FOIA enforcement

Small towns and communities in Connecticut are shutting down their entire Web sites for fear that a new state law, requiring local governments to post agendas and minutes for board and commission meetings, may get them into legal trouble, The Associated Press reported. 

The mayor of Hartford unlawfully held closed meetings with a city arena-planning group, according to Connecticut's Freedom of Information Commission.

The commission voted unanimously on Wednesday in favor of The Hartford Courant, which filed a complaint on the issue in April. Mayor Eddie A. Perez faces a $500 fine and was encouraged to attend seminars on the state’s public information laws, according to the commission's decision.

The arena-planning group also has seven days to make detailed minutes of the meetings available to the public.

The Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission may fine New Haven city officials for not complying with an order to give the New Haven Register a tape of a shooting in which a local teenager was killed.

Last month saw Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick trying to force Free Press and Detroit News reporters to testify in the newspapers' Freedom of Information lawsuit against him. 

Despite a recent report commending government agencies' progress in responding to FOIA requests, a new study shows they haven't come as far as they might like to think.

The names and addresses of more than 6,000 New Haven residents who have applied for a type of  identification card available to anyone, including illegal immigrants, will likely remain secret out of fear for their safety.

Despite 20 years of compliance with the Freedom of Information Act, a federal judge ruled Monday that the White House's Office of Administration is not subject to FOIA and can withhold internal paperwork on the disappearance of thousands of e-mail messages.

Even the taxman is subject to sunshine.

A federal judge ruled Friday that the Internal Revenue Service has flouted three court orders dating back to 1976, requiring it to regularly provide requested information to a Syracuse University professor. Judge Marsha Pechman, of the Western District of Washington in Seattle, ordered the IRS to produce unredacted copies of the requested audit reports within 30 days.