CJOG News http://www.cjog.net/index.html The latest news from the Coalition of Journalists for Open Government. CJOG News http://www.cjog.net/index.html http://www.cjog.net/cjognews.gif A Sharp Split in One City on the Archiving of Officials' E-Mails http://www.cjog.net/index.html#3468 Two Charlotte, NC, officials split sharply on whether e-mails should be public record with City Attorney Mac McCarley saying public requests for copies from bloggers, unsuccessful bidders and political opponents had become so burdensome that many officials had stopped sending sensitive e-messages. . . . White House Provides A New Term for Unclassified Secrets http://www.cjog.net/index.html#3467 The newly issued White House policy on "Controlled Unclassified Information" - two and a half years in the making - appears to be more an uncontrolled expansion of government secrecy than an attempt to reign in the erratic use of "Sensitive But Unclassified" information markings . . . Terrorism Prosecutions Lag Behind Increases in Surveillance of Americans http://www.cjog.net/index.html#3466 The secret wiretapping and review of financial records of Americans continues to increase as federal officials aggressively exercise new authority given them after the 9/11 attacks, the Los Angeles Times reported. At the same time, fewer prosecutions for terrorism are ending up in court, an . . . Reporter Facing Contempt Fines Urges Media to "Turn and Fight" http://www.cjog.net/index.html#3465 Former USA Today reporter Toni Locy, who faces fines of up to $5,000 a day for failing to reveal sources in stories she wrote about the 2001 anthrax attacks, urged news organizations to go on the offensive in the fight to protect the First Amendment. "It's time to stop running. It's . . . The FOIA Battles Behind Two Recent NY Times Reports http://www.cjog.net/index.html#3464 The reporting battles behind two recent high-profile New York Times articles -- struggles with truculent federal agencies for access to public records -- were detailed in a report by the paper's Public Editor Clark Hoyt. It took two years, and a law suit, before reporter David Barstow got . . . Judge: SC Paper Can Publish Jail Tapes of State Senator's Calls http://www.cjog.net/index.html#3463 A circult judge in South Carolina cleared the way for the Charleston Post and Courier to publish recordings of phone calls made by state Sen. Randy Scott from the Greenwood city jail after he was arrested for driving under the influence. Judge James Williams rejected a request from Scott's lawyers . . . Judge Decides Nevada Governor's Gun Permit Data Is Private http://www.cjog.net/index.html#3462 A district judge in Reno rejected a newspaper's suit for documents related to Gov. Jim Gibbons concealed weapons permit. The governor surrendered his permit earlier this year after it was revealed he hadn't completed the required training for all of his nine pistols. The Reno-Gazette-Journal said . . . Council Puts a Little Openness into Its Secret Meetings http://www.cjog.net/index.html#3461 Saying it has always had an interest in being open, the Borough council in Washington, NJ, adopted a resolution calling on itself to provide more advance information on its meetings. Well, not just any meetings. Its secret meetings. Now the council will have to specify which of 11 specific . . . Sen. Feingold Says Too Many Secret Laws Being Written by Administration http://www.cjog.net/commentary.html#3460 Sen. Russ Feingold, in an op ed column in the Los Angeles Times, says the Bush Administration has written many new laws in the form of Justice Department memorandums - and it's keeping most secret. He points to the torture memos, recently released under Congressional pressure, as hinting "at . . . Agriculture Department Pulls an End Run to Seal Animal ID Records http://www.cjog.net/index.html#3459 First, The Agriculture Department pressed for statutory closure of records of its National Animal Identification System, urging a provision in the massive farm appropriations bill that would keep secret the names and addresses of feedlot operators. When that section was lsubsequently pulled at the . . . Picketers in South Carolina Demand a More Open Government http://www.cjog.net/index.html#3458 It's not a cause that often draws pickets, but some 20 residents of Anderson County, S.C., paraded in front of the courthouse demanding their right to know about an audit of the county's finances. They also called for citizens and the media to have full access to public records. "It's our . . . Picketers in South Carolina Demand a More Open Government http://www.cjog.net/index.html#3457 It's not a cause that often draws pickets, but some 20 residents of Anderson County, S.C., paraded in front of the courthouse demanding their right to know about an audit of the county's finances. They also called for citizens and the media to have full access to public records. "It's our . . . SF Mayor, Citing Budget Problems, Vetoes Bill to Post Meetings Tapes http://www.cjog.net/index.html#3456 San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom vetoed an ordinance that would have required audio and video recording of all noticed meetings held in city hall meeting rooms, and to archive the tapes for citizen retrieval on the city's web site. Newsom said the goal is "laudable" but that he had just . . . Public Integrity Center Looks at Advisory Committee Reform Bill http://www.cjog.net/index.html#3455 After years of paying almost no attention to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, Congress is considering amendments to the 36-year-old law. The changes, says the Center for Public Integrity in a special online report, are intended to improve the transparency, membership balance and independence of . . . Corps of Engineers, Citing Terror Threat, Won't Release Dam Inspection Report http://www.cjog.net/index.html#3454 The Army Corps of Engineers refused to release an inspection report on the Strom Thurmond Dam but give the Augusta, Ga., newspaper Metro Spirit a 2004 executive summary that noted eight uncorrected deficiencies first cited in a 1999 inspection. The Corps cited national security and terrorism . . .