After two painful losses before the South Carolina Supreme Court, there has been a small victory for the Freedom of Information Act in a case involving Greenville businessman and open-government activist Edward 'Ned' Sloan. The man who has sued a number of state and local agencies, often successfully, has been paid $18,000 in fees and costs related to a 2012 FOIA request that was handled improperly by the state Department of Revenue. read more ...

Complying with the 1966 Freedom of Information Act these days is a hugely complex technological feat that goes far beyond filing cabinets, good judgment and black markers. One trick to organizing and handling mind-boggling numbers of documents is keeping in mind the requesters' needs, according to experts looking to make this government service more effective. read more ...

Gov. Christie and his administration have pulled plenty of shameless stunts to protect Christie's image. Few though, have been as blatant as the decision earlier this year to delete public information about town-by-town property-tax rebates and net property-tax growth from the state Department of Community Affairs website. The goal was to try to prevent meaningful comparisons of the full impact of tax policies between Christie and his gubernatorial predecessor, Jon Corzine. read more ...

he organization that represents registered nurses, nurse practitioners and nursing students in Ontario has issued a formal request to the provincial government for information related to medical tourism. read more ...

It isn't uncommon for conflicts to arise between the news media and law enforcement agencies over the release of information. Police are protective of their investigations and worry about showing too much of their hand. News reporters are hard-core advocates of the public's right to know and question anything that stands in the way of gathering information freely. As standoffish as the two groups can sometimes be, there's also a reliance on each other. There are times one can benefit from the other. read more ...

A group of government transparency advocates delivered a letter to the White House Monday calling on the Obama administration to do away with its policy of reviewing Freedom of Information Act requests determined by the executive to contain "White House equities." The policy has "caused significant confusion and delay among agencies in their compliance with the Freedom of Information Act." read more ...

So how much of your dollars are being spent on providing free college educations for state workers? We don't know ó and that should outrage you. We know that in past budgets the state has spent $5 million on the program known as Upward Mobility. But if you take a careful look at this year's state budget you'll find that the program has been 'zeroed out' meaning that it appears the state is no longer spending a dime on the program. But appearances can be deceptive, especially when it comes to Illinois state government. read more ...

At first glance, it was just like many other emails sent by area residents. The writer, a constituent of South Logan County, expressed his frustration with the regulatory actions of a large state agency. While I understood the writer's frustration and his valid description of a legitimate abuse, I was excited to realize that his email contained a validation of one of the most important transparency tools, a tool that allowed this South Logan County resident to demonstrate an error by a large state agency. read more ...

After delivering his address at the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting last week, President Obama dropped a tidbit of interest for open data advocates: he promised to produce an open source policy by the end of 2015. Speaking before the ...

We discussed open government in the Ethan Allen Room of the Vermont State House during the recent Digital Economy Summit (Sept. 23). His statue stood there, arm raised for recognition to speak of timeless Vermont. I felt lonely as a grass-roots Ver ...