Publication Items

Sunshine Week Focuses on Freedom of Information and "Local Heroes" [1]

Sunshine Week is spearheaded by the American Society of News Editors with funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Gridiron Club — with collaboration by a large number of coalition member groups.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [3]
Visibility:
Public [4]
- Read more about Sunshine Week Focuses on Freedom of Information and "Local Heroes" [1]
Utah Governor Signs Controversial Bill Cutting Public Access to Info [5]

Former National Freedom of Information director Coalition Charles N. Davis said the bill "puts Utah in a class of one, alone in an anti-democratic zone in which the governors enjoy almost carte blanche over what information they deign to share with the rabble.”
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [3]
Region:
Mountain West (CO ID MT NV UT WY) [6]
Visibility:
Public [4]
- Read more about Utah Governor Signs Controversial Bill Cutting Public Access to Info [5]
Supreme Court Strikes Down Misuse of FOIA 'Personnel' Exemption [7]

In the case of Milner v. Department of the Navy, the court rejected an expansive interpretation of the FOIA exemption on personnel matters. And in another FOIA case decided March 1, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations do not have a right of personal privacy that can prevent the federal government from disclosing records about them.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [8]
Government [3]
Visibility:
Public [4]
- Read more about Supreme Court Strikes Down Misuse of FOIA 'Personnel' Exemption [7]
FAS Publishes CRS Reports That Congress Still Keeps from Taxpaying Public [9]

Here are links to some recent Congressional Research Service reports that may be of interest to energy and environmental journalists, courtesy of the Federation of American Scientists, a nonprofit watchdog group.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [3]
Visibility:
Public [4]
- Read more about FAS Publishes CRS Reports That Congress Still Keeps from Taxpaying Public [9]
House De-Funds Greenhouse Gas Registry [10]

As part of the continuing resolution (HR 1) the House approved largely along party lines an amendment sponsored by Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS) to cut an additional $8.5 million from the budget for EPA's Greenhouse Gas Registry.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [11]
Air [12]
Government [3]
Pollution [13]
Visibility:
Public [4]
- Read more about House De-Funds Greenhouse Gas Registry [10]
Interior Integrity Policy: Is Science Door Half-Open or Half-Closed? [14]

The good news, perhaps, is that Interior felt a need to take some policy action in response to the White House's Dec. 17, 2010, memo on science integrity. The bad news? The Interior policy seems to rehash a 2010 decree that scientists criticized, to punish the innocent, and to reward the uninvolved.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Science [15]
Policy [16]
Government [3]
Visibility:
Public [4]
- Read more about Interior Integrity Policy: Is Science Door Half-Open or Half-Closed? [14]
Would You Friend House Energy on Facebook? Or Poke Them? [17]

You can easily find the Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Flickr accounts of committees, federal agencies, and others on the Government & Social Media Wiki. As in the real world, however, the existence of these channels may not necessarily mean they carry any substantial information.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [3]
Visibility:
Public [4]
- Read more about Would You Friend House Energy on Facebook? Or Poke Them? [17]
Issa's Push on Homeland Security FOIA Raises Worries [18]

The House Oversight Committee Chair's method of investigating whether DHS was politically screening its responses to FOIA requests has at least one member of his committee worried about the privacy of the FOIA requesters due to Issa's demand for specifics of information.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [8]
Government [3]
Visibility:
Public [4]
- Read more about Issa's Push on Homeland Security FOIA Raises Worries [18]
Another Flawed Tool: Planned Contractor Database [19]

Project on Government Oversight says federal plans for contractor database omit exactly the information investigative types want most, including past wrongdoing by contractors. POGO's own database still the best tool available.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Government [3]
Visibility:
Public [4]
- Read more about Another Flawed Tool: Planned Contractor Database [19]
House GOP Staff Meet with Energy Lobbyists Behind Closed Doors [20]

Politico broke the story of a January 18, 2011, meeting between House and Senate GOP aides and energy industry lobbyists to map out strategy for handcuffing President Obama and EPA on climate regulations.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations [8]
Government [3]
Energy & Fuel [21]
Climate Change [11]
Visibility:
Public [4]
- Read more about House GOP Staff Meet with Energy Lobbyists Behind Closed Doors [20]

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