Judge rejects Jeffco union's lawsuit to block the release of teacher sick-leave records

Sick-leave records do not qualify as personnel or medical information that must be withheld from the public under the Colorado Open Records Act (CORA), a judge ruled, dismissing a lawsuit brought by the Jefferson County teachers’ union against the Jeffco school district.

Reporter feels vindicated with public release of theater shooter's notebook

Colorado Supreme Court ruling a 'mixed bag' for requesters of public records

Arvada asks Colorado Supreme Court to review reinstatement of secret ballots lawsuit

Download 2015 guide to Colorado sunshine laws

Daisy-chain meetings by Colorado Springs council broke Sunshine Law, CFOIC's Zansberg says

From The Gazette (Colorado Springs): In deciding to unanimously cite Councilwoman Helen Collins with three ethics violations last week, the City Council itself broke state law, attorney Steven D. Zansberg said Friday.

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Election activist Marilyn Marks asks Supreme Court for a rehearing in CORA lawsuit

From The Mountain Mail (Salida): Election transparency advocate Marilyn Marks filed a petition for a rehearing with the Colorado Supreme Court in her case, which stems from a Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request she made of then-Chaffee County Clerk and Recorder Joyce Reno.

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Despite new directive, Colorado judicial branch refuses documents others provide

From ColoradoWatchdog.org: The Colorado Judicial Branch has denied records under its new administrative records policies that other state agencies have or would have had to produce under the Colorado Open Records Act.

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Owners charged $11,500 for documents in Glendale eminent domain fight

From Westword (Denver): The Glendale landowners who are fighting the city’s authorization of eminent domain say city officials continue to make things difficult for them. The latest? A $11,500 charge for a Colorado Open Records Act request that the Kholghy family says yielded very little useful information.

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Opinion: Half the information doesn't help voters

From The Colorado Statesman: Supporters of HB 15-1057 refer to it as “transparency” and more information on proposed ballot questions. But there will be no mention of the long-term benefits of petition proposals.

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Editorial: State lawmakers' emails should be public

From the Times-Call (Longmont):Colorado legislators should be held to the same standard of transparency that state workers are held to — whether it’s bureaucrats or CDOT snowplow drivers.

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Lawsuit alleges internal investigator for Denver sheriff ordered to destroy video, alter records

From The Denver Post: A former Denver Sheriff Department internal investigator has filed a federal lawsuit claiming his bosses ordered him to destroy a video and alter other records in two cases involving deputy discipline.

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Editorial: The public has a right to know basic facts about a crime

From Steamboat Today: The public has a right to know the basic facts about a crime that has occurred in the community. Arrest affidavits are used to support the arrest of individuals. These documents present facts of cases and demonstrate probable cause for arresting those accused and charging them with a crime.

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Judge grants newspaper's request to unseal affidavits in Steamboat Springs homicide

From Steamboat Today: Judge Shelley Hill ordered that affidavits related to the Edward Zimmerman homicide be made available to the public. Hill indicated that portions of the affidavits would be redacted.

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Editorial: UNC's failure to disclose contract leaves a bad taste

From The Greeley Tribune: We don’t want to make a Grande out of a Tall, but we were disappointed this week with the University of Northern Colorado for its decision to hide behind a legally dubious confidentiality clause and withhold the contract between the university and Starbucks.

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Thousands of documents on Arapahoe High shooting released

Editorial: The public deserves to know

From Steamboat Today: In light of national events involving excessive use of force by police officers, and considering the seriousness of the allegations leveled against Steamboat’s top-ranking law enforcement officials, we think a report of some type needs to be released upon the conclusion of the investigation.

Legal fight looms over release of records detailing state's cost to defend Michael Blagg

From The Daily Sentinel (Grand Junction): Public defenders argue cost records for Michael Blagg’s defense are “confidential” and “privileged,” but prosecutors scoff at the notion.

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Thompson board member's event may have violated Sunshine Law

From The Complete Colorado: Denise Montagu, who was elected to the Thompson School District board in 2011, is quick to remind everyone multiple times at board meetings the purpose behind Proposition 104 but seemed to have missed other key parts of Colorado’s open meetings law. It’s possible her announcement violated the basic premise of it.

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Opinion: Let the sun shine in on ballot measures via basic fiscal facts

From The Colorado Statesman: The days of playing “20 questions” with petition circulators about the fiscal facts of a proposed ballot initiative are coming to a close thanks to a landmark law Gov. Hickenlooper signed into law this week. House Bill 1057, which passed with solid bipartisan support, will give voters a clear and unbiased fiscal impact statement on the petition form, allowing Coloradans access to critically important data as they consider if they will sign their names in support.

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Opinion: Colorado blazes the path on oil and gas data

From the Environmental Defense Fund: May has been a banner month for transparency of the oil and gas industry. The state-run, national hydraulic fracturing chemical disclosure database released chemical information of nearly 100,000 wells in raw digital format. Colorado’s Oil and Gas Conservation Commission put two key datasets online that will also increase what we know about oil and gas development.

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Yelp review gets couple sued

From FOX31 (Denver): A Jefferson County couple never thought a Yelp review would get them slapped with a lawsuit. A year later, Matt White’s Yelp review cost him $65,000 in legal fees. That’s about twice what he says he had to spend to get his new wood floors fixed by two companies.

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9Wants to Know tests state lawmaker email policy

From 9NEWS (Denver): After revealing all 100 Colorado lawmakers use private email to conduct the public’s business, 9Wants to Know tested the transparency of their email policy.

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