NEFAC logo 11-11The NEFAC Report
New England's monthly right-to-know dispatch
Prepared by the New England First Amendment Coalition in partnership with Northeastern University                                  June 2012
   The monthly NEFAC Report monitors coverage of public access issues in the six-state region.  Visit our Website  for the NEFAC blog, media updates from around New England, guides to the states' right-to-know laws, legal contacts and more.
State ACLUs challenge FBI on racial mapping disclosure
   PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Rhode Island and Maine affiliates of the American Civil Liberties Union are appealing what they say is the FBI's "refusal to release virtually any information that might indicate to what extent a federal program that allows for ethnic and racial mapping of local communities" might be leading to racial profiling in those states.  
    A statement from the groups Thursday said the appeal stems from the FBI's response to a Freedom of Information Act request filed nearly two years ago that produced "mostly blank pages, including a censored census map of New England."
   RI ACLU executive director Steven Brown said, "It is essential to learn how, and to what extent, the FBI has been using this troubling authority here in Rhode Island."
    

- Karen Lee Ziner, Providence Journal    

6/14/12  

Sanders wants labeling of all genetically engineered foods
   Senator Bernie Sanders is urging his colleagues to allow individual states to require the labeling of all genetically engineered foods. Sanders' proposal is one of more than 80 amendments to the new Farm Bill.
The Vermont Legislature considered a labeling bill this past session but Democratic leaders decided not to bring it up because of concerns that the major chemical companies would sue the state.
   Speaking on the Senate floor, Sanders said his amendment makes it clear that states do have the authority to address this issue if they choose to:
   "Amendment number 2310 is about allowing states to honor the wishes of their residents and allowing consumers to know what they are eating," said Sanders. "If this is not a conservative amendment I don't know what is. Americans deserve the right to know what they and their children are eating and that is what this amendment is all about."   Read more

- Bob Kinzel, Vermont Public Radio    

6/14/12  

Gov. Chafee "evaluating" revamped RI open records law
   PROVIDENCE, R.I. - A major overhaul of the state's open-records law drew praise from open-government advocates and law-enforcement officials Wednesday as a significant step toward furthering government transparency. 
   But as the praise poured in, Governor Chafee was "evaluating" his options, according to his spokeswoman, and supporters were urging him to sign.
   The bill adopts a "balancing test" between the public's right to know and the right to privacy, a standard drawn directly from the federal Freedom of Information Act.  Read more 

- Karen Lee Ziner, Providence Journal     

6/13/12  

Hidden FOI exemption pulled from CT special session bill
    HARTFORD - The lesson is, you probably need to read every word of proposed legislation, just in case.
   The big surprise at the special session of the General Assembly Tuesday was a sentence that would have given companies looking for state grants a broad exemption from making public any records that could adversely affect their financial interest.
   "We were all caught by surprise and we're a little bit embarrassed," said state Sen. Toni Harp, D-New Haven, chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee and part of the Democratic leadership.
   Lawmakers Tuesday adopted two huge "implementer" bills - a 468-page bill tied to the $20.5 billion budget and a second 192-page general government bill.  Read more   

- Mary O'Leary, The Register Citizen, Torrington, Conn.    

6/13/12  

  Special session cluttered with "sneaky" bills, Hartford Courant     

  "Rats" hidden in bills' language, Ray Hackett, The Bulletin, Norwich, Conn.

    

Officials mum on why two cops were off the payroll
   WEARE, N.H. -  Two Weare police officers were on unpaid leave last month, according to town payroll records. One of the officers has since returned to work.
   Police Lt. James Carney was not listed on the town's payroll for two weeks in May, according to documents obtained by the Monitor through an open records request. Sgt. Joseph Kelley has not been listed in the town's payroll documents since May 11.
   Police Chief Gregory Begin said yesterday that he could neither confirm nor deny that Kelley and Carney were on leave. He said he cannot discuss personnel matters.  Read more

 

- Laura McCrystal, Concord (N.H.) Monitor   

6/13/12  

Fall River council wants names, salaries in budget proposal
   FALL RIVER, Mass -  With School Department officials scheduled to appear before the City Council in less than a week, councilors renewed their call for the School Department budget to include the names of employees.  
   The council voted unanimously in support of Councilor Raymond Mitchell's order that all budgets submitted to the council include names, positions and salaries. Because the municipal budget includes all that information, the order was essentially directed at the School Department.
  
   Mitchell said that because the request was submitted as an order the council will not be able to accept a School Department budget without that information.
  
   "I don't think the School Committee should send us a budget that doesn't have that information," Mitchell said.  Read more  

- Michael Cleveland, The Cabinet, Milford, N.H.   

6/13/12  

Selectmen will fight court's right-to-know ruling
   MARLBOROUGH, N.H. - The board of selectmen plans to fight accusations that it is in contempt of a January court order to cease right-to-know violations, Selectman John Northcott said Tuesday.
   "We feel the board is not guilty or in contempt," he said, "We're pretty confident we're not in contempt.     On Friday resident Loretta Simonds filed a petition in the Cheshire County Superior Court asking the court to find the board in contempt of a court order not to violate the right-to-know law, four months after judge Phillip P. Mangones found the board guilty of numerous violations and enjoined the board against making further violations.  Read more

- Meghan Pierce, New Hampshire Union Leader, Manchester, N.H.   

6/12/12  

Former town administrator wants to know why probe closed
   LYNDEBOROUGH, N.H. - Lee Mayhew has no intention of stopping his demands for what he believes is public information about why the attorney general's office launched and then closed without any charges, an investigation into town government.
   The former Milford town administrator this week filed three more Right to Know requests, including one seeking documents from the state AG's Office, looking for copies of correspondence with Lyndeborough officials, and for bills from a Concord attorney and the selectmen.

- Michael Cleveland, The Cabinet, Milford, N.H.   

6/7/12  

Judge unseals record of meeting on former school boss
   MANCHESTER, N,H. - A Superior Court judge has ruled that the public is entitled to minutes of a private Wilton-Lyndeborough Cooperative School District board meeting in which board members discussed an investigation into former Superintendent Trevor Ebel's use of a district-provided credit card.
   The New Hampshire Union Leader sued the school district under the state's Right-to-Know Law, seeking release of the minutes as well as an investigative report by lawyer Dean Eggert of Manchester, an independent investigator hired by the school board to look into the credit card use.
   The school board reviewed the investigative report in an April 24 non-public session and immediately sealed the report and minutes of the meeting for 50 years. The district maintained in court documents that releasing the minutes and report would violate Ebel's privacy rights or adversely affect his reputation. The district also argued that internal investigations must remain confidential to promote honest and candid witness responses and to ensure thorough investigation.  Read more
    

- Tim Buckland, New Hampshire Union Leader   

6/1/12  

Police use of plate readers raises privacy concerns in VT
  HARTFORD, Vt. -There's nothing new about police officers keeping a sharp eye out for vehicle license plates. But more and more of that looking is being done by cameras hooked up to computers in their cruisers.
   Police say the devices are just speeding up what they would be doing anyway. Some have privacy concerns about the new technology, but others, including the Hartford Police Department, say the benefits of  the devices outweigh those worries.
   The Upper Valley town of Hartford was one of the first communities to adopt the technology, about three years ago. As a light rain falls, Lieutenant Brad Vail points out two fist-sized black lenses mounted on the hood of a squad car parked outside the police department.
   "They're called antennas," Vail explains, "but they are actually cameras. They're infa-red, so they do work at night."   Read, listen to report 

- Vermont Public Radio   

5/31/12  

Coming in July: The NEFAC Report will have a new look and expanded content but the same message - people have the right to know what their elected and appointed officials are up to.
   The revamped Report will include the familiar monthly compilation of  stories from New England media on government's tendency to go opaque.
   But we'll include original reporting as well as the stories, experiences and commentaries you'd like to add to the conversation.  We look forward to hearing your voice.
   Something to say? Please share it with all of us. Contact Report editor Larry Laughlin ([email protected]).           
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