By NEFAC Staff Let’s resolve to keep our right- to-know mission going strong in 2014. It is not too late to show your determination by making a tax deductible donation on NEFAC’s website. Here’s an overview of our activities for 2014. Make your first calendar entry at Jan. 8, the deadline for applications and nominations for […]
Below are tweets leading up to, during and immediately following the New England First Amendment Coalition’s 2014 Annual Luncheon, featuring James Risen of The New York Times.
Dan Barrett is the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut’s legal director. His interests in the law include anonymous speech, freedom of movement, mass surveillance, and maximizing democratic control of government through open courts and open records. Prior to coming to the ACLU of Connecticut, Dan directed the litigation at the ACLU of Vermont for seven […]
By Michael Donoghue BURLINGTON, Vt – The U.S. Marshals Service says the privacy rights of a man who pleaded guilty to the 2008 kidnap, rape and murder of his 12-year-old niece far outweigh the rights of taxpayers to see the man they will pay to keep behind bars for the rest of his life. It is a head scratcher. […]
An archive of all tweets during the 2013 New England First Amendment Institute.
PRESS RELEASE CONTACT Rose Cavanagh | 401.331.7209 | rosecavanagh.nefac@gmail.com PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Journalists from a variety of media and all six New England states will gather in Dedham, Mass., Sept. 29 to Oct. 1 to learn the latest investigative and database reporting techniques and public records access skills. The fellows chosen for this, the New England […]
By Rob Mitchell MOUNT HOLLY, Vt. — An ongoing fracas over plans for a new town garage in Mount Holly, a town of 1,237 between Killington and Okemo mountains in Vermont, illustrates the challenge to the public process inherent with the attitude and relationships of small New England towns. When the town needed a new fire station […]
By Alex Friedmann BRATTLEBORO, Vt. — Increasingly, government agencies are contracting out their public duties, from garbage collection to courthouse security. One area of privatization that has raised significant concerns is the operation of prisons, as this involves an essential governmental public safety function that deprives people of a fundamental right: their freedom. Prison Legal […]
By Anne Galloway MONTPELIER, Vt. – The press corps and the Vermont chapter of the ACLU scored a major victory in the Vermont Legislature last week. Lawmakers approved a change in the public records law that gives citizens access to records associated with police investigations of criminal activity. Gov. Peter Shumlin supported opening police records to public […]
By Judith Meyer On April 3, Maine’s Judiciary Committee voted 10-3 to create a new public access exception to shield personal identifying information of state-issued concealed carry permits, yielding to the overwhelming testimony of the gun lobby and gun owners to protect their privacy. This, after the full legislature passed an “emergency” 60-day shield in February to allow time for tempers […]