[nfbmi-talk] didn't seem to go through

[joe harcz Comcast]

May 18, 2010

Paul Joseph Harcz, Jr.

1365 E. Mt. Morris Rd.

Mt. Morris, MI 48458

E-mail: joe
Harcz at comcast.net

Re: FOIA Appeal and rebuttal and Much, Much More

Melvin Farmer, DELEG

farmerc at michigan.gov
haynesc at michigan.gov

Dear Mr. Farmer and Ms. Haynes,

This is a partial transcript of the May 3, 2010 special meeting of the Michigan Commission for the Blind meeting. It is from the mp3 recording I received
through the Michigan Freedom of Information Act. This is MCB Director Patrick D. Cannon addressing Michael Geno’s inquiry concerning whether or not MCB
Commissioners have a policy setting or writing role. Now, aside from the fact that that is clearly established under the duties and responsibilities of
commissioners in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended (something that actually creates and funds MCB and was not even mentioned once at this extraordinary
meeting) Cannon here openly goes against his own council and that of DELEG in denying either the President of the NFB of Michigan or myself access under
the Freedom of Information Act to the RSA Monitoring draft reports and rebuttals for MCB or MRS. And the stated primary reason for the denial was effectively
RSA told them not to release any information until finalized. You know it’s sort of top secret, hush hush and all that. Aside from the fact that this is
an outright lie and it violates the FOIA on several counts Cannon seems to cherry pick issues with total hearsay here in distorting facts to suit his spin.
And this is simple Orwellian double-speak here for in every attempt at consumer input and even gathering information including FOIA on these very reports
Cannon and DELEG have been the exact opposite of being open and inclusive.

Anyway I’m sending this off to good old Mr. Farmer, Mario Morrow and others as a further rebuttal and appeal to their ludicrous denials of release of these
reports and rebuttals.

And, of course this very response is also going to RSA, the Michigan Attorney General’s Office, the Michigan Commission for the Blind Board and real stakeholders
and consumers who do darned well more than wish to be open and inclusive. In fact we want the standards and indicators, the CAP responses, the consumer
satisfaction surveys and, most importantly we wish to know were the money is and where it was spent.

Bottom line is we wish to know the tenants of journalism which are: who, what, when, where, why, and how.

Oh and I’ll be charitable and not charge DELEG, Cannon, et all for all the work I’ve done on this and in all of my attempts to make this agency follow The
Rehabilitation Act, Public Act 260, The Randolph-Shepard Act, the Michigan Freedom of Information Act, and the Open Meetings Act just to name a few that
seem to be chronically and rather perniciously violated by our Designated State Units.

Sincerely,

Paul Joseph Harcz, Jr.

(The excerpt…)

Cannon:

“I can comment some on that, Michael the Public Act 260 does not address a  policy setting role  of the commissioners and many of you know that we had a
visit about a year ago from the Rehabilitation Services Administration – a monitoring visit. There were eight       folks that came from Washington and
stayed for a week. And one of the things that they raised while they were here and that they later raised in their written draft report was that we take
to long in adopting some policies. And one of the folks who was here at the time from RSA said, “You know we appreciate what you’re trying to do by engaging
many in the policy setting process through your    Service Delivery Design Team and the Consumer Involvement Council and Commissioners ultimately approving
policy. He said you don’t have to do all that. The agency can simply set policy.”

And when we responded to that in writing we acknowledged what they said. But,   I made the point in my written response that I made the point that is a
trade off that is worthwhile. While we pay a price in taking longer to write policy I think we benefit from being open and inclusive in the policy setting
process.

We’ve not yet heard the RSA response to our response to their preliminary report.

We’re told we’ll have their final report probably by the end of May or June.”

(The above ended at approximately 29 minutes in my mp3 version received under FOIA)
Block quote start
----- Original Message -----
From:
Farmer, Mel (DELEG)
To:
joe harcz Comcast
Cc:
Cannon, Patrick (DELEG)
;
Haynes, Carla (DELEG)
;
Luzenski, Sue (DELEG)
Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2010 9:20 AM
Subject: RE: foia response and additional foia request for info

This notice is in response to your request for copies of records under the state’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), MCL 15.231 et seq., you describe in
your May 5, 2010 email, as attached. Please be informed that in order to determine the existence of any nonexempt information within the Department that
might be responsive to your request, a search must undertaken. For this reason it is necessary to extend the time for response, as permitted by MCL 15.235,
Section 5(2)(d) of the FOIA, through May 26, 2010, or sooner.

From: joe harcz Comcast [mailto:joeharcz at comcast.net]
Sent: Wednesday, May 05, 2010 10:40 AM
To: Farmer, Mel (DELEG)
Cc: president.nfb.mi at gmail.com; Craig.McManus at ed.gov; Cox, Mike (AG); TOM MASSEAU MPAS; Joe Sibley MCBVI Pres.; Mike Zelley TDN; Jim Magyar AA CIL; Dave
Bulkowski; Michael Harris; miadaptleaders at yahoogroups.com; Susan Fitzmaurice; Jo Anne Pilarski; Geri. Taecken; margwolfe at usa.net
Subject: foia response and additional foia request for info

FOIA Official Response to Denial in Part and Additional FOIA Request

May 5, 2010

Paul Joseph Harcz, Jr.

1365 E. Mt. Morris Rd.

Mt. Morris, MI  48458

E-mail:
joeharcz at comcast.net

Melvin Farmer, FOIA Director, DELEG

farmerc at michigan.gov

Dear Mr. Farmer,

In your April 29, 2010 denial of my Michigan Freedom of Information Act request for the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) preliminary review
and rebuttal related to the Michigan Rehabilitation Services (MRS) you said in part, for your denial:

““Further, the RSA has instructed

  affected Department agencies to not to disclose their draft report or

  related information to any parties not involved in their monitoring

  activities. Thusly, the requested report is a record or information

  specifically described and exempted from disclosure by statute.””

Now, sir I wish to have the exact citation in statute that you allude to here. Moreover, I wish to see any regulatory reference from the federal government
in this regard.

In addition I am requesting under the Michigan Freedom of Information Act any correspondence from Patrick Cannon, Director of the Michigan Commission for
the Blind advising your office on this request or the similar request made for the Michigan Commission for the Blind RSA monitoring information made by
Larry Posont, President of the Michigan affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind.

Precisely I am requesting any e-mails sent to you or any FOIA related personnel at the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth by Cannon
on these matters. It should not be difficult for you to find this information as it is quite likely on your very computer. Certainly it is on Mr. Patrick
D. Cannon’s computer which is located on the Second Floor of the Victor Office Building in Lansing Michigan.

Another place to look is on the computers of Ms. Susan Luzinski, Ms. Carla Haynes, and Mr. Mario Morrow.

I also think Mr. Andy Levin and Mr. “Skip” Prusse might have received some correspondences related to this release of information from Mr. Cannon.

Again it cost nothing to send these documents as text file attachments to my e-mail address listed above and I will circulate this information in the public
interest to stakeholders in the disability community.

Moreover, I will inform RSA and the Michigan Attorney General’s office of this request.

Sincerely,

Paul Joseph Harcz, Jr.

Cc: Michael Cox, Attorney General State of Michigan

Cc: Craig McManus, RSA Monitoring Liaison to MCB and MRS

Cc: Tom Masseau, Chair Michigan SILC

Cc: Larry Posont President NFB MI

Cc: Joe Sibley, President, MCBVI

Cc: several Centers for Independent Living

Cc: Michigan ADAPT

Cc: Paralyzed Veterans of Michigan

Cc: Several Members of the MCB Board and MRC

Block quote end