Friday, July 5, 2002
FOI Birthday
36 years ago, July 4, 1966, President Johnson signed the Federal FOIA law. It would be a great time to do a story explaining how the law works. If people knew how important this law is to the public’s understanding of sometimes complex stories, there might be more support for open records laws.
Recent studies say federal agencies still resist obeying the letter of the law, especially the requirement of a response within 20 working days (on one archive request filed in 1990, the CIA took 9 years to deny in full 22 documents, and another 7 months to deny the appeal).
Public use of the Freedom of Information Act continues to rise, with 1,965,919 FOIA requests filed with federal agencies in fiscal year 1999, the most recent data available from the Justice Department.
Direct cost to the taxpayers for administering the FOIA amounted to $286,546,488 in fiscal year 1999, or almost exactly one dollar per citizen, according to the Justice Department data and the Census Bureau.
Documents released under federal, state, and local freedom of information acts sparked more than 3,000 news stories in 2000 and 2001 (according to searches of online news databases), exposing data of major public interest such as excessive mercury levels in canned tuna, enormous geographic variations in the prescription rates for Ritalin, a projected $4 billion cost overrun on NASA’s space station, and the internal policy debate over intelligence-sharing with Peru prior to the shootdown of an American missionary plane.
Resources:
– How to make a FOIA request
– Mexico’s new FOIA law-June 2002
– Society of Professional Journalists FOI page
– SPJ “how to open doors” page
Hispanic Childrens’ Health
The Baltimore Sun reports, “The nation’s surging population of Hispanic children has a disproportionate share of asthma, obesity, and other health problems that are not being adequately treated, researchers warn in a new report.”
The problem is urgent, said Dr. Glenn Flores, a Boston Medical Center physician and lead author of the report in today’s Journal of the American Medical Association.
What to do About Sunburn
On this holiday weekend, lots of people will be burned. The pain is bad enough, but its consequences can be far worse. According to Sandra Read, a dermatologist affiliated with Georgetown University. UV radiation causes gene mutations in skin cells, and repeated overexposure damages the P53 gene, which helps keep mutated genes from developing into cancerous cells. A history of occasional sunburns contributes to most skin cancer cases, Read says.
The Washington Post says, “Take aspirin and ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin and other brands). Not only can they ease your pain, they can actually help keep the burn from getting worse. Don’t bother with acetaminophen (Tylenol and such), which doesn’t have the same protective effect, Read says. To ease inflammation, try a cortisone cream. If your burn causes fever, chills, nausea, loss of appetite and blistering, see a doctor, who may treat you with steroids.
Alternative medicine offers few good ideas for treating a burn. As for protecting yourself in advance, some limited studies have shown that applying green tea extract to skin can limit redness and DNA damage, says Read. Other research has shown that vitamins C and E, taken orally, may guard against sunburn. But don’t bet your hide on it.
11 States Allow Veiled Drivers License Photos
I am interested in the story of Sultaana Freeman, a woman who wants to be allowed to wear a full veil in her drivers license photo for religious reasons. Her husband said that making her take off the veil would be like telling her she has to remove her shirt.
Just as interesting, the AP carries an interview with the woman’s attorney Howard Marks, who said that 11 states allow women to wear veils in their drivers license photos.
In addition to other states allowing women to wear veils, there are exceptions to the requirement, such as probationary licenses and seven-day permits, which don’t require photos, Marks argued.
Story idea: The story did not name the 11 states which allow women to wear veils, but I would think it would be worth a call to your local DMV to see if yours is one of them.
Resource:
– Center for Individual Freedom