A few items selected from many of interest that we might not have drawn attention to earlier:
Hackathon aims to produce open government apps
Open government should get a boost from an event being held this weekend in San Francisco, according to event sponsor Granicus Inc. The CityCampSF Hackathon, scheduled for Dec. 10 and 11, will bring together innovative professionals from government, technology and journalism, as well as community leaders, to work on building applications that will foster civic innovation and transparency in government.
Visit Government Computer News for the rest.
Vermont Supreme Court hears plea for release of police records
A news website is asking the Vermont Supreme Court to order the Hartford Police Department to release the records of a case in which a naked man with a medical condition was pepper-sprayed and handcuffed inside his home. An attorney for the Vermont chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, working for vtdigger.org, told the court Thursday that, in most cases, state law requires such documents be released.
Visit Burlington Free Press for the rest.
Pa. legislators consider opening records at Penn State, other public schools
On the same day that former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was arrested on new molestation charges, state legislators released the text of a bill that would bring the university into the reach of Pennsylvania’s public records law. House Bill 2051 would amend the Right-to-Know law to include within its purview “state-related” institutions, including four of the state’s major universities: Penn State University, Temple University, Lincoln University and the University of Pittsburgh.
Visit Student Press Law Center for the rest.
Tennessee governor opposes changing open meetings law
NASHVILLE — Gov. Bill Haslam said Thursday that Tennessee's open meetings law works well and he sees no need for changes pushed by some local government officials. The governor said his own experience while serving as Knoxville mayor left him believing "the law, the way they have it, works."
Visit Knoxville News Sentinel for the rest.
ACLU demands info on workplace raids
LOS ANGELES (CN) – The ACLU is fighting Immigration and Customs Enforcement's demand for a $10,000 fee for records on an immigration raid on a Southern California factory. The ACLU wants the Federal Court to waive the fees and force ICE, a creature of the Department of Homeland Security, to release documents. The ACLU wants to know if ICE is abiding by its putative policy to target employers of undocumented workers, rather than the workers.
Visit Courthouse News Service for the rest.