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Super Bowl Blitz

Friday, January 29th, 2010

New Englanders! Help us follow the money “Super Bowl” style:

Super Bowl Sunday is a just week away. Which New England politicians are getting coveted tickets as a perk of holding office? Help us track that information by lending a hand to our journalistic colleagues at ProPublica with their online SuperBowl project. They are carefully tracking who is going to the game and how they got their tickets. We have Massachusetts covered but we need help with the other New England states. You pay the politicians’ salaries; you deserve to know who is providing them with perks.

All the information to help dig out this information is here: http://www.propublica.org/ion/reporting-network/item/super-bowl-blitz-which-congressmen-are-getting-super-bowl-perks-126.

If you can help out here are a few simple suggestions:

1. Call your local politicians, including members of Congress, and ask the following two questions: Did the lawmaker go to the Super Bowl last year and is he or she planning to go this year. If yes, who provided the tickets? Again, our reporters have Massachusetts covered. Please help us with Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire.

2. Get the name of the person you spoke with, including the correct spelling. Receptionists are not going to know the answer to this question. You make need to talk to the lawmaker’s scheduler or even the chief-of-staff. If you encounter obstacles, note that information down. You are a constituent and are entitled to this information.

3. Email New England Center for Investigative Reporting Associate Director Maggie Mulvihill at mmulvih@bu.edu with the name of the person you spoke with, the date and time you spoke with them and what information you obtained. We’ll be creating an online chart of who is going and you’ll get credit in that chart, which we’ll be sharing with ProPublica.

Posted in <a href="http://necir-bu.org/wp/?cat=4" title="View all posts in The Right to Know" rel="category">The Right to Know</a> | <a href="http://necir-bu.org/wp/?p=1752#respond" title="Comment on Super Bowl Blitz">No Comments »</a></p> </div> <div class="post-1652 post hentry category-the-right-to-know"> <h3 id="post-1652"><a href="http://necir-bu.org/wp/?p=1652" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to The Right to Know">The Right to Know</a></h3> <small>Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009</small> <div class="entry"> <p>One of the most troubling consequences of the cutbacks in local political journalism means our elected officials get a pass when it comes to public scrutiny. But a new transparency project being unveiled next month by the smart minds at Commonwealth Magazine should help to counter that trend. “Full Disclosure” has already gotten off the ground with an innovative database of 300 ethics disclosure forms that local officials in Massachusetts must file with the State Ethics Commission. They have for years existed electronically but instead the commission required you to appear at the office, fill out a request, pay $1 for a copy and wait for the official to be notified someone is seeking their disclosure information. Then you can have the paper copies. It has been a cumbersome and outdated system that the Commonwealth team, led by longtime investigative reporter Jack Sullivan, has thankfully put out of business. </p> <p>The <u><a href="http://www.massinc.org/index.php?id=749&pub_id=2502&bypass=1">Statements of Financial Interest</a></u> are available at Commonwealth’s Magazine’s website for the more than 300 officials, including all members of the Legislature, the constitutional officers, the governor’s cabinet, selected state policymakers, and elected and appointed county officials. They detail an official’s outside income, real estate, and business holdings. Commonwealth has also posted per-diem travel, meals and lodging stipends paid to state lawmakers year round here in <u><a href="http://massinc.typepad.com/perdiems.xls">an Excel spreadsheet</a></u> ; Both databases contain important information for citizens to have as they make voting decisions and great detail for journalists working political stories. </p> <p>The “Full Disclosure” project promises to be a real public service – one the traditional news organizations in the area have not yet provided. That’s why we are adding their inaugural databases to our list of essential reporting tools. As it expands with new tools we’ll update you. Meanwhile, check out more information about the project at Commonwealth’s website: <u><a href="http://www.massinc.org/index.php?id=749&pub_id=2498&bypass=1">http://www.massinc.org/index.php?id=749&pub_id=2498&bypass=1</a></u></p> </div> <p class="postmetadata"> Posted in <a href="http://necir-bu.org/wp/?cat=4" title="View all posts in The Right to Know" rel="category">The Right to Know</a> | <a href="http://necir-bu.org/wp/?p=1652#comments" title="Comment on The Right to Know">2 Comments »</a></p> </div> <div class="post-1012 post hentry category-the-right-to-know"> <h3 id="post-1012"><a href="http://necir-bu.org/wp/?p=1012" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to BATTLING COURT SECRECY AROUND NEW ENGLAND">BATTLING COURT SECRECY AROUND NEW ENGLAND</a></h3> <small>Saturday, October 3rd, 2009</small> <div class="entry"> <p>Recently we told you about how to obtain a court document that has been “impounded” – or temporarily sealed from public view – in Massachusetts. The issue arose when a court clerk denied one of our students access to a court record without explanation. In Massachusetts, when a court record is sealed in state court, the judge must issue a written order specifying why the record is being sealed and for how long. Here is the link to the Uniform Rules of Impoundment. To obtain an impoundment order in Massachusetts: <a href="http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/source/mass/rules/tc/impoundment.html" target="_blank">http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/source/mass/rules/tc/impoundment.html</a></p> <p>But it turns out getting access to impounded records in other New England states is not as clear. There are no written rules in Maine, Vermont or Rhode Island guaranteeing the public access to a judge’s reasons for impounding court records.</p> <p>“I have never seen an order that would require that the reason be made public,” said John Barden, director of the Maine State Law and Legislative Reference Library. Barden said documents may be sealed indefinitely if the court deems it appropriate. Barden said the public can make a motion in court to examine the records in accordance the Maine Rules of Civil Procedure (See Rule 79(b)(2) at <a href="http://www.courts.state.me.us/rules_forms_fees/rules/MRCivPONLY9-09.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.courts.state.me.us/rules_forms_fees/rules/MRCivPONLY9-09.pdf</a>).</p> <p>Similarly, Vermont has no statute or rule akin to the Massachusetts rule. “To my knowledge we do not have that. A record that is sealed or expunged or whatever other method that conceals it is really totally concealing it,” said Renny Perry, Director of Trial Court Operations in Vermont.</p> <p>In Rhode Island, Colleen McConaghy Hanna, the Deputy Law Librarian of the Rhode Island State Law Library, found no state rule or statute either guaranteeing the public a right to know why a court record was sealed.</p> <p>Fortunately not all New England states make the public work as hard to find out how to gain access to impounded court records. For journalists and the public in New Hampshire and Connecticut, the relevant rules that require public access to the reasons a court record is sealed can be found at:</p> <p>-Rules of the Supreme Court of New Hampshire:<br /> <a href="http://www.courts.state.nh.us/rules/scr/scr-12.htm" target="_blank">http://www.courts.state.nh.us/rules/scr/scr-12.htm</a></p> <p>-Connecticut Practice Book: <a href="http://www.jud.ct.gov/Publications/PracticeBook/PB1.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.jud.ct.gov/Publications/PracticeBook/PB1.pdf</a><br /> See Chapter 7-4B, Chapter 11-20A(d), Chapter 25-59A, Chapter 42-49A</p> </div> <p class="postmetadata"> Posted in <a href="http://necir-bu.org/wp/?cat=4" title="View all posts in The Right to Know" rel="category">The Right to Know</a> | <a href="http://necir-bu.org/wp/?p=1012#respond" title="Comment on BATTLING COURT SECRECY AROUND NEW ENGLAND">No Comments »</a></p> </div> <div class="post-928 post hentry category-the-right-to-know"> <h3 id="post-928"><a href="http://necir-bu.org/wp/?p=928" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to THE RIGHT TO KNOW">THE RIGHT TO KNOW</a></h3> <small>Friday, September 18th, 2009</small> <div class="entry"> <p>You – the Massachusetts taxpayer – cannot know all the disciplinary actions your banking regulators take against brokers and lenders. They are secret. Hundreds of them over the past few years.</p> <p>That’s what NECIR-BU and its media partners reported Monday in our multi-media stories about Massachusetts banking regulators. Our investigation shows Massachusetts ranks last among New England states when it comes to taking public punitive action against brokers and lenders during the current housing crisis.</p> <p>The Division of Banks claims that having the ability to privately sanction a broker or lender who isn’t following the law actually makesthe process work better for the public. It is less “adversarial” and the licensed entity might be more willing to modify its behavior if it isn’t going to be publicly named, according to the Division’s Chief Operating Officer David J. Cotney.</p> <p>But Massachusetts is the only state in New England which has such a two-tiered system – public sanctions and “secret” – or as the division calls them – “informal” sanctions.</p> <p>Not only are the actual steps taken by regulators to encourage the broker and lender to straighten up secret, but even the names of those licensees are not made public, even if they are repeat offenders.</p> <p>This is true despite the fact that taxpayers fund the probes resulting in the “informal” actions. The entire agency – which just got a legislative budget increase to do more enforcement – costs taxpayers about $12 million each year.</p> <p>If it is so effective and is good public policy, as Massachusetts regulators claim, to keep informal actions secret, then why aren’t our neighboring regulators following suit?</p> <p>Especially now as banking regulators acknowledge bad practices by brokers and lenders contributed to the current foreclosure crisis, it seems it’s time to lift the veil of secrecy. We have the right to know – really a responsibility as taxpayers footing the massive mortgage crisis bill – to know what brokers and lenders were cited for – and why it isn’t public.</p> </div> <p class="postmetadata"> Posted in <a href="http://necir-bu.org/wp/?cat=4" title="View all posts in The Right to Know" rel="category">The Right to Know</a> | <a href="http://necir-bu.org/wp/?p=928#respond" title="Comment on THE RIGHT TO KNOW">No Comments »</a></p> </div> <div class="post-619 post hentry category-the-right-to-know"> <h3 id="post-619"><a href="http://necir-bu.org/wp/?p=619" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to THE RIGHT TO KNOW">THE RIGHT TO KNOW</a></h3> <small>Thursday, August 20th, 2009</small> <div class="entry"> <p>Today marks the start of our bi-weekly “The Right to Know” blog aimed at shining a light on public records: how to get them, what to do when you are denied and what to use them for. We’ll give particular attention in this blog to the obstacles government and other institutions place in the way of journalists seeking public records and how to overcome those obstacles.</p> <h2>THE RIGHT TO KNOW</h2> <p>One of the main missions of NECIR-BU is to provide journalists of all stripes – including students and citizen journalists – the tools to help research and write investigative stories. Among the most basic of these is knowing your state law on sealing court documents. A student of ours was recently denied a court record by a clerk without being told why, for how long and under what authority. We advised our student to immediately request the impoundment order from the court clerk – which in Massachusetts must be in writing, specify precisely why the case is being impounded and have a specific start and end date. The U.S. Supreme Court has made very clear that court records are public unless the court can specifically demonstrate why they should be closed. The impoundment order is without question a public record – no matter if you are at the district court level or your state’s highest court. Always ask the court clerk for it. If you think you are going to encounter a problem, you might need to educate the court staff on the law. Here is link you’ll need in Massachusetts:</p> <p>To obtain an impoundment order in Massachusetts: <a href=" http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/source/mass/rules/tc/impoundment.html" target="_blank">http://www.lawlib.state.ma.us/source/mass/rules/tc/impoundment.html</a></p> <p>We’ll be adding information on how to learn about impoundment rules in the other New England states to the <a href="http://necir-bu.org/wp/?page_id=193">Reporting Tools</a> section of our website soon, so check there often for the latest updates.</p> </div> <p class="postmetadata"> Posted in <a href="http://necir-bu.org/wp/?cat=4" title="View all posts in The Right to Know" rel="category">The Right to Know</a> | <a href="http://necir-bu.org/wp/?p=619#respond" title="Comment on THE RIGHT TO KNOW">No Comments »</a></p> </div> <div class="navigation"> <div class="alignleft"></div> <div class="alignright"></div> </div> </div> <div id="sidebar" role="complementary"> <ul> <li id="text-504396911" class="widget widget_text"> <div class="textwidget"><table align="center"> <tr> <td><a href="http://twitter.com/necirbu"><img src="wp-content/uploads/2009/08/twitter_sm2.png" border="0"></a></td> <td><a href="http://twitter.com/necirbu"><font color="#5F322D">Follow NECIR BU</font></a></td> <td>   <a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/New-England-Center-for-Investigative-Reporting-at-Boston-University/73434839762?ref=mf"><img src="wp-content/uploads/2009/08/facebook_sm.png" border="0"></a></td> <td><a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/New-England-Center-for-Investigative-Reporting-at-Boston-University/73434839762?ref=mf"><font color="#5F322D">Become a Fan</font></a></td> </tr> </table> <table width="100%"> <tr> <td><center><a href="http://necir-bu.org/wp/?feed=rss2"><img src="http://necir-bu.org/wp/wp-includes/images/rss.png"></a> <a href="http://necir-bu.org/wp/?feed=rss2"><font color="#5F322D">Subscribe</font></a></center> </td> </tr> </table></div> </li> <li id="blogsidebar" class="widget widget_BlogSidebar"> <h2 class="widgettitle"><a href="http://necir-bu.org/wp/?page_id=233">BACKSTORY</a></h2> <ul> <li class="excerpt" style="margin-top:1em;">The NECIR Blog with regular commentary, insights, ideas, and brainstorms from the staff, faculty and students at NECIR.</li> <li class="title"><a href="http://necir-bu.org/wp/?p=2229">NOW WHO’S STUPID? GATES LAWYER REBUKES OBAMA </a></li> <li class="author">By Sarah Favot and Maggie Mulvihill</li> <li class="excerpt"><p>Barack Obama’s legal mentor publicly scolded the president this week for inserting the White House into a debate about the controversial arrest of Obama’s friend, African-American scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr., by a white police sergeant last year.<br /> Obama “blackened himself” by commenting on the low-level municipal arrest, turning it into an “international story,” said Harvard [...]</p> </li><li class="more"><a href="http://necir-bu.org/wp/?p=2229">More -></a></li> </ul> </li><li id="new-england-muckrakers" class="widget muckrakers_report_sidebar_widget"><h2 class="widgettitle"> <a href="http://necir-bu.org/wp/?page_id=84">NEW ENGLAND MUCKRAKERS</a> </h2><ul><li class="excerpt">Notable investigative stories from newspapers, websites and TV and radio newsrooms in the six New England states plus "Citizen Muckraker" reports. <a href="?page_id=84">See all the Muckraker stories -></a></li> <li class="title"><a href="http://necir-bu.org/wp/?page_id=86">MASSACHUSETTS</a></li> <li class="excerpt">The Boston Globe Spotlight Team’s in-depth series on the patronage-laden state Probation Department leads to the temporary suspension of Commissioner John O’Brien. 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