My latest op-ed appeared in Wednesday’s Virginian-Pilot. The original story about Steve and Patricia Orr, which partially prompted the piece, can be found here.
Should you ever find the need to submit a FOIA request to your local government, try visiting the city or county website. When I searched, all of the Hampton Roads cities had downloadable request forms on the sites, although fill-in-the-blank pdfs would be better.
I figured I’d take the opportunity while there is a lull in the political action to talk about some of the tools that those of us who are activists use on a regular basis. I’ve never submitted a FOIA request myself, but if I had to do so, it’s good to know that both the Freedom of Information Advisory Council and the Virginia Coalition for Open Government exist to help me out. From others out there, I know that both of these are excellent resources.
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I’m a big fan of FOIA. It’s not quite the secret media and litigation weapon it used to be, and that’s good. There’s a lot of public information that’s only dislodged by FOIA requests, and I hope that citizens make enough active use of it that it ends up being easier and cheaper to just post everything that might be subject to FOIA, instead of waiting for the request.
Posted by MB | Thursday, June 2, 2011, 6:16 pmI do several FOIA request to various cities when I have to research something. The Virginia Coalition is great and have on-line forms as well I use. I donate to them as they help you if you have questions about what is allowed or not.
The advisory council is so important if you are turned down by a locality or they want an uncalled for amount of money for the data you can object to the council. It is a step between having to get a lawyer which most groups can’t do. The governor suggested cutting this board as a cost savings. I am glad he did not because they are there to protect the citizens and also elected officials. I have never had to go to them luckily the localities around here do not see FOIA as a money making advantage (which is against the law). However, it was mentioned at a meeting in Williamsburg that the city should get money for telling the tax payers what they spend taxpayer money on. So it is nice to know it is there if we need it.
Also consider giving a little to Virginia Coalition. They do a lot for a lot of people.
Posted by Carole Garrison | Friday, June 3, 2011, 10:37 am