Mesa's Municipal Death Penalty Makes National News

Interesting.

City of Yakima Sued for Open Meetings Violation

This story from the Yakima Herald describes a case about an alleged Open Public Meetings Act violation, and how and why attorneys fees are awarded to the prevailing party.

Justice-Nominee Sotomayor's Record on Open Gov't

From SCOTUSblog:

In two cases involving requests under the Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA), Sotomayor wrote an opinion that declined to order the release of the
requested information, explaining that she did not want to “unreasonably hamper
agencies in their decision-making.” Thus, in Tigue v. DOJ, 312 F.3d 70 (2d
Cir. 2002), the panel denied a tax attorney’s request for a memorandum written
by a Deputy U.S. Attorney outlining the office’s opinions and policies regarding
tax investigations, notwithstanding that the memorandum had been cited in a
publicly released report. And in Wood v. FBI, 432 F.3d 78 (2d Cir.
2005), while acknowledging that FOIA exemptions should be construed “narrowly,
resolving all doubts in favor of disclosure,” her opinion denied a reporter’s
request for an FBI memorandum regarding local FBI agents accused of lying.
She reasoned that the “unwarranted invasion of privacy” for the individuals
whose names would be released outweighed the public interest in disclosing a
government employee’s identity.

Court of Appeals: Administrative Hearings Must Be Open to Public

The Washington Court of Appeals ruled that an administrative adjudicative hearing must be open to the public (unless a law allows closed proceedings). This is nothing new: RCW 34.05.449(5) requires it.

Public Records Show .... Misdeeds at Seattle Fire Dept.

This story from the Seattle Times describes discipline received by Seattle firefighters. The story was only possible because of access to public records.

By the way, the Times found 23 incidents of reprimands since January 2008 in an agency of over 1,100 people. That's not bad. But that's the point--the news (the good, the bad, or the ugly) can only come out because of public records.

Public Records Request Brings Down British Government

You can't make this stuff up. Seriously.