City Settles Public Records Act Case for $175,000

The City of Prosser, reports the Yakima Herald-Republic, settled a public records case for $175,000.

This is an expensive law to violate ... except when you can pay for it with other people's money (tax payers).

UPDATED (2) Jefferson County Loses Public Records Case Over Commissioner's Phone Records

The Port Townsend Leader writes this story on a court ruling against Jefferson County which was attempting to withhold the public-phone system records of a county commissioner.

NOTE: Allied Law Group's Greg Overstreet and David Norman represented the records requestor.

UPDATE 1: The Peninsula Daily News writes this story on the case. And, no, the Public Records Act does not contain a "pizza privacy" exemption from disclosure. See RCW 42.56.001 - .904.

UPDATE 2: Scott Wilson, editor and publisher of the the Port Townsend Leader, writes this brutal editorial pointing out the folly of the County's "pizza defense." Good reading.

Putting Up Gates to Keep Public Requestors Out

We're not making this up.

Thanks for the tip from a secret informant who we call "and Bernstein."

Televise the U.S. Supreme Court

This editorial from The (Everett) Herald argues for the U.S. Supreme Court to do what the Washington State Supreme Court has done for years: televise oral arguments.

TVW here in our state deserves enormous credit for televising (and archiving) state Supreme Court arguments. People here are better connected to their judicial branch because of it.

Idaho Last in State Campaign-Finance Disclosure Laws

The Spokesman-Review writes this editorial about the recent last-place finish of Idaho in a national survey of states' campaign-finance disclosure laws. Washington was near the top, again.

State Bar Journal Article About Og-Blog

The Washington State Bar Association's Bar News has an article on og-blog (and other law blogs). Here's what it says about us:
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Why blog? "Simple," says Greg Overstreet, a principal of Allied Law Group. "It's fun, it's good for business, and it allows me to advocate for a right I care very deeply about." Based in Olympia, Overstreet runs the firm's Open Government Blog (http://www.og-blog.com/), reviewing news, legislation, and cases that involve the state's Public Records and Open Public Meetings acts. One of his primary reasons for the site is to "maintain the firm's profile among our client groups." The biggest surprise for Overstreet? "Our clients get hooked reading the blog."

Overstreet frequently gets calls from news reporters who need an expert quote for a specific dispute. Weeks later, he will hear from a potential client who read the newspaper story. The blog earns him a quasi-journalist status, with people sending tips and insider information about open-government issues from around the state. (A reporter once asked Overstreet to hold a story, telling him, "I can't get scooped by a blogger.")
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Og-blog has been a lot of fun. Thanks for reading it. We know how many of you there are out there, and it's a bigger number than you'd think.