FOI Focus: Fall 2013 Newsletter
FOIFT2013-11-14T18:38:41-06:00Find out what the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas has been up to in our quarterly newsletter FOI Focus.
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Annexation deal still under seal
FOIFT2013-11-13T16:42:30-06:00By Emma Perez-Treviño Valley Morning Star Originally published Nov. 12, 2013 HARLINGEN — The city is asking Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott if it must release a copy of its settlement agreement with annexation opponent Charles “Chuck” Lee. The city also wants Abbott to determine if it must release how much money it agreed to pay Lee to settle the five-year conflict over annexation of land on the city’s west side, whether the money will come from the city’s general fund or if it is covered by insurance. These questions are contained in a Nov. 8 letter from the city’s attorneys [...]
Are anonymous bloggers protected by First Amendment?
FOIFT2013-11-11T17:21:25-06:00By Jordan Smith The Austin Chronicle Originally published Nov. 7, 2013 Who is the anonymous blogger known as the "Trooper?" More importantly, does anyone – including Bob Brockman – have a right to know? Those are among the questions now before the Texas Supreme Court after oral arguments this morning in a case where Brockman and the company he heads, Reynolds & Reynolds, seeks to compel Google to divulge the identity of Trooper, who Brockman argues has been defaming him and his company for years. To hear lawyers for the blogger tell it, Brockman's demand to have Google spill the details [...]
Records show confidential settlement agreements
FOIFT2014-01-14T02:51:27-06:00By Scott Noll KHOU 11 News I-Team Originally published Nov. 6, 2013 EAST ALDINE AREA, Texas – Weeks after the KHOU 11 News I-Team investigation into possible misuse of tax dollars at a local fire department, we’re learning the amount in question could top $200,000. Through the Texas Public Information Act, the 11 News I-Team obtained confidential settlement agreements between the Westfield Volunteer Fire Department and three former department administrators. In the agreements, the former chief and two of her assistants agree to repay the department a total of $210,000. According to the settlements, former Westfield Deputy Fire Chief Tony Searcy [...]
Lawmaker eyes access to UT regents’ computers
FOIFT2013-11-05T15:46:41-06:00By Reeve Hamilton The Texas Tribune Originally published Nov. 4, 2013 State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer believes that the investigation into whether a University of Texas System regent should be impeached could require a look at UT regents' personal computers, iPads and smartphones. In an Oct. 31 letter to Rusty Hardin, special counsel to the House Select Committee on Transparency in State Agency Operations, Martinez Fischer — a committee member — submitted a request for an upcoming hearing to include a witness who could discuss the prospects for forensic examination of the personal devices of Wallace Hall and his fellow UT regents. Calls [...]