News - Page 68 of 125 - Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

1 Nov, 2016

Nashville chosen for 2017 NFOIC Summit

By Deborah Fisher|2017-03-05T18:09:40-06:00November 1, 2016|Categories: Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: NFOIC, NFOIC annual summit, TCOG news|0 Comments

The National Freedom of Information Coalition, an alliance of state open government groups and freedom of information supporters, has selected Nashville for it 2017 summit. The 2017 NFOIC Summit will be held in Nashville on Sept. 29-30. The two-day annual NFOIC summit event brings together state-based nonprofit FOI organizations, academic and First Amendment centers, journalists, citizens and attorneys to discuss trends in laws, policies and practices at state and local levels throughout the United States. Its focus is on transparency in government and access to government information. The two-day conference will be Friday and Saturday, Oct. 6 and 7, Friday and Saturday, Oct. 13-14, and will be co-hosted by NFOIC [...]

26 Oct, 2016

TCOG files amicus brief in Sumner County case over emailed public records request

By Deborah Fisher|2016-10-28T08:03:53-05:00October 26, 2016|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, requests, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Court of Appeals, John Williams, Ken Jakes, Rick Hollow, Sumner County School Board, TCOG news, Tennessee School Board Association|1 Comment

The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government has filed an amicus curiae brief with the Court of Appeals in Nashville in a case in which the Sumner County Board of Education argues that government entities do not have to accept a public records request sent by email. The case stems from a public records request made by citizen Kenneth Jakes in March 2014 to inspect the Sumner County Board of Education's public records policy. The school district denied the request, saying the method in which Jakes made the request -- by email and a followup phone call -- did not meet their requirements. Jakes was told he had to mail the request through the U.S. [...]

26 Oct, 2016

ECD posts online database of FastTrack grants, but leaves out job creation

By Deborah Fisher|2019-09-11T18:57:25-05:00October 26, 2016|Categories: economic development, open data|Tags: ECD, economic development, tax credits|0 Comments

The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development has posted online a searchable database of FastTrack grants since 2011, but has left out key information it gathers on job creation. Mike Reicher, a data reporter on The Tennessean's investigative reporting team, writes about the development in some depth here: State releases list of business grants totaling $400 M. There are many things to like about the database from an open government perspective. For one, it replaces what essentially were PDFs of FastTrack grants, and PDFs of other documents associated with the grants, but in a jumble of different styles that made it difficult to make connections or draw any meaning from it. The new database is [...]

4 Oct, 2016

Metro Nashville must pay nearly $57K in attorneys fees in public records case

By Deborah Fisher|2020-04-09T09:09:40-05:00October 4, 2016|Categories: public records lawsuits Tennessee, requests|Tags: Alex Friedmann, attorneys' fees, Bradley Jetmore, Doug Pierce, Judge Robert E. Lee Davies, Metro Nashville, promptly, public records request, traffic accident reports|0 Comments

Senior Judge Robert E. Lee Davies ordered Metro Nashville to pay nearly $57K in attorneys fees to a public records requester, saying that the city "misinterpreted and ignored the 'promptness' requirement" in the Tennessee Public Records Act. Davies found the city was willful in not complying with the law, a requirement for awarding attorneys fees in a public records lawsuit. Senior Judge Robert E. Lee Davies orders Metro Nashville to pay attorneys fees in public records case that challenged the city's delay in releasing records. Plaintiff Bradley Jetmore filed a lawsuit against the city, claiming Metro Nashville's police department records division had begun delaying release of traffic reports after about [...]

30 Sep, 2016

Learning from Memphis: Media coverage of police shootings

By Deborah Fisher|2019-09-11T18:57:16-05:00September 30, 2016|Categories: crime records, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government|Tags: Amy Weirich, Darrius Stewart, Memphis Police, police body cameras, police shootings, TBI|0 Comments

In Memphis this week, about 80 news reporters, activists, attorneys and college students came together to examine how media can, should and does cover police shootings. The centerpiece was the case of 19-year-old Darrius Stewart, who was shot and killed last year by Memphis police officer Connor Schilling after a traffic stop, sparking protests and concerns from the African-American community. The daylong workshop, developed by the Memphis Bar Association, comes at a time of national attention on police shootings, driven often by dramatic video recorded by bystanders and family members. The video and circumstances around the shootings have raised questions about the use of lethal force and racial bias. (See: [...]