NC Open Government

From Carolina Journal Online (7/8/10): The North Carolina House and Senate have each passed ethics legislation in the waning days of the 2010 legislative session. There remain some significant differences between the two bills, leaving some political observers to wonder if lawmakers can strike a deal before going home to campaign.

From the Greensboro News and Record (7/6/10): The N.C. Supreme Court forcefully backed the state's Public Records Act in an important case in June.

From the Asheville Citizen-Times (7/6/10): The North Carolina House and Senate approved different versions of ethics, campaign finance and government reform bills by wide margins Tuesday, creating competing measures they'll use as negotiating tools for a compromise before final adjournment by the end of the week.

From the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (7/1/10): A North Carolina judge has ordered an online-news editor to produce the names of six anonymous posters who allegedly posted defamatory comments on his website, although one of them identified himself this morning on a local AM radio station.

From the Fayetteville Observer (7/3/10): Three years ago, Richard Moore came to the State Employees Association of North Carolina bearing public records.

From the Raleigh News and Observer (6/25/10): Saying government agencies can't be trusted to police themselves in public records disputes, the state Supreme Court handed a victory to an employees association in a fight with the State Treasurer's Office.

From the Greenville Daily Reflector (6/25/10): State officials are considering whether to release text messages that prompted a high-ranking North Carolina Highway Patrol trooper to resign.

From the Gaston Gazette (6/22/10): Open government means transparency and accountability. In some quarters, however, the description would also appear to include convenience and politics.

From the Charlotte Observer (6/21/10): The notion that good government must be open and transparent, answering to informed and empowered citizens, was fundamental to America's creation. The Founding Fathers made that clear.

From the Raleigh News and Observer (6/18/10): The N.C. Supreme Court says lower courts must consider a lawsuit that accused officials of withholding documents about the state's pension fund.