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donal brown

Federal government: New ‘sharing’ agency no guarantee to transparency

donal brown August 17, 2009

Secrecy News’ Steven Atergood says that the newly appointed Senior Director for Information Sharing Policy does not have a mandate for transparency. Rather, Aftergood asserts, “information sharing” does not include the public. -DB Secrecy News Federation of American Scientists Analysis August 17, 2009 By Steven Aftergood The Obama Administration is giving increased attention to the continuing post-9/11 challenge of information sharing, with a newly appointed White House Senior Director of Information Sharing Policy tasked to

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Open government group pushes for release of Defense contractor ratings

donal brown August 17, 2009

Hopeful that President Barack Obama’s early commitment to transparency is genuine, the FOIA Group, Inc. is asking the Defense Department to allow public access to a Defense Department database that rates contractors. -DB NextGov August 14, 2009 By Aliya Sternstein The Obama administration, committed to becoming the most transparent in history, upheld a Bush-era practice of denying taxpayers access to a Defense Department database that tracks contractor performance. An appeal to a recent Freedom of Information

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California personnel rules block reasonable public disclosure of police misconduct

donal brown August 17, 2009

An editorial in The Monterey County Herald argues that laws restricting access to records about police misconduct do not permit scrutiny of police officials in administrative positions who should not be able to hide behind secrecy provisions. -DB The Monterey County Herald Editorial August 14, 2009 Before it’s over, don’t be surprised if the apparent suspension of Seaside’s police chief, a deputy police chief and two police officers helps make the case for loosening California’s extreme

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Law proposed to shed light on state university foundations

donal brown August 17, 2009

University officials claim that a law forcing disclosure financial dealings of nonprofit university foundations serving state institutions would be too costly. Open government advocates say that recent expenditures, illegal or questionable, show the need for disclosure. -DB Capitol Weekly August 13, 2009 By Maryam Ali Free-speech groups are trying to force the state’s public universities to disclose financial relationships worth more than $6.25 billion. At issue are scores of nonprofit foundations linked to the schools. The

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Open government elusive in San Jose

donal brown August 17, 2009

When San Jose city officials use e-mail to conduct official business, open government may suffer. To track how outside interests can influence decisions, the public is now asking government officials to reveal the content of messages in private accounts. -DB San Jose Mercury News August 16, 2009 By Denis C. Theriault and John Woolfolk The marathon San Jose City Council meeting was dragging into its fourth hour, and a text message buzzed into Councilman Sam Liccardo’s

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