This may be about 60% stunt and 40% forceful nudge, but I'm still behind it 100%. For far too long, public officials have treated Freedom of Information laws as an annoyance… at best. In many cases, information designated as eligible for freedom has to be pried out of officials' hands using lawsuits, needlessly-protracted appeals processes or crowd-sourced tenacity.
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San Diego's top attorney continues his mission to discredit the authenticity of advocacy group San Diegans for Open Government. Last week, the city attorney's office issued a handful of subpoenas to several group members, ostensibly to poke holes in the nonprofit and thus gain an advantage in their lawsuit that challenges Business Improvement Districts.
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The Washington Coalition for Open Government will present its 2014 Ballard/Thompson Award to Senate Majority Floor Leader Joe Fain (R-Auburn, 47th District) on Jan. 26 in Olympia.
The award honors a state legislator who demonstrated outstanding dedication to the cause of open government during the previous legislative session.
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Read More… from Coalition to honor Washington State Sen. Fain
The chairwoman of the town’s Public Celebrations Committee and the vice president of Wallingford Center Inc. said they believe their groups are separate entities and disputed the claim that WCI has taken on Celebrations Committee tasks and is subject to state freedom-of-information rules.
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Read More… from Battle over information request in Wallingford continues
New information obtained by the Associated Press through a Freedom of Information Act request indicates that a flight ban in Ferguson, Mo., may have been intended to stop press coverage rather than just protect local law enforcement.
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Read More… from Protecting Freedom of the Press in Ferguson from the FAA
Now the public has no way of finding out what kind of information is being circulated among network members or with the federal government
What if the private sector banded together to create its own intelligence sharing networks exempt from FOIA law and public accountability?
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Read More… from New Oil & Gas Industry Intel Network Circumvents FOIA law
The Port of Vancouver, already facing one lawsuit accusing it of violating Washington's open public meetings law, has left the public in the dark more than once in landing one of the largest financial deals in its history, an investigation by The Columbian has found.
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Read More… from Port of Vancouver, Tesoro-Savage meeting raises questions
Tuesday, the people of St. Augustine elected Nancy Shaver as Mayor, empowered by a decade of disclosures about our flawed city government.
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Read More… from Opinion: Are we slaves to government secrecy?
After most municipal elections, newly elected officials and returning incumbents are invited to a forum at Town Hall about public meeting protocol and the Freedom of Information Act.
And while it is often said that showing up is half the job, in this instance, it is the wrong half. Next year they should listen carefully, ask some questions, maybe even be required to take some notes and pass a short quiz afterward, because the lessons never seem to stick.
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Read More… from Bob Horton: Do the people’s business in front of the people
Voters in northern Beaufort County turned two incumbents out of local office on Election Day and replaced them with political newcomers — an unquestionable sign of discontent with business as usual.
Whether the electorate was specifically distressed about open government and adherence to the state's Freedom of Information Act is less clear. Certainly, however, the winning candidates made these issues part of their platforms.
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Read More… from Transparency a priority for northern Beaufort County political newcomers
