{"id":11399,"date":"2014-11-17T09:32:43","date_gmt":"2014-11-17T14:32:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/?p=11399"},"modified":"2014-11-17T10:55:45","modified_gmt":"2014-11-17T15:55:45","slug":"open-government-symposium-lcc-2014-11-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2014\/11\/open-government-symposium-lcc-2014-11-21.html","title":{"rendered":"Open Government Symposium @ LCC 2014-11-21"},"content":{"rendered":"

\r\nNot the Onion: VDT front page Saturday 15 November 2014,\r\n\r\nCounty plans open government meeting Friday<\/a>,\r\n

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\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nVALDOSTA — An Open Government Symposium this Friday in\r\nValdosta will be hosted by the Lowndes County Board of\r\nCommissioners.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nValdosta Daily Times Editor Jim Zachary, director of the\r\nTransparency Project of Georgia, will be joined by Hollie Manheimer,\r\nexecutive director of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation, for\r\nthe open government training event.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nLowndes County leaders approached Zachary and Manheimer about\r\nbringing the symposium to Valdosta after they attended the first in\r\na statewide series of open government training sessions held in\r\nMacon at the Center for Collaborative Journalism Oct. 17.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nThe article noted that Commissioner Clay Griner was among the\r\nattendees at\r\n\r\nthe previous symposium in Macon<\/a>\r\nand had asked for this local meeting.\r\n

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\r\nAll the events are free and open to the public. Free materials are\r\nalso provided to each attendee.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nOrganizers are encouraging elected officials, government attorneys,\r\nstaff, records custodians, journalists, community activists,\r\nwatchdog groups, representatives of nonprofits that receive\r\ngovernment funding, members of boards and commissions, students and\r\nanyone who has an interest in transparency and more accountable\r\ngovernment to attend.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n“Our primary goal is to help create a culture for open\r\ngovernment across Georgia and incubate a climate that will send a\r\nstrong message to state lawmakers the people of Georgia have an\r\nexpectation of transparency,” Zachary said. “We are not\r\nagainst\r\ngovernment, but we are for taxpayers and ordinary citizens who are\r\noften frustrated when it comes to their access to records and\r\nmeetings.”\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nThe symposium will focus on:\r\n<\/p>\r\n