Pryor: It's good idea for officials to respond to mail-in surveys
Brenda Blagg and Dennis A. Byrd, FOIArkansas Project

The Arkansas Freedom of Information Act may not require an answer to mail-in requests for public documents, but the state’s attorney general thinks it’s a good idea for public officials to respond.

Online public information grows despite shaky footing
Johnathon Williams, FOIArkansas Project

CONWAY — Hendrix College student and Conway resident Randy Hughes wanted to know who his local legislators were. So, one day between classes, he stopped by the campus computer lab and typed “Arkansas” into an Internet search engine.

No verdict in first criminal FOIA case
Thomas Sissom, FOIArkansas Project

It is rare for a prosecutor to take an alleged criminal violation of the Freedom of Information Act to trial; what happened in Eureka Springs may be part of the reason.

Main figures in landmark decision change jobs, cities
Mac Murphy, FOIArkansas Project

CONWAY — The two main players in a landmark Arkansas Supreme Court decision involving access to public records find themselves in different jobs in a different city — the same different city — more than eight years later.

Surveyors have hard time obtaining public information from state’s jailers
Amy Sherrill, FOIArkansas Project

Despite an Arkansas Supreme Court ruling that jail bookings are public records, jailers refused to show them to 29 Arkansans participating in a statewide survey on Aug. 23.

Electronic records not specifically covered by law
Paul Holmes, FOIArkansas Project

JONESBORO — While the intent of Arkansas’ Freedom of Information Act — to assure open meetings and open records — remains unchanged 32 years after its passage, what has changed radically is the way records are stored and retrieved.

E-mail requests to universities not reliable
Johnathon Williams, FOIArkansas Project

CONWAY — Electronic mail is neither an accepted nor reliable way to request public information from Arkansas universities, a series of Arkansas Freedom of Information requests revealed.

Privacy Act keeps college students’ grades private — even from parents
Paul Holmes, FOIArkansas Project

JONESBORO — Arkansas State University President Dr. Les Wyatt occasionally talks with a parent who is “mad as all get-out” because the university won’t give the parent a copy of a student’s grades.

Prosecutors say they first look to resolve alleged FOI violations
Rusty Turner, FOIArkansas Project

When a prosecutor in Arkansas finds that a citizen and a public official or agency are at odds over an alleged violation of the Freedom of Information Act, the case is not likely to go to court — at least not immediately.

Ruling in 1975 clarified public’s right to attend official meetings
Ethan C. Nobles, FOIArkansas Project

It took two closed committee meetings, a newspaper’s lawsuit, and the appeal of a lower court ruling in 1975 to clarify the public’s right to attend meetings of government committees.

Mail survey of county clerks gets good response
David Robinson, FOIArkansas Project

Curiosity got the best of Yell County Judge Jimmy Witt when a letter arrived at the courthouse early Monday morning, Aug. 16.

County clerks blame help, or contend mail requests not received
David Robinson, FOIArkansas Project

Baxter County Clerk Rhonda Porter apologized for being among the 12 Arkansas county clerks who did not respond to a letter requesting a public document.