Paul Ames emails re:CVE

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, I hereby request the following records:

All email and written correspondence, between January 2014 and January 2018, between Deputy Superintendent Paul Ames and the U.S. Attorney's Office District of Massachusetts regarding the subject of “Countering Violent Extremism.”
Countering Violent Extremism, or CVE, is a federal program in which the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice provide grants to local stakeholders. Officer Ames was listed as a collaborator on the U.S. Attorney’s Office 2015 CVE framework, link below (Paul Ames’s name appearson page 16):
https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/usao-ma/pages/attachments/2015/02/18/framework.pdf
Any email search in this time frame should include all names for CVE or CVE-affiliated grants, including “CVE” or ”PEACE grant.”

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is
not being made for commercial purposes

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as we believe this request is in the public interest, as suggested but not stipulated by the recommendations of the Massachusetts Supervisor of Public Records. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

I expect the request to be filled in an accessible format, including for screen readers, which provide text-to-speech for persons unable to read print. Files that are not accessible to screen readers include, for example, .pdf image files as well as physical documents.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Ava Sasani

Hi Jeremy,

Thanks so much for your response, I'd like to go ahead and get the cost estimate for my full request, without narrowing it down. Please let me know that cost estimate as soon as you can.

Thanks!
Ava Sasani

Hi Jeremy,

Thank you so much for your response! I do have a couple of questions about these fees. First, under state law you are required to provide four hours of free labor, not just two, so two hours of labor should be removed from this cost.

Second, I am confused as to why the emails need to printed, when they are a digital document so it seems that the easiest way for you to return them to me would be digitally. If the "native" form of the document (in this case, email) is digital, there should be no need for printing.

If you could clarify and adjust these fees as soon as possible I would really appreciate it. If it's easier to speak on the phone, please feel free to call my cell at 781-941-0829.

Looking forward to hearing from you, thanks!
Ava Sasani