"When information which properly belongs to the public is systematically withheld by those in power, the people soon become ignorant of their own affairs, distrustful of those who manage them, and -- eventually-- incapable of determining their own destinies."

-- Richard Nixon, 1972, presidential proclamation to strengthen the Freedom of Information Act

As you might expect, prisons are kind of particular about who they let enter. (Or let exit, for that matter.)

So there was not much recourse last year when the Arizona Department of Corrections said I could not attend the parole hearing for Adam Swapp. Swapp is remembered for the bombing of an LDS stake center in Kamas followed by a standoff during which officer Fred House was killed. Swapp has been incarcerated in Arizona so not to create a conflict for Utah law enforcement.

And that means Arizona makes the rules for Swapp, as it does for all its prisoners. I begged, pleaded and complained to attend the parole hearing, but Arizona claimed no reporters — ever — are allowed into its prisons.

So imagine my surprise Tuesday night when I was watching the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer —my favorite nightly newscast — and saw a segment on Arizona prisons. NewsHour camera crews were allowed into the prisons and even spoke with inmates. (I saw no sign of Swapp, who was denied parole and remains in Arizona.)

Maybe the wardens down south saw the light and have made a policy change in the last year. Or maybe, since the NewsHour segment was pretty good P.R. for the prison program in Arizona, the jailers found it in their hearts to make an exception. Below is an e-mail I sent asking what is up. I'll post any response I receive.

In case you're wondering, the Utah Department of Corrections, while not putting a turnstile at the front door of its prisons, allows for journalists and cameras to enter its facilities with some regulations.

-- nc

From: "Nate Carlisle"
Date: July 22, 2008 6:50:36 PM MDT
To: media@azcorrections.gov
Subject: NewHour in prison

Arizona Corrections, I'm watching the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer -- my favorite TV news program. I see it was allowed entry into AZ Corrections facilities. Yet I remember distinctly being denied access last year when a Utah inmate in your custody was up for a parole hearing.

Has there been a policy change? Can you please explain the discrepancy? Thank you.

Sincerely,
Nate Carlisle
Reporter
The Salt Lake Tribune

Labels: secrecy

A subpoena from the Davis County Attorney's office, made public today by KSL, is demanding the station turn over "edited and unedited versions of interviews with Mark Walker, Richard Ellis and Greg Curtis."

Davis County and Weber County prosecutors are handling an investigation into an allegation that Walker, a former state legislator, promised Ellis a job and a big pay increase if he would drop out of the state treasurer's race.

The interviews were conducted on June 23 on the Doug Wright radio program and on July 10 by TV reporter Richard Piatt.

We at The Vault will be closely watching the case, as a government request for TV and radio out-takes is generally considered akin to asking for a print reporter's notes.

-- mdl

Labels: Candidates, Crime, KSL, secrecy

Salt Lake County's premier cultural-arts venues may be missing west-siders on their governing boards, but - with a few exceptions - they aren't missing the transparency that comes with receiving public funds.

The Salt Lake Tribune urged nine of the valley's largest arts and entertainment venues this summer to provide the names and home ZIP codes of all of its board members as part of an investigation into the geographic diversity of their leadership.

Hale Centre Theatre got an A+ for transparency, turning over the requested information - plus some - in less than 24 hours with the disclaimer that it gladly would provide more data if needed.

The Utah Symphony/Utah Opera, on the other hand, flunked. The organization's PR guru directed the Tribune to a Web site containing a board roster. But symphony/opera officials repeatedly refused to provide information about their board members' hometowns or even contact numbers so the paper could request the ZIP code from individual members.

But the symphony/opera's secrecy was uncommon among the valley's cultural-arts attractions. Pioneer Theatre, Discovery Gateway and Hogle Zoo all compiled the information within a day or two.

Salt Lake County government was more resistant. Officials provided a board roster for the county-owned Wheeler Farm, Equestrian Center, Center for the Arts and Clark Planetarium, but refused to provide any personal information about those volunteers (including ZIP codes or contact numbers).

The county complied only after the paper appealed directory to County Mayor Peter Corroon, who - with a nod from the District Attorney's Office - directed his staff to release the information.

The Tribune released its analysis of that data Monday, showing that the valley's arts and entertainment community is led overwhelmingly by Salt Lake County's east-siders.

- js

Any half-ass reporter can tell you what the major-party presidential candidates say about a topic. Let's get to the other guys.

Here's what Chuck Baldwin, the Constitution Party candidate for president, says about the Freedom of Information Act.

From: mary@baldwin2008.com
Subject: Chuck Baldwin on FOIA
Date: July 14, 2008 4:53:30 PM MDT
To: ncarlisle@sltrib.com

Nate,

Chuck Baldwin strongly believes government should be transparent and devoid of secrecy, except in matters concerning bona fide national security issues. Never having filed a FOIA request, Baldwin maintains Americans who do seek information from government records and departments have the right to expect information in a reasonable amount of time.

Baldwin believes that excessive secrecy is not beneficial for the country and it encourages deceit. Chuck Baldwin would work to make the FOIA less cumbersome, with elected officials and governmental agencies acknowledging that they operate as employees of the American people and have no overiding right to hide matters relating to the operation of their governmental offices.

With estimates showing that upwards of 400,000* new secrets are created each year just at the TOP SECRET level, and estimates that the government has billions of pages of classified material, Baldwin espouses accountability that can only be achieved when government knows it cannot hide behind “classified” documents.

If you'd like any further clarification, let me know.

Sincerely,
Mary Starrett

Baldwin 2008

* This footnote is mine. That figure originated with a report from the Information Security Oversight Office for the year 1995.

Meanwhile, I'm still waiting for the McCain and Obama campaigns to reply to my requests to give or clarify their positions on FOIA.

--nc

Labels: Candidates, FOIA

In March of 2005, I wrote the Defense Department seeking records related to policies for preventing and investigating suicides among military personnel.

The DoD responded that it didn't keep such records, but that individual service branches might. It sent my request on to the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines.

About six months later, I received a small stack of documents responsive to my request from the Army.

A year later, I received some records from the Air Force.

I never heard back from any of the other services.

Today, I got a letter from the Pentagon, letting me know that the file related to my request was being closed.

Apparently, the Navy and Marines don't have any policies for the prevention and investigation of suicides.

--mdl

Labels: DOD

Monday was rough for public disclosure in Utah.

First, a judge excluded reporters from a court hearing discussing a buyout involving Usana Health Sciences Inc. (Maybe there's something in the water at Utah courthouses.)

Then we heard about a lawsuit filed by the city of Murray. The city does not want to disclose the names of disciplined police officer, even though there is a state statute specifically saying it must.

63G-2-301. Records that must be disclosed...
...(o) records that would disclose information relating to formal charges or disciplinary actions against a past or present governmental entity employee if:
(i) the disciplinary action has been completed and all time periods for administrative appeal have expired; and
...(ii) the charges on which the disciplinary action was based were sustained;

This strategy sure worked great for Sandy.

-- nc

Labels: GRAMA, Sandy, secrecy