FOI Blog

Sunshine Week op-ed: The Real FOIA Heroes

Posted 3/13/19 by Megan Rhyne

Versions of the following were wrtiten on the encouragement of Lawrence McConnell, VCOG board member and editor of The Roanoke Times, and published in:

  • Bacon's Rebellion (online)
  • Bristol Herald-Courier
  • Daily Press (Newport News)
  • The Daily Progress (Charlottesville)
  • The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg)
  • Richmond Times-Dispatch
  • The Roanoke Times
  • The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk)

Virginia, Amazon & FOIA

Posted 12/3/18 by Megan Rhyne

Secrecy surrounding the Amazon decision to locate half of its HQ2 operation in Virginia comes with a heavy price tag.

Why a judge's decision exempting the judiciary from FOIA matters

Posted 10/31/18 by Megan Rhyne

A judge in Richmond decided in October 2018 that Virginia’s judiciary was not subject to the Freedom of Information Act. Here's why that matters.

VCOG: Why you need us, and why we need you

Posted 9/30/18 by Megan Rhyne

Government accountability doesn't end on election day. Stay engaged by supporting open government and open government organizations (like VCOG!).

Thinking of the Old Dominion in New England

Posted 8/24/18 by Megan Rhyne

There was much to remind me of Virginia in New Hampshire. And even more to leave me wondering.

Just because you can, doesn't mean you must

Posted 7/30/18 by Megan Rhyne

Public bodies often use secretive processes to hire a chief administrator, also known as a manager, executive or superintendent. It doesn't have to be that way.

Private texts? Not if they're about public business

Posted 7/19/18 by Megan Rhyne

How the record was created, how it was delivered, how it was sent, whose equipment was used (and even whether it was a final report or a draft one), none of that matters when it comes to determining what a public record is.

Showing up for open government for 20+ years

Posted 7/16/18 by Megan Rhyne

This commentary by VCOG Executive Director Megan Rhyne originally appeared in the June 28, 2018, issue of The Roanoke Times.
 

When Frosty Landon, the former editor of this newspaper and the first director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government (VCOG), first took me under his wing as an assistant back at the turn of the century, he shared with me a simple but powerful bit of advice about advocacy: Show up.

This dog won't hunt

Posted 5/18/18 by Megan Rhyne

You don't have to have a dog in the hunt to be ticked by this story

This story should really bother you. It should bother you, not because you know any of the people involved, the city or the situation that prompted it. It should bother you on principle: A court order was secured to prohibit public disclosure of information because a citizen who frequently disagrees with city council decisions had requested it under FOIA.

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