Every year, the American public’s right to know is marked with Sunshine Week. This year’s observance begins Sunday and runs through March 16.
Newspapers, which campaign incessantly for open government and freedom of information, will take the opportunity next week to remind readers and public officials of the laws that demand transparency in government.
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From eStormWater.com:
On Tuesday, March 4, Waterkeeper Alliance, in collaboration with several Gulf of Mexico Waterkeeper organizations, filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the U.S. Coast Guard over unfulfilled requests for public records related to the ongoing Taylor Energy oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
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Opinion from Superior Telegram:
Sunshine Week is March 10-16, 2013. Please join me in celebrating Wisconsin’s vibrant “sunshine laws,” the Public Records Law and the Open Meetings Law. These laws — and their diligent observance by records custodians and meetings organizers — provide broad access to information about how our state and local governments operate.
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Note: Please find the complete press release here (PDF/111KB). Also see another recent post, MNCOGI to host Freedom of Information Event March 14, and a list of former winners of the Finnegan award at http://www.mncogi.org/finnegan-foi-award/.
From Minnesota Coalition on Government Information:
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Read More… from MNCOGI presents Finnegan FOI Award to Michele Timmons
From The Republic:
CHARLESTON, West Virginia — West Virginia’s affiliate of the ACLU is participating in a project examining local police use of military technology and tactics.
The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia Foundation and 23 other ACLU affiliates across the country have filed public records requests with law enforcement and military agencies.
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From Illinois Times:
Thank goodness for the government.
That was the way that Silly Pretend Journalists, aka the Society of Professional Journalists, saw things eight years ago when they bestowed attorney general Lisa Madigan with the coveted Sunshine Award, akin to an Oscar from a group of navel gazers that purports to be a watchdog for the public interest.
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From Detroit Free Press:
LANSING — When Nancy Prins sent the Michigan State Police a Freedom of Information Act request in July 2008, asking for police video of her May traffic stop, she was told it was not available because the department only keeps such videos for 30 days.
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From Sunshine Week:
Welcome to Sunshine Week, and no, I am not talking about the fickle weather in the state. I am talking about the public’s right and responsibility to keep an eye on what our government at the local, state and federal level are up to from our legislators to our bureaucrats, school boards, state universities, teachers, mayors, managers, department heads, council members, cops and others.
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From Madison County Journal:
Sen. Will Longwitz expedited a popular gun bill that has closed concealed-carry permit records in what he said was an effort to aid the Department of Public Safety in denying two pending public records requests.
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Read More… from Bryant signs gun bill senator expedited to block FOI requests
As newspaper publishers, we tend to take a proprietary attitude toward public records. The state of Washington has some of the nation’s strongest laws in terms of keeping public records public and safeguarding public access to state archives.
We’d like it to stay that way.
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Read More… from Caution in order when considering new (Washington) public records bills
