Sunshine Week, which falls this year on March 11-17, is an annual effort by news organizations, libraries and public interest groups to focus public attention on the importance of open government.
Next week, dozens of programs across the country will explore the costs of secrecy, the virtues of openness, and the path forward.
Next week may also see House action on three open government bills that have been advanced by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform under the leadership of Rep. Henry Waxman.
The pending bills include one on Freedom of Information Act amendments, one on amendments to the Presidential Records Act, and one on disclosure of donations to Presidential libraries. Markup of the bills will take place on March 8, and House floor action is expected next week.
Often negotiations between data center developers and local officials are conducted behind closed doors, protected by NDAs. How can we have an informed debate, when we don’t know what’s on the table?
As federal data policy nerds, the question we get asked all the time is “How much data has the current administration terminated?”
Google’s motto famously used to be “don’t be evil.” However, its latest feature has just made being evil a whole lot easier.
The public will judge the next era of American science by the innovation that touches their lives through the new cures, products, and opportunities created within their communities.