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So far FOIFT has created 745 blog entries.

Longview News-Journal: Online access gives Texans needed look at government

2014-01-13T13:23:01-06:00

Longview News-Journal Editorial Originally published Nov. 26, 2013   The Texas Public Information Act is clear about who gets access to government documents: You do, with a few exceptions. But just because our state has a strong open records law doesn’t always mean it’s easy to get your hands on the records you need to find out what your government is doing, how it’s spending your money, and who it’s doing business with. As anyone who has tried it knows, too many of our governmental agencies seem to work the law to make getting information difficult and time consuming. Their idea [...]

Longview News-Journal: Online access gives Texans needed look at government2014-01-13T13:23:01-06:00

Tarrant water district hires expert to address open government, ethics

2013-11-20T16:29:13-06:00

By Gordon Dickson Fort Worth Star-Telegram Originally published Nov. 19, 2013 FORT WORTH — A former Texas Ethics Commission chairman has been hired to help the Tarrant Regional Water District resolve some of its problems with open-government issues. Ross Fischer, an Austin lawyer, will help the agency, which provides long-term water resources for North Texas, deal with an increasing number of open-records requests, as well as other matters related to ethics, water district general manager Jim Oliver said. “We feel it’s time to bring in an expert in open government who can guide us with these open-records requests,” Oliver told water [...]

Tarrant water district hires expert to address open government, ethics2013-11-20T16:29:13-06:00

Weslaco leaders oust public from city commission meeting, citing anonymous threat

2014-01-14T02:50:32-06:00

By Elizabeth Findell The Monitor Originally published Nov. 14, 2013 City Manager Leo Olivares said police Chief Michael Kelley had notified him shortly before the City Commission meeting began at 5:30 p.m. that someone had called the department earlier in the afternoon saying there needed to be extra security at the meeting because there might be violence. Followers of Weslaco politics knew it would be a controversial evening. After a hotly contested election, the City Commission called the special meeting before new members from the opposite slate were sworn in, looking to shake up the composition of the Economic Development Corp. [...]

Weslaco leaders oust public from city commission meeting, citing anonymous threat2014-01-14T02:50:32-06:00

AG rules in favor of Victoria Advocate records request

2013-11-15T23:45:43-06:00

The Texas Attorney General's Office has ruled Calhoun County must release the records of a federal employment lawsuit settlement that were requested by the Victoria Advocate. The newspaper asked for the records of a June settlement in a case brought by a former county employee. The county maintained the settlement agreement was not a public document and that the record was not in its possession, but the Attorney General's Office disagreed with that argument in a Nov. 8 ruling. The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas submitted comments in support of the Advocate. FOIFT board member Joe Larsen, an attorney who [...]

AG rules in favor of Victoria Advocate records request2013-11-15T23:45:43-06:00

City of Austin launches social media archive

2013-11-15T16:49:44-06:00

The city of Austin is making thousands of social media records available to the public on its website in a free, searchable archive. City officials announced this week that because of Austin's "commitment to an open and transparent government" the social media archive is being offered to further the goals of the Texas Public Information Act. The archive was developed by the company ArchiveSocial and can be found at http://austintexas.gov/social. The company specializes in social media record keeping for government, regulated industries and businesses, according to the city announcement. City social media messages are continually being retrieved and archived. More than [...]

City of Austin launches social media archive2013-11-15T16:49:44-06:00

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