Louisiana transparency headlines
From Sunshine Review
This article is a list of transparency related news from Louisiana.
Mandeville mayor charged city to attend French Quarter wedding
December 20, 2008: On June 19, 2004, Mandeville Mayor Eddie Price drove his white city-owned Ford Expedition across the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway to attend a wedding at the swanky Royal Sonesta Hotel in the French Quarter.
At the hotel, Price met two colleagues, Finance Director Milton Stiebing and then-Public Works Director Joe Mistich. Each man parked his car in the hotel garage for the night at a cost of $32 per vehicle.
In addition to eating and drinking at the wedding, the trio racked up a $228 bill at the hotel bar and nearly $400 on three rooms at the Sonesta.
Price charged the $746 total to his city credit card, telling the finance department that the wedding was a "city function." The mayor has not reimbursed the city, although Stiebing has paid back his portion of the bill. Read the full article here.
Appeals court hears arguments in records case
December 11, 2008: An appeals court should “more narrowly specify’’ what information can be blacked out of internal affairs records from a probe into alleged Baton Rouge police misconduct after Hurricane Katrina, an attorney for The Advocate argued Wednesday.
A five-judge panel of the state 1st Circuit Court of Appeal ruled Oct. 10 that the records must be released to the public after some “protected’’ information is redacted. Read the full article here.
Top staffer leaves Nagin Administration
Inspector General returns $1.2 million of budget
Councilmember: $250K audit was unnecessary
Louisiana launches state spending website
Jindal Cabinet member broke ethics law before joining administration
NO Councilwoman says sanitation director lied about contract
Health-care groups file records requests
November 12, 2008: Kept in the dark about the Jindal administration’s health-care restructuring plan, physician and hospital groups have filed public records requests to get details.
The Louisiana chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Louisiana Hospital Association want copies of documents detailing the proposal the state health agency is discussing with federal officials. Read the full article here.
High court hears police records arguments
November 4, 2008: Attorneys for The Advocate late Monday asked the Louisiana Supreme Court to reject arguments that releasing files of a closed Baton Rouge police brutality probe would have a “negative effect” on internal investigations statewide, while resulting in expensive litigation for the city-parish.
Urging the high court to let stand a recent 1st Court of Appeal decision in the case, attorneys for The Advocate and reporter Kimberly Vetter, argued that the public has a right to know how the Baton Rouge Police Department polices itself. Read the full article here.
Ascension Parish commission changes public records rule
November 1, 2008: As it fights a lawsuit alleging its employees blocked public records requests, the Ascension Parish Tourism Commission on Friday altered its procedure to handle such requests.
In a special meeting, commissioners voted to name the chief administrative officer of the Ascension Parish government as the custodian of the commission’s public records. Read the full article here.
Leader's Suit of Shelling File will Benefit Public's Right of Access
October 31, 2008: A judge received an envelope and a folder that contained 298 pages of the professional life of Cassandra Shelling in court Tuesday. What he had to decide is whether any of the 298 pages of information is private or public.“
Cassandra Shelling's personnel record is the subject of a lawsuit between a reporter for the Newsstar and the Monroe City Schools.“ The outcome of the case is important because it will set the standard locally for all public bodies who must, by law, respond to public records requests within 72 hours, allowing the public to inspect files,documents, emails, journals, recordings, minutes, videos, reports and just about any other document generated or used by a public agency.“ Read the full article here.
La. 5th on watchdog group's open government list
October 27, 2008: A government watchdog group ranks Louisiana fifth in the nation when it comes to laws on government transparency and accountability, and the state's ranking stands to improve when new laws are figured into future rankings.
Released Monday by the Chicago-based Better Government Association, the rankings are based on state laws governing open records, open meetings, campaign finance, whistleblower protection and conflicts of interest. The rankings are based on 2007 and early 2008 laws. Read the full article here.
News Star lawsuit seeks documents, what's the board hiding?
October 24, 2008: The Monroe City School Board met this week to figure out what to do about a Freedom of Information request made by The News Star.
It spent 50 minutes discussing the matter, but it could save plenty of time and money if it simply obeyed the law and produced the documents the newspaper requested. Read the full article here.
Jindal - $1 billion budget gap in Louisiana
Attorney General backs contract transparency
News-Star sues School Board over documents
October 17, 2008: The News-Star filed suit Thursday in 4th Judicial District Court against the Monroe City School Board, alleging the board failed to comply with a request for public records.
The school board and its president, Vickie Dayton, were named in the suit for failing to produce documents relating to the employment of Cassandra Shelling, daughter of board vice president Brenda Shelling. Read the full article here.
High court considers making public records of Memorial Medical Center deaths during Katrina
October 13, 2008: Louisiana Supreme Court justices on Monday heard arguments about whether to release most of the investigative file compiled by former Attorney General Charles Foti as he probed the deaths at Memorial Medical Center after Hurricane Katrina. Read the full article here.
Court: Release records, BR police conduct during Katrina probed
October 11, 2008: A state appellate court ruled Friday that internal affairs records from a probe into claims of Baton Rouge police misconduct after Hurricane Katrina must be released to the public.
A five-judge panel of the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal found that the police officers under investigation had “no individual privacy interest’’ in the files, but said there is “a strong public interest’’ in their disclosure. Read the full article here.
New Orleans crime camera contract exposed
New Orleans voters make Inspector General permanent
Indicted Congressman wins primary, staffers subpoenaed
Panel won’t release Pastorek evaluation
September 27, 2008: Top state educators refused to release the latest job evaluation for state Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek, whose salary triggered controversy earlier this year.
State policy regarding the evaluations differs from those that educators said are common in East Baton Rouge Parish and elsewhere.
Those policies include the annual release of composite job-review scores for Superintendent Charlotte Placide and others. Read the full article here.
Road Home contractor receives $99 million raise
Gov. Jindal appoints seven to ethics board
New Orleans Police keeping National Guard records private
State audit reveals need for transparency
Lack of Transparency in city contracts
