FOIA in the news

It's popular to bash mainstream media, says Lucy Dalglish of the Virginia-based Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (and VCOG board member), but they've spent a lot of money fighting for the public's right to know what its public and private institutions are up to, "They spent the money on your behalf. You may have noticed your local media have hit hard times. ...I'm afraid. Very afraid that the folks we've always counted on to push for open government won't be able to continue this battle."
http://aan.org/alternative/full_text_of_lucy_dalglish_s_prepared_remarks/Aan/ViewArticle?oid=1234148

After asking legal counsel in Richmond, Del. Tom Gear, R-Hampton, said he learned it is not a criminal offense for a City Council member to ask another council member his or her opinion regarding an upcoming vote.
http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-local_hptnotebook_0630jun30,0,1316629.story

For the second time in a week, Gov. Tim Kaine defended his national travels for the Democratic Party on live radio.
http://www.roanoke.com/politics/wb/210269

Florida Governor Charlie Crist last week barred two new exemptions from being added to the state's public records law when he vetoed a pair of bills approved by state lawmakers. The first would have shielded from public disclosure any "proprietary business information" the Department of Management received from a telecommunications or broadband company. The second would have created an exemption for information identifying a donor or prospective donor to a publicly owned building.
http://www.rcfp.org/newsitems/index.php?i=10866

Times-Dispatch editorial: The governor says if people want to know where he was on a given day, he will tell them. We trust him. If he went to Kansas City to see the Royals lose, he would say so. If he went to Minneapolis to raise moola for Democratic candidates, he would say so. But there are some things citizens and journalists should not have to ask.
http://www.timesdispatch.com/rtd/news/opinion/editorials/article/ED-TRAV01_20090630-181805/277215/

Washington Post editorial: MARK SANFORD he's not. Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) isn't taking phantom hikes through the Appalachians. He's not jetting off to Argentina (as far as we know). Rather, Mr. Kaine's sin is a relatively minor omission: He's been less than forthright about disclosing his travels as Democratic National Committee chairman. The destinations are less exotic than South America (think Kansas City), which makes the lack of disclosure all the more puzzling.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/30/AR2009063003128.html

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