The John Locke Foundation’s new NCTransparency.com Web site continues to attract media attention. Both the Rocky Mount Telegram and Chowan Herald have used the site to highlight transparency issues associated with their local governments.

From the Telegram article: “We’ve
heard a lot of chatter about government ‘transparency’ during the past year.
President Barack Obama pledged to make it a cornerstone of his administration.
Gov. Bev Perdue talked a lot about holding government agencies accountable for
their works. But how much access do we have when it comes to local governments?
The John Locke Foundation, a conservative think tank that likes to weigh in on
North Carolina issues, has launched a Web site that grades every county and
municipality in the state on accessibility to public records. Before we talk
about local grades, it’s important to understand that NCTransparency.com
assesses transparency only [based on] what’s available on government Web sites.
The grades don’t reflect how easy (or difficult) it might be to acquire public
records from a town hall or county administration building. Even with that in
mind, it’s clear that North Carolina local governments have a long way to
go.” The Herald adds: “NCTransparency.com, a Web site produced by the John Locke Foundation, is a new
effort to promote transparency in North Carolina. It connects citizens to
important information available online about state agencies, counties, school
systems and municipalities.”