NC Open Government

From the Greenville Daily Reflector (7/12/09): The shades lifted, if only slightly, this week to allow more sunshine to illuminate the operations of North Carolina government. An advancing public records bill and a new policy regarding e-mail were welcome steps toward the open and public environment Raleigh should vigorously cultivate.

From the Blue Ridge Times-News (7/9/09): North Carolina legislators have a rare opportunity this year to strengthen the state's weak open government laws.

From the Charlotte Observer (7/9/09): On her first day as governor, Bev Perdue pledged to increase government transparency.

From WRAL.com (7/9/09): Gov. Beverly Perdue has replaced an order signed by her predecessor reinforcing that most e-mails sent or received by executive-branch employees can't be immediately deleted so they can be preserved to comply with public records laws.

From the Raleight News and Observer (7/8/09): People and media organizations that successfully sue North Carolina governments for public records would be more likely to recover their legal fees under legislation approved Wednesday by a House panel.

From the Charlotte Observer (7/8/09): Lobbyists for North Carolina's local government officials are resisting legislation that would force governments to pay legal fees after losing a lawsuit to release documents.

From the Wilmington Star-News (7/7/09): During the past year, 18 top Wilmington officials sent or received more than 36,000 e-mails marked as “private” and shielded from public view.

From the Fayetteville Observer (7/5/09): A group of city, county and chamber officials met last week to talk about an idea that has been kicked around for years with no progress: building a parking deck in downtown Fayetteville.

From the Raleigh News and Observer (7/4/09): We weren't too surprised to hear that a recent study rated Apex as one of the state's least transparent municipalities. Transparent, as in open government, access to public records, all that jazz.

From the Fayetteville Observer (7/3/09): Maybe they forgot their sunscreen. Or perhaps it's a fear of overexposure. Whatever the reason, lobbyists for city and county governments flocked to the General Assembly last week to argue against a proposal to create an "Open Government Unit" in the state Department of Justice.