Highlights from the blog and news feed
May 27, 2016
Newsletter of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, a nonpartisan alliance of journalists, civic organizations and engaged citizens dedicated to ensuring the transparency of state and local governments in Colorado by promoting freedom of the press, open courts and open access to government records and meetings.
Should Colorado court documents be free on public library computers?
There’s only one location where a non-lawyer can view and request copies of all civil court documents from the Integrated Colorado Courts E-Filing System. Attorneys who subscribe to ICCES can look up civil court documents on their laptops, but you can’t. And even though many courthouses have public terminals, those only let you call up civil filings from that particular district.
Open-government wins and losses in the 2016 Colorado legislative session
On matters affecting public information, the General Assembly did little during this year’s session to improve access. The most significant legislative win for government transparency doesn’t actually affect governments.
Senate committee kills measure to open records on wage-law violations
With no discussion, a Senate committee killed legislation that would have allowed the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment to disclose whether a company has cheated its workers.
At least 114 deleted emails between Basalt town clerk and mayoral candidate
From Aspen Public Radio: The Town of Basalt has released key information in a recent lawsuit and open records request. After weeks of legal wrangling over deleted text messages, Basalt’s town attorney has revealed details for 114 messages sent between Town Clerk Pam Schilling and then-mayoral candidate Jacque Whitsitt.
From The Denver Post: A first-term Denver City Council member was the driving force behind a new rule that soon will open the floor to the public once a month to talk about any city-related topic.
El Paso sheriff won't release IA report on investigator who used slur to describe Obama
From The Gazette (Colorado Springs): The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office denied a request by The Gazette for a copy of an internal affairs investigation report that documented an investigator’s admission that he used the N-word to describe President Obama.
Police using criminal database to look up ex-lovers, kids
From 9NEWS (Denver): With just a few keystrokes any police officer can get information that members of the public cannot: criminal records, driving records, phone numbers, addresses and more. It’s an important tool for solving crimes. But what about when officers use the database for personal reasons?
City of Loveland launches 'financial transparency tool'
From the Reporter-Herald (Loveland): City of Loveland officials launched a financial tool accessible to residents on the city’s website. Residents will be able to access six years’ worth of budget data as well as check and credit card transactions in a searchable database from the past three years in the OpenGov online portal, which officials call a “financial transparency tool.”
Colorado theater massacre victims demand to know whereabouts of shooter
From Associated Press (via Fox News): Several victims of the Colorado theater shooting have filed complaints alleging the state corrections department violated their rights by refusing to reveal where the gunman is serving his life sentence, prosecutors said.
From The Colorado Springs Business Journal: “What am I supposed to do now?” Leslie Weise asked at a downtown coffeehouse. She was still fuming about the latest roadblock in her ongoing attempts to obtain information from Colorado Springs Utilities. In an earlier email, Weise had shared the bad news: She’d lost in court.
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