NC Open Government

From the First Amendment Coalition (7/24/12): The First Amendment Coalition is pleased to announce a landmark settlement in a case involving public access to government email messages.

From the Charlotte Observer (7/24/12): A report released Monday ranked access to public records in the Carolinas as among the worst in the country.

From the Burlington Times-News (7/21/12): A former Elon University student is asking the N.C. Supreme Court to weigh in on a dispute about campus police records.

From the Daily Tar Heel (7/19/12): Superior Court Judge Howard Manning will wait to rule on a hearing between UNC and The Daily Tar Heel, (Raleigh) News and Observer, Charlotte Observer and five other news outlets.

From SPLC.org (7/10/12): Nick Ochsner, the former Elon University student journalist who was denied access to records held by the private school's police department, is taking his case to the state Supreme Court.

From Public News Service (7/10/12): The State Supreme Court today will hear arguments to unseal research commissioned by two state lawmakers regarding North Carolina's redistricting issue. Several groups, including the North Carolina Public Broadcasting Association and the state Press Association, are supporting the request to make the information accessible to both sides, which would cost $200,000 in public funding.

From the Southern Pines Pilot (6/28/12): In North Carolina and other states, we have what is known as the "open meetings" law. This law is in place to keep the people informed of their business, and the honesty and integrity of their elected officials.

From the Raleigh News and Observer (6/27/12): Gov. Bev Perdue is being asked by media organizations to veto a bill that would restrict public access to information about businesses that put their employees at financial risk by not purchasing legally required workers' compensation insurance.

From the Mountain Xpress (6/25/12): Xpress and four other local media outlets are suing District Attorney Ron Moore and the city of Asheville, seeking to make public the audit of guns, drugs, and money missing from the Asheville Police Department evidence room.

From the Raleigh News and Observer (6/24/12): Lawmakers have passed a bill aimed at cracking down on employers that put workers at risk by not holding legally required workers' compensation insurance. But one provision of HB237, added at the last minute, may restrict public access to the information that first brought the problem to light.