News

Watchdog groups decry Obama move limiting whistle-blower shield

From Businessweek: Open-government advocates said a proposed U.S. rule that could lead to more federal jobs being classified as sensitive may also make it easier to fire federal whistle-blowers. read more ...

Open government data ramps up

From GovWin Network: This month’s executive order and administrative policy on open data come four years after the launch of data.gov and an order tasking agencies to provide at least three “high-value datasets.” The hype is a ...

Michigan government entities stymie FOIA requests to hide information

From Michigan Capitol Confidential: The Michigan Department of Education said the least expensive employee able to fulfill a specific Freedom of Information Act request has a total compensation of $116,917 a year. In 2009, the Michigan State P ...

Seattle Police admit violating public records laws

From OregonLive.com: The Seattle Police Department acknowledged it broke public records laws when it withheld from The Seattle Times an internal memo about its response to riotous May Day demonstrations in 2012. The department agreed to pay $2 ...

Group cries foul over UW request to block public records access

From The Cap Times: Animal research at the UW-Madison has long been a touchy subject — and one that some university officials certainly wish would disappear altogether. Now, activists are claiming the school is looking to limit access to ...

Bill letting Newtown families veto disclosure might raise fairness issues

From Hartford Courant: The secretly drafted bill that would give Newtown massacre victims' families the power to veto disclosure of some investigative records might create a broader precedent — because future crime victims' families could ask for the same power in their less-celebrated cases, the head of the state Freedom of Information Commission said Thursday. read more ...

Nominations open for Madison/Andersen Award

From Washington Coalition for Open Government: Save the date! The 2013 WCOG Madison/Andersen award ceremony will be held the morning of Friday, September 13, 2013. Submit your nominations for the James Madison and James Andersen Awards by ...

Sunshine Report from the Virginia Coalition for Open Government

From Virginia Coalition for Open Government: The May 2013 edition of the Sunshine Report is online with stories about the U.S. Supreme Court's FOIA ruling, a case on cameras in the courtroom, FOIA Council updates and open government news. In the issue: U.S. Supreme Court upholds Virginia's citizens-only FOIA limitation FOIA Council updates Huguely camera case headed to Virginia Supreme Court Open government in the news [...] read more ...

Nominate a New Mexico open government hero!

From New Mexico Foundation for Open Government: (May 24, 2013) The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government is now accepting nominations for the 2013 William S. Dixon First Amendment Freedom Award. read more ...