TCF Regional Care Center - Email Communications (Michigan National Guard)

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act and/or the Michigan Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

- All e-mails related to the planning, funding, construction, and closure of the TCF Regional Care Center in Detroit, MI between the dates of 3/1/2020 and 5/10/2020. Please also include any attachments to those e-mails.

Please limit your search to only e-mails sent to or received by any of the following individuals:

- Robert Gordon: GordonR3@michigan.gov
- Gretchen Whitmer: WhitmerG1@michigan.gov
- Mark Totten: TottenM1@michigan.gov
- Dana Nessel: dananessel@gmail.com, miag@michigan.gov
- Elizabeth Hertel: HertelE@michigan.gov
- Tricia Foster: FosterT13@michigan.gov
- Joanna Huls: HulsJ1@michigan.gov
- Lynn Torossian
- Dr. Jenny Atas
- James K. Joseph
- Maj. Gen. Paul Rogers
- Lt. Col. Gregory Turner
- FEMA Region 5 staff

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

In order to help determine my status for fees, you should know that I am a freelance journalist whose work has been published by print and digital news outlets and magazines in Michigan and in other states, as well as by national outlets. You can view my portfolio at www.erinmariemiller.com/journalism. Disclosure of the requested information to me is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government and is not primarily in my commercial interest.

Because this request is being made as part of a news-gathering effort with a high likelihood of publication, and because the requested information has already been provided to other parties as part of a lawsuit, I request a waiver of all fees.


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 am willing to pay up to $25 for the requested information. If there is a fee that exceeds that amount, please notify me prior to initiating work on the 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 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Erin Marie Miller

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Michigan Freedom of Information Act request, copied below, and originally submitted on July 23, 2021. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.

Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.

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To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act and/or the Michigan Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

- All e-mails related to the planning, funding, construction, and closure of the TCF Regional Care Center in Detroit, MI between the dates of 3/1/2020 and 5/10/2020. Please also include any attachments to those e-mails.

Please limit your search to only e-mails sent to or received by any of the following individuals:

- Robert Gordon: GordonR3@michigan.gov
- Gretchen Whitmer: WhitmerG1@michigan.gov
- Mark Totten: TottenM1@michigan.gov
- Dana Nessel: dananessel@gmail.com, miag@michigan.gov
- Elizabeth Hertel: HertelE@michigan.gov
- Tricia Foster: FosterT13@michigan.gov
- Joanna Huls: HulsJ1@michigan.gov
- Lynn Torossian
- Dr. Jenny Atas
- James K. Joseph
- Maj. Gen. Paul Rogers
- Lt. Col. Gregory Turner
- FEMA Region 5 staff

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

In order to help determine my status for fees, you should know that I am a freelance journalist whose work has been published by print and digital news outlets and magazines in Michigan and in other states, as well as by national outlets. You can view my portfolio at www.erinmariemiller.com/journalism. Disclosure of the requested information to me is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government and is not primarily in my commercial interest.

Because this request is being made as part of a news-gathering effort with a high likelihood of publication, and because the requested information has already been provided to other parties as part of a lawsuit, I request a waiver of all fees.


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 am willing to pay up to $25 for the requested information. If there is a fee that exceeds that amount, please notify me prior to initiating work on the 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 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Erin Marie Miller

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following FOIA request, copied below, which was originally submitted on July 23, 2021. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.

I followed up with your agency on 8/15/2021 after failing to receive a response or determination about my request within the time required under the FOIA law.

I received a response to my inquiry on 8/16 telling me that my request was being processed, but your agency offered no FOIA ID request number. It is typical of agencies under the FOIA to assign each request a number, so I found this response to be unusual.

I have received no further correspondence from your agency since then. Under the FOIA, federal agencies are required to provide requesters with a determination about their FOIA request within 20 days of receipt. Michigan agencies are required to respond within five days under the state FOIA. Either way, a proper response is now months overdue. Please respond as soon as possible. I've attached the language of the original request for your reference, in the absence of a request ID number.

Thanks for your help, and please let me know if further clarification is needed.

Sincerely,

Erin Miller

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To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act and/or the Michigan Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

- All e-mails related to the planning, funding, construction, and closure of the TCF Regional Care Center in Detroit, MI between the dates of 3/1/2020 and 5/10/2020. Please also include any attachments to those e-mails.

Please limit your search to only e-mails sent to or received by any of the following individuals:

- Robert Gordon: GordonR3@michigan.gov
- Gretchen Whitmer: WhitmerG1@michigan.gov
- Mark Totten: TottenM1@michigan.gov
- Dana Nessel: dananessel@gmail.com, miag@michigan.gov
- Elizabeth Hertel: HertelE@michigan.gov
- Tricia Foster: FosterT13@michigan.gov
- Joanna Huls: HulsJ1@michigan.gov
- Lynn Torossian
- Dr. Jenny Atas
- James K. Joseph
- Maj. Gen. Paul Rogers
- Lt. Col. Gregory Turner
- FEMA Region 5 staff

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

In order to help determine my status for fees, you should know that I am a freelance journalist whose work has been published by print and digital news outlets and magazines in Michigan and in other states, as well as by national outlets. You can view my portfolio at www.erinmariemiller.com/journalism. Disclosure of the requested information to me is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government and is not primarily in my commercial interest.

Because this request is being made as part of a news-gathering effort with a high likelihood of publication, and because the requested information has already been provided to other parties as part of a lawsuit, I request a waiver of all fees.


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 am willing to pay up to $25 for the requested information. If there is a fee that exceeds that amount, please notify me prior to initiating work on the 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 5 business days, as the statute requires.

To Whom It May Concern:

I am following up on my FOIA request dated 7/26/2021 seeking e-mails related to the planning, funding, construction, and closure of the TCF Regional Care Center in Detroit, MI between the dates of 3/1/2020 and 5/10/2020.

You can view that request, and its subsequent handling, here: https://www.muckrock.com/foi/michigan-117/tcf-regional-care-center-email-communications-michigan-national-guard-116590

On 8/16/2021, receipt of my follow-up email concerning the aforementioned request was confirmed. To date, your agency has not provided me with an acknowledgement letter confirming receipt of my request, nor has my request been assigned a tracking number by your agency to my knowledge. To date, your agency has also failed to provide me with a determination letter notifying me about the approval or denial status of my request.

I have received multiple responses from your agency letting me know that "my request is still being processed," as well as a refusal to provide me with any information about when to expect the requested documents. Without a tracking number, I have no idea how your agency is even tracking the status of my request.

Under the Michigan FOIA law, an agency is required to provide a requester with a response within 5 days of receipt of the request. A request tracking number is generally assigned at this time. An agency may extend the decision time to approve or deny a request for an additional ten days for specific reasons, so long as they notify the requester about the extension. Your agency has failed to do any of these things in the course of handling this request.

Under the federal FOIA law, an agency is required to provide a requester with a response within 20 days of receipt of the request. A request tracking number is generally assigned at this time. An agency may extend their decision to deny or approve a request for specific reasons, so long as they notify the requester about the extension. Your agency has failed to do any of these things in the course of handling this request.

In the case of my request, which was submitted over six months ago, the Michigan National Guard failed to respond to my request and failed to provide me with a determination within the legally required time frame, in addition to failing to even assign the request a tracking number.

This letter is my final legal demand for the formal acknowledgement of my FOIA request AND its determination status, which your agency is required to provide to me under both state and federal FOIA laws.

If I have not received a response guided by the law by Friday 2/11, I will contact an attorney to explore my options regarding this request.

Best,

Erin Marie Miller

Hello,

Please see the following request for records. Thank you for your help with this request.

Sincerely,
MuckRock

Hi Steven,

Please see the following request for records. Thank you for your help with this request.

Sincerely,
MuckRock