Overall goals of the new draft plan are to make all government data and information open by default and to eliminate all fees except for an initial $5 filing fee. The Canadian government invites comments on the plan before June 30, 2016.
Don't get us wrong: the U.S. federal government's openness to public scrutiny leaves much to be desired. Still, it's worth noting that some improvements have taken place. Here are a few prominent ones. Image: Clipart.com.
Journalism may finally be ready to stride into the brave new techno-world of drone reporting now that the Federal Aviation Administration has issued a regulation removing the previous cloud of illegality and uncertainty. It's just the beginning.
FOIA reform: it's all over but the shouting — and the implementation. The package of amendments to FOIA features codification of the "presumption of openness," would establish a single online federal portal for FOIA requests and strengthen the role of the Office of Government Information Services. Image: Clipart.com.
"Surging wildfires on Tuesday forced new evacuations of hundreds of homes across the West, while firefighters began beating back a pair of big adjacent blazes looming over suburban Los Angeles."
"In some U.S. cities, at least one in seven kids have unsafe levels of lead in their blood, indicating exposure to a toxic metal that can lead to lifelong physical, mental and behavioral health problems, a recent study suggests."
"Amid mounting alarm over how to pay for repairs to New Jersey’s roads and bridges, state lawmakers are lining up behind a potential solution once considered politically unthinkable: raising the state’s famously low gas tax."
"FLINT, MI – City officials announced that Flint will follow through with an agreement to connect the Karegnondi Water Authority pipeline to Lake Huron."
"Delegates for the governors of the eight Great Lakes states on Tuesday unanimously approved the City of Waukesha's request for a Lake Michigan water supply."
"Local sheriffs would be a poor fit to replace Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service law enforcement officers, an Interior Department official said in a letter yesterday to House Natural Resources ranking member Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.)."
