Today in OpenGov: The future of the US City Open Data Census, first US CISO and more

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A screenshot of Anchorage has been one of the more active cities in the Census this past year.
Anchorage, Alaska, has been one of the more active cities in the census this past year.

PARSING: Richard Yarrow collected and analyzed the feedback Sunlight has received on the US Open Data Census over the summer and shared it in a new post on the blog. Big improvements are coming! [READ MORE]

THIS ONE TIME, AT TRANSPARENCYCAMP. Registration is open for TransparencyCamp in Cleveland on October 14-15! Please submit a session, spread the word and come! [REGISTER]

CAMPAIGN 2016

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and Republican presidential nominee participated in the Commander-in-Chief Forum last night in New York. Video is below. [Transcript]

  • The forum offered a preview of the debates to come. [New York Times]
  • NBC News personality Matt Lauer’s performance as a moderator was widely panned for his failure to hold candidates accountable. [Intercept] [New York Times]
  • NBC executives know how badly it went. Here’s hoping Lester Holt prepares well for the moderator’s chair. [CNN]
  • Clinton held a press conference this morning. [Transcript]
  • The Justice Department’s Inspector General issued a scathing report on the agency’s unacceptable performance on compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act. [POGO]
  • House Democrats published two emails sent by former Secretary of State Colin Powell to Clinton about his use of personal email and mobile device in office. [Politico]
  • Add VotePlz.org to Vote.gov and Vote.org as ways to help get people registered to vote online — at least in the states that offer online voter registration.

NATIONAL

  • Brigadier General (retired) Gregory J. Touhill is the nation’s first chief information security officer. He’s currently the deputy assistant secretary of cybersecurity and communications in the Office of Cybersecurity and Communications at the Department of Homeland Security, where, according to the White House, he “focuses on the development and implementation of operational programs designed to protect our government networks and critical infrastructure.” Grant Schneider, the Director for Cybersecurity Policy on the National Security Council staff at the White House, will be the Acting Deputy CISO. We expect to hear more about their technical skills, knowledge and strategy for securing the nation’s critical infrastructure soon. [WhiteHouse.gov]
  • At the National Security Archives, Nate Jones explains why government email should be to subject the Freedom of Information Act. As with Mike Morisy’s piece yesterday, this is a must-read. [NSArchives]
  • U.S chief data scientist D.J. Patil took questions on Quora. [Quora]
  • FBI Director Jim Comey defended the release of documents related to his agency’s investigation of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server in office. [CNN]
  • Airbnb adopted new policies and technologies to fight discrimination on its platform for housing, issuing a report on this issue. [New York Times]
  • Experts say the risk of hostile nations tampering with the U.S. election system this fall is real. Until the security issues that persist online are addressed, online voting shouldn’t be on the table. [CSOOnline]

State and local

  • The Wisconsin Supreme Court is going to hear an open records case. [WISN]
  • The Baltimore Police have been testing an aerial surveillance system since January 2016 — but they failed to inform the public. [Bloomberg]

International

  • The United Kingdom’s armed forces have engaged in military operations ever year over the past 100 years. The UK government has not always kept the public informed about what those forces are doing and where. [Guardian]

EVENTS

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We want to find and share the most important stories about open government around the world from the past 24 hours here. To do that, we’ll need YOUR help. Please send your tips and feedback at ahoward@sunlightfoundation.com. If you would like suggest an event, email us by 7 a.m. on the Monday prior to the event.