News

Open data making progress at state and government agency level in the US

The publication of a new report from the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) prompts a quick look at the progress of the Obama administration’s US Open Data Action Plan. That has its roots in the June 2013 pledge ...

Editorial: MN Governor’s signature on Timberjay bill is a victory for access to government

Senate File 1770 had already received unanimous support in the House and the Senate. Known as the Timberjay bill, it would require that all government contracts with private business be subject to the Minnesota Data Practices Act, even if that open a ...

Mount Pleasant (MI) cites FOIA while withholding city manager finalist names

Mount Pleasant city officials announced last week that commissioners will interview finalists for the vacant city manager position on June 24. City officials still have not released the names of the finalists, even after receiving a formal request un ...

Editorial: Lawsuit shows how open government was a joke during (FL) redistricting

Sometimes it takes a simple redistricting lawsuit to show us the funny side of the state Capitol. Redistricting, the once-a-decade process of redrawing congressional and legislative boundaries, isn’t something that’s the stuff of big laug ...

Peter Scheer: All levels of government must be transparent, so yes on (CA) Prop 42

Proposition 42, on the ballot June 4, will amend the state Constitution to assure local governments — cities, counties, school boards, etc. — are legally bound to observe open-government requirements. If you prefer transparency to secrecy ...

Misgivings come with new Vermont open meetings law

As he signed a new open meetings bill into law, Gov. Peter Shumlin expressed "serious concern" about parts of it, including a do-over provision that allows government bodies a chance to fix violations without penalty. Now some open government advocates are asking for a do-over on the entire law, and a key legislator says lawmakers will likely revisit some aspects of it next year. read more ...

Hamburg (NY) School Board misconduct hearings will stay closed

After two days of hearing secret testimony about a school board member’s alleged misconduct, the Hamburg Central School District’s lawyer said the sessions must be kept confidential because the proceedings are quasi-judicial. read more ...

Google’s big privacy dilemma in Europe

Google and other internet companies find themselves in a quandary over how to strike a balance between privacy and freedom of information as the top world search engine took a first step towards upholding an EU privacy ruling. Google moved overnight to put up an online form that will allow European citizens to request that links to obsolete information be taken down — its first response to the ruling by Europe's top court on "the right to be forgotten". read more ...

Connecticut inmate contests $200 document fee

Connecticut's Freedom of Information Commission was asked Friday to reconsider how poor a prison inmate must be to obtain public documents for free. Derrick Taylor, a 43-year-old inmate serving an 80-year sentence for a 1992 murder outside a Hartford bar, is requesting several thousand pages of documents from the state Department of Correction related to operations of Northern Correctional Institution, where he is housed. The documents include commissary contracts and details about the prison's ventilation and television systems. read more ...

Keep shining light on government

The key to our watchdog work — shining a light on government and holding public officials accountable — comes down to a single word: Transparency. In our world it means relatively easy access to public information — documents and ...