NFOIC’s State FOIA Friday for September 13, 2013

From NFOIC:  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.

Baltimore city open data

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Online public records access a mixed bag

From Columbia Basin Herald:

MOSES LAKE – Living in a digital age has its benefits. The internet puts the information a user wants virtually at their fingertips. People have immediate access to scores from the latest game, the stock market and the news, among a myriad of other information available on the web.

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Make ‘Sunshine Week’ memorable for open government

Editorial from Kitsap Sun:

A litany of bills aimed at amending the state’s Public Records Act — in both good and bad ways — again surfaced in Olympia this legislative session. While it’s encouraging to see some legislators fight for the public’s right to know and transparent government, a handful of others remind us that protecting access to government is an ongoing battle.

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Caution in order when considering new (Washington) public records bills

Editorial from TDN.com:

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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Op-ed: Don’t let local governments gut the (Washington) Public Records Act

Opinion from the Seattle Times:

FOR 40 years, Washington’s Public Records Act has been a window for anyone to see what’s going on in state, county and city governments, schools and other local agencies. As a recent example, this landmark law helped The Seattle Times uncover troubles leading to Rob Holland’s resignation from the Port of Seattle Commission.

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Jefferson hires outside attorney for public records case

From Peninsula Daily News:

PORT TOWNSEND, WA — A lawsuit over a public records request has led to Jefferson County retaining outside legal counsel to advise the county about the case.

Mats Mats resident Mike Belenski is seeking Internet access logs that show the websites visited by county employees and how much time was spent on each site.

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