Alaska transparency headlines
From Sunshine Review
This article is a list of transparency related news from Alaska.
Attorney general tightens grip on records
October 26, 2008: Alaska Attorney General Talis Colberg is clamping down on how the state shares information with the public.
He's ordered state commissioners to get the approval of his agency, the Department of Law, before answering public records requests.
In a Sept. 26 letter from Colberg to various state commissioners, which was obtained Friday by the Empire, Colberg wrote that the large number of requests necessitated his office's intervention to make sure that any of the governor's privileges to withhold documents weren't being mistakenly waved. Read the full article here.
Mine foes hit Alaska for withholding public papers
October 22, 2008: Sponsors of an unsuccessful ballot measure that targeted toxic mine pollution are suing to force Alaska officials to release government records that might answer questions about Gov. Sarah Palin's efforts to nix it.
The group Alaskans For Clean Water asked Alaska Superior Court in Anchorage on Tuesday to order immediate release of documents that the state says it can't fully produce until mid-November.
That extension wouldn't allow access to the records until after the Nov. 4 election. Palin is Republican John McCain's vice presidential running mate. The lawsuit alleges illegal failure to meet required timetables, "for the purposes of delay." Read the full article here.
Want Palin's e-mails? That'll be $15 million
October 17, 2008: Sarah Palin's office has discovered a renewable resource to bring millions of dollars into Alaska's economy: the governor's e-mails.
The office of the Republican vice-presidential nominee has quoted prices as high as $15 million for copies of state e-mails requested by news organizations and citizens. Read the full article here.
Palin Administration ordered to preserve emails
Former UAF coach tries to block records release
August 2, 2008: Former University of Alaska Fairbanks hockey coach Doc DelCastillo has gone to court to block the university from releasing documents regarding his departure from the job.
The Daily News-Miner filed a public records request on April 14 for documents leading up to the coach’s resignation four days earlier. DelCastillo’s attorney, Jason Gazewood, filed a motion on Friday in Fairbanks Superior Court for a preliminary injunction to prohibit the release. Read the full article here.
Records policy changes proposed
July 23, 2008: Draconian measure or reasonable access? Depends on who you ask.
Should the city of Homer "provide full and free access of the public to municipal records and information?" Or, should it "provide prompt and reasonable public access to nonconfidential public records according to law?" Read the full article here.
Records request seeks insight, clarity
July 19, 2008: Seldom does a request for public records result in a quick release of public documents. Always, it seems, there is room for argument about what is and is not in the public’s best interest.
A records request of any substance usually goes straight to a publicly employed attorney. Newspapers then pay private attorneys to argue for what is in the public’s best interest. Ironic but true. Read the full column here.
May 29, 2008: Alaska opens checkbook
