Calif. city considers DUI mug shots on Facebook

"Police in a city ranked top in the state for alcohol-related traffic fatalities might soon be trying a new tactic to keep drunken drivers off the road: Electronic shaming on Facebook.

In a contentious move that has raised the hackles of privacy advocates and been met with resistance from a police department fearful of alienating residents, a councilman in Huntington Beach wants police to begin posting the mug shots of everyone who is arrested more than once for driving while under the influence."

Read more
Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Cellphones give feds insight into criminal activity

"When FBI agents wanted to reconstruct the movements of a rogue New York City cop who staged a $1 million perfume heist in Carlstadt last February, they turned to cellphone records to trace his steps.

Using a computer mapping program and "call detail" logs obtained from Sprint Nextel, agents plotted the locations of 42 cell sites in Bergen and Hudson counties and New York to track Kelvin L. Jones' movements as the armed robbery plot unfolded. Jones was convicted last month."

Read more
Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: Watchdog group settles lawsuit with Orleans assessor over public records

"The Bureau of Governmental Research has settled a lawsuit filed in December against the Orleans Parish Board of Assessors for what the group called a failure to turn over property tax records at a reasonable price.

In a statement Tuesday, BGR said it settled with assessor Erroll Williams, agreeing to pay $1,343 for the property tax roll information it had requested – far less than the $4,525 price the assessor’s office had most recently levied. The assessor also agreed to pay BGR’s court costs, the group said."

Read more
Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: 28 states virtually ignore mental health gun database

"Over the weekend, Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) issued a press release pointing out that 28 states have submitting less than 100 mental health records to the background check database for gun sales--a major flaw in the existing system that allowed Jared Loughner to slip through the cracks and buy two guns he should not have been able to purchase. What's more, 21 states have submitted less than 10 such records, including 10 that have submitted none at all."

Read more
Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Court: Names of Officers in Shootings Are Public http://ping.fm/5JzCL

Supreme Court Permits Background Checks of NASA Government Contractors http://ping.fm/cVjqR

If You Got a New Smartphone Over The Holidays, Here Are Some Security Issues to Think About http://ping.fm/Yb1YL

New Jersey court ruling makes public university law clinics subject to open records requests http://ping.fm/UF0bK

Private Investigator News: Oregon Public records law amendments proposed in new legislation

"A bill that would impose time limits for public bodies to respond to public records requests and limiting fees they may charge for the records has been introduced into the 2011 Legislature at the request of Attorney General John Kroger. Senate Bill 41 would require a public body to respond to a record request and state the amount of any fees within “10 working days” after receipt of the request."

Read more
Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Houston ISD, others to push legislature for upfront payments for public records

"Want public records from your local school system? You might want to be ready to fork over the cash before you get the records.

Houston’s public school system will be among the Texas governments asking legislators to allow them to require people to pay up front for public records requests before the district makes the records public-- something not currently allowed by Texas’ open records law.

This isn’t the first time local government agencies in Texas have asked for such a change, an open government advocate said. "

Read more
Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: Connecticut Medical Malpractice Cases Missing From State Website

"Five years ago, Hartford obstetrician Peter J. Doelger faced a record $36 million malpractice verdict after a delayed Caesarean section left a baby with cerebral palsy, brain damage and blindness.

A year later, Norwich surgeon Gerald Fabry was hit with a $2 million verdict for failing to control bleeding in a patient known to have poor clotting capacity.

And Dr. Ian Cohen of Waterbury has lost or settled at least four malpractice suits in the last seven years.

But in public profiles maintained by the state Department of Public Health, all three doctors appear to have spotless malpractice records, as do scores of other physicians who have paid their patients for medical procedures gone awry."  
Read more
Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: Virginia bill would prevent names of public employees from release with their salaries

"A bill introduced by Sen. Stephen H. Martin, R-Chesterfield, would prevent the names of public employees and officials from being released with information about their salaries.

As proposed, Senate Bill 812 would amend Virginia Freedom of Information Act laws to exclude names from release with compensation information."

Read more
Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: Citizens, Federal Employees Support Open Data Plans -- Open Government -- InformationWeek

"A recent study shows broad support for the federal government's open data initiative from both citizens and federal employees, but agencies say they need better technology and more leadership support to fully realize their goals for data transparency.

The 2010 Open Data Benchmark Study from Socrata found that 68% of U.S. citizens and 93% of federal employees are behind the data transparency aspect of the Obama administration's Open Government Directive. Moreover, citizens 3-to-1 would support a candidate for public office who also backed the move to open data, according to the survey."

The 2010 Open Data Benchmark Study from Socrata found that 68% of U.S. citizens and 93% of federal employees are behind the data transparency aspect of the Obama administration's Open Government Directive. Moreover, citizens 3-to-1 would support a candidate for public office who also backed the move to open data, according to the survey."

Read more
Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: Seventh Circuit: Website operator does not have to obey injunction in defamation case

"Plaintiffs got an injunction that ordered defendants to remove defamatory content from the web that defendants had posted. When the defendants did not comply with the injunction, plaintiffs asked the court to enforce the injunction against Ripoffreport.com, the website on which some of the defamatory content appeared. The lower court refused to extend the injunction to cover Ripoffreport. Plaintiffs sought review with the Seventh Circuit. On appeal, the court affirmed the refusal to enforce the injunction." Read more
Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator

Private Investigator News: New Records Added to Updated FamilySearch Website

"The new-look FamilySearch website now has some new records to match. Nearly three million new digital images were posted this week, helping family historians researching their ancestors in Canada, Spain, Venezuela, and the United States. The U.S. Social Security Death Index is also a new addition to the site, with over 80 million indexed records. You can search all of these records and more at FamilySearch.org."

Read more
Location Oakland, Ca | San Francisco, Ca | California - Private Investigator