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Technology Targets N.D. Sex Offenders
by Chloe Albanesius
After receiving complaints about outdated information on the state's sex-offender Web site, North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem on Wednesday ordered all registered offenders to report to their probation offices and have new photographs taken.
"The law only required offenders to be re-photographed if they moved," he said in a statement. "As a result of legislative changes, I am now requiring all registered sex offenders to immediately report and get updated their photographs."
Offenders have 10 days to contact their probation offices. They also will have to verify addresses and employment information. The state's Bureau of Criminal Investigation will work with local law enforcement to track those who fail to appear, Stenehjem said.
The state also will start sending e-mail alerts with information about sex offenders who move. Residents can request data from certain ZIP codes, cities or counties, or on specific offenders. The messages will be sent automatically after new information is entered into the state's database.
North Dakota further will debut a "delinquent offender" Web site, with information on those offenders whose whereabouts are unknown. The feature is not yet compatible with the sex-offender database, however. And the state expects to include mapping abilities and active links to offender pages in e-mail notices.
"As the state's technology is updated, we will continue improving and expanding our Web-based services," Stenehjem said.
In other news, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott this week announced that his team, including the state's cyber-crime unit, has nabbed its 300th offender.
Iowa officials, meanwhile, are working to equip certain sex offenders with electronic monitoring bracelets as part of a new law. The Des Moines Register reports that corrections officials expect to tag 550 offenders in the next few weeks.
Detroit Phone Rates Are Deregulated
Michigan regulators last week voted to deregulate residential telephone rates in metropolitan Detroit and other large cities 45 days after affected residents are notified.
"Telephone customers in Michigan have benefited from more choices than ever before," J. Peter Lark, chairman of the Michigan Public Service Commission, said in a statement. He urged providers "to be more responsive to the pricing needs of their customers."
The ruling comes after dominant provider SBC Communications last year requested deregulation because the company said the region could be considered a competitive market. Commissioner Laura Chappelle, however, expressed concern that SBC is trying to "define the geographical area as broadly as possible," potentially hitting areas that would not be considered competitive.
"I cannot agree with my colleagues that SBC has met the legal requirements to deregulate residential basic local service," she said.
Commissioner Monica Martinez said the panel will "continue to monitor the competitiveness of the market in the future." Certain services, including local calling areas and "enhanced 911" service for pinpointing the locations of mobile callers, still will be regulated.
In other news, the California Public Utilities Commission next week will hold six public meetings on the proposed merger of Verizon Communications and MCI. Interested parties will be able to comment on the deal, which would make the combined Verizon-MCI the second largest telecom company in California. Commissioners will meet in Whittier on Monday, Long Beach on Tuesday and in San Bernardino on Thursday. Meetings will be held at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Virginia City's Wi-Fi Effort Garners Praise
Efforts in Alexandria, Va., to offer wireless access via Wi-Fi technology are to be commended, even if that means additional tax charges, according to a Progress and Freedom Foundation (PFF) official.
The city has "chosen a very intelligent approach to what is a very thorny issue," Patrick Ross, vice president for communications and external affairs, wrote at the organization's Web log.
Alexandria thus far only has plans for a small, outdoor section of Old Town and certain libraries. "They're not trying to get service into people's homes," where they could compete with private industry, Ross wrote. PFF has been critical of efforts by municipalities to offer telecom service.
The effort also is adequately assessing security risks for relatively low prices -- a $14,000 initial equipment cost and $650 for Internet bandwidth. "One could argue that the cost should be zero because there's no real demonstrated need for this ... but the same argument goes for flowers along public thoroughfares."
Alexandria recently became the first city in Virginia to charge residents a cell-phone tax.
In other news, the city of New Haven, Conn., has hired Georgia-based Civitium to conduct a feasibility study on providing citywide wireless Internet access. "A wireless New Haven will provide numerous social and economic opportunities for residents, businesses and visitors to our city," Mayor John DeStefano said in a statement.
Fla. Dentists Drop Case Over Web Site
Two Florida dentists who sued over an unfavorable Web site created by a former patient have dropped their lawsuit.
North Palm Beach resident Elaine Prentice started her site after receiving dental care from Richard Kaplan, Leonard Tolley and others that she deemed unsatisfactory. She complained to the Health Department that the dentists forced her to have certain procedures but was allegedly told to "get some mental counseling."
As a result, she took to the Web to vent her anger, prompting Kaplan and Tolley to sue. Paul Levy, Prentice's attorney, argued that she was protected under the First Amendment, and the dentists eventually dropped their case after a recent hearing.
"Their cases were utterly frivolous and they knew it," Levy said in a statement.
Wisconsin Challenges Online Cigarette-tax Refunds
Wisconsin's treasurer on Friday ordered the state to stop sending refunds to customers who paid back taxes for online cigarette purchases.
AP reports that the state this year sent 1,000 letters to residents who bought tax-free cigarettes via the Internet, demanding payment for back taxes, and had plans for 6,000 additional notification letters. Gov. Jim Doyle eventually stopped the effort and told the Revenue Department to issue refunds and pursue cigarette sellers instead of consumers.
But State Treasurer Jack Voight is concerned that the refunds could prompt a class-action lawsuit from people who bought cigarettes from traditional stores and paid state taxes. They might demand refunds as well, he said. Voight wrote a Friday letter to Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager, asking that her department stop the refunds.
Lautenschlager is reviewing the request. But department spokeswoman Eva Robelia said she believes the agency has the right to return the checks. "By returning these checks, we are not relieving people of the duty to pay taxes," she said. "We are just changing our strategy on how to collect them."
Other states are continuing to pursue consumers for such back taxes. The Daily Herald reports that Utah has notified residents who made online cigarette purchases that they owe 69.5 cents per pack, plus a 10 percent "failure to file" penalty. And AP reports that Nebraska officials are enforcing a 55-year-old federal law that requires out-of-state cigarette sellers to provide information on who bought their products.
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