Dallas council members grill city attorney on transparency, open records
By Scott Goldstein The Dallas Morning News Originally published Feb. 20, 2014 No one can say Dallas City Attorney Warren Ernst doesn’t know what it’s like to be treated like a hostile witness. That’s what it must have felt like for him as his bosses on the City Council questioned him about a variety of issues on Wednesday. Ernst was there to brief council members about his office’s goals and objectives [...]
FW Star-Telegram editor: DFW media teams up for right to know
By Jim Witt Fort Worth Star-Telegram Originally published Feb. 18, 2014 In recent weeks, newspapers in Fort Worth and Dallas and the region’s four TV stations affiliated with the major broadcast networks did something they’ve never done before, at least since I became editor of the Star-Telegram in 1996. We worked together to help protect open records and open hearings in the Texas judicial system. On their own, each of the major [...]
Sunshine Week coming March 16-22
Sunshine Week, an annual initiative focusing on the importance of open government, is coming up March 16-22. It's co-sponsored by the American Society of News Editors and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Watch our Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas website that week for special "sunshine" posts from the Lone Star State and check out the main Sunshine Week website at www.sunshine.org for more information and resource [...]
Questions raised about whether Collin commissioners’ meeting with Cruz violated law
By Wendy Hundley The Dallas Morning News Originally published Feb. 14, 2014 Questions have been raised about whether a recent meeting involving a quorum of Collin County commissioners violated the Texas Open Meetings Act. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz met with a number of local elected officials on Feb. 7 at the Commissioners Court in McKinney. There was no public notice of the meeting, where water, transportation, economic development and other [...]
FW Star-Telegram: Speech must still be free on the Internet
By Mike Norman Fort Worth Star-Telegram Originally published Feb. 14, 2014 The Internet has given us an explosion of information, commentary, communication and just plain word flow the likes of which have never been seen before. You’d think our democracy could handle it — and for the most part, it has. Words on the Internet are not without restriction. Threats, bullying, reckless lies and fraud are just as wrong in [...]
FOI Foundation to host annual conference Sept. 12
The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas will host its daylong state conference on Friday, Sept. 12, in Austin at the Hilton Austin. Last year's Bernard and Audre Rapoport State Conference was widely attended by journalists, government employees, attorneys and others interested in open government and First Amendment issues. So mark your calendars to participate in 2014. Registration information and announcements of speakers will be posted on the FOIFT website [...]
Records show attorney bill in UT regent investigation tops $400K so far
By David Barer The Dallas Morning News Originally published Feb. 11, 2014 Attorneys assisting the University of Texas System and a Legislative committee investigating embattled regent Wallace Hall billed the state upwards of $400,000 for 2013 work, pay stubs indicate. The legal costs are a portion of the toll of the ongoing debacle, which critics say has sullied UT’s reputation and spurred the resignation of top leaders. Hall is under [...]
Weslaco leaders subpoenaed to appear before grand jury in closed meeting case
By Elizabeth Findell The Monitor Originally published Feb. 7, 2014 WESLACO — Five current and former city commissioners will go before an Hidalgo County grand jury Tuesday to make the case why they shouldn’t be indicted for kicking the public out of a public meeting. City leaders drew a crowd when they called the special meeting in November, after the election but before new members had been sworn in. Mayor [...]
UT board approves new policy for regents’ information requests
By Ralph K.M. Haurwitz Austin American-Statesman Originally published Feb. 6, 2014 The University of Texas System’s governing board adopted tighter procedures Thursday for its members’ information requests, while also granting the members wide latitude to obtain records and data. The action was a response to complaints about Regent Wallace Hall Jr.’s demands for massive amounts of records from UT-Austin. Campus officials say they have turned over about 800,000 pages, though [...]
UT System responds to transparency committee directives
By Reeve Hamilton The Texas Tribune Originally published Feb. 3, 2014 As the legislative committee investigating University of Texas System Regent Wallace Hall of Dallas considers whether to impeach him, the UT system met a Feb. 1 deadline to address certain directives set by the committee. The co-chairs of the House Select Committee on Transparency in State Agency Operations sent UT System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa a letter in mid-December detailing information they wanted the [...]
Star-Telegram, other news outlets go to court over closed juvenile hearings
Fort Worth Star-Telegram Originally published Jan. 30, 2014 Six major media outlets in Dallas-Fort Worth joined Wednesday to file a plea in intervention in state District Judge Jean Boyd’s Tarrant County juvenile court to ask that any hearings regarding Ethan Couch be held in open court. The motion also asks that the media outlets be given a chance to be heard if the judge considers motions to close a hearing [...]
Complaint filed over judge’s order to remove Internet video
By Daniel Borunda El Paso Times Originally published Jan. 30, 2014 A Dallas-area lawyer has a filed a complaint against a federal judge in El Paso who ordered that a video be taken off the Internet in connection with the death of a man in Central Texas. Ty Clevenger, a civil case lawyer, accuses U.S. District Judge Frank Montalvo of misconduct for issuing an order with information from only one [...]
Why Harold Simmons’ will should not be sealed
By Paul Watler Column published in The Dallas Morning News Jan. 27, 2014 The executor of the estate of billionaire Harold Simmons has asked a Dallas County probate court to seal the late billionaire’s will and probate file. The papers should be closed because people who disagree with Simmons’ controversial political activity might want to have a look, according to the motion. No one but his widow and sole heir [...]
FOI Foundation to co-host Open Government Seminar in El Paso
AUSTIN _ The Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas announced details Wednesday of an upcoming Open Government Seminar in El Paso featuring training in the state’s public meetings and public records laws. The non-profit FOI Foundation, partnering with Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office, will offer the one-day seminar on Feb. 28. It is designed for government employees, journalists and members of the general public who want to learn [...]
Irving council members may have improperly picked finalist in closed meeting
By Avi Selk The Dallas Morning News Originally published Jan. 21, 2014 Irving City Council members may have broken transparency rules when, in closed-door talks, they told staffers to start negotiating with Steve Sarkozy to become the next city manager. The council was scheduled to interview three finalists for the job on Friday. After the interviews, according to people in the room, members told the staff to begin pursuing a [...]
George W. Bush library archives open to public
By Jamie Stengle Associated Press Originally published Jan. 21, 2014 Link to Corpus Christi Caller-Times DALLAS — The George W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum on Monday began accepting Freedom of Information Act requests for records from Bush's presidency. The day marks five years from the end of Bush's presidency, on Jan. 20, 2009. Access to the records is governed by the Presidential Records Act, which says the records may be [...]
UT System launches interactive salary and debt database
By Reeve Hamilton The Texas Tribune Originally published Jan. 16, 2014 Touting it as a first-of-its-kind higher ed gadget, the University of Texas System on Thursday launched a new interactive website that includes salary and debt information for graduates of its institutions after one year and five years in the workforce. The new tool, seekUT, allows the public — including prospective students and their families — to access data on [...]
Documents in sheriff’s deputy shooting death unavailable
By Andrea Salazar The Eagle Originally published Jan. 10, 2014 Three weeks after the shooting death of a Burleson County Sheriff's Deputy, it is unclear where the documents detailing the incident are. During phone calls placed by The Eagle in the past week, representatives of the Burleson County Sheriff's Office, the district attorney, the district clerk, the Texas Department of Public Safety and District Judge Reva Towslee Corbett's office claimed [...]
FOI Foundation to partner in Texas Debates; first debate is Jan. 27
DALLAS/FORT WORTH – The four candidates in the Republican Primary for Texas Lieutenant Governor will square off in The Texas Debates: Race for Lieutenant Governor on Monday, January 27, 2014, at 8:00 p.m. CT. The one-hour live debate between Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, State Senator Dan Patrick, Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson and Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples will be broadcast on television, radio and streamed online. Voters have a voice in [...]
Texas Supreme Court to consider online defamation case
By Alexa Ura The Texas Tribune Originally published Jan. 8, 2014 Robert Kinney says his former boss wrote false and defamatory things about him online, and he wants the state's highest civil court to order the remarks be deleted. In a case that could have far-reaching effects on individual freedom to post online, the Texas Supreme Court will hear arguments from both sides on Thursday about whether the Texas Constitution [...]