Work-related text messages sent from the private cellphone of a public employee are public record, the Washington state Supreme Court said in an en banc opinion Thursday. Under the ruling, Mark Lindquist, a Pierce County prosecutor, must turn over the contents of work-related texts sent from his personal cellphone, as sought in public records requests by Glenda Nissen, Pierce County sheriff's detective. Nissen sued the county, claiming Lindquist barred her from his office after she criticized him and submitted records requests for his calls records and texts messages. Lindquist initially submitted a call record sheet and a similar sheet for his texts messages, but didn't include the contents of the messages. In the initial hearing, the trial judge sided with Lindquist, concluding text and call records on private cellphones are a private record. The state Supreme Court struck down that ruling, and ordered Lindquist to produce the contents of the requested text messages he sent in his capacity as prosecutor. The court said in its ruling: "Employees must produce any public records (emails, text messages, and any other type of data) to the employer['s] agency." Although he must turn over texts sent from his cellphone related to his public duties, Lindquist said in a statement Thursday that the ruling is a win for public servants. He said he's pleased with the ruling because it allows public employees to satisfy the court's requirement by completing a "good-faith search" for public records on personal devices, instead of allowing requestors to search through the private data. "This is a win for teachers, fire fighters, police officers and all of us who serve the public," said Lindquist. "Further, it's a win for all of us who care about constitutional rights and open government."

Seattle supports proposed reforms to the FCC Lifeline program, including the changes to the structure, modernization of the program and the improvements to access to broadband for low-income residents in the city, said a filing in docket 15-71. At least two connections should be allowed per household to ensure adequate service and mobility, the city said. The minimum standards for broadband should be based on the FCC's definition of 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream, the city said. The FCC also should ensure that providers report regularly on the levels of adoption at the city level to enable local jurisdictions to assist the commission in overseeing the program's implementation, Seattle said.

The California Public Utilities Commission's amended scoping memo on Frontier and Verizon's application for approval of transfer of control includes several issues about the physical condition of the Verizon wireline network, said CPUC Administrative Law Judge Karl Bemesderfer's ruling setting evidentiary hearings. Questions regard the condition of the network, its compliance with CPUC orders and the cost and extent of repairs required to bring the network into compliance with commission-imposed standards of safety and reliability. Evidentiary hearings are scheduled for Sept. 24 and 25, the ALJ said.

With a 4-0 vote, the Montana Public Service Commission approved a settlement agreement Tuesday with CenturyLink on service quality violations across Montana, said a news release from the PSC regarding docket N2014.3.38. The agreement is in response to the commission’s complaint in state District Court in Helena for violation of Montana administrative rule 38.5.3371, which requires that 90 percent of reported service problems across the state be fixed within 24 hours, the agency said. CenturyLink agreed to accept about $91 million over the next six years from the FCC Connect America Fund Phase II for broadband infrastructure investment in rural Montana, it said. CenturyLink also agreed to "augment" the CAF II funding with investments of its own to amplify the effects of the federal funds, the PSC said.

California made $50 million available for schools to enhance broadband connectivity, said a Monday news release from the California Department of Education. This is the second round of Broadband Infrastructure and Improvement Grants, with the first round providing 227 schools with nearly $27 million for network enhancement in January, said another release from the department. Schools and districts can start applying now for the second round of grants through the K-12 High Speed Network, it said.

Fifteen library jurisdictions -- 110 libraries -- joined the High-Speed Broadband in California Public Libraries project in the second year of the initiative, said the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California. CENIC is a nonprofit that operates the California Research and Education Network (CalREN), a high-capacity, 3,800-mile fiber network designed to support more than 20 million users. The projectbegan in December. In the first year, 75 library jurisdictions and their 447 individual libraries joined the project, CENIC said. These libraries are now connected to CalREN and most libraries have 1 gigabit of connectivity, CENIC said.

Minnesota customers of TerraCom's Lifeline services may be eligible for a year of free credit monitoring due to a data breach at the company, said a Tuesday news release from the Minnesota Department of Commerce and the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. An investigation after a 2013 data breach found that TerraCom failed to protect consumers' personal information, the release said. The FCC did a similar investigation, finding that TerraCom's vendor stored customers' personal information on unprotected servers that were accessible over the Internet, the release said. The FCC reached a $3.5 million settlement with TerraCom and a related company in July (see 1507090035).

Birch Communications expanded its BirchNet Broadband Internet footprint by more than 60 percent, adding services to 14 states across and adjacent to the northern tier, Rockies and Pacific Northwest, said a Monday news release from the company. It said BirchNet Broadband is now available in 36 states.

Information from the FCC Network Outage Reporting System (NORS) is important for the California Public Utilities Commission to be able to access during and after natural disasters, said a CPUC ex parte filing posted Monday in docket 15-80. Having access to wireline and wireless outage data during emergencies in rural areas especially is critical for residents and emergency responders, the CPUC said. It emphasized the importance of granting California and other states direct access to state-specific outage data in NORS because of the immediate need for states to address public safety and other concerns that arise during and after outages.

FirstNet reached out to the 56 state and territory single points of contact (SPOCs) in July, said a blog post from the organization Thursday. The calls were to remind the SPOCs of the importance of data collection for informing FirstNet’s acquisition of a comprehensive network solution and state plans development, understand everyone’s current data collection status, and determine if any more support may be needed from FirstNet, the post said. Most SPOCs said they plan to provide data by the Sept. 30 deadline, FirstNet said. Most also reported a high level of outreach and consultation with metropolitan and rural areas within their states and territories, with some making direct calls or holding in-person meetings with agencies at all levels of government on the data collection process, it said. Tribal engagement has also been going well, with the biggest successes seeming to be in states that work through their governor’s office, it said.