Archive for the ‘Washington’ Category

A few months ago I wrote about the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control maintains License Query System. An added feature to the ABC site is daily, weekly and annual reports of new licenses, license status changes and actions taken against licenses including, revocations, suspensions, fines, and issuance or denial of licenses. The database of reports cannot be searched at the site. Search the archived reports from September 16, 2006 to the present by using this advanced search at Google. Replace “Safeway” with your company name, address or other key words.

safeway site:www.abc.ca.gov/reports/

Reporters and anyone compiling statistical data will be able to make use of the reports menu at the ABC site. Query the reports by location and license type to get a detail of all that meet that criteria. For example, find all the caterer licensees in Azusa.

Washington State law now bans employer access to the credit reports of employees or potential employees unless such information is substantially related to the individual’s current or potential job responsibilities. An exception is made if the employer has a “reasonable cause to believe” that the employee “has engaged in specific activity that constitutes a violation of law.”

Missouri private investigators are poised to receive the stamp of legitimacy with the establishment of the Board of Private Investigator Examiners, which will license and regulate private investigators. The bill is awaiting the governor’s signature, which is expected this summer. The Missouri Association of Private Investigators has worked diligently to secure state level licensing and soon they’ll be able to join the majority of states that license PIs.

New regulations for Indiana private investigators will go into effect July 1, including the replacement of the term “private detective” with “private investigator”.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court will decide whether property assessment databases created on behalf of municipalities by private companies are a public records.

Legislation introduced in Pennsylvania would make it a crime to obtain, sell or receive phone records of state residents without their authorization.

A faithful reader clued me into the usefulness of restaurant inspection reports for finding names of employees at a business. Search the Sacramento County, California Food Facility Restaurant Inspection Reports database by partial street name or facility name. The reports often identify the owners and employees who signed the inspection report.

You may have to do some hunting around to get to the food inspection databases for these California counties. This cached site has more direct links to restaurant inspection reports and closures. Go to the web sites for a state Department of Public Health to find the county environmental health division.

Some states, like Virginia, are kind, and have direct links to each county database of inspections. There doesn’t seem to be a site that keeps a comprehensive collection of these links. Even the State of Washington Office of Environmental Health and Safety lists only 6 counties.

Add your local or state site to this posting’s comments.

The San Joaquin Recorder now has its index online.

The Spokane County, Washington Sheriff’s Office has added a roster of current inmates to its Website. Search by name to get inmate details.

The Wyoming connection to Vinelink is expanding and eventually will cover all counties, parole boards and the state Department of Corrections. Cheyenne is expected to be online within 6 months.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that federal prosecutors can withhold witness names.

Prosecutors gave defense attorneys parts of the reports, but withheld sections that could reveal the names of witnesses. They argued the reports were covered by a federal court rule protecting the work of “government agents” and that revealing the names could endanger witnesses who are project residents.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the report sections could be withheld because the police qualified as government agents, even though they weren’t federal employees.

A private law firm representing a town in North Carolina must still comply with the open records laws, according to a state appeals court.

San Francisco real property sales from the Multiple Listing Service are searchable by address, address range, neighborhood, property profile, real estate agent or agency. Property profiles show a street view and interior photographs. Select the agent link to view all properties for that agent on the MLS.

Trulia.com is more geographically far reaching, covering cities and towns nationwide but it isn’t as comprehensive as the MLS. Use the “advanced search” tool to restrict the search by address or to include multiple towns (there’s no county option).

Check for regional sites, such as Redfin, which covers the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle, Washington, for more extensive listings and property options. Redfin MLS properties can be searched by address or neighborhood. Properties are plotted on a map, so you can view other nearby sales. The site also covers past property sales.

A new player in the very active online real estate listings competition is PropertyShark, which, unlike Zillow, provides the current owner at an address, and also customizes demographic maps for the geographical region of an address.

At the Zillow site you can look for real property valuations and aerial photographs by property address. It covers many more cities than does PropertyShark but the tools at this site are a unique supplement to the other property listing and mapping Web sites.

A PropertyShark search by address (after free registration) returned a profile with the current ownership, last deed transfer, demographic maps, building permits, neighbors and nearby property sales. Coverage is strongest in New York, particularly Manhattan, for which there are photographs of properties, but take a look at all the site features. Cities in New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Florida, Texas, Washington, Oregon and California are currently included.

Map your life in Los Angeles and plot crime and property sales within the circumference of a specific address.

Verify voter registration at the Ohio Secretary of State with a last name, county and zipcode. The Ohio SOS Web site also has an unusual database:
lookup a licensed minister.

Search voter registration records at the Arkansas Secretary of State by first and last name, and date of birth.

Vinelink now has a statewide jail search for inmates in Washington state.