Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge will hold a statewide meeting via telephone Thursday to educate the public about the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.
The meeting will be the first in a series of informational meetings, both traditional and webcast, to inform Arkansans about the Freedom of Information Act.
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Buried in a massive Pew study on the public's feelings about data and open government is this amazing nugget: Just 23 percent trust the federal government to do the right thing "at least most of the time."
Twenty three percent! That's unpopularity-of-Congress territory. Journalist-trust territory! Donald Trump's approval ratings look down on those numbers!
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Read More… from Opinion: There are a remarkably small number of people who trust the government
Ohioans should not have to bear the expense and aggravation of going to court to force government officials to comply with the open records law, state Auditor Dave Yost believes. To make it easier to get documents, Yost announced a month ago he was establishing a "Sunshine Audit" program.
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President Barack Obama once proclaimed his administration to be the most transparent in history, but a new survey suggests Americans have mixed thoughts on whether new initiatives to open government and its data will make a significant difference in holding the powerful accountable.
A report released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center, in conjunction with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, found that most Americans are not engaged with using government data sources. Just 7 percent say local governments share their information effectively.
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Read More… from Americans not impressed by open government initiatives
Times have changed since government officials picked up quill pens when they wanted to send one another a message.
But the principles behind our open government laws remain the same. The public’s business ought to be conducted in public.
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Read More… from World-Herald editorial: Open government law’s spirit covers texts
Hartford officials have admitted they violated various aspects of the state's open meetings law last year when they held a closed-door meeting to discuss proposals to build a new minor league baseball stadium.
Last August, the city assembled a panel including members of the public to interview prospective developers and "help frame the recommendation to the city council." But a notice of that meeting was not posted in advance, and the meeting wasn't open to the public.
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Read More… from Hartford Says It Violated State FOI Laws With Stadium Meeting
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asked an Alaska federal judge Friday to toss a lawsuit accusing it of withholding documents related to its decision to stop what could be one of the largest copper mines in the country.
Plaintiff Pebble Limited Partnership is seeking the disclosure of records related to the potential mining project near Bristol Bay in Southwest Alaska. The EPA said it properly processed the Freedom of Information Act request and released all responsive records to Pebble except for some that fall under statutory exemptions.
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Read More… from EPA Moves To Sink Alaska Pebble Mine FOIA Suit
State Sen. Dan Duffy is fighting to move forward a bill to reform the Illinois Open Meetings Act in the wake of a closed-session debacle over a now-scuttled proposal for a power plant in Oakwood Hills.
House Bill 175 seeks to create a two-year statute of limitations on the ability by the public to report potential violations of the act within 60 days of their discovery. The bill, filed by state Rep. David McSweeney, R-Lake Barrington, passed the House a month ago on a 110-0 vote, and has now moved to the Senate Executive Committee.
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Read More… from Open Meetings Act bill inspired by Oakwood Hills moving in Illinois Senate
As the fight over records in a high-profile Vanderbilt University rape case heads to the Tennessee Supreme Court, state and Metro lawyers are arguing against the release of the case files that remain under seal.
The Tennessean, eight media organizations and the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government filed suit against Metro Nashville in fall 2013 seeking records in the hands of police, including text messages between Vanderbilt football players and coaches.
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Read More… from Government lawyers fight release of Vandy rape trial records
The Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins, established with a grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies, aims to assist more than 100 U.S. cities in creating data infrastructures to transform the way their governments operate. The center is part of the university's 21st Century Cities Initiative, a university signature initiative that brings together city leaders and top researchers to confront the pressing needs of revitalizing cities throughout the country and abroad.
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Read More… from New Johns Hopkins center to promote data-driven local government
