Public records

November 29, 2010



Dear ,
Pursuant to the state open records law, Ala. Code Secs. 36-12-40 to 36-12-41, I write to request access to and a copy of records regarding accurate information about all properties in Whitman countty, taxes paid by property owners.. If your agency does not maintain these public records, please let me know who does and include the proper custodian’s name and address.
I agree to pay any reasonable copying and postage fees of not more than $. If the cost would be greater than this amount, please notify me. Please provide a receipt indicating the charges for each document.
I would request your response within ten (10) business days.
If you choose to deny this request, please provide a written explanation for the denial including a reference to the specific statutory exemption(s) upon which you rely. Also, please provide all segregable portions of otherwise exempt material.
Please be advised that I am prepared to pursue whatever legal remedy necessary to obtain access to the requested records. I would note that Alabama courts have awarded court costs and attorney fees to parties who have successfully sued for access to public information. In addition, state law imposes criminal penalties, including fines and imprisonment, upon those who knowingly fail to comply with a lawful request for records. Ala. Code Secs. 13A-10-12(a)(3) and 36-12-64.
Thank you for your assistance.
Sincerely,
+Will Dornes

good leads

13. Illegally downloaded software can cost $100,000 or more per program along with fines and imprisonment for criminal consequences, according to the WSU Business Policies and Procedures.

7. Over the last couple of years, “going green” has been integrated into becoming a large part of American culture, and WSU is doing everything possible to keep up.

Trend story

The Whitman County housing market experienced a 31 percent decrease in home sales in the past year and property values continue to diminish in a struggling economy.

“They always say that land is a good place to invest your money,” homeowner Patrick Swenson said.  “But at this point it feels more like a burden than a benefit.”

“I don’t have much trouble paying my mortgage despite the recession because I’ve managed to stay employed,” Swenson said.  “But it seems that the more I pay for the house the less its worth.”

Swenson is not alone.  Home resale values around the state have declined by 4.2 percent according to the Washington Center for Real Estate Research.  With current home values in the state averaging $248,900, a homeowner looking a resell a home at this price will have lost more than $1,000 in the current housing market.

“Markets throughout Washington are experiencing declining real estate values because of the recession,” Glenn E. Crellin, Director of Washington Center for Real Estate Research, said.  “However, buyers of more expensive homes are taking advantage of bargain prices on those homes at a time when first time buyers have exited the market because of the expiration of the tax credit programs.”

When the recession hit and the economy and housing market fell from its record setting highs, it left many buyers with mortgages they could not afford.  After foreclosures and seizures began it left a high rise in home availability, but unemployment rates forced the demand for homes to decrease.

“A home is one of the largest and most important investments a person will make in their lifetime,” homeowner and paralegal Mike Sullivan said.  “When the recession hit and people started losing their jobs it makes buying a new home more of a risk than a dream.”

“My job security is fairly high so I had less of a worry buying my home,” Sullivan said.  “With unemployment rates being as high as they are, if my job was less secure than it is now then I couldn’t imagine buying a home.  No job means no house payments and no house payments means no house.”

The effects of the recession also directly affect the apartment market.  Many of WSU students live off-campus in apartment complexes and duplexes.  However the issue may appear less severe to the student body.

“The issue we are facing with the recession is in terms of vacancy,” Owner of DRA Real Estate/Rentals Kathy Wilson said.  “When people can’t afford their homes they often have to downsize to smaller more affordable apartments and rent out their homes instead of selling them at distressed prices.”

This allows students to rent homes at rates that can be lower than apartment complexes.  Causing an increase in apartment complex vacancies forcing leasers to lower rents in order to attract renters and decrease vacancy.  This cycle can consequently make newer apartment complexes difficult to operate profitably.

Although many WSU students will soon have to face the reality of the recession and current housing market, they may have a better opportunity to succeed in purchasing a home in a recovering economy.

Outline

I.            Lead

            a.            Homeowner (Swenson)

            b.            His struggle and its relationship to the trend addressed

II.            Statistics of current house market in Washington

            a.            Glenn Crellin

            b.            Explanation and diagnosis of issue

            c.            Further explanation of the cause of issue

III.            Homeowner (Sullivan)

            a.            Alternate perspective on recession and house market

IV.            Relevance to WSU students renting apartments

            a.            Kathy Wilson

            b.            Effects on student population

V.            Conclusion

Sources

Glenn E. Crellin

crellin@wsu.edu

Kathy Wilson

509-334-7700 (ext. 22)

drarentals@completebbs.com

Mike Sullivan

360-961-4537

Sulli_m@hotmail.com

Patrick Swenson

206-725-1662

PSwenson@comcast.net

Officer Karl Thompson withdrew his baton in the presentation position upon entering the zip trip as a sign of force against Otto Zehm according to Spokane detective agency.

1. Whom did you go to the game with?

2. She’s the student who writes the best articles.

3. Whom did you vote for?

4. Who failed the quiz?

5. We know who pulled that prank.

6. We want to know on whom the prank was pulled.

News conference.

On friday I listened to Rita talk about investigate west and how her non profit organization has been contributing to the contemporary jounlist world after so many daily news organizations shut down like the Seattle PI.  I realy enjoyed her video journalism piece on homelessness.  The struggles and benefits of her organization and the future of journalism in general was very interesting.

Saturday I listened to , who talked about Colin Mullvany.  He talked alot about his profession through the broadcast and jounalism profession and how he has gotten to where he is today.  He talked about the certain tools one can use as a video jounalist and the goals one should strive for when making a quality video/picture journalist article.

Libel

1. Libelous.  She bases her career off of being an attractive woman.  This could drastically effect her career if proven true when she desired that information to be held confidential.

2. not libelous.  he still accomplished great things as a writer and he is also dead now.  His past actions can't take away from the works he has already written.

3 not libelous because it is a quoted opinion in a court of law


4. libelous because it can be damaging and it is outside a court of law.

Feature

 Many light up to experience the euphoric effects of marijuana to unwind at the end of a long day, or simply just to get high.  To others marijuana plays a far greater role to their medical health.

“Some people take pills for pain, this is my equivalent,” WSU student Aaron Levine said as he sits down with his pipe.  “If I weren’t being treated with marijuana I would be dependant of opiates for pain relief, which would be far more harmful to my body.”

Levine smokes his medically prescribed marijuana to treat his occasionally crippling back pain that is unrelieved by standard medical treatment. 

“A lot of people think that medicinal marijuana is just an excuse so stoners can smoke,” Levine said.  “But this is real medicine.”

Marijuana use is becoming exponentially popular among teens and adults all around the United States.

Despite state efforts to permit personal and medicinal use of marijuana, it remains classified as a schedule one narcotic by the federal government.  Therefore according to the federal government, marijuana has no possible medical benefits.  It has remained a schedule one narcotic since the prohibition 40 years ago.

“No medical benefits?” School teacher and mother Lisa Schulman asked.  “If the government thinks marijuana doesn’t have medical benefits they should take a closer look at medicinal users.”

Schulman suffers from epileptic seizures and self medicates with cannabis.  “My husband looked into it, and brought some home one day and I haven’t looked back since,” Schulman said.  “I used to have a few seizures a week, now it’s down to a couple a month.”

Medicinal benefits of marijuana are being investigated all over the world.  In multiple cases cannabis has been proven to ease the effects of chemotherapy and reduce the side effects caused by AIDS treatments.

Regardless of state or county laws premising the use and distribution of marijuana for medicinal purposes, cannabis is still illegal on the federal level.  Putting both the dispensaries and the patients at risk of the law.

Federal government and concerned citizens see a violent and disruptive trend that follows the use of marijuana, suggesting that they are more interested in the abusers and dealers of the drugs than the patients.

Also contributing to the fear of cannabis is the perceived risk of harm to the body.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tobacco causes more than 400,000 deaths a year.  With alcohol contributing to over 100,000 thousand deaths a year in the U.S. alone.  However not one death has been attributed to the use of cannabis alone.

The federal government continues the prohibition of cannabis because it still views marijuana as a dangerous and life altering substance.  However with cannabis popularity being on the rise, the government could be missing out on a potentially profitable cash crop.  If marijuana were to be legalized on the federal level, then taxation could help the country as a whole with debts.

Legalization could allow for the government to regulate the substance as well.  Possibly benefiting the already overwhelmed prison system by reevaluating the laws restricting marijuana possession, which currently hold more than 800,000 people in prison on charges of possession alone.

Sources

Aaron Levine

A_Levine@wsu.edu

(360) 927-2377

Lisa Schulman

SchulmanL@hotmail.com

(206) 412-0343

www.cdc.gov

National Geographic: Marijuana Nation (documentary)