The Congress of the United States did a remarkable thing last week. It passed a major piece of legislation.
That in itself should have attracted more attention and generated more amazement than it did. Even more amazing is that the legislation was approved with bipartisan support. Continue…
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Read More… from The Missourian’s GEORGE KENNEDY: Freedom of information gets a boost from Congress
Government and reporters across Ohio are wading through uncharted technological waters as more body cameras pop up on uniforms amid allegations of police misconduct.
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Read More… from Ohio: More police body cameras bring public records issues
State Sen. Don Humason has been recognized by a national advocacy organization that promotes open government and public transparency for his legislative efforts in Massachusetts.
The Westfield Republican recently received a Massachusetts Public Service Award from Common Cause for his work on updating the state's outdated public records law. Continue…
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The Decatur Daily received nearly 50 awards, including two first-place awards for Freedom of Information, in two press competitions for stories, photographs, page designs and more published in 2015.
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Read More… from Alabama: Daily receives nearly 50 awards, places 1st for freedom of information
The problem with opening data is often a cultural one — not a technical one — a panel of open data experts said Monday at the AWS Public Sector Summit.
As the public sector prepares for a change in administration, experts are looking to codify Obama’s open data strategy in a way that survives the transition. Meanwhile, agencies are still fighting against an internal work culture that is averse to open data, panelists said. Continue…
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Read More… from Culture jeopardizes open data’s future beyond Obama — panelists
On June 13, 2016, the House passed Senate Bill S.337, or the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016, which had previously passed the Senate in early March by unanimous consent. The bill is now on its way to President Obama, who has already expressed approval of the bill and is expected to sign the bill into law in the upcoming weeks.
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Read More… from What You Need to Know About the FOIA Improvement Act of 2016
Anyone who is a part of the driving population has experienced this: The crushing disappointment of approaching your car, only to see that dreaded white-and-blue slip with an envelope labeled “parking violation.” Sometimes it makes sense, sometimes it doesn’t.
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A decade of mayoral opinions on appeals of agency denials of public records requested under FOIA (2006-2016) are now available online. See here. (The D.C. Office of Open Government also includes a link in its FOIA Resources list.)
D.C. law allows any requester who is denied a record to appeal to the mayor. (The requester can file suit in Superior Court whether or not the requester uses the mayoral appeal option.) Continue…
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Read More… from Decisions by the Mayor on D.C. FOIA Appeals Now More Accessible
The Law Office of Nicholas Power is pleased to announce that its client, Mr. John Geniuch, has been awarded the Washington Coalition for Open Government Key Award.
On June 9, the Washington Coalition for Open Government honored former San Juan County Building Official John Geniuch in Seattle, Washington, with the prestigious Key Award. The Key Award is given to any person or organization who has done something notable to promote transparency and accountability in government. Continue…
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Read More… from Washington: Friday Harbor loca, John Geniuch honored for government service
United States cities collect data on everything from reported potholes to bus ridership to municipal workers’ salaries. With all this info at their fingertips, they are perfectly positioned to take advantage of big data to improve their efficiency and service delivery.
But some cities have even bigger plans for the data they collect. Continue…
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