Wednesday, December 03, 2003

Incoming KY Gov. Fletcher Punishes Critical Press Kentucky Gov.-elect Ernie Fletcher (R) has singled out the Louisville Courier-Journal for retribution after two veteran journalists there wrote articles revealing conflict-of-interest in his transition team. Fletcher is requiring all C-J reporters, including the two who wrote the articles, Tom Loftus and Al Cross, to submit questions in writing -- a requirement imposed on no other Kentucky news outlets. Full Story. 2:01:27 PM

Groups Complain of EPA "Secret" Meetings with Industry Five environmental groups wrote EPA Dec. 2, 2003, accusing it of illegally meeting in secret with a regular group of 14 agro-chemical groups advising it to weaken Endangered Species Act protections. The groups demanded EPA stop the practice. They include Earthjustice, Defenders of Wildlife, NRDC, Center for Biological Diversity, and the WA Toxics Coalition. The groups say the practice violates the Federal Advisory Committees Act. They obtained documentation of the meetings through a FOIA request. Earthjustice 12/2/03 release, links to fact sheet and letter text. 9:22:55 AM

NY DEC Denies Cargill Trade-Secret Claim Administrative law judges for the NY Department of Environmental Conservation recommended in late November 2003 that the state deny a trade secret claim by Cargill Inc. Cargill had applied to DEC for a permit to expand an existing underground salt-mining operation near Ithaca, some of which would pass beneath Cayuga Lake. Activist William Hecht had filed a request under state FOI law for geological information the company had filed with DEC as part of its application. See "DEC Decides Against Cargill," by Jennie Daley, Ithaca Journal, Nov. 27, 2003 1:32:48 AM

Reporters Face Lengthy FOIA Delays; Some Requests Pending For Over a Decade. "When President Lyndon Johnson signed the Freedom of Information Act on July 4, 1966, the bill was supposed to create a new level of openness in government. But in 2003, many journalists who try to use the FOIA encounter roadblocks and bureaucratic red tape that often keeps their requests from being fulfilled for years, if at all." Story, by Seth Porges Editor & Publisher, Dec. 2, 2003. Read the entire report on which this story is based, Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied, a FOIA audit by the non-governmental National Security Archive, released Nov. 17, 2003. 12:53:53 AM

"Workshop Reveals Flaws in Peer Review Bulletin. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) held an all day workshop Nov. 18 that brought together regulators, academics, industry and public interest groups to discuss the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) draft bulletin on peer review. By the end of the day, presenters and participants had expressed various concerns about the impact of the bulletin as currently written and uncovered fundamental flaws with the policy." The Watcher, OMB Watch,  December 2, 2003. Full Story. See WatchDog of Nov. 19, 2003. 12:01:26 AM