Open records

With the explicit intention of keeping candidate applications out of the public eye, the University of Arkansas is using a private search firm in its hunt for a new chancellor.

The University of Arkansas Foundation Inc. will pay the search firm to look for a new head of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.  The foundation is funded with private money so the process won't be subject to the state's open records law. 

The Albany Times Union filed a lawsuit in New York state court Wednesday seeking the release of an electronic copy of the state's payroll tables. 

The Times Union received some of the information it requested through the state Freedom of Information Law, but was denied other parts.  The state has said the requested information cannot be separated from private information, such as individuals' Social Security numbers.

The city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa -- one of the worst-hit areas by this summer's massive floods -- is now refusing to make public the flood-damage information detailing the government subsidies homeowners should receive to repair their homes. The assistant city attorney says those records belong to the Federal Emergency Management Agency as apparent rationale for keeping the data from the public, despite the fact that the city itself mailed the homeowners their assessments.

A Michigan sheriff apparently took Freedom of Information Act denials to a new, unfriendly extreme when he charged a newspaper $10 for a two-paragraph letter refusing a records request.

A federal trial court judge in Washington, D.C. unsealed a previous ruling in a civil lawsuit against Exxon Mobil Oil Indonesia. In the suit, 11 Indonesian villagers allege that the oil giant continued to arm soldiers guarding their facilities even though it knew that the soldiers tortured and killed villagers in 2000.

A Tennessee judge ruled on Tuesday that a private prison company based there is subject to public records laws, according to The Associated Press.

The highest court in New Jersey on Tuesday upheld a 45-day appeal window for actions brought under the state’s open records law. The court also found that the government must pay attorney's fees for such lawsuits if it turns over the documents voluntarily after a lawsuit is filed.

The attorney general of Rhode Island filed a lawsuit against the city of Cranston on Wednesday over alleged violations of the state's public records law, The Providence Journal reported. 

Patrick Lynch is suing on behalf of a local radio disc jockey who waited months for the city to produce records on long-distance phone calls and other matters, The Journal said. The disc jockey, John Bina, is currently running for a position on the city council.