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Common Sense Dictates Printed Public Notices

publicnoticeresourcecenter — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:54:56 +0000

As chairman of the Senate Committee on Community Affairs, I have the job of moving multiple areas of legislation dealing with issues that affect our communities. Among those issues this year is legislation that addresses newspaper advertisements and notices and how such notices are to be made public and the frequency in which they must appear.

Specifically, should public notices no longer be required to be posted on the traditional printed page? Further, should public notices now only appear on the Internet? And who should control the dissemination and archiving of those notices — government or the private sector?

www.sunnewspapers.net/articles

Florida Senate Committee Kills Anti-Notice Bill

publicnoticeresourcecenter — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:58:34 +0000

The Senate Community Affairs Committee on March 31 declined to move a bill by State Sen. Ronda Storms to allow local governments to replace the printed notice with an Internet notice and direct mail citizens who signed up to receive notices. According to the Tampa Tribune, Storms said she had no idea how much the shift in practice would cost but noted that cities and counties “loved it.” But a strong coalition that included newspapers and community groups argued that shifting notices to obscure government websites would bar access for many citizens and defeat the purposes of public notice. Interestingly, Storms seems to have joined a string of state legislators lately who have been trying to advance anti-notice bills simply because they do not like newspapers.

Some coverage of the bill action:

Tampa Tribune

Miami Herald

Well Done! Arizona Editorial Editor Explains On the Air Why Newspaper Public Notice Is Important

publicnoticeresourcecenter — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 16:13:51 +0000

Le Templar, editorial page editor of East Valley Tribune in Arizona, explained to Brooke Gladstone, host of On the Media, on New York Public Radio, why newspaper public notice is the right way to go.

Find the interview at: On the Media

Pew: 20% will not go online

publicnoticeresourcecenter — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 16:11:28 +0000

The Pew Internet and American Life project today released its latest study of broadband Internet penetration. Noting the Obama administration’s interest in increasing broadband in the approximately 25% of the nation that lacks it, Pew finds that even if it were cheaper and more accessible, a lot of people will still be on the sidelines. Particularly among the elderly and low income Americans, it is simply too much trouble.

Pew’s finding:

“One-in-five Americans currently don’t have broadband for reasons that won’t be addressed by price cuts or a fiber node in the neighborhood.”

The Pew Report

They May Be Official Records But First You Have to Find Them

publicnoticeresourcecenter — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 16:10:35 +0000

Ars Technica website adds its own insights into an earlier New York Times report that the National Archives and Records Administration may have a hard time carrying out its duty to archive the many records of the Bush Administration. The sheer volume of messages and other documents, the ongoing insistence of Vice President Cheney that he is sole arbitor of what can be in the public history and what cannot and (we add this as an editorial note) the way-understaffed workforce at NARA all add to the long lead time before the public can really get to Bush 43’s records. But there is another wrinkle: even the index may be inscrutible. The problem is that it is kept in an older document storage software running on Oracle. And photos are in a proprietary program. Perhaps NARA, with its awesome expertise, will eventually break through–but in what time period and at what cost?

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20081230-national-archives-struggling-to-absorb-bush-data-glut.html

The takeaway: electronic media are not yet up to the task of keeping official records intact and accessible. So far: it’s still all about paper.

The Notices Aren’t Being Noticed on the Web, Kashkari Says

publicnoticeresourcecenter — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:09:30 +0000

Excerpt from the transcript of testimony of Neel Kashkari, Interim Assistant Secretary of Treasury for Financial Stability and Assistant Secretary of Treasury for International Affairs

Before the House Financial Services Committee

Wednesday, Dec 10, 2008

Mr. KASHKARI: Well, thank you, Congressman. It’s something I am personally very focused on. I do a lot of –I give a lot of updates to the country in the form of speeches and hearings such as this so that people can see in granular detail what we’re doing.

But let me also comment on reporting. The legislation calls for many levels of reporting—a tranche report—excuse me, transaction reports within two days of every investment; tranche reports every time we obligate $50 billion; a report to Congress within the first 60 days of our first commitment and then monthly thereafter.

We’ve met every single one of our reporting requirements—every single one—on time. All of this information—there is a wealth of information on the Treasury Web site and I’m having a heck of a time getting people to go there and look at it.

People say we don’t have the data and I say, well, have you looked at the Treasury Web site? It’s all there. And they say, no, I hadn’t looked there. And so we need help getting the message out, because we are putting so much data out there, I’m afraid we’re overloading people with too much information and too much data.

Members of the Public May Not Wish Their Public Notice Reading Tracked by Websites

publicnoticeresourcecenter — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 16:08:26 +0000

Printed newspaper notices have many advantages. One is that reader behavior is private. The Internet, increasingly, is tracking users’ reading paths.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/nyregion/10about.html?_r=1&ref=technology

Towns Shut Web Sites Over Legal Concerns

publicnoticeresourcecenter — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:07:34 +0000

If residents here want to know what time town offices close, or want to find out when the planning and zoning commission meets, they will have to do it the old fashioned way, by scaring up a phone book and calling Town Hall, or going in person to find out. The town’s official Web site, harwinton.us, has been shut down since early October, and town officials say they do not know when it will be up and running again.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/nyregion/connecticut/07websitesct.html?_r=1&ref=connecticut

Idaho Supreme Court Rules for Local Business Paper

publicnoticeresourcecenter — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:06:22 +0000

The Idaho Supreme Court handed a victory to the Idaho Business Review in its battle with the Boise-based Idaho Statesman in the placement of private party legal notices. The Court struck down a portion of the public notice statute passed by the legislature in 2004 that steered notices to the largest circulation newspaper. Because of flaws in legislative drafting, the Court found that the new law did not apply to private party notices, such as foreclosure notices placed by attorneys.

The opinion is found at http://www.isc.idaho.gov/opinions/ibr34343.pdf

Madison, WI Website Downed

publicnoticeresourcecenter — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:05:22 +0000

One of the biggest risks to notice is the naive belief that posting them on websites will protect accountability. But the Internet remains an unstable medium in many ways, not yet ready to carry out the role as “publisher” of record.

Note, for example, the collapse of the City of Madison’s website after a hacker attack in August.

http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/300985