Each entry on VCOG’s blog of access issues now accepts comments, as do some of the articles, stories and resources we post on our website. You have to register with a valid email address (to keep out the spam-bots) and comments are moderated (to maintain decorum), but all viewpoints are welcome.
The VCOG Board of Directors voted at its March 25 as a matter of policy to oppose any attempt to categorize a public record as exempt at the time of the record’s creation.
VCOG is joining hands with the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression to pay tribute to a founding director of both organizations: Bob O’Neil. O’Neil served as VCOG’s president for the organization’s first several years. He stepped down from the board last fall. O’Neil, a one-time president of UVa, led the TJ Center, nationally known for its First Amendment Monument and its annual Muzzle Awards, for its first 20 years, and he also taught at the UVa law school. The tribute is tentatively planned for Oct. 29 in Charlottesville.
VCOG hosted two seminars in Roanoke: a FOIA workshop for citizens and journalists, and a records management workshop for government employees. The events were hosted by The Roanoke Times and were made possible by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Another set of seminars will be held in Northern Virginia this fall.
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