03/19/2012 by Joe Wilhelm Jr., Staff Writer Mayor Alvin Brown marked the end of Sunshine Week last week by signing legislation that approved a director and funding for the new Ethics, Compliance and Oversight Office and announced the creation of the Office of Public Accountability. The mayor’s signature was the last step for ordinances 2012-10,…
Read more
Published: Sunday, March 11, 2012 at 12:01 a.m. Last Modified: Saturday, March 10, 2012 at 11:37 p.m. Two substantial events took place in Tallahassee on Friday: completion of the Florida Legislature’s annual 60-day session — scheduled two months early this year to provide time for the Florida Supreme Court to rule on new voting districts…
Read more
OUR OPINION: During Sunshine Week, the public’s right to know is once again in peril BY THE MIAMI HERALD EDITORIAL HERALDED@MIAMIHERALD.COM As Florida celebrates Sunshine Week and the importance of open government and freedom of information there are some rays of sunshine pushing through the dark clouds of secrecy. One ray: The Florida Legislature ended…
Read more
By ANDREW WYNER and MICHAEL SMALLBERG Click here to join POGO’s Un-Do Influence Campaign: a movement ot reclaim Washington As part of Sunshine Week, a national initiative to highlight the importance of open government and freedom of information, POGO is releasing a host records obtained by the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Read more about POGO’s plans…
Read more
BY MIKE SCHNEIDER ASSOCIATED PRESS ORLANDO, Fla. — Advocates of Florida’s open government laws should focus on the rights of speakers to have their voices heard at public meetings and push to open up the state’s process of making laws to further scrutiny, one of the state’s top defenders of government transparency said Monday. Too often…
Read more
Sunshine Week seeks to enlighten and empower people to play an active role in their government at all levels, and to give them access to information that makes their lives better and their communities stronger. Sunshine Week, March 11-17, 2012, is a national initiative to promote a dialogue about the importance of open government and…
Read more
Sunshine Week was created by journalists. But it’s not just for the press. It’s also for the public. This week, journalists around the country are participating in the national initiative to promote discussion about the importance of open government and freedom of information. But freedom of information is a year-round pledge. American journalists promote open…
Read more
At a recent St. Johns County Commission meeting on a land-use issue, a request was made by the project’s attorneys to cross-examine citizen speakers about their comments. Wisely, the request was not pursued after a “sidebar” discussion with county officials. Good for them. This was a rezoning hearing where anyone can comment to the commission…
Read more
ames Madison succinctly described the importance of an informed electorate: “Knowledge will forever govern ignorance. And a people who mean to be their own governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives.” This is also a call for government transparency, as only voters informed in how their government works can effectively use the…
Read more
Without open meetings and accessible records, we’d all be in the dark. BY AMINDA MARQUES GONZALEZ AMARQUES@MIAMIHERALD.COM We simply couldn’t tell the stories readers count on us to report without Florida’s public records and open meetings laws, among the strongest in the country. Our journalists rely on these laws daily, whether attending a municipal meeting…
Read more