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Media seek juror names in upcoming Barry Bonds trial

FAC March 9, 2011

News organizations have asked a federal judge to keep the names of jurors public in the upcoming perjury trial of Barry Bonds, baseball’s home run champion. Bonds, who is accused of lying to a federal grand jury when asked whether he had knowingly used steroids, faces trial March 21. Prosecutors and defense lawyers say that jurors will risk harassment if their names are made public. Duffy Carolan, a media lawyer who also is a member

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Federal government effort to establish product safety website under seige

donal brown March 8, 2011

The House of Representatives passed an amendment stopping the Consumer Products Safety Commission from establishing a searchable website dedicated to warning consumers of dangerous products. The amendment passed on February 18, cutting off funds for the site which had been mandated by the 2008 Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act.  Two Democratic senators are mounting a fight in the Senate to save the website. -db From NextGov, March 7, 2011, by William Matthews. Full Story

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Government agencies erasing crucial e-mails

donal brown March 8, 2011

Government agencies are failing to maintain records of e-mails prompting concern that the agencies will not be able to fufill their mission and that the citizen’s right to hold government accountable will be seriously compromised. According to a survey conducted by the National Archives and Records Administration, among missing e-mails were thousands improperly destroyed by the Justice Department just as an investigation of the 2002 “torture memos” began. -db From NextGov, March 4, 2011, by

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U.S. Supreme Court rules for transparency in Navy records case

donal brown March 7, 2011

The Supreme Court gave open government a significant victory by reversing decades of practice in discrediting a prominent interpretation used by government agencies to reject Freedom of Information Act requests. The Navy had tried to use an FOIA exemption for records “related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency” to reject a request for data showing where damage might occur in Puget Sound if explosives were detonated there by accident or

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Survey uncovers link between transparency and well-being

donal brown March 7, 2011

A survey funded by the Knight Foundation found a possible link between transparency in government and the well-being of citizens. Those who thought the information systems were working well to keep them informed were more likely to be engaged in and happy with their communities. Over 15,000 citizens from Philadephia, Macon, Georgia and San Jose, California participated in the survey. From The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, March 3, 2011, by Kacey Deamer.

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