Keep reading for today’s look at #OpenGov news, events and analysis including an attack on open financial data in the House, censorship in Russia, and the difference between open data and transparency in New York.

National News

• The House Ethics Committee turned to its own rank while looking for a new Staff Director. Tom Rust, who previously served the committee in a variety of less prominent roles, was promoted to staff director and chief counsel. (Roll Call)
• Former Lobbyist David Jolly won the special election to fill a Florida House seat this week, becoming the second former lobbyist to win a major election this year. (POLITICO)
• The House Financial Services Committee approved a bill that would exempt large numbers of small and medium companies, totaling 60% of all U.S. firms, from reporting their financial statements to the SEC in open formats. (Data Transparency Coalition)

International News

• Russia shut down three opposition news portals as well as the personal blog of high profile opposition leader Alexey Navalny. (Global Voices)
• School children in Bangladesh were exposed to a day long lession on corruption, that taught them about its dangers in a fun and engaging way…with cartoons! (Transparency International)
• On the 25th anniversary of the world wide web’s founding one of it’s fathers, Tim Berners-Lee, is calling for a digital “Magna Carta,” arguing that the independent architecture and freedom that the Internet was founded on is under great strain. (Ars Technica)

State and Local News

• Philadelphia is embracing GitHub as a way to share its data releases. (Technical.ly Philly)
• Open data and transparency are not necessarily the same thing. “A government can produce a huge amount of open data without being transparent.” New York State has both, but is missing transparency in a few key spots. (Reinvent Albany)

Events Today 3/14

• National Freedom of Information Day. Newseum. Fri. 3/14. 555 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Knight Conference Center, Washington, DC 20001.

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