Today in #OpenGov 8/28/2014

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Keep reading for today’s look at #OpenGov news, events, and analysis, including brewery politics, an “election” in Turkey, and Civic Ninjas.  A newspaper with the headline Open Gov

National News

  • Despite an increasing amount of frustration with Congress and politics, campaign finance reform has not become a major campaign issue. (Washington Post)
  • New Belgium Brewery, America’s third largest craft brewery, is dipping its toes into the political waters with a new PAC. The company plans to focus on brewery specific legislation as well as topics, such as water quality and sustainable transportation, that it sees as key to its mission and morals. (National Journal)
  • A new health data reporting tool that allows organizations using it to easily get their public data online. Various states are now using the standardized system. (Government Technology)
  • Consumer’s have personal data about their habits sold, traded, and used for a variety of reasons. There is little transparency in this process and consumers have little access to information about themselves. This post tries to outline a reasonable system of transparency for consumer data. (Ad Exchanger)

International News

  • Turkish citizens participated in their first direct presidential election this month, but there have been a number of red flags indicating that the vote was not as open or transparent as it should have been. (Transparency International)

State and Local News

  • New York City is embracing the positive impact that easy to understand transportation data can have on the average commuter’s day. The City’s Department of Transportation has a mobile friendly site that puts all that information in one place. (Government Executive)
  • Civic Ninja’s, a civic hacking group, is looking to build long term solutions with a focus on disaster response and recovery efforts. (Government Technology)

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