What's New in Open Government....

Or what's not. The following is a listing of some published articles from August 2008 concerning open government issues around the state:

Is Dartmouth Following Open Meeting Law?
(August 20, 2008, South Coast Today)
A letter to the editor of South Coast Today questioning whether members of the Dartmouth Select Board understand the open meeting law requirements for preparing executive session minutes. BTW, the handwritten notes referred to in the letter are a public record and must be produced if requested if it will not defeat the lawful purposes of the executive session. (M.G.L. c. 39, section 23B.)

Executive Session Questioned
(August 20, 2008, Milford Daily News)
The Daily News asked Worcester County DA to investigate whether selectmen violated Massachusetts Open Meeting Law by voting to meet with a casino-resort developer, David Nunes, in executive session, where neither the media nor the public could not be present. The article includes a link to a copy of the letter to the DA.

Keeping Amherst Affordable: So Much for 'Open' and 'Accountable'
(August 22, 2008, Amherst Bulletin)
Article about Blue Ribbon Task Force appointed by Amherst Town Manager. Apparently the Blue Ribbon Task Force had not been following the Open Meeting Law requirements (which appears not to apply to the Task Force) even though the town manager had in the past stated a commitment to the principles of transparency and openness in government.

Monson School Committee vote ousts chairman Edward Maia
(August 22, 2008, The Republican)
This article, which is about the surprise ouster of Edward A. Maia as chairman of the School Committee, reports that when he was asked whether he thought "the action was connected to the Open Meeting Law inquiry he filed with the Hampden County District Attorney's office regarding possible violations by School Committee members, Maia responded, 'Oh
yeah.'"

Two Raises for Laboy Rejected
(August 23, 2008, Lawrence Eagle Tribune)
Article questions whether school committee violated the Open Meeting Law when it went into executive session to consider whether to give the School Superintendent a raise.

Laboy's Raise Not a Matter For Secret Meeting
(August 25, 2008, Lawrence Eagle Tribune)
Editorial regarding the Lawrence School Committee's decision to go into Executive Session to consider a raise for the Superintendent of Schools in violation of the Open Meeting Law.

Link to this blog and the Massachusetts Campaign for Open Government
(August 26, 2008) On a blog entitled "Through the wire..."

Monson E-mail Review Results Mixed
(August 28, 2008, The Republic)
More on the complaint filed by the former Chair of the Monson School Committee. The DA's response does sound weak, even if it may be consistent with the letter of the law.

DA's Stolen Handgun Not Entered in Database
(August 29, 2008, CapeCodToday)
A good example of when a public records request is made and what the possible results could be.