Transparency

Travis County quietly gave DA Jose Garza $115K for security, withheld spending details from public

FOIFT2024-08-14T12:30:59-05:00

By Tony Plohetski Austin American-Statesman Originally published Aug. 12, 2024 Travis County District Attorney José Garza met with county commissioners behind closed doors with an urgent request earlier this year. Worried about his safety after someone posted his residential address online, Garza asked for help to make himself and his home more secure, Commissioner Margaret Gómez told the American-Statesman. “He wanted something to be done to keep him safe,” Gómez recalled. At their March 19 meeting, commissioners met again in closed session to discuss a nondescript and, according to government transparency experts, potentially legally insufficient agenda item about county security. The item [...]

Travis County quietly gave DA Jose Garza $115K for security, withheld spending details from publicFOIFT2024-08-14T12:30:59-05:00

City of Uvalde releases big batch of shooting records; families say other agencies should follow suit

FOIFT2024-08-14T12:21:52-05:00

By The Texas Tribune and ProPublica Originally published Aug. 10, 2024 Police video, audio, texts and emails released Saturday by Uvalde city officials offer new details about the Robb Elementary school shooting while also largely reaffirming reporting about law enforcement’s failure to engage a gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers. ... The Saturday release is the first major disclosure of documents by a government agency involved in the flawed response to the deadliest school shooting in Texas history. It was part of a settlement agreement in a lawsuit between the city and the news organizations. Three other government agencies [...]

City of Uvalde releases big batch of shooting records; families say other agencies should follow suitFOIFT2024-08-14T12:21:52-05:00

Texas Tribune’s conversation on Texans’ access to government

FOIFT2024-07-02T10:49:05-05:00

The Texas Tribune hosted a live-streamed program June 26 "Public Access to Government - a Closer Look at Texas and Transparency," featuring FOI Foundation executive director Kelley Shannon; attorney Laura Prather of Haynes and Boone and the FOIFT board; Rachel Clow of KRIS-TV in Corpus Christi; and Ruth Soucy of the State Comptroller's Office. Check out a recording of the event: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_aE1GiU8bQ&list=PLJ0QpNyUHKi67JNrgbNwLzWGKGqRYBFKM

Texas Tribune’s conversation on Texans’ access to governmentFOIFT2024-07-02T10:49:05-05:00

Deadline is May 31 for Spirit of FOI Award entries

FOIFT2024-05-29T18:07:42-05:00

The 2024 Nancy Monson Spirit of FOI Award contest is open for entries, and the submission deadline is fast approaching. The award recognizes outstanding work in promoting open government and the public’s right to know. The contest is open to newspaper, broadcast and online media in Texas. The deadline for submissions is Friday, May 31, 2024. Nominations must be for work published or broadcast in calendar year 2023. A nomination can be a single news story or series; an editorial or series of editorials; columns; editorial cartoons; or a community FOI project. There is a limit of one entry per news [...]

Deadline is May 31 for Spirit of FOI Award entriesFOIFT2024-05-29T18:07:42-05:00

Goodbye, scanner. Austin police, fire, EMS will no longer make radios available to the public

FOIFT2024-06-13T10:09:30-05:00

By Skye Seipp Austin American-Statesman Originally published April 18, 2024 Public safety agencies in Austin — police, fire and EMS — will soon go radio silent to the public once they transition to an encrypted radio system. This means that the current publicly available scanner information, wherein citizens can listen to police being dispatched to a call in real time, will no longer be accessible starting April 22. Read the full story here.

Goodbye, scanner. Austin police, fire, EMS will no longer make radios available to the publicFOIFT2024-06-13T10:09:30-05:00

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