New FOI Advocate Online...

Hello, FOI warriors!

We have a new ADVOCATE ready for you at

http://nfoic.org/advocate/advocate_071707.html

And don’t forget the NFOIC’s blog, at:

http://foiadvocate.blogspot.com/

Highlights include:

* SECRECY PLAGUES SCRUTINY OF MOUNTAINTOP MINING: Two weeks ago, environmental activists Cindy Rank and Vivian Stockman took a drive through the Logan County hills with Paul Vining, the president of Magnum Coal. From the top of a ridge, Rank and Stockman looked down through the trees, mountain laurel and flame azalea. The stream that runs through Fitzwater Hollow was already buried, they saw. Workers from Magnum subsidiary Apogee Coal Co. had dumped a six-foot-thick layer of rocks into the valley. The damage was done.

* JUDGE DENIES ACCESS TO PRIEST ABUSE RECORDS: A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge has denied a Spokesman-Review request for access to records detailing millions of dollars in upcoming payouts from a trust to victims of priest sexual abuse in the Spokane Catholic Diocese, saying the claimants were promised confidentiality before agreeing to a legal settlement this spring.

* KEYSTONE REFORMS UNDERWAY: A House advisory panel ... gave a resounding yes to a plan to increase public access to government records but refused to support term limits for legislators. The 24-member House Speaker's Reform Commission wrapped up its work after five months. It recommended a stronger Ethics Committee, a redistribution of power to rank-and-file members, campaign contribution limits and more.

Access those articles, and much, much more, at

http://nfoic.org/advocate/advocate_071707.html

If you've missed a recent ADVOCATE, please visit http://nfoic.org/advocate/

Thanks for reading!