Ingham County Sheriff Gene Wriggelsworth and Attorney General Bill Schuette's office pushed to delay the public release of documents related to the criminal investigation of former Ingham County prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III.
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Read More… from MI: AG, sheriff tried to withhold Dunnings records
Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey said Friday his office will not be filing criminal charges against former Denver City Attorney Scott Martinez or any other members of the city attorney’s office in connection with the curious handling of a Colorado Open Records Act request from 2015.
“I don’t think the left hand knew what the right hand was doing,” Morrissey told CBS4. “They should have turned this over to you (CBS4). I believe it was wrong.”
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Read More… from CO: No Charges In City Attorney Open Records Case
In the wake of bid-rigging allegations on State University of New York projects and alleged misbehavior by police and prison guards, members of the state Committee on Open Government are poised to push for a pair of broad expansions of the state Freedom of Information Law.
One proposal would make so-called quasi-governmental not-for-profit entities subject to FOIL requests. It would apply, for example, to the Fuller Road and Fort Schuyler management corporations, which have handled real estate matters for SUNY Polytechnic Institute.
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Read More… from NY State: Open government experts seek more sunlight
BART is set to open the data floodgates.
Agency information that could include employee salaries, capital spending and parts inventory will soon be released in a user-friendly way after the BART Board of Directors unanimously approved a transparency measure Thursday morning.
“There are few things I can think of as important for government agencies, and government as a whole, as being transparent with the public,” said Nick Josefowitz, a BART board director. “We need to be a data-driven agency.”
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Read More… from SF: BART board approves ‘gold standard’ open data policy, despite misgivings
The Connecticut Council of Freedom of Information is asking all candidates for legislative seats to take the “Public Official’s Pledge for Open and Accountable Government,” and is receiving responses from those who intend to do so.
“A successful democracy requires open, transparent, and accountable government,” CCFOI President Daniel Klau said. “Yet, freedom of information and the public’s right to know about Connecticut state and municipal governments have been under increasing attack in recent years.”
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Read More… from CCFOI courting state candidates to sign freedom-of-information pledge
The Hartford region's water-and-sewer agency has invoked a little-used federal Department of Homeland Security anti-terrorism restriction to block citizens' access to what once was public information about its water-supply system.
Critics are blasting the legal maneuver by the Metropolitan District, known as the MDC, to have its water supply plan designated as "protected critical infrastructure information" by the homeland security department — under a post-9/11 program designed to prevent damage to public facilities by terrorists.
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Save Tacoma Water has filed a lawsuit in Pierce County Superior Court against the City of Tacoma, claiming the city violated the state’s Public Records Act by heavily redacting records the group sought regarding legal billing for Pacifica Law Group about the water initiatives earlier this year.
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Read More… from Wa.: Save Tacoma Water files suit against city over legal bills
The Pagosa Springs Town Council agreed at its meeting last Thursday, Oct. 20, to pay fees and costs of $35,063.50 to attorney Matt Roane, who represented the plaintiff in a suit against the town under the Colorado Sunshine Law.
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Read More… from Co.: Town agrees to pay $35,063 in attorney fees after losing suit
Flexing its enforcement muscle in court for the first time, the Office of Open Government has filed suit against the Mayor’s Advisory Commission on Caribbean Community Affairs. D.C. law gives the independent Office power to go to court to enforce the D.C. Open Meetings Act.
According to the lawsuit filed in D.C. Superior Court, the Commission failed to post agendas or minutes of 11 meetings this year as the law requires. The lawsuit also says the Commission continued to meet without following the legal requirements despite repeated communications and offers of help.
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Read More… from D.C. Office of Open Government Sues to Stop Open Meetings Act Violations
The US government is still holding onto its opacity ideals while publicly touting transparency directives. The FISA court — which presides over the NSA's surveillance programs — has normally been completely shrouded in darkness. Things changed in 2013 after Ed Snowden began leaking documents.
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Read More… from ACLU Sues Government Over Unreleased FISA Court Opinions
