Idaho Judge Mulls Release of Emails

"Second District Judge John Stegner took under advisement Thursday a decision whether to release several hundred pages of on-the-job e-mails, some with sexually explicit attachments, between former Kootenai County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Rick Baughman and three female co-workers. In a similar case, Stegner ruled in July 2005 that e-mail exchanges, using county computers, between Kootenai County Prosecutor Bill Douglas and Marina Kalani, who headed the county juvenile court drug program, were public records. The Idaho Supreme Court upheld Stegner’s ruling, and the Douglas-Kalani e-mails were released last month."

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/breaking/story.asp?ID=11011

Idaho's Public Records Act is pretty lame compared to Washington's (although ours has some problems too).

As usual, the Spokesman-Review is fighting hard to get things that ought to be routinely turned over. Good for them. It takes gumption--and money--to get public records nowadays.

A Way to Discourage Illegal Secret Meetings

Dave Seago of the Tacoma News-Tribune's editorial page posts a short piece on the State Auditor's and Attorney General's joint-request bill to the Legislature on taping closed-to-the-public executive sessions of public meetings:

http://blogs.thenewstribune.com/oped?title=a_way_to_discourage_illegal_secret_meeti&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

Passage of this bill in the 2008 legislative session would be an amazing improvement for open government in Washington state. To see why, browse here and read Open Meetings Gauntlet No. 1.

Public Records Show ... Sheriff's Deputies Crashing Patrol Cars

OK, OK, it's not the worst thing ever, but this story from the Moses Lake-area Columbia Basin Herald shows exactly the kind of things the public can learn via the Public Records Act:

"Deputy David De La Rosa received a written reprimand for reportedly falling asleep at the wheel of a patrol car and driving off of Dodson Road May 4, according to sheriff's office documents obtained by the Columbia Basin Herald. The patrol vehicle stopped 200 feet from the roadway with damage to the vehicle front end, light bar and right front tire, according to the records. Deputy Beau Lamens received a three-day suspension without pay for losing control of a patrol vehicle on a curve of Road 1 NW near Quincy June 3. Sheriff's office records indicate Lamens entered the curve, which has a posted recommended speed of 25 mph, at an unknown rate of speed and struck a road sign with the rear of the vehicle. The patrol car sustained more than $2,500 in damage to the rear corner panel and bumper."

http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/articles/2007/08/09/news/news02.txt

State Auditor Dings "European Vacation" Sewer District for Open Meetings Violation

Looks like Kitsap-area sewer district commissioners spent tax dollars to go to Europe to look at European sewers (and maybe take in an opera). The commissioners' "working trip" meant they were discussing district business (at, say, a cafe in Italy) .... outside of an open public meeting.

Now the State Auditor has made an official audit finding, which is government-speak for "busted."

http://www.kirotv.com/news/13849974/detail.html

Public Records Show ... Cops Routinely Get Out of DUIs (Part III)

Here is the third part of the P-I's series:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/specials/undueinfluence/326764_toll08.html

For the other parts of the series and information on how the P-I found all this out, click here.

Public Records Show ... Cops Routinely Get Out of DUIs (Part II)

Here is part two of the P-I's magnificent series on how police agencies sometimes extend a little "professional courtesy" to their colleagues on DUIs:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/specials/undueinfluence/326612_favors07.html

Pardon the repetition: How was it again that the P-I found this out: "For this project, Seattle P-I reporters sent public disclosure requests to more than 270 law enforcement agencies across Washington."