Secrecy is the enemy of good government. Fortunately, here in Colorado, we have developed a strong tradition of transparency and open government so that citizens can see how their tax dollars are being used. In the early 1970s, over the objections ...

Hang around the nation's capital long enough and inevitably even the most grizzled newsroom veteran reads something so utterly wrong that he is left speechless. Such a moment arrived for this ink-stained wretch Thursday while reading a Washington Post op-ed by Bipartisan Policy Center President Jason Grumet. His piece included this declaration about post-Watergate reforms designed to bring government out from behind closed doors: read more ...

Secrecy is the enemy of good government. Fortunately, here in Colorado, we have developed a strong tradition of transparency and open government so that citizens can see how their tax dollars are being used. One transparency issue, however, that has been killed year after year in the Colorado legislature would have mandated open meetings between school boards and teachers unions during the collective bargaining process ...

Proposition 104, which voters will see on their ballots this November, has a seemingly simple premise: to require any meeting of a school board or between any representative of employees and the district where a collective bargaining agreement is being discussed, to be open to the public. However, the key word there is "discussed," because it could end up creating a lot of unnecessary confusion and bureaucracy for Colorado's school districts and could end up costing taxpayers more money in the end ...

The Boulder County Chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado has decided not to oppose (or endorse) the proposed amendment to the Boulder City Charter to allow executive sessions of the City Council to discuss legal advice as the city negotiates with and litigates against Xcel to establish its own electric utility ...

In a case involving a Freedom of Information Act request for information related to government policies and procedures for law enforcement use of cell phone tracking, a federal judge has ordered the release of records, which the Justice Department sought to keep secret by claiming they would 'alert law violators'- otherwise known as criminals- to how to evade detection. read more ...

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 ...