Environmental group sues state agency for failing to turn over public records
From Cleveland.com: An environmental group sued the Ohio Department of Natural Resources this week because the agency has not turned over public records related to a new program that allows oil and...
View ArticleOhio schools keep grip on public records
From The Columbus Dispatch: When school districts withhold public records, taxpayers don’t know what pay raises teachers will get until it’s a done deal, or how much a superintendent will be paid...
View ArticleOhio senator seeks financial records of black lawmakers' nonprofit...
From cleveland.com: COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A member of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus continues to demand financial records of the caucus’ nonprofit organization and has accused it of improperly...
View ArticleOhio attorney general's office creates new mediation program for public...
From Cleveland.com: COLUMBUS, Ohio — Citizens having problems getting public records from government agencies can now turn to the Ohio Attorney General's Office for a new forum to resolve the dispute....
View ArticleColumbus Board of Education into super-secret mode
From The Columbus Dispatch: You know things must be getting interesting when the Columbus Board of Education holds an entire three-hour board meeting without saying a single meaningful word in public....
View ArticleFTC keeps funeral rule lapses buried: plain dealing
From Cleveland.com:The Federal Trade Commission knows what its undercover investigators found in sweeps of Cleveland-area funeral homes conducted last year. But you, as a member of the public, aren't...
View ArticleFulton County commended for data availability
From toledoBlade.com:WAUSEON — Sunshine Review, a national nonprofit group that aims to encourage state and local government transparency, has given Fulton County an A+.The county previously scored a...
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NFOIC's State FOIA Friday for November 9, 2012
A few state FOIA and local open government news items selected from many of interest that we might or might not have drawn attention to earlier in the week:read more
View ArticlePossible Huntington Pilot Plant site profile revision; FOIA filed
From HuntingtonNews.net:A two-day radiation dose reconstruction board meeting held in Cincinnati, Ohio may have included revisions to the site profile of the Huntington Pilot Plant, according to Terrie...
View ArticleShadows lengthen on access to public records
Editorial from Dennis Hetzel, executive director of the Ohio Newspaper Association: Every year, Sunshine Week underscores the importance of open government across the nation. It is a perfect moment to...
View ArticleSunshine Week: Forecast in Ohio cloudy
From The Columbus Dispatch:Today marks the beginning of Sunshine Week, a national initiative to promote government transparency and citizen access to public records and meetings.Unfortunately, the...
View ArticleDavid Marburger: Information kept by our government should be presumed open...
Opinion from The Columbus Dispatch:It’s time for the Ohio General Assembly to kill the stealth exemption. The stealth exemption is a nickname for a series of misguided rulings by the Ohio Supreme Court...
View ArticleSunshine Week isn't just for the media
Opinion from Zanesville Times Recorder:Welcome to Sunshine Week — a time created to draw public attention to the issue of freedom of information. The first Sunshine Sunday was declared in Florida in...
View ArticleOhio Republicans negotiating over JobsOhio transparency, Happy Sunshine Week!
From Plunderbund.com: Yesterday kicked off Sunshine Week, a national event aimed at highlighting “the importance of open government and freedom of information.” Ohio’s Republicans celebrated by trying...
View ArticleNew manual released as National Sunshine Week begins
From Gallipolis Daily Tribune: COLUMBUS — Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has released his office’s 2013 edition of “Ohio Sunshine Laws: An Open Government Resource Manual,” also known as the...
View ArticleSunshine Week Day 3: More republicans attempt to restrict public record access
From Punderbund.com:Today is the third day of Sunshine Week, 2013 and while many of us are writing about the importance of open government and access to public information, Ohio’s Republicans are...
View ArticleAmbiguity, exemptions chip away at Ohio's once-model public records law
From BucyrusTelegraphForum.com:Ohio’s once-model law on open public records and meetings has taken a few hits from added exemptions and ambiguity surrounding public-private partnerships and social...
View ArticleA public-records primer: How to make a request
From The Columbus Dispatch:In celebration of Sunshine Week, here’s a primer on making public-records requests in Ohio. It’s your government, your money, your records. Government merely is the custodian...
View Article‘Sunshine Week’ gets cloudy
From Vindy.com: This week was “Sunshine Week” in Ohio, that time of year when state officials remind the populace of the importance of public records and open meetings and journalists remind the same...
View ArticleTherese D. Hayt: Ohio’s public records law is facing new restrictions
From CantonRep.com:Last week, we celebrated Sunshine Week, the annual observance of the importance of access to public information and what it means to you and our community. We published several guest...
View ArticleA good bill on open meetings; a bad bill on gun records
Opinion from Ohio Newspaper Association:One of the major concerns we have had with Ohio’s open meetings law is that it leaves a lot of wiggle-room for public bodies to be overly vague and even evasive...
View ArticleState cop transfers disputed records as part of sheriff probe
From Athens News: A thorny dispute over Athens County Sheriff Pat Kelly's allegedly improper disposal of county records continues to evolve on a daily basis.read more
View ArticleBill seals licenses for concealed handguns
From The Columbus Dispatch: The latest effort by state lawmakers to close public records in Ohio would eliminate the ability for journalists to view concealed-handgun-license records. Sen. Joseph...
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