(Massachusetts) State tells man he may be jailed for releasing data

from boston.com:

Governor Deval Patrick’s administration told a local website operator he could face jail time for publishing information that the state provided under an open-records request.

It is unclear whether officials would or could follow through with the threat to Michael Morisy, cofounder of MuckRock (muckrock.com), a website devoted to open records. But the unusual letter, also published on the website, has forced him to consult with an attorney.

The data, which Morisy had not removed from his website by last night, show how much money in food stamps has been spent at businesses around the state over the past five years under the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The state said the information was released erroneously and in violation of federal law.

Read the rest here.

Freedom Of Information Act Request concerning Tulsa Zoo giraffe denied

TULSA, OK -- The USDA is conducting a criminal probe surrounding the death of a giraffe at the Tulsa Zoo, possibly involving the transport company that delivered the giraffe to Tulsa. The Tulsa Zoo giraffe suffered a broken neck, apparently during the trip.

The revelation of a criminal probe comes just after the same company delivered a giraffe to a zoo in Missouri, which immediately upon arrival was euthanized because of a broken neck.

More here.

USDA Seeks the Mother of All FOIA Exemptions

Talk about attacking a molehill with a nuclear weapon...without public notice or debate, a provision secretly tucked into the Farm Bill Conference Report (Sec. 1619, "Information Gathering") nullifies a recent, major federal appeals court decision under the Freedom of Information Act that ordered USDA to make public large amounts of data crucial to monitoring the economic and environmental impacts of multi-billion-dollar farm subsidy and conservation programs.

Mulch -- a great blog on all things farm-y, does such a great job on this that I am just going to take you there...