The John Locke Foundation is undertaking a “major initiative” to urge state and local officials to develop transparency Web sites. JLF Vice President for Outreach Becki Gray explained that initiative Thursday in an opinion piece for The Charlotte Observer. In related news, newspapers such as The Winston-Salem Journal continued this week to pick up an Associated Press story about the policy of Gov. Mike Easley’s administration to warn public information officers against returning JLF phone calls. As Easley prepared to assemble a panel to discuss the proper way to preserve e-mail messages sent to executive branch employees, the Raleigh News & Observer‘s “Under the Dome” blog highlighted Meck Deck blogger Jeff Taylor‘s recommendations for adding an outsider to the panel discussions. Once that panel held its first meeting Thursday, Carolina Journal executive editor Don Carrington discussed the group’s work with Bill LuMaye on the WPTF afternoon radio program.