President Obama made some commendable speeches at the United Nations last week, but his self-serving remarks to a panel on open government wonít win any plaudits from supporters of an independent news media. They were an astonishing example of saying one thing while doing just the opposite.
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Who are you going to call? A county commissioner refuses to let you speak at a public meeting. Who are you going to call?
A local sheriff refuses to give you access to public records. Who are you going to call?
The city is willing to give you the public records you requested, but it wants to charge you an exorbitant amount of money for the privilege. Who are you going to call?
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Read More… from Opinion: Little agency a strong defender of open government
Officials in Ferguson, Missouri, are charging nearly 10 times the cost of some of their own employees' salaries before they will agree to turn over files under public records laws about the fatal shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown.
Missouri's attorney general on Monday, after the AP first disclosed the practice, contacted Ferguson's city attorney to ask for more information regarding fees related to document requests, the attorney general's spokeswoman said.
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A privacy activist is suing the Chicago Police Department after officials denied his Freedom of Information Act request seeking departmental records regarding cell phone data collection.
Southwest Side resident Freddy Martinez filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Cook County Circuit Court. The suit claims the police department “has willfully and intentionally violated FOIA by refusing to produce records that would show the full extent to which it has secretly used 'IMSI catcher' or 'stingray' equipment.”
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Read More… from Suit: CPD refused to turn over cell phone data collection records
When asked whether he would support broadening Michigan's Freedom of Information Act laws to include his office and the Legislature, Gov. Rick Snyder told the Free Press: "As governor, it's good to have people you can talk to … when you're coming up with brainstorming ideas or thought processes, talking about difficult issues."
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Read More… from Why do governor, Legislature operate in secret?
Though a lawsuit prompted the disclosure of dozens more records on grizzly bear preservation efforts, it is hard to prove intentional government stonewalling, a federal magistrate ruled.
Today there are between 1,400 and 1,700 grizzly bears on 2 percent of their historic range, down from the roughly 50,000 grizzlies that roamed the lower 48 states in the 1800s. Only an estimated 400 to 600 grizzlies remain in the Greater Yellowstone Habitat.
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Miami-Dade County will work with three Code for America app developers to solve civic problems, the county announced Tuesday. The developers will create apps to help the county's Regulatory and Economic Services department make more data available to residents and streamline its services.
The county was one of seven governments chosen from 40 applicants. The Miami-based John S. and James L. Knight Foundation invested $75,000 to help the program launch in Miami.
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Read More… from Code for America partners with Miami-Dade to develop apps
The Knight Foundation will split its journalism and media innovation division into two separate teams, adding a vice president for journalism, the nonprofit announced Wednesday.
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Read More… from Knight Foundation announces new journalism division
A state judge has invoked a federal court doctrine to reject a request under New York's Freedom of Information Law for information about police surveillance of a New York City mosque.
Finding no guidance from higher courts in New York, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Alexander Hunter Jr. ruled that New York City Police Department may invoke the "Glomar doctrine" exception under the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to deny an Islamic group's request under the state Freedom of Information Law (FOIL).
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Read More… from NY Court Taps U.S. Doctrine in FOIL Suit Against NYPD
The FBI requires state and local police to keep quiet about the capabilities of a controversial type of surveillance gear that allows law enforcement to eavesdrop on cellphone calls and track individual people based on the signals emitted by their mobile devices, according to a bureau document released recently under a Freedom of Information Act request.
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Read More… from FBI gags state and local police on capabilities of cellphone spy gear
