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Lawrence Journal World House approves revisions in open records law The Associated Press Sunday, May 2, 2004 Topeka — Legislation strengthening the Kansas Open Records Act and allowing attorneys' fees in some cases where government agencies denied records in bad faith won unanimous House approval on Saturday. http://www.ljworld.com/section/stateregional/story/169050 Baton Rouge Advocate Open records vital to public Given all the hand wringing about how Louisiana can lure new industry and hang on to existing businesses, one would think the answer is elusive. It's not. But neither is it easy. Our leaders and business community know what needs to be done: clean up our reputation, revise our tax structure, educate all our children and train our work force. http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/050204/opi_edi001.shtml ( Rocky Mtn News Jeffco imposes fee for records retrieval By Charley Able, Rocky Mountain News May 5, 2004 GOLDEN - Jefferson County residents will start paying a research and retrieval fee for some public information they request. County commissioners approved the fee Tuesday as part of a policy adopted over the protests of a handful of residents and a dissenting commissioner. http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_2861713,00.html Cedar Springs may raise cost of being an informed citizen Wednesday, May 05, 2004 By Matt Vandebunte The Grand Rapids Press CEDAR SPRINGS -- Cedar Springs officials want to double the cost for copies of city documents, and a council member who says her colleagues are too secretive is upset about it. http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-14/1083768709112080.xml The Herald Tribune N.C. appeals court: Records public even when part of probe The Associated Press ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- The State Bureau of Investigation cannot withhold public records just because they are part of a probe, the state Court of Appeals Court said. The Asheville Citizen-Times and WLOS-TV sued to force the agency to release records that are part of its investigation into a May 2002 fire that killed eight inmates at the Mitchell County jail. http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040505/APN/405050575 Akron Beacon Journal Posted on Wed, May. 05, 2004 State utility watchdog adopts policy to keep records longer Associated Press COLUMBUS, Ohio - The state's utility watchdog announced Wednesday that records will be stored permanently as computer files, a policy change brought on by criticism of document destruction that caused the agency's former leader to resign. Ohio Consumers' Counsel Janine Migden-Ostrander, who took over the agency last month, also said her office would tolerate no gifts or free meals for employees from utilities. The consumers' counsel represents residential customers in utility rate cases before state regulators. http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/state/8595026.htm?1c [ Galveston Daily News City ordered to refund open record charges By Ted Streuli The Daily News Published May 05, 2004 KEMAH — Bernard McIntyre got a $188.90 refund in April after the Texas Building and Procurement Commission found that the city violated the Public Information Act. McIntyre, a Water Control and Improvement District No. 12 director, requested copies of public documents March 1. He received a letter dated March 12 that said his copies were ready and that the charge was $228.90. http://www.galvnews.com/story.lasso?wcd=20205 ( Breach Of Trust Data breaches are a constant threat and put companies in danger of losing their most valuable asset: customer trust By George V. Hulme, InformationWeek May 3, 2004 When Christina Guilbert got a call from her bank in March about an attempt to steal money from her account, she was alarmed--and suspicious. How could someone access her account from an automated teller machine in England when her ATM card was in heer home in Boston? Was the caller really a bank representative or a thief fabricating a story in an attempt to get account information from her? "With all of the scams on the Internet, I knew they could try the same thing using the phone," Guilbert says. URL: http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=19400012 The Privacy Lawyer: Actions Must Follow Privacy Mea Culpas April 26, 2004 This isn't a problem just for airlines. Audit your data disclosures. By Parry Aftab First JetBlue Airways, then Northwest Airlines, and now American Airlines. Each has admitted sharing passenger information with government agencies or companies associated with agencies. Passenger-name records typically include itinerary, name, address, phone number, and credit information. They also may include E-mail addresses and flight preferences (such as kosher meals). Much of this is sensitive to consumers and subject to strict laws overseas. Now all three airlines face class-action lawsuits and potential federal sanctions for releasing the information without passengers' consent or legal process. http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=19200120 ( SmartAdvice: Private Is As Private Does Keep customer's data privacy at the forefront of your company's compliance efforts, The Advisory Council says. Also, implement P3P on your Web site, and create and enforce human-resource policies that reflect your company's privacy policy. By The Advisory Council, InformationWeek April 26, 2004 URL: http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=18902893 USA Today Tower Records privacy misstep calls for FTC "tough love" by Eric J. Sinrod There's no question that it's burdensome and costly for companies to safeguard personally identifiable information of customers. However, in addition to other good reasons to protect private data, the truth that failures in this area can be far more burdensome and costly than getting it right in the first place. Tower Records recently learned that lesson when it agreed to enter into a consent order with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/ericjsinrod/2004-05-05-sinrod_x.htm Baseline April 4, 2004 Half-Speed By David F. Carr To Marine Corps Sgt. Marco Garcia, the Navy Marine Corps Intranet sounds like a great project, in theory. "They sold me on it," he says, when he attended training in December on the new network. "The transition itself, though, seems to be a problem." Turns out, that assessment is an understatement. The project being deployed under the management of Electronic Data Systems (EDS) has been a headache for all involved. Navy planners originally thought they would hire an outsourcer in 2000 and have an upgraded and secure network in 2001. Now the conversion of nearly 350,000 computer "seats" has slipped to at least 2005. http://www.baselinemag.com/print_article/0,1406,a=123704,00.asp Banks Prepare For Image Capture May 3, 2004 Bank One and Wells Fargo among financial institutions getting ready to exchange check images instead of paper By Steven Marlin Bank One Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. are among a vanguard group of banks equipping automated teller machines and branch-teller stations with devices for capturing check images in preparation for exchanging them with other banks. http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=19205515 ( In Search Of Lost Soldiers May 3, 2004 The U.S. military has installed an information-management system to track and catalog documents used to determine the fate of those missing in action By Rick Whiting Researchers trying to discover the fate of thousands of U.S. soldiers, sailors, and airmen missing in action in the past 60 years or so are using a new information-management system to keep better track of documents used in their investigations. http://www.informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=19205574 Peter A. Kurilecz CRM, CA Richmond, Va [log in to unmask]