Colorado Transparency News – Feb. 20, 2018

Colorado Transparency News – Feb. 20, 2018
 

Newsletter of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to helping Coloradans understand and use their rights of access to the records and proceedings of government and the judiciary.

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Colorado newspapers fight to keep publishing county public notices

Colorado’s newspaper industry is fighting proposed state legislation that would phase out the required publication of county public notices.

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State lawmakers advance bill to protect Denver Health records from ‘data miners’

Legislation that limits public access to the records of the Denver Health and Hospital Authority won the support of a committee of state lawmakers.

Read more.

 

Colorado ethics commission hears opposition to proposed public records rules

The Colorado Independent Ethics Commission put off making a decision on proposed records access rules after hearing opposition from news media associations, citizens and the Colorado Secretary of State’s office.

Read more.

 

DU study: Limited access to records leaves Coloradans ‘in the dark’ about police misconduct

New research makes a case for reforming Colorado’s criminal justice records statute to require the public release of files on completed internal affairs investigations concerning law enforcement officers accused of wrongdoing.

Read more.

Analysis shows troves of Colorado voters exposed to propaganda from Russian accounts

The Denver Post: Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election exposed hundreds of thousands of Colorado voters to misinformation and propaganda through media outlets and social networks, a new analysis of Twitter data shows.

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Loveland and Fort Collins police refuse release of officer conduct documents

Fort Collins Coloradoan: In its refusal of the Coloradoan’s open records request for information about the investigation and Chase’s status as an employee, Loveland police cited the officer’s privacy interests, the department’s desire to maintain confidentiality and its desire to protect witness statements.

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Colorado Springs has spent more than $100,000 pursuing and defending against whistleblower

The Gazette (Colorado Springs): Colorado Springs and its utility have spent more than $100,000 over the past three years jousting with Monument clean-air advocate Leslie Weise. Weise sued the city and Colorado Springs Utilities in 2015 to obtain an air-quality report on the coal-fired Martin Drake Power Plant. Utilities had paid AECOM to produce the report, which never has been made public.

Read more.

 

Opinion: CSU’s lack of transparency reaches the highest level, but it’s a simple fix

The Rocky Mountain Collegian (Fort Collins): Though CSU is not technically breaking Colorado sunshine law rules that govern public meetings, they are certainly making it difficult for journalists to do their jobs.

Read more.

 

Avon council told hotel development rezoning request is confidential; it isn’t

Vail Daily: A rezoning application for a large hotel development was presented to the council as being “confidential” in a memo from the town manager in January. The development is not confidential, Town Attorney Eric Heil confirmed in a memo to council released to the public.

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Editorial: Greeley-Evans school district committee should be subject to Sunshine Law

The Greeley Tribune: For what it’s worth, we think the state’s open meetings laws do apply to the oversight committee. We’d like to see the committee members hold themselves to the highest standards of transparency. Failing that, it will mean a group created expressly to improve public trust in government would hold its meetings in secret.

Read more.

 

Editorial: A forensic audit of Visit Estes Park is the only reasonable action

Estes Park Trail-Gazette: With a change in leadership a full audit of any public organization (particularly one with residual issues and a controversial past) should be expected as a matter of course. It is a necessary part of leadership transition and would also go a long way in restoring community trust.

Read more.

 

Colorado Supreme Court orders judge to justify sealing of records in death penalty case

The Colorado Independent: The state Supreme Court has granted The Colorado Independent’s emergency petition for help in our fight to unseal records about prosecutorial misconduct in a death penalty case.

Read more.

 

Editorial: Transparency a must for Denver’s new safety director

The Denver Post: Troy Riggs, Denver’s new director of public safety, is stepping into a tough position, made even dicier by the pending investigation headed his way into the conduct of both the chief and deputy chief of police.

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Should findings of Colorado lawmaker’s sexual harassment inquiry be made public?

The Denver Post: The Republican leader tasked with determining whether to punish a state senator for alleged sexual harassment is facing tough questions about whether the outcome of the investigation will be made public.

Read more.

 

Editorial: Senate Bill 14, addressing hidden Colorado prisoners, is just a start, not a solution

The Aurora Sentinel: While Senate Bill 14 would bring an improvement over Colorado’s bizarre and dangerous hide-and-seek game state prison officials played last year with mass-murder James Holmes, the proposed changes aren’t nearly good enough.

Read more.

 

Coloradans may never know consequences after sexual harassment investigations at Capitol

KUNC (Greeley): State Senate leaders are in a position to decide whether to impose some kind of punishment against Sen. Randy Baumgardner. The Hot Sulphur Springs Republican is facing a formal complaint of sexual harassment — a complaint a key source tells us has been validated. But it is not clear who will make the decision or if legislative leaders will ever make the findings public. That’s because of Capitol rules that keep the process secret. 

Read more.

 

Critics say open records investigation into Denver’s top two police officers isn’t independent

FOX31 (Denver): More than eight months after an investigation was launched into the transparency of Denver’s top two police officers, there’s still no word on when the director of public safety will issue her findings.

Read more.

 

Indy takes fight over DA’s office misconduct files to Colorado Supreme Court

The Colorado Independent: The Colorado Independent has turned to the state Supreme Court for help in our fight to unseal records about prosecutorial misconduct in a death penalty case.

Read more.

 

Colorado Springs City Council action in executive session raises legal questions

The Gazette (Colorado Springs): In an apparent violation of the state’s open meeting laws, the Colorado Springs City Council directed the city attorney to pursue professional sanctions against a Monument clean-air advocate during an executive session, one councilman says.

Read more.

 

Editorial: Colorado Ethics Commission should follow state’s time-tested open records law

The Greeley Tribune: We think the Colorado Ethics Commission should follow the Colorado Open Records Act. This might seem like a straightforward statement for a body created to foster public trust in government, but apparently not everyone sees it that way.

Read more.

 
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Having your FOI request denied may leave no other option than pursuing legal action against the rejecting public agency or official. The National Freedom of Information Coalition offers financial support to litigate open government lawsuits through the Knight FOI Litigation Fund. Backed by a generous grant from the Knight Foundation, the fund helps to defray upfront costs such as filing fees, depositions, court costs and other expenses associated with legal actions. Applications may be submitted through CFOIC or directly to NFOIC.

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