local government – Page 7 – National Freedom of Information Coalition

Lawsuit: Fort Smith (AK) Directors, Clerk Violated FOIA

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The Fort Smith city clerk and four members of the city board of directors are accused of violating the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Sebastian County Circuit Court.

City Clerk Sherri Gard is accused of individually polling Directors Keith Lau, George Catsavis and Kevin Settle after Ward 3 Director Mike Lorenz contacted her to remove items from the June 17 and July 1 directors’ meeting agendas, in the complaint.

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Florida city posts all email online

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In Gainesville, Fla., it doesn’t take a Freedom of Information request to find out what city officials are chattering about on email. One merely has to go online and read them.

That city recently began posting email correspondence about public business to and from the mayor and the city commissioners. There may be other localities doing it as well, but this is the first one that’s been brought to my attention.

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Our View: Columbus (MS) city council strikes another blow against open government

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Some concepts are just hard to grasp. Other ideas are easier to absorb. Or at least, they should be. It is apparent after Tuesday's city council meeting our elected leaders struggle to understand a fundamental aspect of the democratic process — the idea of open government.

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Editorial: East Earl Township (PA) supervisors need to step out from behind closed doors and embrace open government

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When it comes to open and transparent government aimed at serving the people, East Earl Township supervisors must not have gotten the memo.

Supervisors Earl Kreider, Joe Shriver and David Zimmerman have been running the government based on the idea that the less the citizens know about what is going on, the better. They have been good, in fact far too good, at operating behind closed doors.

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New appointments to Sunshine Ordinance Task Force may help San Francisco government watchdogs grow teeth

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In a win for government transparency, a slew of strong new appointments for a city government watchdog group cleared their first round of approvals yesterday.

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Philadelphia City Council Is Ignoring Sunshine Laws, Watchdog Group Says

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A state watchdog group says Philadelphia City Council willfully ignored Pennsylvania’s open-meetings law this past week by gathering behind closed doors — not once, but twice.

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Iowa’s largest paper tries to shift the state’s culture toward transparency

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In its own polite, Midwestern fashion, The Des Moines Register is mad as heck and is not going to take it anymore. After Iowa officials refused to release records showing alleged abuses by state employees, the paper is pursuing dual lawsuits to force the records into public view. In one case, the Register is even suing the state’s new public information board, formed expressly to address years of complaints about records transparency.

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Calif. voters approve open government, pass Prop 42

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California voters handily approved ballot measures Tuesday requiring that local governments pay the cost of making their records and meetings public. Proposition 42, which amends the state constitution to require that governments pay for complying with state transparency laws, led with 60 percent of the vote after 1.8 million ballots counted. It was backed by the state Democratic and Republican parties, taxpayer advocates and labor unions.

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Mount Pleasant (MI) cites FOIA while withholding city manager finalist names

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Mount Pleasant city officials announced last week that commissioners will interview finalists for the vacant city manager position on June 24. City officials still have not released the names of the finalists, even after receiving a formal request under Michigan’s public records law by Central Michigan Life.

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Judge Denies City of Norfolk’s Request to Dismiss FOIA Lawsuit Brought by the ACLU of Virginia and PETA

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ACLU of Virginia lawyers representing People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) presented arguments today in their Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the City of Norfolk. The ACLU of Virginia and PETA argued that, according to Virginia Law, the City must keep and make available to the public text messages of City officials conducting City business.

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