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Freedom of Information
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Find FOI in your state Sunshine Chair: Paola Banchero Assistant Professor of Journalism University of Alaska Anchorage Work: 907/786-4194 FOI Center: Alaska FOI Formed: 1998 Contact: Larry Campbell  Alabama Sunshine Chair: Paul Cloos Paul Cloos Assistant Managing Editor The Press-Register P.O. Box 2488 Mobile, AL 36652 Work: 251/219-5639 Fax: 251/219-5799 FOI Center: Alabama Center for Open Government Formed: 2000 Contact: Gregory Enns Web site Arkansas Sunshine Chair: Dennis A. Byrd Stephens Media 401 S. Victory Little Rock, AR 72201 Work: 501/374-0699 Home: 501/316-3883 Fax: 501/374-0860 FOI Center: N/A Arizona Sunshine Chair: David Cuillier Assistant professor Department of Journalism University of Arizona Marshall Building, Room 328 P.O. Box 210158B Tucson, AZ 85721-0158 Work: 520/626-9694 Home: 520/229-1466 FOI Center: First Amendment Coalition of Arizona, Inc. Formed: 1982 Contact: Dan Barr California Sunshine Chair (North): Seth Rosenfeld San Francisco Chronicle 901 Mission St., Third Floor San Francisco, CA 94103 Work: 415/777-7908 Fax: 415/243-9151 Sunshine Chair (South): Jodi Cleesattle Deputy Attorney General California Department of Justice Office of the Attorney General 110 West A Street, Suite 1100 San Diego, CA 92101 Phone: 619/645-3150 FOI Centers: California First Amendment Coalition Formed: 1988 Contact: Peter Scheer Web site California First Amendment Project Formed: 1992 Contact: David Greene Web site Californians Aware Formed: 2004 Contact: Terry Francke Web site Colorado Sunshine Chair: Kris P. Kodrich Associate Professor Department of Journalism and Technical Communication C-221 Clark Colorado State University Fort Collins, CO 80523-1785 970-491-5986 (office) 970-491-2908 (fax) FOI Center: Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition Formed: 1987 Contact: John Fosholt Connecticut Sunshine Chair: Steven D. Kalb Reporter The Connecticut Radio Network 203-927-7921 FOI Center: Connecticut Foundation for Open Government Formed: 1991 Contact: Mitchell Pearlman Web site District of Columbia Sunshine Chair: Robert S. Becker Law offices of Robert S. Becker 3315 Morrison St NW Washington, DC 20015 Work: 202/364-8013 FOI Center: Maryland Foundation for Open Government Formed: 2004 Contact: Jim Lee Delaware Sunshine Chair: Drew Volturo Political reporter Delaware State News P.O. Box 737 Dover, DE 19903 Work: (302) 741-8296 Fax: (302) 760-7440 FOI Center: New England Associated Press News Editors Assn. IN PROCESS OF ORGANIZING (NEAPNEA) (moving well... meeting early spring to hopefully form) Florida Sunshine Chair: Sandra F. Chance University of Flordia College of Journalism Gainesville, FL 32611 Work: 352/392-2273 Home: 352/374-4656 Fax: 352/392-9173 FOI Centers: Brechner Center for Freedom of Information Formed: 1977 Contact: Sandra Chance Web site Florida First Amendment Foundation, Inc. Formed: 1984 Contact: Barbara Petersen Web site Georgia Sunshine Chair: Johnny Edwards Government Reporter The Augusta Chronicle 725 Broad Street Augusta, GA 30901 Work: 706/823-3225 Home/Cell: 706/736-1951 Fax: 706/722-7403 FOI Center: Georgia First Amendment Foundation Formed: 1994 Contact: Hyde Post Web site Hawaii Sunshine Chair: Stirling Morita Honolulu Star-Bulletin 3054 Ala Poha Place #806 Honolulu, HI 96818-1615 Work: 808/529-4755 Home: 808/839-5021 Fax: 808/529-4750 FOI Centers: Honolulu Community Media Council Formed: 1970 Contact: Holly Green Web site Open Government Coalition of Hawaii Contact: Stirling Morita Iowa Sunshine Chair: Rox Laird Des Moines Register P.O. Box 957 Des Moines, IA 50306 Work: 515/284-8000 FOI Center: Iowa Freedom of Information Council Formed: 1977 Contact: Kathleen Richardson Web site Idaho Sunshine Chair: Betsy Z. Russell The Spokesman-Review, Boise bureau 2601 Hillway Drive Boise, ID 83702 Work: 208/336-2854 FOI Center: Idahoans for Openness in Government Formed: 2004 Contact: Betsy Russell Web site Illinois Sunshine Chair: Beth Bennett Illinois Press Association 900 Community Drive Springfield, IL 62703 Work: 217/241-1300 Fax: 217/241-1301 FOI Centers: Citizen Advocacy Center Formed: 1993 Contact: Terry Pastika Web site Illinois First Amendment Center Formed: 2002 Contact: Sue Montalvo Web site Indiana Sunshine Chair: Gerry Lanosga Associate Instructor Ph.D. Student Indiana University School of Journalism 940 E. 7th St. Bloomington, IN 47405-7108 317/697-6083 FOI Center: Indiana Coalition for Open Government Formed: 1995 Contact: Keith Robinson Web site Kansas Sunshine Chair: Ron Sylvester Wichita Eagle 825 E. Douglas P.O. Box 820 Wichita, KS 67201 Work: 316/268-6514 Fax: 316/268-6627 FOI Center: Kansas Sunshine Coalition for Open Government Formed: 2000 Contact: Ron Keefover Web site Kentucky Sunshine Chair: Kenneth R. Kurtz 255 Irvine Road Lexington, KY 40502-1815 Home: 859/269-1807 FOI Center: Kentucky Freedom of Information Coalition Formed: 2004 Contact: David Thompson Louisiana Sunshine Chair: Sherry Lee Alexander Communications Department Loyola University New Orleans, LA 70118 Work: 504/865-3292 Fax: 504/865-2666 FOI Center: Louisiana Coalition for Open Government, Inc. Contact: Jackie Ducote Massachusetts Sunshine Chair: Stephanie Vosk Cape Cod Times 319 Main Street Hyannis, MA 02601 Office: 508/888-5454 Cell: 508/916-0411 FOI Center: NEAPNEA In progress (formally under way) Maryland Sunshine Chair: Jim Lee Carroll County Times 201 Railroad Ave. Westminster, MD, 21157 Work: 410/857-7878 Fax: 410/857-8749 FOI Center: Maryland Foundation for Open Government Formed: 2004 Contact: Jim Lee Maine Sunshine Chair: Mal Leary Mal Leary Capitol News Service Statehouse Station #127 Augusta, ME 04333 Work: 207/621-0702 Home: 207/621-2384 FOI Center: Maine Freedom of Information Coalition Formed: 2003 Contact: Mal Leary Web site Michigan Sunshine Chair: Catherine A. Gniewek President MichiganToday.net P. O. Box 700112 Plymouth, MI 48170 734/223-9645 FOI Center: Michigan Freedom of Information Committee Formed: 1989 Contact: Ben Burns Web site Minnesota Sunshine Chair: John P. Borger and Leita Walker Attorneys Faegre & Benson LLP 2200 Wells Fargo Center 90 S. 7th St. Minneapolis, MN 55402-3901 Work (John): 612/766-7501 Work (Leita): 612/766-8347 Cell (John): 612/203-9279 Cell (Leita): 612/701-5192 Fax: 612/766-1600 FOI Centers: Minnesota Coalition on Goverment Information Web site Minnesota Joint Media Committee Contact: John Finnegan Missouri Sunshine Chair: Charles Davis The National Freedom of Information Coalition Missouri School of Journalism 133 Neff Annex Columbia, MO 6511-0012 573/882-5736 Fax: (573) 884-6204 E-mail Freedom of Information Center Formed: 1958 Contact: Charles Davis Web site FOI Center: Mississippi Sunshine Chair: Alice Jackson P.O. Box 975 Ocean Springs, MS 39566-0975 3503 Hastings Lane Ocean Springs, MS 39564 228/209-6920 FOI Center: Mississippi Center for Freedom of Information, Inc. Formed: 2001 Contact: Jeanni Atkins Web site Montana Sunshine Chair: Ian M. Marquand KPAX-TV P.O. Box 4827 Missoula, MT 59803 Work: 406/542-4449 Fax: 406/543-7111 FOI Center: Montana Freedom of Information Hotline, Inc. Formed: 1988 Contact: Ian Marquand Web site North Carolina Sunshine Chair: Vacant FOI Center: North Carolina Open Government Coalition Formed: 2005 Contact: Melanie Sill Web site North Dakota Sunshine Chair: Jack McDonald Wheeler Wolf Law Firm Box 2056 Bismarck, ND 58502-2056 Work: 701/223-5300 Home: 701/258-5811 Fax: 701/223-5366 FOI Center: N/A Nebraska Sunshine Chair: John R. Bender College of Journalism and Mass Communications University of Nebraska-Lincoln 132 Andersen Hall Lincoln, NE 68588-0474 Work: 402/472-3053 Home: 402/423-6636 Fax: 402/472-8597 FOI Center: Nebraska Press Association 1879 Contact: Kent Warneke Web site New Hampshire Sunshine Chair: Joe Magruder The Associated Press 2 Capital Plaza Suite 400 Concord, NH 03301 Work: 603/224-3327 Home: 603/224-9690 FOI Center: NEAPNEA (In progress;formally created Feb. 2006) New Jersey Sunshine Chair: Elizabeth Mason President New Jersey Foundation for Open Government P.O. Box 32488 Newark, NJ 07102 (646) 339-2991 FOI Center: New Jersey Foundation for Open Government Formed: 2001 Contact: Elizabeth Mason Web site New Mexico Sunshine Chair: Vacant FOI Center: New Mexico Foundation for Open Government Formed: 1989 Contact: Susan Walton Web site Nevada Sunshine Chair: Vacant FOI Center: In progress as of late 2005 New York Sunshine Chair: Carolyn James ACJ Community Communications 85 Broadway Amityville NY 11701 Home: 631/884-2045 Work: 516/798-5100 Fax: 516/798-5296 FOI Center: The Newhouse School, Syracuse University Contact: Barbara Fought Web site Ohio Sunshine Chairs: Richard D. Hendrickson, Ph.D. John Carroll University Work: 20700 N. Park Blvd. University Heights, OH 44118 Home: 2085 Riverside Drive Lakewood, OH 44107 Work: (216) 397-3078 Home: (216) 521-6321 Cell: (440) 570-2779 Gregory Korte The Cincinnati Enquirer 312 Elm St., 19th floor Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 Work: 513/468-8391 Home: 513/661-4835 FOI Centers: Ohio Center for Privacy & The First Amendment Formed: 1991 Contact: Tim Smith Web site Ohio Coalition for Open Government Formed: 1992 Contact: Frank Deaner Web site Oklahoma Sunshine Chair: Bryan Dean The Oklahoman P.O. Box 25125 Oklahoma City, OK 73125 Work: 405/475-3206 Fax: 405/475-3183 FOI Center: FOI Oklahoma, Inc. Formed: 1990 Contact: Kay Bickham Web site Oregon Sunshine Chair: Ryan Frank Portland Oregonian 1320 S.W. Broadway Portland, OR 97201 503-221-8564 FOI Center: Open Oregon Formed: 1996 Contact: Tim Gleason Web site Pennsylvania Sunshine Chair: Susan Schwartz Press Enterprise 3185 Lackawanna Ave. Bloomsburg, PA 17815 Work: 570/752-3645 Home: 570/387-1484 Fax: 570/752-1138 FOI Center: Formed, 501c3 underway Rhode Island Sunshine Chair: Linda Lotridge Levin University of Rhode Island Department of Journalism Kingston, RI 02881 Office: 401/874-4287 Fax: 401/874-4450 FOI Center: ACCESS/RI Formed: 1996 Contact: Barbara Meagher Web site South Carolina Sunshine Chair: Johnny Edwards Special Projects Reporter The Augusta Chronicle 725 Broad Street Augusta, GA 30901 Work: 706/823-3225 Home/Cell: 706/736-1951 Fax: 706/722-7403 FOI Center: SC FOI Foundation, joined Jan. 2006 South Dakota Sunshine Chair: John E. Getz South Dakota State University 2027 Third Street Brookings, SD 57006-2407 Work: 605/688-6513 Home: 605/697-5127 Fax: 605/688-5034 FOI Center: South Dakotans for Open Government Formed: 2003 Contact: David Bordewyk Tennessee Sunshine Chair: Frank Gibson Tennessee Coalition for Open Government 3449 Harborwood Circle Nashville, TN 37214 Work: 615/202-2685 Home: 615/316-0983 Web site FOI Center: Tennessee Coalition for Open Government Formed: 2003 Contact: Adam Yoemans Web site Texas Sunshine Chair: Keith Elkins Executive Director Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas 3001 North Lamar Boulevard, Suite 302 Austin, TX 78705 Work: 512/377-1575 Fax: 512/377-1578 FOI Center: Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, Inc. Formed: 1978 Contact: Katherine Garner Web site Utah Sunshine Chair: Linda Petersen President, Utah Foundation for Open Government P.O. Box 1084 Riverton, UT 84065 801-254-5974 ext. 17 FOI Center: Utah Foundation for Open Government Formed: 1992 Contact: Kathryn Petersen Virginia Sunshine Chair: Richard J. Hammerstrom Free Lance-Star 1511 Prince Edward St Fredericksburg, VA 22401 Work: 540/374-5414 Home: 540/371-4740 Fax: 540/373-8455 FOI Center: Virginia Coalition for Open Government Formed: 1996 Contact: Frosty Landon Web site Vermont Sunshine Chair: Michael Patrick Donoghue The Burlington Free Press P.O. Box 10 Burlington, VT 05402-0010 Work: 802/660-1845 Home: 802/862-7466 Fax: 802/654-2560 FOI Center: Formed, 501c3 pending Formed: 2005 Contact: Michael Donoghue Washington Sunshine Chair: Michele Earl-Hubbard Media law attorney Allied Law Group 12354 30th Ave. NE Seattle, WA 98125-5406 Work: 206/801-7510 Fax: 206/428-7169 FOI Center: AccessNorthwest Formed: 2003 Contact: Susan Ross Web site Wisconsin Sunshine Chair: J.J. Blonien The Wisconsin Conservative Digest 2605 N. 61st St. Milwaukee, WI 53123 Home: 414/873-7025 Cell: 414/305-3397 FOI Center: Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council Formed: 1978 Contact: Robert Drechsel Web site West Virginia Sunshine Chair: Vacant FOI Center: N/A Wyoming Sunshine Chair: Vacant FOI Center: N/A Freedom of Information About/History FOI Alerts News/Articles Covering Prisons Project Sunshine: Find FOI Help Accessing Government Records Shield Law Campaign FOI Audit Tookit | PDF Anti-SLAPP: Protect Free Speech Official Secrets Act bill FOI Groups Annual FOI Reports FOI Committee Roster Links/Resources Message Board FOI FYI: SPJ's FOI Committee Blog • This Fourth of July celebrate FOIA's 43rd anniversary • Sunshine Week going partly cloudy; to lay off lone staffer • Bush policies reloaded: Obama hides visitor logs FOI Committee This committee is the watchdog of press freedoms across the nation. It relies upon a network of volunteers in each state organized under Project Sunshine. These SPJ members are on the front lines for assaults to the First Amendment and when lawmakers attempt to restrict the public's access to documents and the government's business. The committee often is called upon to intervene in instances where the media is restricted. Freedom of Information Committee Chair David Cuillier Assistant Professor Department of Journalism University of Arizona Marshall Building, Room 323 Tucson, AZ 85721-0158 Work: 520/626-9694 Fax: 520/621-7557 Bio (click to expand) 
David Cuillier, a former newspaper reporter and editor, is an assistant professor in the Department of Journalism at the University of Arizona. He researches public attitudes toward freedom of information and is one of the SPJ newsroom trainers for acquiring government documents.
Joe Adams, vice chair Editorial writer The Florida Times-Union One Riverside Avenue Jacksonville, FL 32202 Work: 904-359-4534 Fax: 904-359-4390 Bio (click to expand) 
Joe Adams is an editorial writer at The Florida Times-Union and author of The Florida Public Records Handbook published by the First Amendment Foundation in Tallahassee.Eight universities in Florida have used the book as a textbook, the only one of its kind in the nation, and more than 1,000 journalists have attended his workshops on how to use public records for success. He is the recipient of the national 2007 Eugene S. Pulliam First Amendment Award sponsored by the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation and has earned two national Sunshine Awards from the Society of Professional Journalists. In December 2000, Presstime magazine profiled him as one of the top 20 under 40 newspaper industry professionals to watch in the future. As an editorial writer, Adams has received awards from the Florida Press Club, Florida Society of Newspaper Editors and the Society of Professional Journalists. His year of public records research of the Jacksonville City Council uncovered widespread open meetings abuses. The resulting work by Adams and the newsroom inspired a grand jury probe and prompted the council in 2007 to create the state's first known local ordinance to ensure better compliance with Florida's Sunshine Law. He is originator of the www.iDigAnswers.com Web site about Florida FOI news and public records use. Adams is founder and past coordinator of Times-Union University, the Jacksonville newspaper's newsroom training program, and is also former director of the National Newspaper Diversity Job Bank on the Internet. He also taught information gathering for two years as an adjunct professor at the University of North Florida. FOI Committee Members Joel Campbell 360 BRMB Dept. of Communications Brigham Young University Provo, UT 84602 Work:801/422-2125 Fax: 801/422-0160 Bio (click to expand) 
Joel Campbell is an assistant professor in the Department of Communications at Brigham Young University. He was a reporter and editor at the (Salt Lake City) Deseret Morning News for 15 years covering everything from the night police beat to Salt Lake's Olympic bid. He holds a master's degree from Ohio State University and bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University. He is active in many First Amendment and Freedom of Information causes and is past president of the National Freedom of Information Coalition and Chairman of Society of Professional Journalists Freedom of Information Committee. He has received the SPJ Outstanding Chapter Member Award, Utah SPJ chapter's Clifford Cheney Service to Journalism Award and the Utah Press Association's Honorary Publisher Award. Carolyn S. Carlson Bio (click to expand) 
Carolyn S. Carlson is co-chairman of the SPJ FOI Committee’s Subcommittee On Campus Crime. For the past decade, she has been a leader in the effort to improve public access to records involving student discipline and crime on the nation’s college campuses. She founded the multi-organizational Campus Courts Task Force, which received an SPJ Freedom of Information Award in 1998 for its success in changing federal law to increase public access to college disciplinary records involving serious crime. Carlson has a doctorate from Georgia State University. She is an assistant professor of journalism and citizen media at Kennesaw State University. She is a former political press secretary and a longtime reporter and editor for The Associated Press. She was national president of SPJ in 1989-1990, chaired the SPJ Ethics Committee in 1993-94, received SPJ’s Wells Key in 1994, and was named to Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers in 2002, 2005 and 2006.
David Chartrand Bio (click to expand) 
The humor and commentary of David Chartrand have appeared in publications throughout North America. His essays on families, children, education, and health issues are distributed to daily newspapers by Universal Press Syndicate as well as by his own distribution company.David has confronted numerous First Amendment, Freedom of Information, and public-access issues during coverage of local and state government, as well as public schools. His Web site is www.davidchartrand.com. David is the author of, “A View from the Heartland” (2003, Globe-Pequot Press), a collection of stories and essays about midwestern families and the resiliency of the human spirit. He currently is completing work on a work of narrative nonfiction that examines attitudes toward mental illness in successful, middle-class communities. In 2002, David received a First Place Award from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. Mark Victor Hansen, co-creator of the CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL book series, says that David Chartrand’s writing “embraces the mundane, everyday things that make us laugh, weep or pound the table in frustration.” David’s 1994 essay, "A Father's Letter to Santa" was included in CHICKEN SOUP: A CHRISTMAS TREASURY, where the publishers cited it as among the most memorable Christmas essays of all time. David is a 1975 Kansas State University journalism graduate and a member of the journalism school’s advisory board. Jodi Cleesattle Deputy Attorney General, California Department of Justice San Diego, CA Bio (click to expand) Jodi Cleesattle is a deputy attorney general for the California Department of Justice, where she works in the Civil Division in San Diego. Prior to joining the Attorney General’s Office, she was a partner at Ross, Dixon & Bell, LLP, in San Diego, where she handled media law cases and other commercial litigation. Jodi previously worked as a daily news reporter for The Lancaster (Ohio) Eagle-Gazette, covering politics and legal issues, and was founding editor of The National Jurist, a national magazine for law students. Jodi is currently serving her second term as president of the SPJ San Diego Pro Chapter. She is SPJ Project Sunshine Chair for Southern California and serves on SPJ’s national FOI Committee and Legal Defense Fund Committee. She also serves as editor of Lawyers Club News, the monthly newsletter of Lawyers Club of San Diego. Charles Davis Bio (click to expand) 
Charles N. Davis is executive director of the National Freedom of Information Coalition and an associate professor at the University of Missouri School of Journalism.Davis worked for nearly ten years as a journalist, working for newspapers, magazines and a news service in Georgia and Florida. As a national correspondent for Lafferty Publications, a Dublin-based news wire service for UK publications, Davis reported from the US on banking, international finance and regulatory issues for seven years before leaving full-time journalism to seek a doctorate in mass communication from the University of Florida. At Florida, Davis served as a research fellow in the College of Journalism and Communication’s Brechner Center for Freedom of Information, assisting reporters and citizens with FOI questions at the state and federal level. He earned his Ph.D. in 1995 and has since taught at Georgia Southern University and Southern Methodist University before joining the MU faculty in 1999. Ana-Klara Hering University of Florida PO Box 118400 Gainesville, FL 32611-8400 Work: 352-392-2273 Bio (click to expand) 
Ana-Klara Hering is a joint degree candidate seeking her law degree and doctorate in media law and policy. She holds a masters in communication from the University of Florida and a bachelors in international affairs and journalism from The George Washington University. She has worked at The Jospeh L. Brechner Center for Freedom of Information (www.brechner.org) since January 2005, serving as a research assistant and editor of The Brechner Report. She is also a legal research assistant at the Marion Brechner Citizen Access Project (www.citizenaccess.org).Ana-Klara is a veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, where she served as a captain and deployed to Kuwait and Iraq in 2003 during the Iraq War. Her first-person accounts of the war have been featured in Women’s World and The Palm Beach Post. She has interned for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Miami Herald and Dallas Morning News. She also worked as a news clerk for The Washington Post and as an intern for Sen. Connie Mack. Ana-Klara is the president-elect of the Gainesville professional chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and a member of the Florida Press Club. She has been an instructor of record for public speaking at UF and a teaching assistant in media law and mass communication courses. She has presented her research in the areas of media law and mass communication at national and international conferences of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications and the International Communications Association. She is also a research editor for the Journal of Law and Public Policy at the Levin College of Law at UF and has contributed to Media Law Notes on issues of press access to U.S. military operations. She will be a summer associate in 2008 for the law firm of Thomas & LoCicero PL in Tampa, Florida. Robert Leger Assistant Editorial Page Editor Scottsdale Republic 16277 Greenway-Hayden Loop Suite 200 Scottsdale, AZ 85260 Bio (click to expand) 
Robert Leger is assistant editorial page editor at the Arizona Republic in Phoenix, responsible for an opinion page focused on Scottsdale and the Northeast Valley of the Sun. He was president of the Society of Professional Journalists in 2002-03 and has served on the SDX board since 2000. Among his other SPJ activities: He serves as a co-chair of the Freedom of Information Committee and as a member of the steering committee of OpenTheGovernment.org. He pioneered an exchange relationship with the Journalists Association of Korea.Before moving to Phoenix, Leger won numerous writing awards as editorial page editor of the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader. Donald W. Meyers Utah County Reporter The Salt Lake Tribune 801/257-8610 Bio (click to expand) 
Donald W. Meyers has been at a reporter at The Salt Lake Tribune since July 2007. Prior to that, he was the editorial page editor of the Daily Herald in Provo, Utah for more than eight years, as well as having been a reporter at daily and weekly newspapers in Utah and New Jersey. He majored in Journalism at Brookdale Community College in New Jersey and Brigham Young University. He is a past-president of the Utah Headliners Chapter, Society of Professional Journalists and is a member of the Utah Foundation for Open Government.
Bryan P. Sears Political editor Patuxent Publishing Co., Baltimore County 409 Washington Avenue Lower level Towson, MD 21204 410-337-2425 ext. 3466 Bio (click to expand) 
Bryan P. Sears has been with Patuxent Publishing Co. since May 2002 first serving and the government and politics reporter and then as the political editor where he heads state and local government coverage in Baltimore County for eight community weeklies and writes a politics blog. He is currently the president of the Maryland Pro Chapter of SPJ and also serves on the Maryland-Delaware-DC Press AssociationÕs Government Affairs committee and that groupÕs Freedom of Information subcommittee. He also won a regional award for a story that revealed that MarylandÕs State Election Board was withholding the addresses of campaign donors from itÕs public web site and then charging $100 for 30 days access to a private site where that information could be obtained. The story and a letter to the board requesting a review of the agencyÕs rules written by Sears resulted in the boardÕs decision to drop the charges and add the information to the free public site. Bryan also works with local community activists and neighborhood groups, helping them understand and use MarylandÕs Public Information and Open Meetings Acts.
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