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December 2006 - Posts

Thursday, December 28, 2006 6:12 PM

FOI Alert: Michigan courts consider shutting down information

Submitted from the Mid-Michigan Pro SPJ ChapterThe Michigan Supreme Court is considering a rule change that would ban public access to a wide range of information provided by the State Bar of Michigan. As The Detroit News warns in an editorial,
posted by JoelCampbell | 0 Comments
Thursday, December 28, 2006 4:20 PM

California courts and state officials are ignoring the people’s open government guidelines

Whatever happened to Prop 59? By Jodi CleesattleSouthern California SPJ Project Sunshine Chair  Two years ago, California voters decisively passed Proposition 59, adding a provision to the state constitution making clear the
posted by JoelCampbell | 0 Comments
Thursday, December 28, 2006 1:53 PM

Revised Ohio public-records bill becomes law

COLUMBUS, Ohio- A revamped public records bill was signed into law Wednesday by Ohio Gov. Bob Taft. Substitute House Bill 9 requires that all public officials or their designees attend training programs and seminars about Ohio's public records law.
posted by JoelCampbell | 0 Comments
Sunday, December 24, 2006 5:51 PM

New Pennsylvania rep says he will file FOIA reform bill

Passed along from SPJ's Pennsylvania Project Sunshine Chair, Susan SchwartzPennsylvania Newspaper AssociationFayette County's representative-elect Tim Mahoney has drafted a bill requiring state government, including the long-exempt Legislature, to open
posted by JoelCampbell | 0 Comments
Monday, December 18, 2006 3:56 PM

SBA yanks small business information from Web site

Read the whole story in the Miami HeraldFederal contracting watchdogs say the Small Business Administration's decision this week to delete key company data from a public website has stymied their efforts to try to catch large firms soaking up billions
posted by JoelCampbell | 0 Comments
Monday, December 18, 2006 3:52 PM

North Dakota Higher Ed wants to exempt "trade secrets" from records law

See InfoForum NewsA bill that will be introduced this session by the North Dakota Board of Higher Education aims to keep proprietary and commercial information confidential.Exempting trade secrets and other sensitive information from the open records
posted by JoelCampbell | 0 Comments
Monday, December 18, 2006 3:32 PM

Report shows growing support for Supreme Court television coverage

    A Congressional Research Service report indicates several reasons why public support for televising proceedings of the U.S. Supreme Courts and other federal courts is growing.        Public opinion surveys
posted by JoelCampbell | 0 Comments
Saturday, December 16, 2006 11:14 AM

Newspaper: Tennessee needs open govenrment ombudsman

The  Jackson (Tenn.) Sun  says its time Tennessee has an independet ombudsman and advisory board that review open meetings and open records. The evidence in support of creating an independent ombudsman on open meetings and records keeps
posted by JoelCampbell | 0 Comments
Saturday, December 16, 2006 10:56 AM

Spokesman reassigned after barring students from news conferences

From the Student Press Law CenterA Maricopa County Attorney’s Office spokesman has been reassigned after a heated e-mail correspondence with an Arizona State University journalism professor over whether journalism students should be allowed to cover
posted by JoelCampbell | 0 Comments
Saturday, December 16, 2006 1:38 AM

Grand jury fines Pa. officials for sunshine law violations

    The Lancaster County, Pa., commissioners pleaded guilty Thursday to violating the state Sunshine Act by holding secret meetings pertaining to the sale of a nursing home.    Upon the recommendation of a countywide
posted by JoelCampbell | 0 Comments
Saturday, December 16, 2006 1:31 AM

Newspaper calls foul in secret selection of U. of Delaware president

From a Friday editorial of the (Wilmington) News Journal:The hiring of Patrick Harker as the new University of Delaware president in a private meeting may not have been egregiously illegal under the state's Freedom of Information Act. But it was at
posted by JoelCampbell | 0 Comments
Saturday, December 16, 2006 1:28 AM

War's impact on free speech and free press rights

Larry Frankel, Pennsylvania's ACLU director writes about recent infringement of civil rights in the Philadelphia Inquirer.For 215 years, the Bill of Rights has served us well by promoting the fundamental legal protections that should be present in any
posted by JoelCampbell | 0 Comments
Saturday, December 16, 2006 1:23 AM

Michigan House passes bill to shield police statements

LANSING, Mich. — The state House voted unanimously yesterday to send Gov. Jennifer Granholm a bill that would keep involuntary statements made by police officers from appearing in the media. The bill, S.B. 647, would make confidential the involuntary
posted by JoelCampbell | 0 Comments
Thursday, December 14, 2006 12:49 PM

Good news in Ohio and Florida

Ohio lawmakers pass revisions to records law COLUMBUS -- The first extensive improvement in the state's open records law in at least 20 years passed its last major hurdle Wednesday when the Ohio Senate approved House Bill 9.Sponsored by state Sen.
posted by JoelCampbell | 0 Comments
Thursday, December 14, 2006 12:34 PM

CJOG: An Agenda for Open Government

By Pete Weitzel Coalition of Journalists for Open Government            The recent elections and the resulting change in congressional control have transformed the climate for transparency
posted by JoelCampbell | 0 Comments
Thursday, December 14, 2006 12:29 PM

Coalition of Journalists for Open Government gives low marks to 109th Congress

Coalition of Journalists for Open Government Update 12/12/06SPJ is a member of the Coalition To read CJOG's agenda for the 110th Congress click here.By  Pete WeitzelThe 109th Congress has called it quits, having spent fewer hours on thepeople's
posted by JoelCampbell | 0 Comments
Thursday, December 14, 2006 12:16 PM

New Senate Judiciary chairman's agenda includes FOIA reform

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, laid out his agenda as the head of the Senate Judiciary Committee beginning in new session of Congress. Among them was his declaration to improve the federal Freedom of Information Act. Leahy has been a long-time advocate
posted by JoelCampbell | 0 Comments
Wednesday, December 13, 2006 2:06 AM

Indiana Coalition for Open Government Launches New Web Site

Kyle Niederpruem, former SPJ president and FOI Committee chair, provided this news from Indiana:ICOG Launches New Web Site The Indiana Coalition for Open Government has spent several months rethinking its Web site—look, feel and function.
posted by JoelCampbell | 0 Comments
Tuesday, December 12, 2006 4:26 PM

SPJ FOI training PowerPoint files now available online

Want to have a quick brown-bag lunch with your news organization on FOI? Check out the FOI training PowerPoint presentations developed by Charles Davis, Joel Campbell and David Cuillier, posted today at http://www.spj.org/foiddnr.asp. The presentations
posted by JoelCampbell | 0 Comments
Tuesday, December 12, 2006 2:10 PM

Oklahoma State U. students find police records access poor

Matt BarnardStaff WriterThe Oklahoma State University Daily O'Collegian, Published Nov. 30Reprinted with permission Payne County law enforcement agencies are locking up more than just inmates.An investigation by The Daily O’Collegian found multiple
posted by JoelCampbell | 0 Comments
Tuesday, December 12, 2006 12:20 PM

Massachusetts journalists generate document-driven story ideas

Reporters and editors from Eagle-Tribune Publishing papers in suburban Boston gathered Dec. 5 to talk about building document-driven newsrooms as part of an SPJ training program. About 25 journalists discussed records they could pursue to tackle important
posted by JoelCampbell | 0 Comments
Tuesday, December 12, 2006 11:32 AM

Open records reform: Pa. in a crisis of access

By Teri HenningHenning is general counsel for Pennsylvania Newspaper Association. Reprinted with permission from the Meadville (Pa.) Tribune    MEADVILLE, Pa.— It is well understood that Pennsylvania has one of the worst open records
posted by JoelCampbell | 0 Comments
Tuesday, December 12, 2006 11:24 AM

Column: Delaware residents need access to Legislative Hall records

Jean P. Skibinski, a member of (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal Community Advisory Board writes: We have created a dictatorship in Delaware, where one individual becomes the decision maker for the entire populace, without our voices ever being heard.
posted by JoelCampbell | 0 Comments
Tuesday, December 12, 2006 11:17 AM

Oregon Supreme Court ruling needs lawmakers fix

     Bert Teamey, the retired dentist who wanted to know how the Klamath County School District was spending his taxes, has had the door slammed in his face again.     This time, the rebuff came from the
posted by JoelCampbell | 0 Comments
Tuesday, December 12, 2006 10:35 AM

Federal shield bills ready to expire

Don Meyers, SPJ Stalwart and Editorial Page Editor of the Provo (Utah) Daily Herald wrote the following editorial published Dec. 12. Utah's fourth congressional seat was not the only business Congress left unfinished as it adjourned for the year.
posted by JoelCampbell | 0 Comments
Monday, December 11, 2006 6:33 PM

Virginia Coalition for Open Government recent FOI conference

Below is a link to Virginia Coalition for Open Government's  Web site's "clearinghouse" page for materials from VCOG's 10th anniversary gala dinner and annual conference. Included on this page are links to detailed notes of the conference panels,
posted by JoelCampbell | 0 Comments