Happy Holidays!
A few items selected from many of interest that we might not have drawn attention to earlier:
ACLU ready to challenge Clinton (Ia.) over records
CLINTON, Iowa — The Citizens for Open Government group has been denied its request for obtaining closed meeting records from the city of Clinton regarding the federal lawsuit over ambulance billings by the city.
[…]
Randall Wilson with American Civil Liberties Union in Iowa, who has been working with the Clinton group, said that "[t]here is a legal process, and that’s what we’ll be doing.”
Visit Quad-City Times for the rest.
Past mistakes spur city to focus on ensuring an open government
In March, the Manhattan Beach City Council sent out an open letter to residents promising a commitment to open and transparent government. The council had just paid a settlement to an open government watchdog over its handling of the abrupt departure of its former city manager. In the letter, the council admitted heeding poor legal advice from its soon-to-be-fired city attorney and apologized for leaving residents in the dark, a decision that had led to a lawsuit. Residents’ faith in the council was shaky at best.
Visit The Beach Reporter for the rest.
Pro-copyright group takes SOPA to task
The Heritage Foundation, probably the nation's most influential conservative advocacy group, has long been a reliable ally of large copyright holders. But not when it comes to the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act.
Visit CNET for the rest.
NY Times wants info on 'killing as a policy tool'
The New York Times sued the Department of Justice for "at least one legal memorandum" government lawyers are believed to have written detailing "the scope of the circumstances in which it is lawful for government officials to employ targeted killing as a policy tool."
Visit Courthouse News Service for the rest.
Gazette-Journal prevails in lawsuit; public retirement program must turn over information
A Carson City judge signed an order Thursday telling the Public Employees Retirement System of Nevada to release to the Reno Gazette-Journal the names of all retired employees in Nevada and the amount of their benefit.
Visit Reno Gazette-Journal for the rest.
Court's OPRA message to state is clear
The check has been cashed. But worth more than the $40,290.80 the state had to fork over to the Asbury Park Press would be the assurance that government officials and agencies in New Jersey fully understand the nature and purpose of the Open Public Records Act.
Visit DailyJournal.com for the rest.
Videos from Allentown police cameras are not public records
With the recent release of an Allentown police video showing a police officer shooting a teenager with a stun gun, you may be wondering whether you can request clips from the video camera on your corner. The answer is no.
Visit Watchdog for the rest.
Legal details justifying assassination of U.S. citizen need transparency
From an editorial we missed.
A SECRET panel that decides when a U.S. citizen can be assassinated? Government employees repeatedly stealing computers from a top-secret nuclear laboratory? What's going on? You can't be told because these are state secrets.
Visit Seattle Times for the rest.