A few state FOIA and local open government news items selected from many of interest that we might or might not have drawn attention to earlier in the week. While you're at it, be sure to check out State FOIA Friday Archives.
Private prison firm CCA defends record on transparency in Vt.
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From Government Technology: In recent years, many state and local governments have put effort into open data projects that would inspire developers to create apps and find ways to use public data to bring value to their communities. So news of PRISM, the National Security Agency’s (NSA) online spying tool leaked by former CIA employee Edward Snowden, angered a lot of people and began a debate about the role of open data.
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From IT News Online: STERLING, Va., June 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — The New York City Comptroller announced at the Personal Democracy Forum press conference that Checkbook NYC, a financial transparency tool developed by REI Systems, is now open-sourced and available for download by other city and state governments.
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Read More… from Checkbook NYC open-sourced at Personal Democracy Forum 2013
From Forbes: Ashoka UK Communications Manager Felicity McLean (@flickmclean) caught up with three leading social entrepreneurs to chat about whether technology can and does open up governments, and if online communities can serve to transform societal interaction and cohesion for the better.
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Read More… from What tech can do for your health and your government
From FCS: On Jan. 21, 2009, President Barack Obama's very first executive memorandum declared a commitment to "transparency and open government." Those principles led to the Digital Government Strategy, an open-data initiative and Data.gov — a repository that launched in May 2009 with 47 datasets and now offers more than 400,000.
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From Business Day: AS THE internet explodes in new markets and across different cultures, the role of a free press and the ability of journalists to sift through masses of new information to find the truth is a very important priority, the founder of the web Sir Tim Berners-Lee, says.
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Read More… from Freedom of press critical, says internet founder
From GovWin Network: This month’s executive order and administrative policy on open data come four years after the launch of data.gov and an order tasking agencies to provide at least three “high-value datasets.” The hype is already building around the impact of the next phase of open government data.
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From Union of Concerned Scientists: This week, the National Research Council is holding public comment meetings on increasing public access to federally funded research—both access to the data and publications. We encouraged the UCS Science Network to weigh in with their own ideas on how the government can increase public access to its science. After all, this is the science that we all pay for through our tax dollars.
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From Computer World: IDG News Service – U.S. President Barack Obama has signed an executive order requiring that government data be made available in open, machine-readable formats, expanding open-access requirements from earlier in his administration.
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Read More… from Obama administration pushes open data in executive order
