Web cookies (also called HTTP cookies, browser cookies, or simply cookies) are small pieces of data that websites store on your device (computer, phone, etc.) through your web browser. They are used to remember information about you and your interactions with the site.
Purpose of Cookies:
Session Management:
Keeping you logged in
Remembering items in a shopping cart
Saving language or theme preferences
Personalization:
Tailoring content or ads based on your previous activity
Tracking & Analytics:
Monitoring browsing behavior for analytics or marketing purposes
Types of Cookies:
Session Cookies:
Temporary; deleted when you close your browser
Used for things like keeping you logged in during a single session
Persistent Cookies:
Stored on your device until they expire or are manually deleted
Used for remembering login credentials, settings, etc.
First-Party Cookies:
Set by the website you're visiting directly
Third-Party Cookies:
Set by other domains (usually advertisers) embedded in the website
Commonly used for tracking across multiple sites
Authentication cookies are a special type of web cookie used to identify and verify a user after they log in to a website or web application.
What They Do:
Once you log in to a site, the server creates an authentication cookie and sends it to your browser. This cookie:
Proves to the website that you're logged in
Prevents you from having to log in again on every page you visit
Can persist across sessions if you select "Remember me"
What's Inside an Authentication Cookie?
Typically, it contains:
A unique session ID (not your actual password)
Optional metadata (e.g., expiration time, security flags)
Analytics cookies are cookies used to collect data about how visitors interact with a website. Their primary purpose is to help website owners understand and improve user experience by analyzing things like:
How users navigate the site
Which pages are most/least visited
How long users stay on each page
What device, browser, or location the user is from
What They Track:
Some examples of data analytics cookies may collect:
Page views and time spent on pages
Click paths (how users move from page to page)
Bounce rate (users who leave without interacting)
User demographics (location, language, device)
Referring websites (how users arrived at the site)
Here’s how you can disable cookies in common browsers:
1. Google Chrome
Open Chrome and click the three vertical dots in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy and security > Cookies and other site data.
Choose your preferred option:
Block all cookies (not recommended, can break most websites).
Block third-party cookies (can block ads and tracking cookies).
2. Mozilla Firefox
Open Firefox and click the three horizontal lines in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy & Security.
Under the Enhanced Tracking Protection section, choose Strict to block most cookies or Custom to manually choose which cookies to block.
3. Safari
Open Safari and click Safari in the top-left corner of the screen.
Go to Preferences > Privacy.
Check Block all cookies to stop all cookies, or select options to block third-party cookies.
4. Microsoft Edge
Open Edge and click the three horizontal dots in the top-right corner.
Go to Settings > Privacy, search, and services > Cookies and site permissions.
Select your cookie settings from there, including blocking all cookies or blocking third-party cookies.
5. On Mobile (iOS/Android)
For Safari on iOS: Go to Settings > Safari > Privacy & Security > Block All Cookies.
For Chrome on Android: Open the app, tap the three dots, go to Settings > Privacy and security > Cookies.
Be Aware:
Disabling cookies can make your online experience more difficult. Some websites may not load properly, or you may be logged out frequently. Also, certain features may not work as expected.
FOI #26-289 - Subject - Low Income Taxpayer Clinic
Name - Taylor Pinon
Affiliation - University of Missouri-Kansas City
Your organization's Low Income Taxpayer Clinic (LITC) Grant Expense Form (IRS Form 13424) for calendar years 2024 and 2025. Specifically, I request the final forms for 2024 and, if available, the interim and final forms for 2025.
Under the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act § 1-200 et seq., I am requesting an opportunity to inspect or obtain copies of public records related to the following case:
FOI #26-287 - Subject - Student Housing Cancellation Records
Name - Louise McKenna
Affiliation -
Pursuant to the Connecticut Freedom of Information Act (C.G.S. § 1-200 et seq.), I hereby request copies of the following public records and data maintained by the University of Connecticut's Department of Residential Life and the Office of the Bursar:
1. Records of any waitlisted students (names redacted) who were assigned to the Stamford campus housing capacity previously associated with my son’s application following its cancellation.
2. Systemic Policy & Data Records (Fall 2025 & Fall 2026 cycles):
- Aggregate data showing the total number of students whose housing applications were administratively cancelled by UConn after July 15, 2025, due to "non-selection" of a room.
- Data indicating how many of those students were subsequently billed 100% of the housing rate.
- Internal policies or guidelines defining the "student accountability" criteria used by the Associate Vice President for Student Life to uphold housing fees for non-service.
PDF copy of your 2025 NCAA membership report (FY 2024-25) which was likely filed in January of this year.
The purpose of the request is to compile data reported in the FY 2025 NCAA member reporting to establish a pre-revenue sharing era benchmark average of categorized annual expenditures for all NCAA Division I schools.
The data compilations will assist in providing accurate information to the media, federal legislative staff here in Washington, DC as well as the general public. This information is not being sought or used for commercial purposes.
Thank you, I appreciate your assistance on this request.
FOI #26-284 - Subject - Practice Football Athletic Field Renovation
Name - Mark Zurada
Affiliation -
Please send the final and compiled bid tabulation (bid tally), including all quantities and unit pricing for each bidder, for 'Practice Football Athletic Field Renovation' that was submitted on 04/06/2021. I believe the project number is 'LM030921', but I could be mistaken. If so, please use the project name and date to lookup the responsive documents. We specifically request the line-item bid tabulation showing each material, quantity, unit, and unit price for every bidder. If no such line-item tally was created, please provide the full bid submissions from each contractor. A grand total sheet alone is not sufficient to satisfy this request unless it was a lump sum bid.
Below is an example of the format we are looking for that the engineer usually creates at the completion of the bid:
FOI #26-283 (04-20-26, 4:59 pm) - Subject - CE Graduate TA contract
Name - Student Student
Affiliation -
graduate teaching assistant contracts, from the years 2023, 2024, and 2025 from the college of engineering school of civil and environmental engineering
All records pertaining to the construction of the proposed UConn Golf facility, including contracts, contract plans, bid documents, cost estimates, environmental reports, any contracts with environmental consulting agencies.
FOI #26-281 (04-20-26, 3:11 pm) - Subject - Student Athlete Dining Hall Spending
Name - David Covucci
Affiliation - FOIAball
Pursuant to Connecticut's Freedom of Information Act (Chapter 14 Conn. Gen. Stats.), I am requesting the following documents from your athletics department.
Any spending documents that detail total expenses incurred by your university’s student-athlete dining facilities for the following date range: 3/1/2026 to 3/31/2026, or the most recent available month.
The most recent version of any document that tracks the per-student-athlete cost of dining facilities, should such document exist.
Any existing report or document that tracks specific quantities of items purchased for student-athlete dining facilities (including, but not limited to, meat, poultry, and produce) for the following date range: 3/1/2026 to 3/31/2026 or the most recent available month.
With this last bullet point, I am attempting to capture the voluminous nature of running a student-athlete dining facility, and capture the scale of food required, i.e., 1,000 pounds of chicken breasts.
As such, I am amenable to this bullet point being fulfilled in a way your department believes is most easily applicable, and will accept current inventory logs or purchasing schedules (as opposed to getting a ton of invoices that might require voluminous review and/or redaction).
Please note that Connecticut law requires public agencies to respond to requests within four days of receiving them by either processing or denying the request, or providing written notice requesting an extension.
As I am an independent journalist engaged in legitimate newsgathering, I am requesting a fee waiver of any associated costs with this request. In lieu of a fee waiver, I am requesting a detailed invoice of any potential costs, if any, associated with this request.
FOI #26-280 (04-20-26, 11:37 am) - Subject - Media Buying and Consulting Services RFP # MF012926
Name - Ryland Holdren
Affiliation -
I am submitting a records request regarding Media Buying and Consulting Services RFP # MF012926.
I am requesting:
Top 3 scoring submitted proposals
Scoring and evaluation sheets
Awarded contract(s)
Could you please confirm receipt of this request and provide an estimated timeframe for response? If there are any costs associated, kindly let me know in advance.
If I’ve reached out to the wrong person or department, I’d greatly appreciate it if you could direct me to the appropriate contact.
Thank you for your time and assistance. Please let me know if you need any additional information to process this request.