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Is it really a transparency award when it’s given in private?

FAC March 31, 2011

President Obama collected a “transparency award” the other day for his efforts to open the workings of government to the public, but he didn’t exactly shout it from the rooftop. In fact, according to the Web site Politico, it came in a “closed, undisclosed meeting.” One attendee, Gary Bass of OMB Watch, said he was mystified the White House didn’t allow coverage, given that Obama “was so on point, so on target in the conversation

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Sunlight Foundation resists effort to cut transparency budget

FAC March 29, 2011

The Sunlight Foundation is fighting moves to reduce the budget for federal transparency programs to $2 million from $34 million. The cutback, contained in the Full Year Continuing Appropriations Act, has passed in the House of Representatives and awaits action in the U.S. Senate. Among other things, the funding underwrites Web sites that allow the public to examine and track federal spending. Examples are USASpending.gov and Data.gov. The foundation argues that the open government efforts

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CSU foundations must be more open to public, panel says

FAC March 22, 2011

More than 90 foundations and private enterprises operate on California State University campuses, but it’s unclear how much of the $1.2 billion under their control should be subject to public scrutiny, an internal audit concludes. The audit panel, consisting of four campus presidents, five finance officers, a vice president and a student, said that accounting procedures are so unclear that public and private money is commingled. What’s more, the law should be changed to bring

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Enjoy the last rays as Sunshine Week 2011 draws to a close

FAC March 18, 2011

Maybe it’s a good omen that tomorrow night a Super Moon is scheduled to turn night into day, as if to keep the spirit of Sunshine Week shining for as long as possible. As we wrap up Sunshine Week Coast to Coast, the iPhone app version of the NFOIC’s online coverage, we wanted to share a few links to important events and stories we posted for our iOpenGov app readers that you don’t want to

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Should you know the details of a public official’s private deal?

FAC March 17, 2011

Tracking down records on key public figures can be a “Where’s Waldo” adventure. Case in point: California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, former mayor of San Francisco, moonlights as “Ambassador at Large” for the America’s Cup sailboat race coming to the Bay in 2013. So who has details of the deal and are you entitled to see them? Newsom’s job, according to the America’s Cup, is to “support the America’s Cup Event Authority in its efforts

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