The original aim of my meandering reporting journey, The Purge, was to question whether it was good policy for our state's government offices to be routinely deleting its email communication within a short time, and not backing it up. Emails are part of the public record, only, they weren't staying around very long in the Texas Governor's office.
The question got a Wisconsinite named John Washburn's attention, and he got the attention of the Star-Telegram, which is now featuring this very issue on its front page.
Background - Washburn read The Purge: Part One and decided to begin challenging the Texas Governor's office and its email deletion policy, by routinely asking for all of those public documents BEFORE they were deleted. The Governor's general counsel replied, asking him to narrow his request and saying the emails could only be available on paper -- not electronically. Washburn shot back, and that's where we're at right now.
The Purge Series:
The Purge: Part One
The Purge Makes the Carnival
The Purge: Part Two
