Copyright squashed on Oregon laws · 25 June 08
Oregon’s legislative council committee voted yesterday not to claim copyright over the state’s laws, ending a legal skirmish with web sites Justia and Public.Resource.Org. As it turns out, the decision may also cost the public till a few bucks. The committee’s decision came five days after the Register Guard published this story, which notes “ ... state law requires that legislative counsel charge to recoup the costs of publishing the statutes — set at $390 for a printed set and $30,000 for the electronic version. The latter sum has been paid by companies such as Lexis-Nexis and Westlaw, which in turn provide searchable databases and charge clients a subscription for their use.” Public.Resource.Org has posted video of the committee meeting online.
Lee van der Voo
Oregon city and county manager's emails online · 24 June 08
I want to point to a unique project by the former mayor of Lafayette, Oregon, Darrell Flood. Flood was elected mayor in 2006 and resigned after a dispute about some unsavory political practices. He and his wife later started a web site dedicated to keeping government in Lafayette – and beyond – open. As part of a recent project, they uploaded five years of correspondence between Oregon city and county managers from a public listserv to his web site.
Flood summarizes his own findings this way: “There are items that we found particularly insulting. Like when they refer to their citizens in demeaning ways. And discuss how they can make it more difficult for citizens to get public information.”
Flood’s upload of the listserv contains a spreadsheet of members sorted by city and county contact. It’s useful for anyone who wants a behind-the-scenes look at how at how their government reps weigh in on various topics. I understand the project has caused a bit of a stir but Flood maintains the listserv is public and should see daylight.
I learned about the project through Ellen Miller’s post on the Sunlight Foundation blog. She prints a letter from Flood, detailing the project’s origins and aim.
Election implications · 17 June 08
Easily the most significant result of the May primary for open government was John Kroger’s victory in the Democratic primary for Oregon Attorney General. With no Republican opposition on the November ballot, he is slated to assume the role of chief interpreter of Oregon public records and meetings law. It’s obviously too soon to say how Kroger will be once he takes office. But in terms of the candidates’ statements on the campaign trail, at least, he appeared to be more conversant with the issue, as well as more aggressive. For those advocates who saw Hardy Myers as becoming increasingly pro-secrecy over his tenure, Kroger could be a nice change.
Nick BudnickEthnic FOIA workshop · 16 June 08
A workshop at the University of Idaho Saturday offers some basic public records training that’s geared at writing for ethnic audiences and working with ethnic groups. Learn the basics about federal and state Sunshine laws, tips to navigate a denial on a records request and how to build relationships and use records while reporting in ethnic communities. The event takes place between 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. in the Whitewater Room, Idaho Commons, at the University of Idaho. Cost of $10 includes lunch. It is hosted by the University of Idaho and Washington State University student chapters of SPJ. For more information, contact Becky Tallent at 208-885-8872 or e-mail rtallent@uidaho.edu or register at http://www.spj.org//emt-form.asp.
Lee van der VooFederal contracts daylighted · 15 June 08
A bill promoting spending transparency at the federal level could be good news for reporters nationwide. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press is reporting the bill “will provide online access in both PDF and searchable text formats to all federal contracts, audits and actions taken against federal award recipients, among many other details” at USASpending.gov, if passed.
Lee van der VooJackson County fights release of handgun permits · 8 June 08
The Jackson County Sheriff’s Department continues to fight a court order to release records related to handgun permits. Instead, the agency is appealing a judge’s ruling that a list of concealed handgun licenses must be provided to the Mail Tribune. The newspaper requested the records “about nine months ago as part of an investigation into news that a South Medford High School teacher had such a license and wanted to carry her gun to school.” Read more on the Mail Tribune’s web site.
Lee van der VooComment [2]
Laws still copyrighted · 29 May 08
The state of Oregon continues its skirmish with web sites Justia and Public.Resource.Org. Oregon officials sent letters to the web sites in April telling operators not to reproduce sections of Oregon’s copyrighted laws online. The Citizen Media Law Project is reporting that a proposed licensing agreement intended to resolve the fiasco appears headed for disaster.
Lee van der Voo"Out-of-control warden" · 29 May 08
A recent story by Ashbel Green and Harry Esteve at the Oregonian used a police report and internal documents to expose corruption at a youth detention facility. According to the story, Darrin Humphreys, a former superintendent at the RiverBend youth detention center in La Grande, stole property, abused inmates for labor, took a kickback from a contractor and threatened potential whistle-blowers. Humphreys is also accused of misusing a public cell phone and falsifying travel to leverage mileage reimbursement. A nice second look at an agency that promised cultural overhaul two years ago after a scandal involving sexual abuse of boys by a probation officer.
Lee van der VooArchdiocese adds 2,000 docs to public collection · 24 April 08
The Archdiocese of Portland released another 2,000 documents about abusive priests April 15, adding to its online archive of records related to the church’s abuse scandal. In a statement about the release, Most Reverend John Vlazny notes some documents are still being withheld as the Archdiocese continues bankruptcy proceedings. According to a Feb. 12 story in the Oregonian, the church and its abuse victims negotiated the release of records in mediation. A first look at the newly released documents shows the church’s archive is still no simpler to search than it was almost a year ago, when the first abuse-related records were posted online.
Lee van der VooCopyrighted laws? · 23 April 08
Here’s one from the world of the strange: Boing Boing, a blog about global oddity, is reporting that Oregon officials sent letters to web sites like Justia and Public.Resource.Org telling operators not to reproduce sections of Oregon’s laws online. The text of Oregon Revised Statutes, apparently, are copyrighted and not to be reproduced. See the exchange of letters for yourself.
Lee van der Voo