Keep reading for today’s look at #OpenGov news, events, and analysis, including expanding whistleblower court options, a data refresh in San Francisco, and five years of data.gov. 

National News

• Data.gov is marking its five year anniversary. Five years in, it hosts more than half a million data resources and is moving into a new phase. (Fed Scoop)
• Senator Patrick Leahy, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, is pushing for a reversal to the decision that resulted in the removal of thousands of cases from the PACER system. (Ars Technica)
• Despite recent setbacks, the campaign finance reform movement is far from finished. Is Silicon Valley playing a growing role in the movement? (National Journal)
• Y Combinator, a top tech accelerator, is turning its attention and potentially its wallet towards government focused start ups. (Gov Fresh)
• The Senate voted unanimously to expand a pilot program that gives whistleblowers the ability to appeal Merit Systems Protection Board rulings in a wider array of courts than previously. The bill passed the House earlier this summer and is heading to President Obama’s desk. (Government Executive)

International News

• Three members of the Transparency International chapter in the Philippines share their experiences fighting corruption in the country. (Transparency.org)

State and Local News

• San Francisco is out with a new Strategic Open Data Plan and relaunched its DataSF portal as part of the initiative. The portal was redesigned with an eye towards simplicity. (Digital Communities)
• The Washington State Court of Appeals was unanimous in its decision that call records and text messages send from a county prosecutor’s persona cell phone aren’t private if they are related to public business. (Union Bulletin)

Events This Week

•  Dirty Entanglements: Corruption, crime, and terrorism. George Mason University. Mon. 9/15. 12:00 – 1:30 pm. George Mason University, Arlington Campus, 3351 Fairfax Drive, Founders Hall, Room 111, Arlington, vA 22201.
• The Archive Thief: Zosa Szajkowski and the salvaging of French Jewish history. Woodrow Wilson International Center. Mon. 9/15. 4:00 – 5:30 pm. Woodrow Wilson Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave NW, 6th Floor Moynihan Boardroom, Washington, DC 20004.
• Seminar: Evaluating Transparency Initiatives Using Field Experiments. Inter-American Development Bank. Tues. 9/16. 9:00 am. 1300 New York Ave NW, Room Andres Bello 1.
• Innovative State: How new technologies can transform government. Hooks Books. Tues. 9/16. 6:00 – 7:30 pm. Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital, 921 Pennsylvania Ave SE.
• Markup: The Inspector General Empowerment Act, among other business. House Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Wed. 9/17. 12:00 pm. 2154 Rayburn House Office Building.
• Legislative Hearing on H.R. 5066, to reauthorize the National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation Program Act of 2005 through 2019, and other legislation. House Committee on Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources. Wed. 9/17. 2:00 pm. 1324 Longworth House Office Building.
• Examining ObamaCare’s Failures in Security, Accountability, and Transparency. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Thurs. 9/18. 11:00 am. 2154 Rayburn House Office Building.
• Creating Value from Government Data: The next wave of data-driven innovation. Center for Data Innovation. Thurs. 9/18. 11:30 am – 1:00 pm. Capitol Visitor Center, SVC-215, East Capitol Street, NE and 1st Street, NE.
• How Billionaires are Reshaping Politics, Philanthropy, and Society. Brookings Institution. Fri. 9/19. 10:00 – 11:30 am. 1775 Massachusetts Ave NW, Falk Auditorium, Washington, DC 20036.

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.