CalMatters: California regulators obscured records in hazardous waste rulemaking. “California’s hazardous waste regulator added hundreds of pages of federal road accident reports to a rulemaking record — then gave the public a broken link to access them and directed anyone who wanted to read them to submit a public records request. The documents, obtained by Earthjustice through such a […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/04/02/calmatters-california-regulators-obscured-records-in-hazardous-waste-rulemaking/

Axios: Exclusive: Trump’s DOJ says he’s not required to turn over official records. “President Trump’s Justice Department has concluded that a federal law requiring presidential records to be turned over to the government is unconstitutional, a senior White House official tells Axios.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/04/02/exclusive-trumps-doj-says-hes-not-required-to-turn-over-official-records-axios/

New Hampshire Bulletin: Political consultant begins live streaming NH Executive Council meetings on YouTube. “The New Hampshire State House isn’t always known for being technologically savvy, but the Executive Council moved a step further into the digital age Wednesday with a meeting live stream…. On Wednesday, Chris Maidment, a political consultant for Councilors John Stephen and David […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/04/01/new-hampshire-bulletin-political-consultant-begins-live-streaming-nh-executive-council-meetings-on-youtube/

The Assembly: Public Records Must Be Produced ‘Promptly.’ How Did N.C. Towns Do?. “In conjunction with Sunshine Week, an annual celebration of open government and public records, NC Local, The Assembly, WFAE, and WUNC requested the same set of emails from North Carolina’s 20 largest cities at the same time. Some provided the documents within minutes. Others placed the requests into queues […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/03/31/the-assembly-public-records-must-be-produced-promptly-how-did-n-c-towns-do/

Key Biscayne Independent: Censorship by invoice? Village starts charging $70 an hour for public records after settlement of gag policy lawsuit. “Village Manager Steve Williamson won’t say if his new policy to charge for public documents once free applies only to the media – like his media gag policy did. Still, theIndependent is now being charged for receiving government emails, which for […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/03/26/key-biscayne-independent-censorship-by-invoice-village-starts-charging-70-an-hour-for-public-records-after-settlement-of-gag-policy-lawsuit/

Former Alberta cabinet minister accuses government of killing key tool for scrutiny
New rules are now in effect in the Alberta legislature that one opposition member has warned will effectively allow the government to duck some queries for years.
#Politics #AlbertaLegislature #PeterGuthrie
https://globalnews.ca/news/11742884/alberta-legislature-procedural-rule-changes/

Former Alberta cabinet minister accuses government of killing key tool for scrutiny
New rules are now in effect in the Alberta legislature that one opposition member has warned will effectively allow the government to duck some queries for years.
#Politics #AlbertaLegislature #PeterGuthrie
https://globalnews.ca/news/11742884/alberta-legislature-procedural-rule-changes/

Yale University: Removing Government Notices from Newspapers Reduces Citizen Participation in Decision-Making . “In some states, lawmakers want to eliminate a centuries-old requirement to publish public notices about local government actions in newspapers. A study of Florida co-authored by Yale SOM’s Anya Nakhmurina found that weakening this rule appeared to decrease residents’ engagement […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/03/22/yale-removing-government-notices-from-newspapers-reduces-citizen-participation-in-decision-making/

StateScoop: New York City to host 10th annual Open Data Week. “The event, which originally launched as part the city’s 2012 Open Data law, will feature more than 80 free or low-cost in-person and virtual programs, including a new documentary film festival, a data art exhibition, a two-day conference and daily classes teaching residents how to make use of the city’s 6.3 billion rows of data.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/03/20/statescoop-new-york-city-to-host-10th-annual-open-data-week/

Fired. Replaced. Silenced. Federal inspectors who protect your programs are under attack. How far does this go? ⚡🇺🇸
🔗 https://tinyurl.com/2tdrcy4y
#FederalOversight #GovernmentTransparency #Watchdogs #PolicyMatters #CivicImpact #Underreported #News #MainstreamMedia #Alaska #KnikRiverBridge #Infrastructure
🔽 Former Veterans Affairs Inspector General Michael J. Missal, removed in January 2025 during a purge of federal watchdogs. His office had been investigating safety risks in VA programs.