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December 28, 2018
Washington State
- Three years after Spokane’s public records scandal, is the city any faster with records requests?
- Editorial: State government is important, so pay attention
- The Stranger: Why we are calling for an audit of private e-mail use at the City
- WA State Archives: Draft revision of Utility Services retention schedule (comments due 12/28)
Outside Washington State
In the Courts
- Hawaii Supreme Court overturns 30 years of government secrecy (deliberative process privilege) – HI
- State Supreme Court rules on public records and what you have to pay to see them – UT
- State AG asks court to keep police credibility list confidential – NH
- Quest for public records lands citizens in Kentucky courts – KY
- State Superior Court agrees to release juror document to newspaper – RI
- Dept. of Transportation sued for records related to fuel standards changes – USA
Transparency and Open Government
- Atlanta Mayor to appoint city’s first transparency officer – GA
- Ombudsman: Iowa public records board violated open meetings law – IA
- Congress votes to make open government data the default in the United States – USA
- City to destroy police investigation records instead of making them public – CA
- Editorial: Public records help assess officials’ actions, especially if timely – OH
Privacy, Security
Records Management, Archives
December 21, 2018
Washington State
- Sex offender records request raises safety, First Amendment questions
- Editorial: Lawmakers, follow transparency law or leave it alone
- Editorial: State lawmakers should heed advice on transparency
- Editorial: Legislators still don’t grasp the importance of open government
- Editorial: Other electeds comply with public records laws. WA state legislators should figure it out
Outside Washington State
In the Courts
- Judge rules bank records are public in County prosecutor dispute – MI
- NY top court finds police disciplinary records can remain secret – NY
Laws, Legislation, and Policy
- Rural broadband about to get $600M in funding, but bill includes sneaky public records exemption
- Va. House Republican leaders want to open past governors’ records to the public – VA
Transparency and Open Government
- Portland police chief calls sluggish public records ‘huge issue’ that must be fixed – OR
- Mysterious request for election records spurs House plan for public records – MI
- New project aims to help Detroiters use public records law – MI
- Former vice-mayor withheld public record text messages – FL
- NAGARA reiterates 2015 statement on Conducting Public Business in Non-Government Email Accounts
Privacy, Security
- Live Free or Die Trying – Voters enshrine right to privacy in state’s constitution – NH
- Yes, HIPAA requires medical records to be emailed to patients if requested
Records Management, Archives
- Disaster Recovery: Why I want compact shelving – AK
- The opportunities and challenges in managing indigenous digital archives
- National Archives Grants: Access to Historical Records
- Over 350,000 Little Rock Nine and desegregation artifacts now available online
- Opinion: Is there value in unstructured data?
December 14, 2018
Washington State
- Spin Control: Task force sends Legislature its thoughts on open records
- Task force: Wash. Legislature should be more transparent
- Editorial: Transparency is a two-way street. Government must be open, but citizens must tune in
- Attorney: Seattle Mayor’s staff uses private Gmail accounts to gauge public image
Outside Washington State
In the Courts
- State high court rules that police disciplinary records should not be disclosed – NY
- Judge orders Justice, State depts to reopen narrow inquiry into Clinton email records lawsuit – USA
- In win for transparency, Pennsylvania court orders release of school bus surveillance video – PA
- Ninth Circuit Looks at Montana Disclosure Law of ethics complaints – MT
Laws, Legislation, and Policy
- Ohio may soon get clarity on when police body-cam videos are public – OH
- Editorial: R.I.P., the Texas Public Information Act – TX
- Bahamas government assures that FOIA will be implemented – International
Transparency and Open Government
- Judge slams Justice and State Departments for inept handling of FOIA requests – USA
- Arson attack at Brockton mayor’s home kept from police log, public – MA
- Editorial: The Public Employees’ Retirement System needs to comply with the law – NV
- AG counselor: State should disclose inmate-death records – IL
- New York will give Amazon an early warning about HQ2 records requests after all – NY
- Zinke puts loyalist in charge of Dept of Interior Public Records Requests – USA
- Increased transparency in the U.S. Tax Court: Has the moment arrived? – USA
- Blog: Looking for answers in blacked-out documents and hidden records
Privacy, Security
- With cybersecurity hot, now is the time to open government
- The Increasingly Complex Challenge of Third-Party Data Hosting
December 7, 2018
Washington State
- Legislative Task Force on Public Records to meet December 7 at 10am
- Editorial: Silently withholding records betrays open government
- Mayor’s top staffers used private email accounts to talk head-tax strategy, new records show
- Secretary of State: ESHB 1594 Study on Feasibility of Statewide Open Records Portal
- Archives’ local grants program continues booming success
Outside Washington State
In the Courts
- 3 DAs lose records request lawsuit brought by AG, must turn over list of cases
- Appeals Court backs State in death records dispute – FL
Laws, Legislation, and Policy
- ‘They need to follow the same rules’: Missouri lawmaker records set to open to public – MO
- Latest police shooting highlights Alabama’s lack of guidelines for body cams
- Michigan Senate votes to shield nonprofits from disclosure – MI
- Public records bill heads to Wyoming legislature – WY
Transparency and Open Government
- NFOIC white paper looks at the rising issue of “burdensome” public record requests
- State public records advocate finds litany of flaws in Oregon’s public records laws – OR
Privacy, Security
- Wendy’s faces Class Action Lawsuit over collection of staff fingerprint data
- FCC still won’t release net neutrality server logs, says producing records is too hard – USA