Keep reading for today’s look at #OpenGov news, events, and analysis, including a White House departure, E-gov agencies, and disaster preparedness.  

National News

• Todd Park is stepping down from his position as Federal Chief Technology Officer. Park, who previously held the CTO role at HHS won’t be leaving government service entirely. He’s headed back to his home state of California to work recruiting tech talent to federal service. (E Pluribus Unum )
• Lobbying reports require only a vague amount on information about the issues that influencers are working on, leaving the public in the dark about the true plays being made. (Public Integrity)
• Opinion: Transparency is a means to make government work better. A response to critics who argue that openness contributes to gridlock. (Roll Call)

International News

• Agencies from Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, Singapore, and New Zealand are up for a FutureGov Award celebrating important E-government work. (FutureGov)
• There are many tools and organizations working to connect people around the world to democratic processes. This post highlights Poplus and its growing stable of components. (Democracy Works)

State and Local News

• Northern California suffered a significant earthquake this weekend. Appropriately, San Francisco, a city that knows a thing or two about dealing with natural disasters, recently partnered with design firm IDEO on an “open source emergency preparedness platform”. City72 Toolkit is designed to help emergency preparedness organizations promote community resilience and connection. (Govfresh)

Upcoming Events

• So Close but Yet So Far: Transatlantic democracy promotion and its outcomes in Eastern Europe and the South Caucuses. Elliot School of International Affairs. Wed. 8/27. 4:00 – 5:00 pm. 1957 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20052, Voesar Conference Room, Suite 412.

Do you want to track transparency news? You can follow the progress of relevant bills, court cases, and regulations using Scout. You can also get Today in #OpenGov sent directly to your preferred news reader. If you would like suggest an event, please email mrumsey@sunlightfoundation.com by 7 am on the Monday prior to the event.