Colin Donohue

From the Charlotte Observer (1/20/10): Police must release all 911 tapes and police radio communications associated with former Officer Marcus Jackson, a Mecklenburg judge ruled Wednesday.

From the Greenville Daily Reflector (1/20/10): Like many states, North Carolina enacted its public records law to define the relationship between people and their government. It intends to keep citizens informed of decisions by affording them access to all manner of documents utilized in the public realm, and is therefore sufficiently broad to encourage governments to err on the side of openness.

From the Wilmington StarNews (1/19/10): Kure Beach is planning to host a workshop discussing town e-mail accounts and public records.

From the Raleigh News & Observer (1/16/10): Republicans in North Carolina have the chance to become the party of open government. But in Wake County, they are missing that chance.

A large swath of North Carolina cities and towns have not been following a state law designed to grant easier access to public records after having more than a decade to comply.

From the Charlotte Observer (1/9/10): Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx said Friday that the city should make public the personnel file of former police Officer Marcus Jackson, who has been accused of sexual assault by five women.

From the Rhino Times (1/17/10): Greensboro has a new city manager, Rashad Young, who has promised an open and transparent government. But after three months as the city manager, the city has the same old policy on public records, which is a deliberate and obstinate refusal to obey the law for as long as possible. Fortunately, the city also has a new mayor, Bill Knight, and some new and old city councilmembers who can force a change.

Students in Elon's Interactive Media master's program will soon be flashing their passports and traveling to foreign countries as part of their Winter Term fly-in experience. The entire inaugural class has been broken up into four groups, each of which will be led by a faculty member in the School of Communications.

Students in Elon's Interactive Media master's program are currently studying abroad as part of their Winter Term fly-in experience, and you can follow their progress by viewing their personal blogs.

From Mountain Xpress (1/7/10): The Carolina Stompers, a conservative activist group, recently wrote a letter to the North Carolina Attorney General's office querying the legality of Buncombe County Commissioners' handling of a decision to keep prayer at their meetings. According to the Stomper’s Jan. 6 press release, "Commissioners 'polling a consensus' of each other to be it by phone, e-mail, or meeting is a violation. This should be done in a public, open, and transparent regular county commissioners meeting."