Sunshine Week 2009

The following are just a few of the stories that appeared online during Sunshine Week 2009 (March 22 - 28). For more stories about the Massachusetts Campaign for Open Government’s recognition awards ceremony that took place at the State House during Sunshine Week, please go to the Common Cause Massachusetts news feed page.

Lines Drawn In Battle To Open Workings Of Government

March 15, 2009, The Republican, Jack Flynn

Second of a two part series about government reform. This part focuses on proposed changes to the open meeting and public records law pending in the legislature. The first part, “Winds of reform could chill Statehouse scandals”, by Dan Ring, focuses on ethics reform.

Open Government According To The Founding Fathers?

March 16, 2009, The Concord Magazine blog, Rich Stevenson

This is a reprint of a piece about the author’s problems with obtaining public records under the open meeting. He made his request in April, 2008, and his appeal to the State was still pending as of March 2009. Who says there are no problems with the current Public Records Law?

Newton To Be Honored For Web Accessibility

March 16, 2009, The Daily News Tribune

Article about the Massachusetts Campaign for Open Government’s recognition of almost 120 cities and towns for posting key public records online.

Virtual Town Hall Lauded For Openness

March 17, 2009, The Milford Daily News, Joyce Kelly

Franklin receives recognition for website from Common Cause Massachusetts for third year in a row.

OUR VIEW: Let The Light In

March 17, 2009, South Coast Today, Editorial

Piece about the importance of the local newspaper in obtaining access to local government information.

Electronic Records Upset The Boat Of Public Access

March 17, 2009, The Concord Magazine Blog

Calls for updating policies and procedures to address electronic record retention issues.

Sunshine Week: Local Towns Fare Well On Superintendent E-mail Requests

March 19, 2009, The Milford Daily News, John Hilliard

“As part of Sunshine Week, the Daily News requested copies of e-mails sent between 13 area school superintendents and the heads of their respective school committees during March 2008.” Results are contained in the article.

Town of Easton Honored For Government Openness On Its Website

March 19, 2009, The Enterprise

Easton received recognition from the Massachusetts Campaign for Open Government, Common Cause Massachusetts for its use of its website. Article also mentions other towns that failed to receive recognition.

Counsel Offers Opinion In Flap Over Westport Superintendent's Contract

March 19, 2009, The New Bedford Standard Times (reprinted in the AARP Bulletin Today)

Local counsel says no violation of open meeting law occurred in how the school committee handled the retiring school superintendent’s contract.

Town Web Site Really Clicks

March 19, 2009, The Westford Eagle, Stephen Vittorioso

Article about how the town of Westford uses its website to provide information to its citizens.

Nonprofit Honors Boxborough Website, But Not Acton's

March 23, 2009, The Beacon

Another article about the Massachusetts Campaign for Open Government, Common Cause Massachusetts annual recognition awards to local websites for posting key public records online.

Common Cause to Honor 117 Municipalities on Thursday [that's today] at the State House as Part of Sunshine Week Celebration

This just in from Common Cause Massachusetts:

BOSTON – Tomorrow [TODAY-March 19, 2009] at 1:00pm in the Nurses’ Hall at the State House Common Cause will honor 117 municipalities that have posted at least six important local governance documents on their websites. Representatives from each community will be presented with the 2009 e-Government Award. The event occurs during Sunshine Week, a national initiative by the American Society of Newspaper Editors created to raise awareness about the importance of open government and freedom of information.

The event is part of Common Cause’s on-going Massachusetts Campaign for Open Government, which periodically reviews the Internet presence of all 351 cities and towns in the state. The current audit of all municipal websites in the Commonwealth will be released at the event. The first assessment in early 2006 found that only 24 municipalities – or about 7 percent – have all six key records posted online. The six documents included in the review are the municipality's governing body’s agenda, the governing body’s minutes, budget information, the municipality’s bylaws, code or ordinances, and if applicable, the town meeting warrant and results.

The list of towns to be honored include: Amesbury, Amherst, Andover, Arlington, Ashburnham, Ashland, Barnstable, Becket, Bedford, Bellingham, Belmont, Bolton, Boston, Boxborough, Brookline, Burlington, Cambridge, Carver, Charlton, Chatham, Chelmsford, Chelsea, Chilmark, Concord, Dalton, Dedham, Dennis, Dudley, Dunstable, Duxbury, East Longmeadow, Eastham, Easton, Egremont, Everett, Falmouth, Fitchburg, Freetown, Gardner, Gill, Gloucester, Haverhill, Holden, Holland, Holliston, Holyoke, Hopkinton, Hudson, Ipswich, Kingston, Lakeville, Leominster, Littleton, Longmeadow, Lowell, Malden, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Marlborough, Mashpee, Maynard, Melrose, Methuen, Millbury, Milton, Monterey, Nantucket, Needham, Newburyport, Newton, Norfolk, North Andover, North Reading, Northampton, Northborough, Northbridge, Orange, Orleans, Otis*, Paxton, Pembroke, Pepperell, Provincetown, Reading, Rockland, Rockport, Salem, Salisbury, Sandwich, Saugus, Scituate, Sharon, Sheffield, Somerville, South Hadley, Southwick, Springfield, Sterling, Sturbridge, Sudbury, Sutton, Tewksbury, Topsfield, Upton, West Boylston, West Springfield, Westford, Westminster, Weston, Westwood, Weymouth, Wilbraham, Williamstown, Winchester, Winthrop, Woburn, Worcester, and Wrentham.

“It’s time to bring local government into the 21st century,” said Common Cause Massachusetts’ Executive Director Pam Wilmot. “The Internet makes it easy and cost effective to facilitate public access and citizen engagement by, at a minimum, posting these six key records. More and more people rely on the Internet for critical information each day. Communities that provide this information are providing an important service to their citizens.”

What: 2009 e-Government Award Ceremony
Date: Thursday, March 19, 2009
Time: 1:00pm
Place: Nurses’ Hall, State House, Boston


ABOUT COMMON CAUSE:

Common Cause Massachusetts is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, government watchdog, dedicated to citizen participation in an open, honest, and accountable government. An independent, member-supported organization, Common Cause has more than 200,000 members nationwide and 10,000 in Massachusetts.

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Back Online Again

The best laid plans, etc. The review of the websites mentioned in my last post in September will not begin until the end of December/beginning of January. We have decided to start the review a few months later this year so we can announce the results during Sunshine Week 2008, which is March 16-22. As we get closer in time to the review period, I will post more information about any additional criteria we plan to use in evaluating the town and city websites. Stay posted.