From Mitchell Daily Republic: HURON — A copy of a secret agreement that directed nearly $175,000 to an ex-superintendent of the Huron School District must be provided to The Daily Republic, a judge ruled Wednesday. [. . .] In a four-p ...

From Salt Lake Tribune: Linda Petersen, president of the Utah Foundation for Open Government, recently participated in a debate over censorship by government public information officers. The event at the National Press Club in Washington ...

From Electronic Frontier Foundation: In a major victory in one of EFF's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits, the Justice Department conceded yesterday that it will release hundreds of documents, including FISA court opinions, related to the government’s secret interpretation of Section 215 of the Patriot Act, the law the NSA has relied upon for years to mass collect the phone records of millions of innocent Americans. read more ...

From Idea Lab: New technology tools, combined with raised expectations among voters and stakeholders for government transparency, have sparked a movement toward “open government.” Championed by advocacy organizations and a few high- ...

From the Arkansas Attorney General: Arkansas has one of the strongest open meetings and open records laws in the country, yet Arkansans may not know all the mechanics or the applications of the state’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). ...

From The Denver Post: The Colorado Supreme Court is asking prosecutors to explain why court records in the death penalty cases of two Aurora men should be kept secret. The move comes more than five years after an Arapahoe County District Court judge barred the files from public review. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court issued an order to attorneys of both men, Sir Mario Owens and Robert Ray, to explain why they want the court files opened. In previous filings, defense attorneys have claimed misconduct by the prosecution. They are asking that the case files be made public, including transcripts, ...

From the Colorado Springs Independent: Earlier this year, Mayor Steve Bach's administration began charging citizens and media for public records, citing "voluminous and frivolous" requests that allegedly cost Colorado Springs taxpayers more than $200,000 in staff time in 2012. In the almost seven months since that policy change, the city's costs have dropped to less than $6,000, while citizens and media have paid about $1,400. But that financial "win" for administrators raises questions for Luis Toro, director of the nonprofit watchdog group Colorado Ethics Watch. For one thing, the small 2013 numbers could mean the city's 2012 figure was inflated ...

From Iowa Freedom of Information Council: The annual newletter from Iowa FOI Council is out. Among many things of interest is notice of the 15th edition of the Open Meetings/Open Records Handbook. The pocket-sized booklet is updated every t ...

From The Blog of Legal Times: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled today that records of visitors to the White House were off limits to requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Allowing public access to the information would circumvent Congress' intent to give the president discretion to keep his appointments calendar secret, the court said. read more ...

From The Republic: A Lexington-based foundation that has received more than $1 million from a regional development district since 2009 has declined to release documents to show how the money was spent. The money that went to the Bluegrass Ind ...