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<DIV><FONT size=2>What we need is legislation that prevents court settlements in
cases like this where one party is a public agency from being sealed.
It's taxpayers money. We should know how much, and how it is being
spent, and the frivolities that led to such expenditures.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>In this case, it was obvious from the beginning that certain
assholes at the university were being just that: assholes protecting a good ol'
boy, Gary Maki. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>I want to know how much this malfeasance cost: the
settlement amount, attorney fees, cost of UI staff time, etc. It's our
money, and it is chickenshit of the UI, a public agency, to insist as part of
the settlement that its terms be kept secret, and away from the taxpayer's
eyes.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>If the cost of enough of these settlements were made public,
maybe, just maybe, arrogant, good ol' boy/girl behavior could be slowed a bit,
and maybe its worst practitioners dismissed from employment.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>What is also heartbreaking about this case in the current
fiscal downturn is that the money spent on this utter fiasco of illicit
favoritism could have been used to save some UI jobs, the services they provide,
and prevented the misery and disorganization to families that would have not
suffered if UI officials had acted correctly in the first place.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2>Wayne A. Fox<BR>1009 Karen Lane<BR>PO Box 9421<BR>Moscow,
ID 83843</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><A href="mailto:waf@moscow.com">waf@moscow.com</A><BR>208
882-7975</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=thansen@moscow.com href="mailto:thansen@moscow.com">Tom Hansen</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=vision2020@moscow.com
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">Moscow Vision 2020</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, October 30, 2009 5:57
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [Vision2020] UI Settles With
Ex-Workers</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Courtesy of today's (October 30, 2009) Spokesman
Review.<BR><BR>-----------------------------------------------<BR><BR>UI
settles with ex-workers<BR>Husband, wife claimed they were punished for
reporting on researcher<BR><BR>The University of Idaho has settled a lawsuit
with two former employees<BR>who claimed they were punished for reporting
concerns that a high-profile<BR>researcher was using university resources to
benefit private companies.<BR><BR>Although the university is publicly funded,
the terms of the settlement<BR>were being kept confidential.<BR><BR>The UI
released a statement saying Kenneth Hass and his wife, Martha
Hass,<BR>"adhered to and followed" the proper procedures in reporting
their<BR>concerns. The statement also said allegations that Kenneth Hass
attempted<BR>to sabotage sensitive research projects were
"unfounded."<BR><BR>The couple worked at the UI's Center for Advanced
Microelectronics and<BR>Biomolecular Research in Post Falls, a research
operation formerly led by<BR>Gary Maki. The center designed and developed
microchips used on NASA<BR>missions, among other projects, and Maki had a
history of high-profile<BR>breakthroughs.<BR><BR>In 2005, the Hasses told a
university auditor that Maki and others at<BR>CAMBR were improperly using UI
resources to benefit two private spinoff<BR>companies owned by Maki and
research colleagues. A UI audit concluded that<BR>Maki and others deliberately
directed public resources to benefit the<BR>companies - using university
equipment, personnel and office space to<BR>support one firm, and doing
company business on university time, among<BR>other issues.<BR><BR>As a
result, the UI toughened its policies managing conflicts of
interest<BR>between researchers and the for-profit enterprises that arise from
their<BR>discoveries.<BR><BR>Kenneth Hass worked as a professor at the center,
and Martha Hass was in<BR>administrative support before moving to another
department and eventually<BR>leaving the UI. They said they faced retaliation
from supervisors and<BR>administrators for reporting their
concerns.<BR><BR>Kenneth Hass was also the subject of a letter to UI officials
- apparently<BR>authored by Maki, but signed by a NASA official - questioning
whether he<BR>provided sensitive information to unauthorized sources,
including "foreign<BR>agents."<BR><BR>The UI said that allegation, as well as
others from Maki that Kenneth Hass<BR>had tried to sabotage CAMBR projects,
were unfounded.<BR><BR>Maki was demoted in 2007 from director of CAMBR to
professor there, and he<BR>retired this month. The Hasses now live in
Lewisburg, Pa., where Kenneth<BR>is a professor at Bucknell
University.<BR><BR>Neither the UI nor the Hasses' attorney would comment
further on the case,<BR>under the conditions of the
agreement.<BR><BR>-----------------------------------------------<BR><BR>Seeya
at homecoming, Moscow.<BR><BR>Tom Hansen<BR>Moscow, Idaho<BR><BR>"The
Pessimist complains about the wind, the Optimist expects it to change<BR>and
the Realist adjusts his sails."<BR><BR>-
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