the instruments that they have created. This chapter shall be liberally construed and its exemptions narrowly construed to promote this public policy."

Spokane County Tells AG's Office to Take a Hike on Jail Visit Records

"Identities of people who visit inmates in the Spokane County Jail will remain secret for now, after a deputy county prosecutor refused this week to honor an attorney general's request to disclose them. ... That interpretation is too narrow, said Tim Ford, an assistant attorney general with the Washington Attorney General's Office. The statute in question notes that operators of a jail shall maintain a public registry, Ford said. It also requires that some inmate records remain private, but it does not define either those records or the registry. ... 'Coming in the front door is a public act,' Ford said, adding separately: 'I would err on the side of saying they should be disclosed.'"

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/breaking/story.asp?ID=10593

Local governments, especially in the Spokane area, have a real problem with the Public Records Act. They don't like it and seem to think it's a "west side" law that doesn't apply to them. They have two choices: (1) amend the law through legislation or initiative, or (2) secede from the State of Washington. Disobeying the law is not an option.

This will probably get settled the expensive way, wasting thousands of tax dollars in the process. Now that the Spokesman-Review has filed a records request for the information--and the Spokesman will sue government at the drop of a hat when government breaks the law--we suspect that the County will either back down or lose in court.

Kudos to Attorney General Rob McKenna and Tim Ford. It isn't easy to call the Prosecutor's Office and tell them they are wrong. Local governments often roll their eyes and sneer that being for open government is politically expedient. Really? If open government is so politically popular, why aren't the elected Spokane County Commissioners falling all over themselves to release public records?

Public Records Lead to Request for Criminal Investigation

"Bellingham City Council has asked for a criminal investigation into the actions of Whatcom County Water District No. 7 Manager Jim Trowbridge, who the city says violated an agreement by giving water service to housing lots without city approval. ... County planning department records obtained by The Bellingham Herald through a public disclosure request show that in February 2005, Trowbridge applied to subdivide 15 acres he owns on Academy Road into three lots and serve them with Water District No. 7 water. That application was allowed to expire."

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/102/story/123933.html

You know what we're going to say: "records obtained by The Bellingham Herald through a public disclosure request show ...."

Shark Rips Into Judge's "Paper-Only" Ruling

Sound Politics' Stefan "The Shark" Sharkansky analyzes the recent "paper-only" ruling.

"A requestor asked for a Department of Corrections electronic database and Judge Christine Pomeroy ruled that the DOC's production of paper printouts of the database records was an acceptable response: 'There is no clear right to electronic copies under the Public Disclosure Act,' Superior Court Judge Christine Pomeroy said in her oral ruling.

Judge Pomeroy's ruling is ridiculous. A print-out is not the same record as the electronic original. If Pomeroy believes that it is then she and her clerks should banned from using Lexis-Nexis and other computer tools and be forced to perform all of their legal research using only books and paper. The state Attorney General's new Model Rules for best practices on disclosure of electronic records make clear that agencies should provide original electronic records when so requested. I have more arguments why paper printouts are an inadequate response to a request for electronic records, here."

http://soundpolitics.com/archives/008883.html

Pierce County Court Orders Paper Not to Publish Story

You read that headline correctly. And, yes, it happened in America.

"Two years ago, a small town bumped into a big freedom – the freedom of the press guaranteed by the First Amendment.
The town was Roy. The press was the Nisqually Valley News. It produced one of the rarest violations of the First Amendment: court-ordered censorship to protect a public official from embarrassment."

http://www.thenewstribune.com/opinion/story/102543.html

Michele Earl-Hubbard and Greg Overstreet of Allied Law Group are quoted because both were involved in the court case to end the censorship. Note that Attorney General Rob McKenna personally reviewed the State's court papers to overturn the censorship on his BlackBerry. He's a busy guy, but this was really serious.

How appropriate that this little story, now forgotten by most, is being retold by the Tacoma News Tribune in its Independence Day editorial. The Declaration of Independence 231 years ago had a whole lot to do with preventing government from prohibiting newspapers from publishing. Think about it.

Editorial: It's Not Optional--Openness Is Essential to the Survival of the Republic

"Today, we commemorate the Declaration of Independence, a bold experiment that put ultimate authority in the hands of the people rather than the government. But as James Madison once said, 'A popular government without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy, or perhaps both.'
So we observe a lesser known anniversary, too. The federal Freedom of Information Act took effect 41 years ago today, necessitated by government's aversion to openness."

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/opinion/story.asp?ID=198070 (link to first page of editorial; viewing next pages requires subscription to Spokesman-Review)

This excellent editorial provides several concrete examples of why open-government laws allow us to enjoy the republic we fought to obtain 231 years ago. There is a clear link--even 231 year later--between the public knowing information about their government and the public exercising their freedoms. Think about it.

This open-government stuff is extremely serious business. It's about freedom.

More Information (Via Guess What) About Alleged Teacher Sexual Misconduct

http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2007/07/04/local_news/04news.txt

Did you notice about 2/3 of the way down in the article: much of the information in this story was "released via a public records request." The bus driver's report. The police reports. The school district emails.

Meeting About City Manager Gets Closed

"The Richland City Council took talks about goal-setting for Interim City Manager Cindy Johnson behind closed doors Tuesday night despite objections by the Herald that the meeting was in violation of the state's Open Public Meetings Act."

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/story/9104304p-9020538c.html

The newspaper story quotes Allied Law Group attorney Greg Overstreet.

For those interested in seeing what the Open Public Meetings Act actually says about closing meetings to discuss personnel issues, see the Attorney General's Open Government Internet Manual section 4.3(f) and (g). You be the judge of whether the City of Richland's reasons for closing the meeting are lawful.

Study Shows Obtaining Info From Government Under FOIA Poses Long Delays

"Getting information from the government under the [federal] Freedom of Information Act can take longer than waiting for ketchup to flow from a new bottle. Much longer."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,287856,00.html

FOIA is a joke. Washington's Public Records Act was consciously designed to be better than FOIA.

Parent Learned of Alleged Sexual Misconduct by Teacher Via Public Records Act

"The father of a girl who allegedly had a sexual relationship with her coach is furious that Hoquiam School District officials never contacted him, despite several months of warning signs and concerns posed by bus drivers, students and others about the behavior of Coach Todd Hoiness and the alleged victim."

http://www.thedailyworld.com/articles/2007/07/03/local_news/02news.txt

The parent found out about the accusation by reading it in the newspaper; the newspaper used the Public Records Act to verify information and prepare the story. Once again, information the public wants is made possible by the Public Records Act.

Welcome to Allied Law Group's OG-Blog!

Quite a few people are visiting og-blog for the first time this week and we wanted to welcome each one of you. Check the archives (over at the right) for a flavor of the postings we provide here.

Please bookmark og-blog.com and visit us as often as you can. As always, feel free to send comments and posting ideas to contact@og-blog.com.

Thanks,

Greg Overstreet and
Michele Earl-Hubbard
www.alliedlawgroup.com

School Board E-Mails Might Violate Open Records Law

"Friday at 5 p.m. was the deadline for applicants who are interested in the soon to be vacant Memphis [Tenn.] City Schools' superintendent's seat. But there is controversy brewing over how school board members are conducting business behind closed doors. ... A prominent Memphis lawyer told FOX13 that under Tennessee law, if there are individual conversations among board members about the opening - that is a direct violation of the law. There cannot be any closed meetings and said there is no reason why e-mail traffic couldn't amount to a meeting."

http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=3638524&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

In Washington, an e-mail deliberation by a governing body violates the Open Public Meetings Act. This was established in the case of Wood v. Battle Ground School Dist. The Attorney General's Open Government Internet Manual, section 3.4(A), discusses the e-mail deliberation issue.