Keep reading for today’s look at #OpenGov news, events and analysis including the continuing saga of Steve Stockman, a unique approach to open data in France, and a new Mayor in Pittsburgh. 

National News

• Scott MacFarlane, a reporter seeking documents about the shooting at the Washington Navy Yard last September, got a surprising message from the Navy’s FOIA public relations officer. Instead of the documents that he requested, an internal memo detailing why the Navy was planning to stonewall his FOIA request made it into MacFarlane’s inbox.  (POLITICO)
• 2014 looks to be a big year for open data and various players in the field are getting on the prediction train. In this piece the CEO of Socrata outlines some potential upcoming trends including new urban leaders, open data as a market, and more. (Nextgov)
• If all publicity really is good publicity Rep. Steve Stockman is doing something right. The Texas Congressman, who ran into numerous problems paying his congressional campaign committee’s bills but decided to run for Senate anyway, has registered a new, debt free vehicle to collect money for his primary run. (Public Integrity)

International News

• European members of the Open Government Partnership will head to Dublin, Ireland in May to discuss open government and launch their most recent action plans. (Silicon Republic)
• France’s open data platform, launched in December, has a unique twist. The portal hosts “certified” government data, but is also set up to accept and present data submitted by NGO’s, local governments, and more.  (Tech President)

State and Local News

• Bill Peduto, the new Mayor of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ran promising to clean up the city, going so far as to take a broom to his victory speech. He plans to do this, in part, by focusing on increasing transparency through technology. (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
• The South Carolina State Ethics Commission is facing a lawsuit alleging that it responded to a reporters FOIA request with a lie. The Commission claimed they had destroyed a letter to South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley detailing an ethics violation. The letter later appeared intact. (South Carolina Free Times)

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