Kudos to the Questa Studio Art Tour!
A lot of planning and coordination go into any event and this year’s 7th Annual Questa Studio Art Tour was a seamless success! With new exhibitors and locations, the studio line-up offered something for everyone. It was easy to appreciate the artists’ dedication to create, mount, and share their unique visions. I was inspired by the range of creative expression right here in our area and the collaboration to put on the event. The weekend was a welcome opportunity to meet new people, see friends, and socialize, and the glorious weather was the cherry on top!
Big thanks to everyone involved – organizers, sponsors, artists, and attendees. I, for one, was riding a current of joy and inspiration.
Cynthia Najim
El Rito area of Questa
Letter to Barbara J. Vigil, Secretary of New Mexico Children Youth and Family Department
Dear Secretary Vigil,
The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government (FOG) is dedicated to ensuring access to public information in New Mexico, which includes assisting both records requestors and public entities regarding compliance with the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) and assisting those who have concerns about compliance with the Open Meetings Act (OMA).
I am writing to you following a complaint FOG received on our hotline. The caller stated that a request for a copy of the chat conducted during a recent on-line meeting could not be provided as the chat was not saved and I must question why these records were not retained.
A quick look at the ZOOM website lists simple step-by-step directions for recording the chats. I am providing a link for your IT staff to review. https://onlinezoomappdownload.com/how-to-save-in-meeting-chat-in-zoom-app.
As you know, requests for records may now include official meetings or internal discussions that took place over Zoom, MS Teams or Slack and could involve the video, audio, chat and file transfer elements of those conversations. Also, it seems if members of the committee are communicating outside of the view of the public, they should stop.
The best way to ensure transparency is to make the information available to all those in attendance and those who request access to records after the meeting.
Sincerely,
Melanie J. Majors
Executive Director,
NM Foundation for Open Government
