A recent FOIA request to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for "manuals, documents or other written guidance used to access or analyze data gathered by programs developed or deployed by Carrier IQ" was met with a telling denial. In it, the FBI stated it did have responsive documents - but they were exempt under a provision that covers materials that, if disclosed, might reasonably interfere with an ongoing investigation.

Parking tickets: a phrase that strikes fear in the heart of any motorist. But don’t worry! Somerville Voices has analyzed parking ticket appeals in Somerville, MA, based on officer, season, violation type and more. Find out exactly how to get that appeal passed, plus a simple trick that could increase your chances of getting off easy by up to 11 percent!

The Boston Housing Authority is, by the government organization's own admission, Boston's largest landlord with thousands of contracts totaling hundreds of millions of dollars for services ranging from elevator maintenance to fire alarm replacements to the building of all-new affordable housing.

Seventeen charter school proposals received the endorsement of Massachusetts Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester yesterday, paving the way for new school openings as early as this fall. The proposals await the final green light from the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education at the end of the month.

The FBI released 225 pages of threats against members of Congress made in 2009. While the release may not be comprehensive (ongoing investigations, for example, are exempt from FOIA), the pages paint a picture of the typical investigated threat: mentally unstable, intoxicated, or both, and angry about issues from both sides of the aisle.

Although Somerville's Mayor Joseph Curtatone ran unopposed in 2009, he still raised serious cash from some 600 contributors: Donors sent in over $100,000, including $13,990 from 75 City of Somerville employees and $750 from two executives at Duncan Solutions, which had recently received a contract to be the city's new parking meter vendor.

At his parole hearing on Nov. 6, 2008, Dominic Cinelli, who allegedly killed Officer John "Jack" Maguire a week ago, was found to be "proactive in addressing" the Parole Board's previous concerns, attending substance abuse and alternatives to violence classes while earning his GED and taking job training programs. Despite three concurrent life sentences, the Board found his release "not incompatible with the welfare of society."