NMFOG In the News

DECEMBER

NOVEMBER

Buffalo Thunder Slot Machine Makers Settle with State (Nov. 26) Santa Fe New Mexican

Krebs said he deleted UNM emails (Nov. 23) Albuquerque Journal

UNM Bungled Your Right To See Ex-AD’s Work Emails (Nov. 15) Albuquerque Journal

Silver City Daily Press Publisher to Lead State Newspapers (Nov. 13) Silver City Press

Searchlight New Mexico Hires Susan Boe (Nov. 11) Santa Fe New Mexican

Lawmakers propose limits on police videos to protect mentally ill (Nov. 9) Santa Fe New Mexican

OCTOBER

Open government group offers course on sunshine laws (October 30) – Albuquerque Journal

UNM’s Krebs encouraged staffers to purge emails (October 29) – Albuquerque Journal

Confusion reigns over public access to APD oversight communications (October 29) – Albuquerque Journal

Editorial: Rio Rancho gets schooled on its open records fees (October 28) – Albuquerque Journal

Local republicans look at state tax reform (October 27) – Silver City Daily Press and Independent

FOG class helps you request (or provide) public info like a pro (October 26) – New Mexico In Depth

AG: Rio Rancho overcharged for 911 records (October 21) – Albuquerque Journal

Developments in New Mexico (October 19) – National Center for Science Education

Overflow crowd opposes state’s proposed science standards (October 17) – NM Political Report

Governor Appoints2 to Stream Commission (October 13) – Albuquerque Journal

Land of Enchantment Lives Up to Name (October 10) – Las Cruces Sun-News

Enchanting Moments for a New Mexico Guest (October 8) – KRWG TV/FM

Sandra Fish Wind FOG Dixon Award (October 6) – New Mexico In Depth

NM Foundation For Open Government Hosts 2017 William S. Dixon First Amendment Freedom Awards (October 4) – Los Alamos Daily Post

IT’s time for New Mexico to get serious about open data (October 2) – NMPolitics.net

Holes in NM Open Records Law block your right to know (October 1) – NMPolitics.net

SEPTEMBER

Legislators Concerned About Spaceport; Crime Is Focus of ABQ Mayor’s Race (September 29) – KUNM

First Amendment Awards Luncheon set for Wed. (September 29) – Albuquerque Journal

New Mexico Supreme Court Strikes Down Judges Gag Order (September 28) – U.S. News and World Report

Supreme Court tosses judge’s gag order (September 27) – Albuquerque Journal
Santolina Developer Funds Attack Ad, PNM to Add More Solar (September 23) – KUNM
Gov. Martinez appoints new judge to state Court of Appeals (September 22) – Santa Fe New Mexican

The governor’s ‘pit bull’ (September 9) – Santa Fe New Mexican

$9 Million Lawsuit Filed Against Education Department For 232 Violations Of IPRA Law (September 8) – Los Alamos Daily Post

AUGUST

Top-rated charter school threatens suit against Rio Rancho district (August 25) – Albuquerque Journal

How much secrecy does Spaceport America need? (August 24) – Las Cruces Sun-News

DA’s Office changes approach to providing records online (August 23) – KRQE News 13

Transparency Problems Plague Spaceport America (August 23) – Las Cruces Sun-News

Grow limits don’t hurt medical cannabis program, health chief testifies (August 15) – Santa Fe New Mexican

Rep. Martinez requests cancer center review (August 4) – Silver City Daily Press

July News

Closed County Commission meetings on road disputes draw criticism (July 11) Santa Fe New Mexican

Dozens gather on Saturday to talk transparency and UNM Athletics (July 9) New Mexico Political Report

Rio Rancho’s fees gouging residents for public records (July 8) Albuquerque Journal

JUNE 2017

Transparency in Crisis in New Mexico (June 28) Santa Fe Reporte

OUR VIEW: City’s records fees must be changed (June 27) Rio Rancho Observer

Group cautions Doña Ana County against possible law violation (June 26) Las Cruces Sun-News

NMFOG: City records policy breaks state’s IPRA law (June 17, 2017) Rio Rancho Observer

Reporter’s lawsuit alleges that Martinez administration withheld law firm billing records for a year (June 2, 2017) Santa Fe Reporter

State faces new open records suit over pay to guv’s favored attorney (June 2, 2017) New Mexico Political Report

Reporter sues over access to public records (June 2, 2017) Albuquerque Journal

MAY 2017

Editorial: Bad governance bogs down good water policies (May 22, 2017) Albuquerque Journal

Open government group calls for another vote on fluoride (May 19, 2017) Albuquerque Journal

State paid $3M to family of Santa Fe woman killed by officer (May 18, 2017) Santa Fe New Mexican

Spaceport America economic impact lacks documentation (May 16, 2017) New Channel

State Police Continues Its Clandestine Ways (May 11, 2017) Rio Grande Sun

City being sued over alleged retaliation (May 10, 2017) Albuquerque Journal

UNM Foundation refuses to release requested documents (May 8, 2017) Albuquerque Journal

State police release names of man, officers in fatal SFPD shooting (May 3, 2017) Santa Fe New Mexican

City attorney refuses to ID victim, officer in shooting (May 2, 2017) Santa Fe New Mexican

Police share little on fatal shooting near El Dorado (May 1, 2017) Santa Fe New Mexican

APRIL 2017

Judge’s orders on privacy in Abruzzo trust trial defended (April 28, 2017) Albuquerque Journal

Legislators criticized for closed-door vote on vetoes (April 17, 2017) Taos News

Free press lawsuit against New Mexico governor nears its end (April 14, 2017) Columbia Journalism Review

APS faces public records suit form mother of student (April 12, 2017) New Mexico Political Report

Legislators draw criticism for closed-door meeting on vetoes (April 14, 2017) Santa Fe New Mexican

Legislators vote to sue Martinez over vetoes (April 13, 2017) Santa Fe New Mexican

Vetoes of Bills to Increase Transparency and Disclosure, and to Consolidate Elections (April 8, 2017) KRWG

Bills Flounder on Both Transparency, Secrecy in New Mexico (April 10, 2017) US News

MARCH 2017

Sunshine Week Was A Little Cloudy (March 22, 2017) Rio Grande Sun

It’s Sunshine Week All Year Long At Los Alamos County’s Records Department (March 17) Los Alamos Daily Post

NMFOG helps let the sunshine in (March 15) Valencia County News-Bulletin

Proposal for state ethics commission advances to full Senate (March 15) – Santa Fe New Mexican

Committee tables diversion bill (March 15) Silver City Daily Press

Editorial: Legislature should keep sun shining on records (March 13) Albuquerque Journal

Shinning a light on government keeps officials accountable (March 12) – Alamogordo Daily News

Senate panel backs bill to keep some spaceport business dealings secret (March 11) Santa Fe New Mexican

My View: Sunshine laws are for everyone (March 10) Santa Fe New Mexican

Senate OKs shielding rape victims’ identities (March 6) Albuquerque Journal

This State’s Government Wants To Restrict Public’s Right To Know (March 6) Daily Caller

New bill designed to protect sexual assault victims passes the Senate (March 6, 2017) KOB TV

Senate OKs bill redacting victim names from police reports (March 6, 2017) Santa Fe New Mexican

Senate OKs shielding rape victims’ identities (March 6, 2017) Albuquerque Journal

Public’s right to know at center of debate (March 6, 2017) Albuquerque Journal

Panel discusses New Mexico Sunshine Law, IPRA (March 3) Daily Lobo

NM high court hears arguments on criminal records (March 2, 2017) Farmington Daily Times

Panel OKs plan to ease review of amendments (March 1, 2017) Albuquerque Journal

FEBRUARY 2017

Effort to make college research secret stalls over fears it goes too far

Bill seeks to shield victims and witnesses in rape cases and similar crimes

State Sen. wants parents to have access to investigations into school police

Doña Ana County loses $90K open records lawsuit

Deleted words in policy bill cause stir

Game and Fish files suit to fight Land Commissioner’s records request

Editorial: Ethics proposals nothing without transparency

Nothing Fog-gy about stand of new director of New Mexico Foundation for Open Government

Senate committee kills bill to keep government job applications secret

Competing ethics proposals raise questions of secrecy and oversight

Secretary of State’s Office to put finance reports by legislators, government online

Setting the standard: Journal’s longtime editor made a difference inside, outside the newsroom

Bill would conceal IDs of applicants for public jobs

Moses named editor of Albuquerque Journal; Walz becomes senior editor

Measure to create new ethics commission clears first hurdle

Editorial: NM Senate leader attacks government accountability

Senator aims to exclude public job applicants from open records law

Proposed bill aims to limite job appliction records request

New NMFOG boss a fan of more transparency

Opinion: City was right to reject new fee on records

The ‘politics’ of wrangling data on the Gila

Commentary: About that bill to keep most gov’t employee applications secret

Department of Health kept key relationships hidden from public (December 2016) Santa Fe Reporter

Santa Clara may have violated Open Meetings Act (December 2016) Silver City Daily Press

Editorial: Public has a right to know Public Defender’s expenses (November 2016) Albuquerque Journal

Public defender won’t disclose cost of homebuilder Malinowski’s defense (November 2016) Albuquerque Journal

Voters Will Choose New Secretary of State, District Attorney Next Tuesday (November 2016) Rio Grande Sun

City should nix plan for new records fee (October 2016) The Las Cruces Sun-News

AG says APS violated open records law. Now they’re still denying a mother the documents (October 2016) New Mexico Political Report

Police interview man concerning fatal hit-and-run (October 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

“Confidential Sources or Methods” – Judge says police can’t always claim confidentiality when blocking records requests without first giving some proof (October 2016) SF Reporter

Dixon Award Winner Makes Painful Points (October 2016) Rio Grande Sun

Open government losing its way in New Mexico (October 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

CAP absorbs Water Commission (October 2016) Silver City Daily Press

Las Cruces City Council unanimously approves Stuart Ed as new city manager (October 2016) KVIA News

Dems: GOP left public in dark on bills (October 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

Come Celebrate Openness (September 2016) Rio Grande Sun

City may have broken law twice in search (September 2016) Las Cruces Sun-News

Councilors: No final decision on Las Cruces City Manager (September 2016) Las Cruces Sun-News

Does Las Cruces have a new city manager? (September 2016) Las Cruces Sun-News

Police academy board alters rules affecting public access (September 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

NMSU regents violated Open Meetings Act, sunshine group says (August 2016) NMPolitics.net

Police academy proposals raise transparency, access concerns (August 2016) The Associated Press

Policy academy proposed rules limit public disclosure, input (August 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

Martinez: There will ‘for sure’ be a special session (August 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

Judge orders Corizon to release settlement documents (August 2016) Albuquerque Journal

Corizon ordered to release settlement records (August 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

Over $26K of taxpayer money used for governor’s trips (August 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

Santa Fe, N.M., Launches Open Data Spending Portal (August 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

Corrections Department withholds Corizon investigation (August 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

State must deal with budget woes in the open (August 2016) Las Cruces Sun-News

Nonprofit urges lawmakers to hold open budget talks to public (July 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

Were Jail Inmates Victims Of Excessive Force? (July 2016) KUNM

Haussamen: NM budget committees should let in the public (July 2016) Las Cruces Sun-News

AG: Gila diversion group violated state open meetings law (July 2016) Silver City Daily Press

Possible excessive force sparks investigations at county jail (July 2016) New Mexico In Depth

Annual FOG event to honor commitment to transparency (July 2016) Albuquerque Journal

Lawsuit asks release of inmates’ medical settlements (July 2016) Albuquerque Journal

‘New Mexican,’ two other entities file suit against Corizon (July 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

City’s new website designed to make records requests easier (July 2016) Albuquerque Journal

SF’s finance committee OKs changes in rules for City Council meetings (July 2016) Albuquerque Journal

The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government (NMFOG) has selected four New Mexicans to receive NMFOG’s Dixon First Amendment Award (July 2016) Albuquerque Journal

N.M. book publisher sues Department of Education over reading-initiative records requests (July 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

Rubel: Tough decisions for NM must be made in public (July 2016) The Las Cruces Sun-News

AG won’t release Griego investigation records (July 2016) the Albuquerque Journal

Prison health care company settles lawsuits for nearly $4.6M (June 2016) The Associated Press

Guv’s office doesn’t keep financial records of contingency fund (June 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

City, Nature Conservancy resolve water dispute (June 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

Corizon paid $4.5M to settle inmate lawsuits (June 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

Results of food aid inquiry kept secret (June 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

NMSU Regents promise better Open Meetings Act compliance (June 2016) NMPolitics.net

Mystery vote on water dispute raises transparency issues at City Hall (June 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

Water dispute swells between Nature Conservancy, city (June 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

How one woman’s Kid quest evolved into a bigger records battle (June 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

Courts grapple with guarding of personal information (June 2016) Taos News

Free transparency seminar set for Las Cruces (June 2016) Las Cruces Sun-News

Ex-governor Richardson pleads no contest in hit-and-run case (May 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

Five more New Mexico agencies file responses in public records compliance audit (May 2016) KRWG

School board involved in order to fire coaches (May 2015) Silver City Daily Press

Las Cruces releases some city manager applications, withholds dozens more (May 2016) Las Cruces Sun-News

Are We Done Intervening? (May 2016) Rio Grande Sun

Public records audit details response of New Mexico offices (May 2016) Albuquerque Journal

The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government says it took anywhere from two days to several weeks for many government offices to respond to public records requests and more than a dozen failed to respond at all (May 2016) Associated Press

Sandia Resort bans reporters from state GOP convention (May 2016) Albuquerque Journal

State cites $250 cost for social worker list (May 2016) Albuquerque Journal

Council may walk back rejection of solar farm (May 2016) Farmington Daily Times

Las Cruces city manager search to continue (May 2016) Las Cruces Sun-News

Former mayor’s old Facebook page should be reopened, says judge, because it may have public info (May 2016) American Bar Association Journal

Judge: Former mayor’s Facebook page considered public record (May 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

NM Supreme Court considering rules for closing courtrooms (May 2016) Albuquerque Journal

Former Alamogordo Mayor, City found in violation of public records act (April 2016) Alamogordo Daily News

Cannabis out of Court: Open records advocates withdraw lawsuit in the wake of the state agreeing to lift secrecy surrounding cannabis producers (April 2016) Santa Fe Reporter

Lawsuit Dismissed As New Mexico Reveals Names Of Marijuana Producers (April 2016) KRWG

DON CHAPMAN: Videotaped meetings enhance county transparency (April 2016) Rio Rancho Observer

State mum on inmate health care oversight (April 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

Contract with state allows Corizon to keep its settlements secret (April 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

E-Mails Deleted In UNM Health Sciences Center Shakeup (April 2016) New Mexico In Depth

Regent left no paper trail for UNM Hospital shake-up (April 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

College Foundation Won’t Reveal Donors (April 2016) The Rio Grande Sun

Odds and Ends: NMFOG declares open meetings victory (April 2016) NM Political Report

A selection of Sunshine Week editorials (March 2016) Various media outlets

Appeals Court approves SIC settlements (March 2016) Albuquerque Journal

Victory for open meetings in Court of Appeals decision (March 2016) KRWG

LFC leader blasts closed subcommittee meeting on Medicaid cuts (March 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

After a bumpy start, AG’s office addressing sunshine-law complaints (March 2016) NMPolitics.net

Diversion scope still secret after bid award (March 2016) Silver City Daily Press

UNM Regents approve hospital oversight takeover (March 2016) NM Political Report

Legislative session casts shadow on Sunshine Week (March 2016) Albuquerque Journal

‘New Mexican’ fights Corrections Department to cover Old Main dig (March 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

NMFOG Offers State’s Only Online, Self-Paced Transparency Course (March 2016) The Cibola County Beacon

Ethics Enforcement Gap Remains Unaddressed (March 2016) KUNM

Money woes, political distractions kept ethics on the sidelines this session (Feb. 2016) New Mexico In Depth

State health dept. identifies medical pot producers (Feb. 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

Health Dept. to list med-pot growers on website today (Feb. 2016) Albuquerque Journal

Talking budget, ethics legislation on KUNM (Feb. 2016) New Mexico Political Report

New Mexico adopts new rules for medical marijuana producers (Feb. 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

Med pot transparency rules come with security concerns (Feb. 2016) New Mexico Political Report

Med Pot Secrecy to End: Health secretary says new cannabis confidentiality rules go into effect next week, grower information to be revealed (Feb. 2016) Santa Fe Reporter

Someone should turn on lights for Curry politics (Feb. 2016) Clovis News Journal

Editorial: Lawmakers must follow their own rules (Feb. 2016) Las Cruces Sun-News

Open-government group questions secret budget talks (Feb. 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

NM AG Promises more FOI enforcement (Jan. 2016) New Mexico In Depth

Commentary: Pulling Back The Curtain On State Government (Jan. 2016) New Mexico In Depth/KUNM

Visualizations, apps and open data: New Mexico can improve on making budget understandable (Jan. 2016) New Mexico In Depth

House targets what critics call Obama’s lack of openness (Jan. 2016) Albuquerque Journal

Our view: Whistleblower suit should be open (Jan. 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

New Mexico official: Illegal to keep names of marijuana producers secret (Jan. 2016) The Durango Herald

Gov. Martinez demanded public record, but she has been reluctant to give them up herself (Jan. 2016) The Santa Fe New Mexican

Fish over limit, Jade Helm make unusual news (Jan. 2016) Portales News-Tribune

Journal publisher emeritus dies at 69 (Dec. 2015) Albuquerque Journal

Court asked to void SIC suit settlements (Dec. 2015) Albuquerque Journal

Open records complaints take months, years to resolve (Dec. 2015) The Santa Fe New Mexican

Town of Taos to be more specific on executive session items (Dec. 2015) The Taos News

Priest sex abuse victim challenges ‘culture of secrecy’ (Dec. 2015) Albuquerque Journal

County Website Being Rebuilt (Dec. 2015) The Cibola County Beacon

State: Let’s clear the smoke about medical pot licenses (Nov. 2015) The Taos News

Santa Fe County Sheriff Requires Public Records Training (Nov. 2015) Rio Grande Sun

NM scores poorly on government accountability (Nov. 2015) Albuquerque Journal

State OKs plan for growing pot in Taos (Nov. 2015) The Taos News

Judge finds flaw in Gila diversion approval process (Nov. 2015) The Santa Fe New Mexican

Our view: Sheriff should release records (Nov. 2015) The Santa Fe New Mexican

Sheriff refuses to release unredacted report on married city cops (Nov. 2015) The Santa Fe New Mexican

County attorney-client meeting questioned (Oct. 2015) Clovis News Journal

New Mexico open government group marks 25th birthday (Oct. 2015) Albuquerque Journal

NYT investigative journalist: Albuquerque businesses should care about transparency (Oct. 2015) Albuquerque Business First

Clovis schools need to be transparent (Oct. 2015) Clovis News Journal

Faux Transparency: Citizens are on their own when trying to pull back the curtain on the government’s public records (Sept. 2015) Santa Fe Reporter

Cost of Public Records Denials on the Rise (Sept. 2015) ABQ Free Press

AG: Councilors who met with monitor didn’t violate meetings act (Sept. 2015) Albuquerque Journal

State ordered to pay legal fees to union in open records case (Sept. 2015) New Mexico Political Report

Lucky to live in an established democracy (Sept. 2015) Albuquerque Journal

How a watchdog journalist uncovered medical pot applicants (Sept. 2015) New Mexico Political Report

Information Pothole: State gives medical cannabis producers permission to expand operations but still keeps records secret (Aug. 2015) Santa Fe Reporter

Event illuminates ongoing fight against barriers to speech, press freedoms (Aug. 2015) The Santa Fe New Mexican

Artesia among top five small‐city websites (Aug. 2015) Artesia News

Rio Rancho, Santa Fe County tops in transparency audit of websites (Aug. 2015) NMPolitics.net

Open government group: Santa Fe County’s website is most transparent in state (Aug. 2015) Santa Fe New Mexican

FOG report: Las Cruces website in Top 5 for access to public information online (Aug. 2015) Las Cruces Sun-News

Task force tackles Ruidoso special events (Aug. 2015) Ruidoso News

State auditor quits using nonofficial email account (Aug. 2015) Albuquerque Journal

GOP criticizes auditor’s use of Gmail account for government business (Aug. 2015) The New Mexican

Bernalillo County agrees to release juvenile arrest information (July 2015) Albuquerque Journal

For the Record
Secrecy still abounds in the New Mexico Medical Cannabis Program (July 2015) Santa Fe Reporter

County, media spar over release of teens’ records (July 2015) Albuquerque Journal

New Mexico medical marijuana producers’ names to be released (July 2015) Washington Times

Watchdog questions legality of closed ISC meeting (July 2015) Silver City Daily Press

Journal editor, 3 others win open-government award (July 2015) Albuquerque Journal

Citizens push for webcasting in Hobbs (June 2015) NMPolitics.net

Public excluded from Senior Olympics board meeting (June 2015) Silver City Sun-News

Bid to limit powers of police oversight board losing steam (June 2015) AP

City keeps tourism bidders secret (June 2015) Albuquerque Journal

Council approves new records retention policy (June 2015) Albuquerque Journal

LCPS school board resolution raises Open Meetings Act questions (June 2015) Las Cruces Sun-News

Journalists not happy with new attempted restrictions by court (June 2015) NM Political Report

SIC votes for transparency on settlement agreements (May 2015) Albuquerque Journal

Pot Applicants Kept Secret: Health Department shields public records (May 2015) SF Reporter

Albuquerque official holds private meetings with councilors (May 2015) AP

City: It’s legal to ban videos at personnel hearings (May 2015) Albuquerque Journal

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Transparency and the 2015 Legislative Session (April 2015) New Mexico In Depth – Editorial by FOG Executive Director Susan Boe

KOB continually barred from taking cameras into public meetings (April 2015) KOB-TV 4

Few financial ties found between private attorney contracts, AG campaigns (April 2015) Santa Fe New Mexican

Panel Discusses Journalism And Officer-Involved Shootings (April 2015) KRWG

PRC examiner tried to squelch testimony (March 2015) Albuquerque Journal

Walt Rubel: Panel Thursday will look at transparency after police shootings (March 2015) Las Cruces Sun-News

Open-government bills a casualty in New Mexico legislative session; watchdogs see progress (March 2015) Associated Press

Lawmakers move to guarantee New Mexicans right to comment at public meetings (March 2015) New Mexico Watchdog

New Mexico Legislature may require public comment periods (March 2015) New Mexico In Depth in Las Cruces Sun-News

New Mexico Supreme Court denies Senate vacancy petition (March 2015) Albuquerque Journal

Don’t put our sunshine laws in the shade (March 2015) Albuquerque Journal – editorial by FOG President Greg Williams

Political battle underway to find replacement for NM senator days before end of session (March 2015) KOBTV 4

Review: NM does a poor job offering access to records (March 2015) Albuquerque Journal

Sunshine Lights the Way for Good Government (March 2015) KRWG – editorial by FOG president Greg Williams

Freedom of information, access issues in all 50 states (March 2015) The Washington Post

Supreme Court Narrows IPRA Damages (March 2015) SF Reporter

Private Email Use a Source of Friction in Many Statehouses (March 2015) The New York Times

Bill would seal internal statements in government probes (March 2015) Albuquerque Journal

2015 Legislature: Transparency in Government (March 2015) New Mexico In Focus

New Mexico House committee advances bill requiring super PACs to report names of donors (March 2015) Farmington Daily Times

Campaign finance disclosure bill OK’d in House committee (March 2015) Albuquerque Journal

Judge: New Mexico governor’s calendars aren’t public record (March 2015) Las Cruces Sun-News