Freedom of Information

  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    The FOI Advocate

  • American Small Business League to Recoup Legal Fees from the DOJ

    Charles N. Davis
    4 Nov 2009 | 10:27 am
    Now that the Small Business Administration (SBA) has dropped its appeal of a California federal court's legal fees award, the American Small Business League will collect its attorneys' fee award from the Department of Justice.  The case stemmed from the SBA's denial of the League's request for names of firms receiving small business contracts and the amounts awarded in 2005 and 2006.  The SBA

  • Florida Professor Sues EPA over FOIA Request for Asbestos Information

    Charles N. Davis
    4 Nov 2009 | 10:19 am
    Miami-Dade College professor Mario Sanchez is suing the Environmental Protection Agency because it failed to release information about crushed asbestos pipe that was found on city property in 2005.  The property is slated to become the Veteran's Community Park.Sanchez had filed a FOIA request seeking all EPA documents concerning the Marco Island property from January 2005 to July 31, 2008.  He

  • Editorial: Higher-Education Foundations Should be Transparent

    Charles N. Davis
    4 Nov 2009 | 10:06 am
    The Modesto Bee's publisher and president says the funding practices of higher-education foundations should be more transparent.  The non-profit foundations are typically controlled by campus presidents and board members and are funded by donors, and they are not subject to the California Public Records Act.  Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger could have increased transparency of these

  • Missouri Attorney Sues City Over Open Records Request

    Charles N. Davis
    4 Nov 2009 | 9:52 am
    Columbia attorney Stephen Wyse has sued the city of Columbia and the Columbia Police Department's custodian of records over an open records request. Wyse had requested surveillance video from the Columbia Police Department showing the police lobby and holding area to determine whether the police had inappropriately denied him access to an arrested woman who asked for a lawyer.  In response to his

  • State Task Force Recommends Office of Open Records for Washington

    Charles N. Davis
    4 Nov 2009 | 9:43 am
    A task force created by Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna and Democratic state Auditor Brian Sonntag unanimously recommended the Washington Legislature create a new Office of Open Records to handle public records disputes out of court. The state office would be modeled after the offices created in Pennsylvania and Connecticut.  Although the task force unanimously recommended the new
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    The FOIA blog

  • Court Rules Postal Investigator Names Must Be Released

    scott hodes
    4 Nov 2009 | 6:57 am
    United States District Court Judge John Bates for the District of Columbia has ruled that Postal Investigators who were investigating identity fraud must be disclosed.  The main reason for the Court's finding is that the agency failed to provide anything more than a conclusory statement in its declarations when asserting the employee's privacy rights, which were then outweighed by the public interest finding that these individuals may be needed to testify in a civil suit.

  • More on White House Visitor List Release

    scott hodes
    4 Nov 2009 | 4:45 am
    The Reporter's Committee for Freedom of the Press has this on the White House Visitor List Release.  More releases are expected in the near future.

  • Class Action FOIA Complaint Filed

    scott hodes
    2 Nov 2009 | 4:59 am
    The Pearl Project Center for Public Ingtegrity has filed a class action FOIA complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the policy of the FBI/EOUSA/DOJ to require either a privacy waiver or proof of death before they will process a request forrecords concerning foreign nationals. This includes obvious cases such as General Manuel Noriega and known terrorists. The plaintiff's believe that the requests need to be processed and the balancing of the public's interests vs. the individuals' privacy interests need to be weighed before…

  • White House Releases Visitor Lists

    scott hodes
    30 Oct 2009 | 6:27 pm
    The White House made its firs release of its visitor lists today according to the Huffington Post, which includes a link to the list.

  • Detainee Photo Battle Ends

    scott hodes
    30 Oct 2009 | 4:41 am
    MSNBC is reporting that President Obama has signed the bill that exempts the detainee photo battle from release under the photo.  There is good and bad in this.  In my opinion, the bad is that the photos that demonstrate government misconduct aren't released to the public.  The good is the Supreme Court doesn't get the chance to broaden exemption 7(F) and that the underlying opinions ruling that these photos aren't exempt under the FOIA pursuant to the exemptions tried by the government stand and can be applied to different situations (which I hope,…
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    California First Amendment Coalition

  • Court rules CA counties must disclose pension amounts paid to government retirees

    Peter Scheer
    6 Nov 2009 | 9:55 am
    Nov 6, 2009—In a case filed by the First Amendment Coalition, the Modesto Bee and the California Newspaper Publishers Association, a California Superior Court has ruled that county governments, upon request, must disclose–by name–their retirees’ pension payments. The Superior Court for Stanislaus County reasoned that the public interest in access to government employees’ pensions outweighs the public interest in protecting the confidentiality of that information. In 2007 the California Supreme Court ruled that government employees’ salaries–including…

  • Open government group finds little influence of campaign money on stimulus contracts

    donal brown
    5 Nov 2009 | 1:49 pm
    The National Institute on Money in State Politics checked campaign contributions against awards for stimulus contracts and found that only 3.2 percent of contract recipients donated to state political campaigns. -DB Project on Government Oversight (POGO) November 5, 2009 By Ingrid Drake A few months ago, POGO blogged about our concerns that many state and local governments with laws limiting contractors’ campaign contributions (meant to reduce the influence of private interests in the public contracting process) are facing obstacles to enforcing these “pay-to-play” laws on…

  • Court hears arguments against government penalization of false statements

    donal brown
    5 Nov 2009 | 12:01 pm
    A federal court of appeals heard arguments this week on whether the government can impose criminal penalties on a man for falsely claiming he served in the military and earned the Congressional Medal of Honor. The man was convicted of violating the Stolen Valor Act which prohibits lying about military service. -DB Metropolitan News-Enterprise November 5, 2009 By Kenneth Ofgang A federal act making it a crime to falsely claim that one holds the Congressional Medal of Honor violates the First Amendment, the attorney for a former member of the Three Valleys Municipal Water District board told a…

  • No First Amendment defense in suit over man’s ejection from public meeting for making a Nazi salute

    donal brown
    5 Nov 2009 | 11:44 am
    A federal court of appeals ruled that the City of Santa Cruz could eject a man from a city council meeting for a Nazi salute since the salute contributed to disrupting the meeting. The man’s attorney argued that the salute could not have been disruptive since no one noticed it. -DB Metropolitan News-Enterprise November 4, 2009 By Sherri M. Okamoto A man who was ejected from a city council meeting for giving a Nazi salute in the presiding officer’s direction did not suffer a violation of his First Amendment rights, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled yesterday. As the salute…

  • California appeals court rejects arguments justifying racist remarks in East Palo Alto police department

    donal brown
    5 Nov 2009 | 11:31 am
    A California district court of appeal ruled that East Palo Alto could discipline a police officer for his racist remarks, rejecting the argument that an alleged “culture of racism” in the department was sufficient to justify the officer’s discriminatory remarks to subordinates. -DB Metropolitan News-Enterprise November 4, 2009 By Kenneth Ofgang A police department’s alleged culture of racist remarks by officers did not justify a supervisory officer’s use of such language in publicly referring to his subordinates, the First District Court of Appeal said yesterday. Div.
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Idahoans for Openness in Government

  • Judge: Name names, Coeur d’Alene

    Administrator
    19 Oct 2009 | 11:38 pm
    First names are a matter of public record, even if they reveal gender, First District Judge Charles Hosack ruled on Friday. That means Wayne Hoffman will get the full names of every city of Coeur d'Alene employee as part of his public records request. From the Coeur d'Alene Press

  • State energy chief pledges openness, in response to questioning from lawmaker

    Administrator
    19 Oct 2009 | 11:33 pm
    When Paul Kjellander, head of the Idaho Office of Energy Resources, briefed a legislative interim committee this morning about the wide-ranging work on options for Idaho's energy future being done out of his office by the Strategic Energy Alliance, an effort launched by the governor that includes task forces, a board of private industry representatives, and a council that includes state agency heads, Sen. Kate Kelly, D-Boise, said she had a legal concern. The work of the alliance, which was created by an executive order from the governor, is "in a gray area with regard to whether the work is…

  • Our View: Fair trial still possible if warrant goes public in Robert Manwill case

    Administrator
    30 Sep 2009 | 2:11 pm
    The Robert Manwill disappearance became big news - and the Boise Police Department did nothing to discourage it. The police held frequent and excruciatingly incremental news briefings; several coincided with live local newscasts. The police asked the community to help find clues into the disappearance of the 8-year-old, and 2,300 people turned out. The unprecedented search effort and the intense public interest will complicate jury selection, if the case of Robert's murder goes to trial. Editorial from the Idaho Statesman

  • Government transparency site launched in Idaho

    Administrator
    26 Aug 2009 | 9:18 am
    BOISE - A nonprofit group on Tuesday launched a new "government transparency" Web site designed to give anyone who's interested details about state and local government spending in Idaho, from a mayor's salary to an agency’s computer purchases. From the Spokesman-Review

  • CSI: It’s OK to destroy records

    Administrator
    14 Aug 2009 | 9:21 am
    The College of Southern Idaho says it's common to destroy records that show how it evaluates firms vying for construction projects. But that differs from the way the Idaho Division of Public Works and other public institutions handle documents used in selecting contractors. From the Twin Falls Times-News
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    MN Cogi

  • Minnesota's data practices law - a look to the future

    11 Oct 2009 | 6:34 pm
    COGI-tations: A program of the Minnesota Coalition on Government InformationTuesday, October 27, 2009 - Event Photos4:30 - 6:00 p.m.Midtown Commons, 2324 University Ave West, St. Paul (just East of Raymond)Women Venture meeting roomFree and convenient parking West of the Midtown Commons complex.An open discussion of changing needs, many the result of technology. A chance to review the principles that undergird the state’s unique data practices law. Come prepared to share issues, experience, a vision of future challenges and practical suggestions for needed change.Resource people, on hand to…

  • International Right To Know Day - September 28 2009

    28 Sep 2009 | 2:28 pm
    The World Prepares for International Right To Know Day 2009. Check out the details at FreedomInfo.org.Find out more at the Freedom of Information Advocates Network (FOIAnet).

  • MN COGI Wins Blog Award

    19 Sep 2009 | 4:06 pm
    MN COGI wins spot on Top 100 Freedom of Information Blogs from The Daily Reviewer!

  • International Right to Know -- COGI-tations Presenter Notes

    19 Sep 2009 | 3:14 pm
    September 10, 2009, COGI-tations ForumThe right to ask...the right to knowNotes.pdf from presenter, Barb Frey

  • 31 Aug 2009 | 9:12 pm

    31 Aug 2009 | 9:12 pm
    The right to ask...the right to know:International Right to Know Day 2009COGI-tations: A program of the Minnesota Coalition on Government InformationFeaturing: Barbara A. FreyDirector of the Human Rights Program in the College of Liberal Arts University of MinnesotaThursday, September 10, 20094:30 - 6:00 p.m.Midtown Commons, 2324 University Ave West, St. Paul (just East of Raymond)Women Venture meeting roomCOGI-tations are public forums sponsored by the Minnesota Coalition on Government Information.All COGI-tations are free and open to the public.Background InformationBarbara A Frey is…
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Capital Eye

  • Gay Democratic Fund-raiser Says Money Should Only Support Candidates Who Back Equality

    Michael Beckel
    6 Nov 2009 | 4:03 pm
    A well-heeled Democratic fund-raiser is calling on donors to stop the "gay ATM" to politicians who don't fully support equality for gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender people.Once named the most powerful gay man in America by Newsweek, David Mixner is angered by the hands-off approach of President Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee concerning a failed ballot measure in Maine that would have allowed same-sex couples to marry. He says he's also troubled by Obama not quickly fulfilling his campaign promises regarding rights for gays and lesbians.Mixner now thinks it's time…

  • Carly Fiorina's Political Donations Always Go to Republicans. Sort of.

    Dave Levinthal
    6 Nov 2009 | 11:58 am
    It hasn't been three days since former Hewlett-Packard honcho Carly Fiorina formally announced she's running for U.S. Senate in California, and already, some folks in the Republican Party are accusing her of being, well ... too moderate. Exhibit A: The Senate Conservatives Fund political action committee that Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) leads has said it'll back a little-known, but supposedly righter-wing California assemblyman Chuck DeVore in a GOP primary. The winner would all but certainly face veteran Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer in a general…

  • Capital Eye Opener: Friday, November 6

    Michael Beckel
    6 Nov 2009 | 3:00 am
    Your daily dose of news and tidbits from the world of money in politics:LIBERALS SEEK TO STRIP JOE: Roll Call reports that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is unlikely to take punitive action against Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) if Lieberman helps Republican filibuster the Democrat's health insurance reform legislation. Still, many liberals have called for Lieberman to lose his chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. This week, for instance, the "subvertising agency" Agit-Pop Communications and the liberal-leaning telephone service provider Credo…

  • Congressmen Denouncing U.N. Inquiry Receive Handsome Donations from Pro-Israel Lobby

    Jihan Andoni
    5 Nov 2009 | 2:42 pm
    Domestic policies such as health care reform and financial regulation are dominating Congress’ legislative agenda this year. But on Wednesday, the House of Representatives approved a non-binding measure denouncing a United Nations inquiry that found that Israel committed scores of war crimes in its three-week assault last year in Gaza. More than 1,300 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli attack, many of whom were civilians, according to Amnesty International. Headed by South African jurist Richard Goldstone, the inquiry also accused Hamas of war crimes and said both sides should…

  • Capital Eye Opener: Thursday, November 5

    Lindsay Renick Mayer
    5 Nov 2009 | 7:30 am
    Your daily dose of news and tidbits from the world of money in politics:BIG OIL ALL-STAR: The National Wildlife Federation has released a limited-edition trading card but these bad boys won't have your favorite grand slam baseball player on them. Instead, the first trading card commemorates the amount of cash Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) has collected from the oil and gas industry -- $1.2 million since 1989, which is more than any other industry has given the senator. Only four other senators -- past or present -- have brought in more from oil and gas companies, suggesting that the industry…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Sunlight Foundation Transparency Ecosystem

  • Sunlight Labs: Chat with Knight about the News Challenge on Monday

    Clay Johnson
    6 Nov 2009 | 1:07 pm
    Read more...

  • Sunlight Foundation: Rules Committee Hearing Live

    Paul Blumenthal
    6 Nov 2009 | 11:28 am
    The House Rules Committee is meeting to discuss the final rule and proposed amendments for the floor debate on the House health care bill. It is live-streaming here. Read more...

  • Real-Time Investigations: Support for Baucus’ Healthcare Plan Brings in Donations

    Anupama Narayanswamy
    6 Nov 2009 | 8:39 am
    Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., the key architect of one of several competing health care reform bills under consideration in Congress, isn’t up for reelection till 2014, yet his campaign committee has enjoyed an influx of contributions. In the third quarter of 2009, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee added more than $136,000 of campaign [...] Read more...

  • Sunlight Labs: Listening in on Twitter

    Clay Johnson
    6 Nov 2009 | 8:19 am
    This is days past the deadline, completely open and written by a non-profit, and has no revenue model associated with it so it isn't intended to be taken seriously as a response to the recent YCombinator Request for Startups. But RFS 3: Building Things on Twitter got me thinking about what I'd like to build on Twitter. Here's the idea:Government spends a lot of time and money on building tools that allow it to better communicate with constituents. Whether it be the new, flashy White House website in the Obama administration, or the Republican Whip Office's WhipCast(remarkable choice of name),…

  • Open Congress: Countdown to the House Health Care Vote

    Donny Shaw
    6 Nov 2009 | 6:14 am
    Read more...
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    EFF.org Updates

  • Two Battles Won: PATRIOT Reform AND State Secrets Reform Bills Pass House Committee

    bankston
    5 Nov 2009 | 2:39 pm
    After a long two days of legislative battle, the House Judiciary Committee just finished its second day of debate on Chairman Conyers' PATRIOT reform bill, HR 3845 (see our wrap-up of the first day). Thanks in no small part to those of you who used our action alert, the Committee rejected almost all amendments that would have weakened the bill's reforms and voted to recommend the bill to the House floor by a vote of 16 to 10. Even better, the Committee kept going after it was finished with PATRIOT to consider Representative Nadler's State Secret Protection Act (HR 984), which would reform the…

  • House Committee Heads into Second Day of PATRIOT Reform Battle

    bankston
    5 Nov 2009 | 7:15 am
    After an eventful day yesterday, the first day of the House Judiciary Committee's "mark-up" of Chairman Conyers' PATRIOT reform bill (HR 3845), the Committee is starting its second day of PATRIOT debate at 11 AM EST this morning. State secrets reform is also still on the Committee's schedule, so it's looking to be a big day. You can watch the sparks fly via the Committee's live webcast, and @EFF will be live-tweeting important developments as they happen. You might also want to check out @ACLU, @normative and @emptywheel, who did a great job live-tweeting yesterday's Committee meeting. Stay…

  • House Committee Considers PATRIOT Reform (UPDATED)

    bankston
    4 Nov 2009 | 12:19 pm
    The House Judiciary Committee has recessed its meeting to "mark-up" Chairman Conyers' PATRIOT renewal and reform bill, the USA Patriot Amendments Act of 2009 (HR 3845), so that the committee members can attend a vote on the House floor. We don't know when they'll be back — we'll try to tweet via @EFF if and when they do return — but in the meantime, here are the major developments that you missed if you weren't watching the live webcast. Julian Sanchez of the Cato Institute also has a great blow-by-blow with characteristic snark via @Normative. The mark-up got off to a somewhat…

  • "The Future of DVD" Panel and Happy Hour

    rebecca
    4 Nov 2009 | 8:55 am
    San Francisco - Please join the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) for a panel discussion on "The Future of DVD" at the Varnish Gallery in San Francisco on Monday, November 9, at 5:30 p.m. Panelists include Kaleidescape CEO Michael Malcolm, Real Networks Vice President and General Counsel Bill Way, and EFF Senior Staff Attorney Fred von Lohmann. "The Future of DVD" will examine the legal battles over DVD rentals, ripping, backups, home media servers, and portable media players. The current legal battles involving RealDVD, Kaleidescape, and Redbox underscore the continuing struggle between…

  • Leaked ACTA Internet Provisions: Three Strikes and a Global DMCA

    gwen
    3 Nov 2009 | 3:41 pm
    Update: The leaked European Commission memo is now online. Negotiations on the highly controversial Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement start in a few hours in Seoul, South Korea. This week's closed negotiations will focus on "enforcement in the digital environment." Negotiators will be discussing the Internet provisions drafted by the US government. No text has been officially released but as Professor Michael Geist and IDG are reporting, leaks have surfaced. The leaks confirm everything that we feared about the secret ACTA negotiations. The Internet provisions have nothing to do with…
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    OMBWatch: The Fine Print

  • Senate Passes Appropriations Bill, Including Removing LSC Restrictions

    aadams
    6 Nov 2009 | 3:01 pm
    The Senate finally passed the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) Appropriations bill for FY2010, which includes funding for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC). Importantly, it removes some flawed speech restrictions on grant recipients' non federal funds. Passage of the measure came after a 60-39 vote to cut off debate on the measure and successfully excluding the consideration of all non-germane amendments. This included the controversial amendment sponsored by Senator David Vitter (R-LA), that would have required the Census Bureau to ask about citizenship and immigration status during…

  • OMB Watch Submits Comments on Contractor Database

    gtherkildsen
    6 Nov 2009 | 10:08 am
    <!--break--> Yesterday, OMB Watch submitted comments on the proposed Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS), the new contractor performance database called for under last year's National Defense Authorization Act. Our comments focused on three areas: data quality and display; database training for contracting officials; and public access to the database. Look for a more in-depth treatment of the proposed database and the comments we supplied in next week's Watcher. Image by Flickr user merezha used under a Creative Commons license.

  • Will ACUS Be Up and Running Soon?

    mmadia
    5 Nov 2009 | 10:30 am
    The White House announced Nov. 2 that President Obama intends to nominate lawyer and scholar Paul Verkuil to chair the beleagured Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS), according to BNA news service (subscription). Click here for his bio as provided by his current firm. ACUS was resurrected in 2008, but without a new leader, it has been unable to get to work. Congress appropriated $1.5 million to ACUS for FY 2009 (which ended Sept. 30), but the money went unused. FY 2010 spending bills under consideration of Congress (yes, Congress is behind schedule again) also include $1.5…

  • Just Don't Call it "Stimulus"

    cjennings
    5 Nov 2009 | 8:23 am
    <!--break--> Ever since it's passage (even before), conservative voices in Congress have complained about the $787 economic stimulus bill, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The nut of the complaints is that the Act does nothing for the economy or the American people while adding nearly a trillion dollars to the federal deficit. So effective, apparently, is this charge, that the word "stimulus" has become a dirty word. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke had to walk back his statement that a second stimulus was being "hotly discussed and very seriously considered" by some…

  • Groups Urge Transparency in Health Care Reform Implementation

    mmadia
    4 Nov 2009 | 10:49 am
    Twenty groups, including OMB Watch, have sent a letter calling on Congress to include accountability and transparency provisions in any health care reform legislation. Specifically, the groups focused on federal advisory committees – panels that will provide critical advice on health care issues if legislation is passed. The groups represent a wide variety of public interest issues. Current bills under consideration would create several new advisory committees. Although most of these committees would be subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, that law is too weak to provide the…
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Open-Governement Blog

  • Puplic Records Show ... Man Accused of Beating Disabled Boy Was Innocent

    6 Nov 2009 | 9:31 am
    A man was accused of beating a disabled boy at a library in the Tri Cities. The accused man's criminal defense attorney made a public records request for the surveillance tape at the library.The tape showed the man was innocent.It is interesting that at first the library claimed the tape could be withheld from disclosure because it was a "library record." The accused had to go to court and obtain an order compelling disclosure. Ironically, the law designed to shield the books one checks out at a library from public scrutiny, which is to protect individual liberties, was initially used to ...

  • City of Vancouver Fined in Public Records Act Case

    6 Nov 2009 | 9:25 am
    The (Vancouver) Columbian reports that the City of Vancouver was fined $1,790 in a public records case but that the judge did not find any bad faith on the part of the City.The story does not address the larger source of a money pay out for the City, the mandatory award of attorneys' fees to the requestor who prevailed.Thanks to avid og-blog reader "Kokanee Bill" for this story.

  • Pizza Gathering Apparently Not an Illegal Meeting

    6 Nov 2009 | 5:06 am
    You have to love a news story that leads with this:"A gathering of five Sumner City Council members caused a flurry of activity in late October, including a police report and an anonymous anchovy pizza delivery."Read all about it.

  • DSHS Must Pay $525,000 in Public Records Case

    5 Nov 2009 | 11:30 am
    Wow. An amazing story.

  • Jefferson County: "Closed Gov't Capital of Washington"

    4 Nov 2009 | 9:39 am
    This brutal editorial in the Port Townsend Leader calls out Jefferson County officials by name who have been hiding public records. Excellent reading.The editorial discusses Jefferson County Commissioner Sullivan's costly stand for "pizza privacy." The background on that issue is covered here.
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Local Open Government Blog

  • Washington State Archives Publishes Records Management Advice Regarding Blogs, Wikis, Facebook and Twitter

    4 Nov 2009 | 5:12 pm
    The Washington State Archives recently published a records management advice sheet entitled “Electronic Records Management: Blogs, Wikis, Facebook, Twitter & Managing Public Records” that provides guidance to state and local government agencies regarding the retention of public records of posts to social networking websites such as blogs, wikis, Facebook, and Twitter.  The advice sheet provides five (5) factors for agencies to consider when managing the retention of public records created or received through social networking sites. These factors include determining…

  • Supreme Court of Arizona Holds Metadata is a Public Record

    30 Oct 2009 | 10:43 am
    Yesterday, the Supreme Court of Arizona held, in a unanimous decision, that under the state’s public records laws any entity that maintains electronic records must disclose those records along with embedded metadata. Lake v. City of Phoenix et al, No. CV-09-0036. 

  • Washington Appellate Court Rules that Destruction of Informational-Only Emails Pursuant to a Records Retention Policy Does not Violate the Public Records Act

    26 Oct 2009 | 4:15 pm
    On October 13, 2009, Washington State Court of Appeals (Division II) affirmed a trial court’s summary judgment in a public records case brought by the Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW). BIAW sued Pierce County when the County did not produce certain email records that the BIAW had located from a different agency. The court ruled that emails from the Washington Secretary of State’s office to the Pierce County Auditor had been properly deleted pursuant to the applicable retention policies. The Court further held that the State’s Public Records Act (PRA) does…

  • WA Supreme Court Reaffirms that Public Records Act Does Not Apply to the Judiciary

    23 Oct 2009 | 6:46 pm
    Over 20 years ago, the Washington State Supreme Court held in Nast v. Michels, 107 Wn.2d 300 (1986 ) that the State's Public Records Act (PRA) does not apply to court case files because the judiciary is not included in the PRA’s definition of a State “agency.” On October 15, 2009 , the Supreme Court reaffirmed its Nast holding in City of Federal Way v. Koenig, 2009 WL 3298055.  The Koenig case began in February 2008.  David Koenig, a regular claimant against Washington local…

  • U.S. Supreme Court Blocks Release of Signatures on Referendum Petition

    20 Oct 2009 | 4:49 pm
    Earlier today, the United States Supreme Court in an eight to one vote blocked the public release of documents showing names and contact information of Washington Referendum Measure No. 71 (“R-71”) petition signers. This action stopped the Ninth Circuit’s ruling last week that ordered the release of the documents. See our October 16, 2009 blog posting for more information regarding the Ninth Circuit’s ruling.  The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that the Supreme Court will now consider whether to hear the merits of the case, but the action to block…
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    UK Freedom of Information Blog

  • Extension of FOI Act to ACPO

    6 Nov 2009 | 5:24 am
    In a debate on the Policing and Crime Bill, Home Office minister Lord West of Spithead, confirmed that a Section 5 Order extending the FOI Act to the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) would be introduced early in the 2009-10 parliamentary session:On 9 September the Government wrote to ACPO inviting it to outline any matters that it thought the Secretary of State should take into consideration before deciding whether it is appropriate to include it in a Section 5 order and asking for its views on the length of time that ACPO would need between making an order and its commencement. It…

  • FOI Disclosure Stories October 2009

    3 Nov 2009 | 3:47 am
    Peers stop claiming discredited expenses - The Times 31/10/09“A number of high-profile peers stopped claiming overnight allowances for attending the House of Lords after The Sunday Times began exposing colleagues who were abusing the expenses system. Lords Birt, Jay, Rees-Mogg and Richard were among those who ceased claiming overnight subsistence of up to £174 a night in May this year, according to documents released under freedom of information laws. On May 3, this newspaper first raised doubts about the Lords expenses system when it discovered that Baroness Uddin had claimed £180,000 on…

  • White House visitor records online

    2 Nov 2009 | 5:23 am
    As part of President Obama's commitment to transparency, the White House has begun providing records of visitors to the White House online.In a statement announcing the policy on 4 September 09, the President said:For the first time in history, records of White House visitors will be made available to the public on an ongoing basis. We will achieve our goal of making this administration the most open and transparent administration in history not only by opening the doors of the White House to more Americans, but by shining a light on the business conducted inside it. Americans have a right to…

  • Tribunal criticises ICO delays again

    26 Oct 2009 | 5:44 am
    The Information Tribunal has again criticised the Information Commissioner's Office for delay in investigating a Freedom of Information complaint. In Export Credits Guarantee Department v IC (EA/2009/0021), the Tribunal said:Other matters119. While not a matter that has any bearing on the issues we have to decide, we think it appropriate to comment on the inordinate delay by the Commissioner in this case. As detailed above, although the Commissioner informed ECGD of the complaint by letter dated 22 August 2006, and although FOE requested an update on 5 December 2006, it appears that no case…

  • Identity of person making a FOI request

    25 Oct 2009 | 9:42 am
    There was a short debate in the House of Lords on 15 October 2009 on the subject of whether the names of people making FOI requests should be disclosed to those about whom information has been requested:Lord Dubs: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will consider amending the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to give those individuals about whom information has been requested the right to know the names of individuals or organisations who have made such requests.The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice (Lord Bach): My Lords, the Government have no plans to…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Kentucky Open Government Blog

  • Attorney general rules against city, county agencies

    26 Oct 2009 | 6:39 am
    The Kentucky Attorney General’s office has cited several county and city agencies for holding closed sessions or meetings or refusing requests for public records in a batch of rulings.The office ruled:• A planning committee formed by Shelby County Fiscal Court and the cities of Shelbyville and Simpsonville violated the Open Meetings Act by conducting non-public meetings without notice or minutes. The committee had been created by official action.• The Joint Board of Ethics for the cities of Bardstown and Fairfield and Nelson County failed to observe requirements for conducting closed…

  • Inspector fired after newspaper investigation

    14 Oct 2009 | 7:22 am
    Todd County has fired its restaurant inspector after an investigation by the Kentucky New Era showed he had failed to make required inspections.The Hopkinsville daily reported that county Health Director Leslie Daniels fired environmentalist Malcolm Rust for "insufficient performance" and because of an interview he gave the newspaper in which he said there was "too much work for one person." The newspaper's investigation showed that Rust had often failed to make required inspections. Several restaurants had gone 11 months without an inspection, which the law requires every six months.Rust had…

  • Attorney general rules against airport board, county officials

    13 Oct 2009 | 10:47 am
    The state attorney general's office has ruled the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Airport Board and county officials in Whitley, Crittendon and Nelson counties violated Kentucky's Open Records Act. The airport board ruling came in a case brought by Lexington Herald-Leader reporter Jennifer Hewlett as part of the newspaper's investigation of the board. Hewlett was seeking an unredacted copy of a $10,000 check issued to former airport executive director Michael Gobb. The board had blacked out the name on the check, claiming it included "confidential health information.""In weighing the competing…

  • School board violated open meetings act

    13 Oct 2009 | 10:30 am
    The Spencer County Board of Education violated Kentucky's Open Meetings Act by evaluating its superintendent in a closed-door session, Circuit Court Judge Charles Hickman has ruled. The decision upheld an opinion by the attorney general's office that had been challenged by the school board. The board conducted its mandatory annual evaluation of Superintendent Charles Adams in a closed session in June 2008. Board member Sandy Clevenger, who voted against the motion to adjourn to an executive session to discuss the evaluation, asked the attorney general whether the session complied with the…

  • Attorney general rules in favor of Winchester Sun in open records case

    5 Oct 2009 | 7:03 am
    Kentucky’s Energy and Environment Cabinet cannot withhold the addresses of people receiving benefits under the Soil Erosion and Water Quality Cost-Share program, the state’s attorney general has ruled.The ruling came in a case filed by Winchester Sun reporter Mike Wynn. Wynn had asked for the names and addresses of “all individuals, businesses, farming operations or similar entities in Clark County that have received funding in the last five years” from the state program.The cabinet, a part of the Division of Conservation, gave Wynn most of the information but refused to release the…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Sunlight Foundation

  • Rules Committee Hearing Live

    Paul Blumenthal
    6 Nov 2009 | 11:28 am
    The House Rules Committee is meeting to discuss the final rule and proposed amendments for the floor debate on the House health care bill. It is live-streaming here.

  • Local Spotlight

    Nisha Thompson
    5 Nov 2009 | 2:46 pm
    The creation of jobs is a main part of the stimulus legislation. Seeing how many jobs were created and maintained in local areas is key to evaluating the effectiveness of funds and the taxpayer investment. Tom Cusak from Oregon Housing blog, decided to see what his local community looked like after the funds were released and since the Recovery Web site doesn’t let you find the answers in one easy place, he created his own excel spreadsheet with the information. By now most have seen the headlines saying that Recovery Act funding recipients (Grants, Loans, or Contracts) have reported…

  • Senator Feingold Urges Posting of Constitution Annotated Online

    Lisa Rosenberg
    5 Nov 2009 | 1:31 pm
    Last week, Senator Feingold sent a letter requesting that the Government Printing Office post the Constitution Annotated online. The Constitution Annotated is a public document, and a great resource on the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Constitution. It is nominally publicly available, but is online only in a PDF format. The Constitution Annotated contains analysis of 8,000 cases so to be truly useful, it seems obvious it must be searchable. The GPO can take a simple step toward greater transparency by making this document available to the public in a navigable format. It could…

  • Jersey’s Fresh Opportunity

    Guest Blogger
    5 Nov 2009 | 9:39 am
    Matt Fretz writes Blog the Fifth, which covers New Jersey’s 5th district and Representative Scott Garrett.  Matt has been a vocal supporter of transparency efforts around the state and in Congress; as well as doing his part to keep Rep. Garrett accountable.  With the contested race for governor over and Chris Christie the winner, Matt shares what transparency measures New Jersey needs to take to battle the culture of corruption that has over taken the state. By Matt Fretz Blog the Fifth People have different reasons to be passionate about transparency; mine is accountability to the…

  • Some Links

    Paul Blumenthal
    5 Nov 2009 | 9:03 am
    1) Five lawmakers are likely to have ethics complaints against them for allegedly accepting travel to a corporate sponsored event dismissed by the House Ethics Committee. 2) Government Computer News reports on Clay Johnson’s post at Sunlight Labs. 3) The Food Lobby is gearing up to oppose any taxes on sugary sodas. Senators from states with sweetener crops (sugar beets, corn) are seen as an obstacle for soda taxes in the upper chamber. 4) Awesome block-by-block map of the New York City mayoral race vote. As someone who has lived in many, many places in New York City, this map is…
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    The Project On Government Oversight

  • POGO Comments on New Contractor Accountability Database

    Project On Government Oversight
    6 Nov 2009 | 11:02 am
    Yesterday, POGO submitted a public comment on a proposed change to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) that would implement a government-wide contractor database similar in principle to POGO's Federal Contractor Misconduct Database. Federal officials must consult this database--called the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS)--to check on prospective bidders' integrity and performance backgrounds before awarding contracts. Contractors with federal contracts worth more than $10 million must submit information for inclusion in FAPIIS (i.e. data…

  • Doc Hastings's Defense Of RIK Calls for a Second Opinion

    Project On Government Oversight
    6 Nov 2009 | 8:04 am
    POGO blog readers know that Interior Secretary Salazar's decision to phase out the Royalty-In-Kind (RIK) program--and hopefully return to Royalty-In-Value collection that includes audits, verifiable data, and real oversight--is in the best interest of taxpayers receiving their fair share for their natural resources. So POGO was of course intrigued when we came across a letter that the ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee, Representative Doc Hastings (R-WA), sent to the Secretary expressing concerns that the "Department will now end a program that has generated…

  • Morning Smoke: Swine Flu Preparation Wasn't Hog Wild

    Project On Government Oversight
    6 Nov 2009 | 7:25 am
    Tom Toles DCAA caught in the crossfire [Federal Computer Week] Break for Companies in Bailout's Fine Print [The New York Times] Fannie's Draws From Emergency Treasury Fund Reach $60 Billion [Bloomberg] Treasury OKs Another Firm for Toxic Asset Program [Associated Press]

  • Some Good News on the Stimulus Front

    Project On Government Oversight
    5 Nov 2009 | 9:20 am
    A few months ago, POGO blogged about our concerns that many state and local governments with laws limiting contractors’ campaign contributions (meant to reduce the influence of private interests in the public contracting process) are facing obstacles to enforcing these “pay-to-play” laws on stimulus-funded contracts.   While none of those obstacles have been removed, the nonprofit, nonpartisan National Institute on Money in State Politics just released an analysis that found little influence of campaign contributions on stimulus contracts. By mashing Recovery.gov data with the…

  • Morning Smoke: Federal Acquisition Coalition Wants Universities to Include Procurement in Curriculum

    Project On Government Oversight
    5 Nov 2009 | 7:15 am
    New alliance hopes to spur new talent in procurement field [Government Executive]Is the BLM practicing unsafe CX? [High Country News] Flu outrunning vaccine, experts say [Washington Post] GAO to report on GSA [Fedline] Clash Looms on Banks [The Wall Street Journal] HUD audits: $220M to go to at-risk agencies [USA Today] Your Bailout Update (Nov. 2009): $400 Billion Outstanding [ProPublica]Texans mount campaign to keep Army truck contract [Government Executive]
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    WordPress Tag: Open Government

  • Lt. Governor inventing excuses as to why "stimulus" webpage is not being updated

    charliecopeland
    5 Nov 2009 | 2:41 pm
    WBOC 16, a Southern Delaware News Station, had an interview with the Lt. Governor a week ago about D

  • An all-you-can-eat smörgåsbord of government data

    Joe Newman
    4 Nov 2009 | 8:11 am
    Back in the day when I was a young newspaper reporter, we never heard of your Internets and could only dream about the Googles. When we wanted campaign information, we spent days in some dank backroom at the supervisor of elections office, buried under a mountain of documents. And making copies at 10 cents a page added up fast. I can’t imagine what life would have been like if we had access to the online data available at some of the Web sites Katie Donnelly spotlights in her post “10 Projects that help Citizens become Government Watchdogs” at MediaShift. With the 2010 U.S.

  • New Castle County Republican Committee is preparing for the battle

    charliecopeland
    2 Nov 2009 | 8:25 am
    Great stuff coming from the newly-energized New Castle County Republican Committee. Please check out

  • Lo stile di vita Open Source viene adottato ufficialmente anche da Obama

    Vanilla
    2 Nov 2009 | 1:59 am
    Era da tanto tempo che se ne parlava e ha mantenuto una delle promesse fatte! E’ considerato c

  • Washington Legal Roundup – Division I

    Kyle Olive
    29 Oct 2009 | 2:50 pm
    Mechling v. City of Monroe This case is about, in part, whether personal e-mail addresses used to conduct business by a city council are exempt from disclosure under the Public Disclosure Act (PDA).  (The Public Disclosure Act has been re-codified at chapter 42.56 RCW, and re-named the Public Records Act).  The short answer is: no, e-mail sent from personal e-mail addresses involving government business are not exempt from disclosure. According to the Court of Appeals, this includes: 1. Personal e-mail addresses of public officials that are NOT in personnel or employment-related…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Sunlight Labs blog

  • Chat with Knight about the News Challenge on Monday

    Clay Johnson
    6 Nov 2009 | 1:07 pm

  • Listening in on Twitter

    Clay Johnson
    6 Nov 2009 | 8:19 am
    This is days past the deadline, completely open and written by a non-profit, and has no revenue model associated with it so it isn't intended to be taken seriously as a response to the recent YCombinator Request for Startups. But RFS 3: Building Things on Twitter got me thinking about what I'd like to build on Twitter. Here's the idea: Government spends a lot of time and money on building tools that allow it to better communicate with constituents. Whether it be the new, flashy White House website in the Obama administration, or the Republican Whip Office's WhipCast(remarkable choice of…

  • Announcing the Great American Hackathon

    Clay Johnson
    4 Nov 2009 | 9:04 am
    Now that there's about 1000 of us, we think its time we got a little social-- started hanging out, getting together and solving some of the problems we're running into. There's been over 100 apps created over the past year, a lot of fun projects, and a community created. Now's the time for us to have a national hackathon We've partnered up with Google, RedHat, Fedora, and Mozilla, Open Source for America and Code for America to get the Open Source community involved in Open Government projects on December 12-13th, what's come to be known as the Great American Hackathon. We're hoping that…

  • Victory! FEC Launches Data Catalog

    Clay Johnson
    29 Oct 2009 | 10:34 am
    Earlier this year, I was invited to testify in front of the FEC on how they could improve their web presence. Together, we as a community built our testimony that I in turn, delivered to them. Whether it was our Redesigning the Government piece on the FEC, or the crowdsourced testimony, we delivered it in full (start on page 25 of that pdf file). I'm pretty excited to see this note from Bob Biersack floating around the intertubes announcing the launch of fec.gov/data and fec.gov/blog -- the commission is calling their blog the "Disclosure Data Blog" where they'll be posting information and…

  • Adobe is Bad for Open Government

    Clay Johnson
    28 Oct 2009 | 10:57 am
    So next week, Adobe's having aconference here to tell Federal employees why they ought to be using "Adobe PDF, and Adobe® Flash® technology" to make government more open. They've spent what seems to be millions of dollars wrapping buses in DC with Adobe marketing materials all designed to tell us how necessary Adobe products are to Obama's Open Government Initiative. They've even got a beautiful website set up to tout the government's use of Flash and PDF, and are holding a conference here next week to talk about how Government should use ubiquitous and secure technologies to make…
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    MaineOpenGov Blog

  • Read up on the so called Health Care "Reform"

    Administrator
    6 Nov 2009 | 6:38 am
    This is a state government blog. But without question, the HR 3962 bill, or the health care "reform" bill, that will be voted on soon by our U.S. House of Representatives, has a huge impact on Maine and it's businesses and people. We're posting about the bill here in the name of greater overall government transparency.So what exactly does the bill do, and how should Reps. Pingree and Michaud vote on the bill? Take a look yourself and then let them know. HR 3962 Summary (read it and weep): "Complete Summary" A couple excerpts (warning, some readers will find this offensive. May not be…

  • The 2009 Maine Piglet Book makes some noise

    Administrator
    28 Sep 2009 | 9:22 am
    The 2009 Maine Piglet Book hit with a bang last Thursday. The Bangor Daily News story ran above the fold and the KJ and Portland Press Herald stories were featured along with the Morning Sentinal piece, while the books release was also featured on several local TV news broadcasts, including My Fox Maine and WGME-Portland (below) and WABI-Bangor (CBS). Opponents of the Yes on 4 (TABOR) campaign have tried to discredit the book, and defend government spending. They say the $102,000 for 3 dog paintings in a Kennebunk rest stop are "privately funded" - but what they are not saying is that…

  • 2009 Maine Piglet Book

    Administrator
    24 Sep 2009 | 1:42 pm
    Today The Maine Heritage Policy Center and Citizens Against Government Waste released the 2009 Maine Piglet Book, which details at least $2 billion in Maine government waste. Some of the highlights (or lowlights) in the book:$82,533 for bottled water in 2008. $20,000 to produce "My Fair Lady" in an Ogunquit playhouse.$155,000,000 on the failed government-run Dirigo health program.I'll blog about the reaction to the 2009 Piglet Book in the next couple days.

  • Confusion in Maine's legislature leads to struggles for businesses

    Administrator
    31 Aug 2009 | 6:01 am
    Two of the more bizarre stories in some time involve bills that came out of the legislature this past term and are doing damage to small business and local students. The first law, L.D. 498, included an amendment by Rep. David Webster (D) of Freeport that bans any children from even observing adults participating in wine-tasting. This obviously (not so obviously to the representative) causes problems for tot toting tourists who would like to sample the wine produced by local Maine wineries. There is much confusion about what to do about this bizarre and unecessary law, but for now, some small…

  • State of Maine Spending Trivia

    Administrator
    24 Jul 2009 | 7:28 am
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    FOI Oklahoma

  • Judge allows TV and newspaper Web site cameras in courtroom for pharmacist's murder trial

    5 Nov 2009 | 10:02 am
    Oklahoma television stations and a newspaper's Web site will be allowed to have cameras in the courtroom during the trial of a pharmacist charged with killing a would-be robber, an Oklahoma County district judge ruled today.Judge Tammy Bass-LeSure granted a request from KWTV and KFOR in Oklahoma City and KOTV in Tulsa to televise Jerome Jay Erlsand's murder trial after the jury is selected.The Oklahoman and NewsOK.com also will be allowed to take photos inside the courtroom and to show the trial on the newspaper's Web site, the judge said.No trial date has been set."Permitting news coverage…

  • Grady and Wagoner counties' fees for digital copies of assessments databases violate Open Records Act

    5 Nov 2009 | 9:44 am
    Grady County's fee for an electronic copy of its database of all real property assessments violates the state Open Records Act, a district judge ruled Monday.The county assessor’s practice of charging 5 cents for the first 25,000 records and 2 cents thereafter was “not limited to recovering only the reasonable, direct costs of record copying and any necessary record search,” said Judge Richard G. Van Dyck in a judgment and injunction issued Nov. 2. (Hurlbert v. Firestone, CJ-08-00790 (Grady Co.))Another district judge ruled against Wagoner County's assessor for the same reason in…

  • Public access to all police incident reports restored as of Nov. 1

    1 Nov 2009 | 8:51 am
    Police incident reports not involving an arrest are once again open to the public under legislation that takes effect today.House Bill 1049 rectifies a 2005 amendment to the Open Records Act that police departments interpreted as allowing the release of incident reports only pertaining to an arrest.No arrest. No report.Complaints about the new statutory language were ignored until an incident in February 2008 involving state Labor Commissioner Lloyd Fields.Oklahoma City police detained Fields and took him to a detox center after he was suspected of stealing a professional bull rider’s…

  • Suspended Jenks head football coach being paid more than $94,000 to work at elementary school

    31 Oct 2009 | 7:53 pm
    Suspended football coach Allan Trimble was reassigned to Jenks East Elementary School, the Tulsa World reported Saturday.Trimble's duties include helping students who might have discipline issues, coordinating and supervising a daily morning outdoor run for students and coordinating and supervising a planning committee for the school's new playground equipment, according to the newspaper.Trimble also is starting a mentoring program to help students who need academic support, the newspaper reported.Two weeks ago, the school district refused to say where Trimble had been reassigned or what he…

  • In a digital world, government officials should be putting “all the law” in online databases everyone may view for free

    30 Oct 2009 | 2:40 pm
    (Essay by Doug Wilson, an FOI Oklahoma Inc. board member and attorney)What price justice?In America, when government officials adopt a mentality of "us vs. them," the rule of men tramples underfoot the rule of law and democracy fails.In a lawsuit brought by a client under the Oklahoma Open Records Act, I recently took the sworn deposition of a gentleman who has worked for the State of Oklahoma for more than 25 years. At the time of his deposition, he was employed by the Ad Valorem Division of the Oklahoma Tax Commission.Being uncertain of just exactly what I was asking, he responded with a…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    BBC: Open Secrets

  • Saudi arms and the big chill

    Martin Rosenbaum (BBC News)
    2 Nov 2009 | 12:01 am
    Winter is approaching, and it's getting cold in Whitehall - uncomfortably so, for some. There's an icy gale blowing through the offices of public authorities, and it's driven by freedom of information - that anyway is the view of some FOI-sceptics in officialdom. While many others are worried about global warming, these people are concerned about the "chilling effect" - the idea that publicly disclosing internal discussions would inhibit officials from giving free and frank advice in future. But how cold really are the resulting temperatures? These arguments are often central to assessing…

  • The Mad Hatter's time lesson

    Martin Rosenbaum (BBC News)
    26 Oct 2009 | 1:45 am
    Last week the information commissioner issued a decision in his oldest outstanding freedom of information case - one that his office has taken the not inconsiderable timespan of four years and five months to determine. If anyone is still interested, the case involves a request to the Scotland Office for material relating to the Sewel Convention, the convention that Westminster does not normally legislate on matters devolved to Scotland without the consent of the Scottish Parliament. The Scotland Office initially turned down the request, but did release some documents during the commissioner's…

  • Avoiding the request

    Martin Rosenbaum (BBC News)
    23 Oct 2009 | 1:45 am
    The experience of feeling you're sometimes not getting a full answer to your question is one shared by FOI requesters and political interviewers. It may be frustrating, but are you still finding out something? Yes, in the field of interviewing, according anyway to participants in Avoiding the Question, a BBC Radio 4 documentary which I have produced for transmission this Sunday at 10.45pm. Some say you can learn a lot about party positions and internal tensions from exactly where interviewees do and do not feel the need to equivocate. And that the different ways in which different politicians…

  • An ambassador writes...

    Martin Rosenbaum (BBC News)
    20 Oct 2009 | 1:09 am
    A new BBC Radio 4 series starting today - Parting Shots - reveals what Britain's top diplomats have really thought about the countries to which they were posted. It features the valedictory despatches of ambassadors, their final message home in which they were traditionally allowed to express personal and pungent viewpoints. The programmes are based on extensive enquiries both in the National Archives for the older documents and also using the Freedom of Information Act to obtain more recent ones. The series producer Andrew Bryson explains here the mix of intriguing and amusing discoveries…

  • Johnson warns over postal strike

    Martin Rosenbaum (BBC News)
    15 Oct 2009 | 3:57 am
    The postal workers' union is warning that there's going to be a national strike unless the Royal Mail management comes up with new proposals. But the letter above was written in 1996, when its author Alan Johnson was leader of the Communication Workers' Union and not, as he is now, home secretary in a Labour cabinet whose minister responsible for the matter has described such a strike as a "lunatic proposition". Mr Johnson's letter was released to the BBC in the past following a freedom of information request.
 
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Secrecy News

  • New State Secrets Policy Yields Familiar Result

    Steven Aftergood
    4 Nov 2009 | 7:22 am
    The government’s proposed use of the state secrets privilege in a pending lawsuit was reviewed under the new state secrets policy that was established in September to limit use of the privilege, Attorney General Eric Holder announced on October 30.  But upon review the government decided that it was necessary and appropriate to assert the privilege anyway.  Furthermore, the government did not merely seek to withhold particular items of evidence from disclosure in the case, Shubert v. USA, but sought to terminate the proceeding altogether (pdf). “As part of our internal…

  • JASON Cautions on Predicting Terrorist Events

    Steven Aftergood
    4 Nov 2009 | 7:18 am
    Attempts to predict the occurrence or the likelihood of extreme acts of terrorist violence on the scale of 9/11 should be discouraged because the available data are too sparse to permit the reliable modeling of such “rare events,” according to a new report to the Pentagon (pdf) from the JASON defense advisory panel. In a nutshell, “it is simply not possible to validate (evaluate) predictive models of rare events that have not occurred, and unvalidated models cannot be relied upon.” On the other hand, the JASONs said, it may be possible and useful to assume that rare…

  • More New Publications Received

    Steven Aftergood
    4 Nov 2009 | 7:16 am
    A new book delves into “the secret history of federal drug law enforcement” and the role of the Drug Enforcement Administration.  See “The Strength of the Pack: The Personalities, Politics and Espionage Intrigues that Shaped the DEA” by Douglas Valentine, TrineDay, 2009. Former Congressional Research Service scholar Morton Rosenberg authored a detailed account of the principles and practices of congressional oversight entitled “When Congress Comes Calling” (pdf). It was published by the Constitution Project in July and is available in full-text online.

  • Military Censorship of Photographs in World War I

    Steven Aftergood
    4 Nov 2009 | 7:13 am
    During the course of World War I, tens of thousands of photographs were withheld from publication by the U.S. military.  These included images that might have revealed troop movements or military capabilities, pictures that were liable to be used in enemy propaganda, or those that could adversely affect military or public morale. The development of military controls on publication of photographs during WWI was described in a 1926 U.S. Army report (large pdf) that is illustrated with dozens of images that had been withheld, with a description of the reasons their publication was not…

  • Confusion Reigns in Intelligence Secrecy Policy

    Steven Aftergood
    2 Nov 2009 | 8:33 am
    The decision last week by the Director of National Intelligence to declassify the FY2009 budget for the National Intelligence Program is inconsistent with other ODNI classification actions and highlights the confusion over the proper scope of national security secrecy that prevails in the U.S. intelligence community today. On October 30, DNI Dennis C. Blair announced that the total appropriation for the National Intelligence Program (NIP) in FY 2009 was $49.8 billion.  (Under the terms of a 1997 law, the President could have withheld the FY 2009 budget figure if he filed a statement with…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    Electronic Records - Local Open Government Blog

  • Washington State Archives Publishes Records Management Advice Regarding Blogs, Wikis, Facebook and Twitter

    4 Nov 2009 | 5:12 pm
    The Washington State Archives recently published a records management advice sheet entitled “Electronic Records Management: Blogs, Wikis, Facebook, Twitter & Managing Public Records” that provides guidance to state and local government agencies regarding the retention of public records of posts to social networking websites such as blogs, wikis, Facebook, and Twitter.  The advice sheet provides five (5) factors for agencies to consider when managing the retention of public records created or received through social networking sites. These factors include determining…

  • Washington Appellate Court Rules that Destruction of Informational-Only Emails Pursuant to a Records Retention Policy Does not Violate the Public Records Act

    26 Oct 2009 | 4:15 pm
    On October 13, 2009, Washington State Court of Appeals (Division II) affirmed a trial court’s summary judgment in a public records case brought by the Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW). BIAW sued Pierce County when the County did not produce certain email records that the BIAW had located from a different agency. The court ruled that emails from the Washington Secretary of State’s office to the Pierce County Auditor had been properly deleted pursuant to the applicable retention policies. The Court further held that the State’s Public Records Act (PRA) does…

  • Disclosure + Internet = Threat to Democracy?

    30 Jul 2009 | 2:53 am
    Update 8/3 Here's an update from the Open Records Blog -- a great blog that tracks state public records issues nation wide -- on the R-71 controversy.  The Post also provides Tim Eyman's perspective on the issue.  Update 7/30 As noted by the Seattle Times, a Federal Judge has issued an injunction prohibiting the State from releasing the names of the persons who signed the R-71 petition.  According to the Times: Judge Settle . . . gave what appears to be a nod to the strength of the referendum backers' case, writing that they "have sufficiently demonstrated a…

  • Transparent government or Translucent government?

    12 Jul 2009 | 1:43 pm
    As governments put more and more information on the web, governments should be focused on how to make that information usable to help the public understand how it relates the decision-making process.  As noted in this post, Transparent or Translucent, simply loading data onto websites can serve to obscure how governments make decisions  rather than give the public access to how and why those decisions are made.  This can result in translucent government, not transparent government.   

  • Guidance from Down Under on Government Use of Web 2.0 Sites

    12 Jul 2009 | 1:27 pm
    Australia has some of the most sophisticated and advanced laws on document retention and access. Therefore, it was not surprising to find this guidance on records retentions issues for government web 2.0 sites coming from the Australian government:  Records Management and Web 2.0  
Log in