Newsletter of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to helping Coloradans understand and use their rights of access to the records and proceedings of government and the judiciary.
CFOIC report: Comparing Colorado with other states on public access to criminal justice records
A new analysis of open records laws in all 50 states highlights several ways Colorado legislators could make criminal justice records more accessible to journalists and the public.
Critics call for more oversight after investigation reveals Colorado court bureaucrats tried to abuse taxpayer money
The Denver Post: An independent investigation into the Colorado Judicial Department that laid bare significant misconduct by top administrators has added fuel to reform efforts and calls for oversight since it was made public.
Audio captured Douglas County school board members giving ultimatum to former superintendent: 'We don't want to make this super-public'
The Denver Post: The audio was filed in district court as part of the lawsuit Highlands Ranch resident Robert Marshall filed against the Board of Education, alleging the four majority members on the school board decided to replace Wise after holding a series of private one-on-one discussions that violated the state’s open records law.
Steamboat Springs' open records requests to be managed with online platform
Steamboat Pilot & Today: The City of Steamboat Springs will launch an all-in-one platform, NextRequest, to handle open records requests through the Colorado Open Records Act.
The Durango Herald: Deniers are out to make certain Coloradans never again trust election results. It’s time to speak up and stop the hysterics. Even if the original lie came from your very own dad.
Report: Chief justice did not approve quid pro quo deal to silence threatened lawsuit
The Gazette: A multimillion-dollar Judicial Department contract awarded to a high-ranking employee facing firing was not the result of her threatened tell-all, sex-discrimination lawsuit but rather a desire to simply keep her employed, according to an eight-month investigation into the deal.
Weld County sheriff starts publishing names of judges who order inmate releases
9NEWS: A new daily report posted to the Weld County Sheriff's Office website names the judges who authorize the release of a selection of inmates in an effort to boost "community awareness."
This Colorado newspaper settled a billionaire's defamation suit. Then things got really ugly.
The Denver Post: The editor’s firing marks the latest upheaval in a tumultuous time for the 141-year-old mountain newspaper. News staff already had been highly critical of management’s handling of the lawsuit, including the decision not to publish a story about it.
Douglas County resident files another lawsuit against the school district over sunshine laws
Colorado Public Radio: The lawsuit filed against the district’s records manager asks a Douglas County District Court to require the records manager of Colorado’s third-largest district to explain why they won’t publicly share documents from a training retreat under the Colorado Open Records Act.
Colorado Supreme Court ignored subpoena for evidence in scandal inquiry, report says
The Denver Gazette: The Colorado Judicial Department – and by extension its Supreme Court – has refused to comply with a subpoena issued five months ago by the state's Commission on Judicial Discipline in its effort to force the high court's cooperation with its inquiry into the alleged coverup of misconduct by judges, the commission revealed.
Woodland Park RE-2 school board recall campaign moves into high gear
The Mountain Jackpot News: The petition came about after a group of parents filed a lawsuit against the school board. The lawsuit claimed that the board was not being transparent when it approved a memorandum of understanding to charter Merit Academy into the district.
We're launching a free tool for journalists to track source diversity
Chalkbeat: Chalkbeat and the Reynolds Journalism Institute are preparing to launch a free source diversity tracking tool, and now other journalists can sign up to be trained on it.
Six months into Ogden acquisition, Aspen Times newsroom looking different
Aspen Daily News: Sunday’s edition of The Aspen Times was two words shorter than it normally is. It was a subtle change on paper — in the masthead — but sent shockwaves through the newsroom and community.
Polis signs new law mandating disclosure of fracking chemicals
The Denver Gazette: Gov. Jared Polis signed legislation that requires manufacturers and users of hydraulic fracking chemicals to disclose to the state each chemical in their products.
Perry: The Sentinel is changing so we can keep it the same — local and all yours
Aurora Sentinel: The Sentinel is changing, primarily because a group of people understand this newspaper’s critical role in preserving a healthy democracy in the community and the region.
Rio Blanco Herald Times: It might seem like the Sunshine Laws — Colorado’s Open Records and Open Meetings Laws — are only of importance to journalists covering the activities of elected officials and special districts, but the laws themselves are designed to benefit everyone, including members of the general public.
Colorado Times Recorder: This article will outline how state legislators could abuse their offices for personal profit under the current set of laws governing ethics and disclosure, and what can be done to fix the broken system so that they no longer have the option to do so.
Colorado air pollution panel fails to fix whistleblower complaints, environmentalists say
The Colorado Sun: Environmental groups say a state science and policy panel failed to fix problems tagged by whistleblowers that the state broke EPA rules in how it sets pollution caps for companies, and that now the state will continue to rubber stamp unlawful permits and harmful emissions.
Right to record: Federal court may recognize First Amendment right to document police
Colorado Politics: Irizarry's lawsuit against Yehia could serve as the case that establishes for Colorado and five of its neighboring states that the First Amendment protects bystanders' right to record police officers who perform their duties in public.
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