WASHINGTON — If you’ve been remiss in cleaning out your email in-box, here’s some incentive: The federal government can read any emails that are more than six months old without a warrant.
Little known to most Americans, ambiguous language in a communications law passed in 1986 extends Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure only to electronic communications sent or received fewer than 180 days ago.
The language, known as the “180-day rule,” allows government officials to treat any emails, text messages or documents stored on remote servers – popularly known as the cloud – as “abandoned” and therefore accessible using administrative subpoena power, a tactic that critics say circumvents due process.
As you rush to purge your Gmail and Dropbox accounts, however, be forewarned that even deleted files still could be fair game as long as copies exist on a third-party server somewhere.
PHOENIX – March has been designated as Arizona Archaeology and Heritage Awareness month since 1983. The Governor’s Archaeology Advisory Commission is a part of the Arizona State Parks system.
Arcaeology awareness was started in 1983 by the State Historic Preservation Office and an ad hoc Archaeology Advisory Group for the Governor. This group morphed into the Arizona Archaeology Advisory Commission. The duties of the Commission are specified in Arizona Revised Statue. The commission will end July 1, 2017.
March was designated Arizona Archaeology and Heritage Awareness Month and this statewide celebration has grown into a major public education effort involving over 60 different federal, state, municipal, tribal and private organizations. Proclaimed by the Governor each year, this celebration annually features over 100 events including prehistoric site tours, exhibits, open houses, lectures, demonstrations and other activities throughout Arizona.
Starting in 1989, an annual Archaeology Expo was added to the Arizona Archaeology and Heritage Awareness Month events. The Archaeology Expo is a pivotal event in the month-long celebration of AAAM and provides an opportunity for organizations involved in archaeology to provide exhibits, demonstrations of prehistoric crafts and archaeological techniques, and hands-on activities for both children and adults. Other activities at the Expo include: guided site tours, Native American arts and crafts, demonstrations, and living history re-enactments.
These activities give visitors new insights into Arizona’s many prehistoric and historic cultures. This successful public education event reaches out to thousands of people each year in an effort to instill a stewardship ethic toward our state’s archaeological and historical resources. The annual Archaeology Expo is held in a different region of the state to benefit people throughout Arizona.
A free listing of events is available by contacting Arizona State Parks at (602) 542-4174. Events available in your area are listed on the Arizona State Parks web site.
WILLIAMS – St. John’s Episcopal-Lutheran Church in Williams held a successful Shrove Tuesday pancake dinner to kick off the season of Lent. There were problems with the electrical, but volunteers successfully maneuvered around the difficulty.
If you missed it, Shrove Tuesday will be on February 9 in 2016.
This leads to the first day of Lent known as Ash Wednesday. Today is a day of fasting for those who hold this season faithful. On this day there will be services for the faithful in which they will have an ash cross placed on their forehead. If your organization is holding a service for Ash Wednesday, make sure you get your ash in Church.
By Lindsay Wise
