From Statesman Journal:
A[n] [Oregon] state government website is one of three nominated in its category for recognition by the National Association of State Chief Information Officers.
The organization has nominated data.oregon.gov as one of three finalists in the open government category. The site allows users to browse, search and save their own data sets. Others nominated in this category were from New Jersey and North Carolina.
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From Los Angeles Times Blog:
A Democratic legislator has proposed repealing a long-standing law that government watchdogs have argued protects the Legislature from public disclosure.
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Friday, August 26, 2011 — From American University Washington College of Law:
In a development that barely could have been envisioned by the authors of the Freedom of Information Act four decades ago, and with a force that has been accelerating around the globe, people in more than 85 nations of the world now enjoy the benefits of "government transparency" laws akin to the FOIA.
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Read More… from Fifth Annual International Right-to-Know Day Celebration
Friday, August 26, 2011 — Opinion from the Broward-Palm Beach New Times Blog:
Gov. Rick Scott's magically deleted email debacle is starting to sound a bit ridiculous already, even though he's ordered an "investigation" by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
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Read More… from Florida governor’s missing-emails situation is getting fishy
From the ACLU:
NEW YORK (August 25, 2011) – The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit challenging the government’s failure to release documents about the FBI’s nationwide system of collecting and sharing so-called "Suspicious Activity Reports" from local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
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COLUMBIA, Mo. (August 23, 2011) — While a lack of resources has made news organizations increasingly less inclined to file freedom of information lawsuits, citizens have a growing interest in government transparency and are becoming more active in asserting their right to government information.
The rise of citizen interest and the decline of newsroom aggressiveness are among the findings of an informal open government status study by the Media Law Resource Center (MLRC) and the National Freedom of Information Coalition (NFOIC).
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From editor Steve Lovejoy of the Journal Times:
The abrupt firing of the Mount Pleasant (WI) village administrator last spring raised many questions in the community over the reasons for the village board's actions and whether the board had been diligent in its oversight of that position and the operations of village hall.
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Read More… from Wisconsin newspaper receives records in lawsuit settlement with village board
From AreaWideNews:
"I cannot, as a citizen of Fulton County, sit here and watch you violate the rights of the citizens of this county," said Nancy Cole, interrupting an Aug. 8 meeting of the Fulton County Quorum Court.
Cole's comments touched off a tense showdown over whether quorum court meetings can be video taped.
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From Eastern Iowa Government:
DES MOINES — The ACLU of Iowa is announcing the launch of its Open Government Project, which will be designed to help ordinary citizens with comprehensive help and information for using federal and state right-to-information laws.
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Read More… from ACLU of Iowa launches open government project
From The Tennessean:
Former Tennessean editor and publisher and Chairman Emeritus John Seigenthaler was among those honored at the 2011 Freedom Awards, sponsored by the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis.
In honor of the museum’s 20th anniversary, the awards were expanded this year to include honors for civil rights pioneers in education, sports, humanitarianism, the arts, activism and legal justice.
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