April is RIM (Records and Information Management) Month; you can expect to see a few more funny and light-hearted posts throughout the next few weeks. With that in mind, this cartoon pokes fun at one of the more frustrating aspects of managing records and information: the ability — or inability! —to let go of things!

Share this with your colleagues and take a look at some of the other cartoons on this website—not always related to records management!

Washington state moved to the forefront of national news at the beginning of March due to a law that was created and passed in such quick succession, but the time frame is not what raised concerns. The law, which was created and passed within 48 hours, effectively alters Washington’s open records law.

In response to a court decision ruling that state lawmakers’ emails, text messages, etc. are public records and therefore subject to open records regulations, the lawmakers changed the law completely. Furthermore, they made the change retroactive, meaning past records can be hidden from public view.

More to the story? Read more about the gubernatorial follow-up: “Gov. Inslee vetoes legislative exemption bill”

A county in Florida is in the news this week, but not for the reasons you think. Hall County Sheriff’s Office located in Florida is long overdue for a modernized records management and jail management system. Stuck with the same system since the 1980’s, while completing their job responsibilities, employees across both the officer and records management divisions often had to enter information up to three times. How tedious and familiar!

In today’s day and age, people have become ever dependent upon the smart phone and for good reason—it’s a one-stop-shop for our lives containing everything we need. Between the various medical professionals and specialists we see and the HIPAA awareness and permissions, another universal truth is managing and accessing our own medical records can get complicated. Recognizing a need, Apple has launched an enhancement to Health app available on iPhones which will enable patients to access their records from participating medical providers from their phone.

This immediately brings to mind security and the potential for accidental release or access however, Apple has been known for their stringent security protocols.

The city of Atlanta was recently hit with a hacking attack that took control of much of the city’s computer network and this type of event is not a one off. Cybersecurity experts say it’s “a reason to worry,” especially for bigger cities, such as Austin, Texas. The Atlanta hack robbed employees of their access to key systems, “leaving them with pen and paper to conduct official business.” Talk about reverting to the stone age. Even a week later, as of April 2, full access has not been restored and “the hackers are demanding a $51,000 ransom to restore access.”