App developers, researchers, and sleuths could find a treasure trove to mine for free.
On Thursday, the City of Pittsburgh, Allegheny County, and the University of Pittsburgh unveiled the Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center — an open data website with 133 sets of local data related to the arts, education, and demographics, among other topics. Continue…
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In August of 2013, the Associated Press made a straightforward records request to the State Department. It wanted Hillary Clinton’s calendars from her tenure as Secretary of State—and it wanted them quickly.
Noting the likelihood of a Clinton presidential run, the AP sought to make use of a Freedom of Information Act provision that allows the press to jump to the front of the line when information is urgently needed. Continue…
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Transparency. Secrecy. Transparency. Secrecy.
Like his general political approach — often portrayed as "paddle left, paddle right" — Gov. Jerry Brown tacks from side to side on questions of open government.
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Read More… from Editorial: Gov. Brown lets state float further toward shoals of secrecy
In 2003, Dean Baquet, then managing editor of the Los Angeles Times, along with then-Editor John S. Carroll, considered—and ultimately rejected—delaying publication of a damaging story on gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Just five days before the October 7 special election, the paper ran the story, which detailed multiple allegations of sexual harassment. The timing did not give the Schwarzenegger camp much chance to respond and regroup.
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Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel must make public a pair of law enforcement training videos he made before being elected and that Democrats say show him making inappropriate comments, a state appeals court has ruled.
There is no compelling reason to keep secret the videos, made in 2009 and 2013 when Schimel was Waukesha County district attorney, the unanimous three-judge panel on the 2nd District Court of Appeals said. Continue…
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Colorado State University won’t try to restrict public record access, after all.
While the CSU System General Counsel raised the idea of limiting applicability of the Colorado Open Records Act to Colorado residents only, the governing body for CSU doesn’t have any interest in lobbying to change that law, spokesman Mike Hooker said in an email. Continue…
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Read More… from CSU won’t try to change Colorado open records law
DC Open Government Coalition Legal Committee co-chair Fritz Mulhauser testified Wednesday in favor of legislation that would require more openness in charter schools' business dealings, but stressed the need for broader action so that D.C. taxpayers can know how efficiently and effectively the private nonprofit schools are spending over $600 million dollars a year.
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Read More… from Coalition urges Council to expand transparency of DC charter schools
The recent Cyber Dust secret text messaging scandal at the Fresno Unified School District is exposing gaps in California’s public records law.
The app allows users to send confidential text messages that are deleted as soon as they are read. Now open government advocates are asking a big question: Are we entering a new age of government officials using technology to hide from public scrutiny? Continue…
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Read More… from Is technology killing California’s public records law?
Unmarked police vans equipped with X-ray equipment looking for bombs could be health hazards and the public has a right to know more about them, the New York Civil Liberties Union contends in court papers.
The NYCLU has asked a state appeals court for permission to file a brief in a case where ProPublica, a nonprofit investigative news organization, is battling the NYPD over access to information about the vans. Continue…
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Read More… from Unmarked police vans with X-ray equipment could be health hazards, NYCLU contends
A first-of-its-kind, year-long study by the University of South Florida and the Orlando Police Department has found that body-worn cameras are an effective tool for reducing "response-to-resistance incidents" and serious external complaints.
The study, which ran from March 2014 to February, had 46 officers using cameras and compared that with 43 other officers who did not. Continue…
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Read More… from Police body cameras reduce use of force, study finds
