You are browsing the archives of October 2010.

As promised last August in response to the Bell salary scandal, State Controller John Chiang has collected salary data for all California city and county employees to create an online database. This data has always been public information, but few local governments had made it readily available.

Last weekend, the Wall Street Journal published an article discussing the importance of verifying financial advisers’ credentials. The WSJ identified more than 200 credentials that financial advisers append to their names, most of which appear indistinguishable to the average consumer. However, the requirements to earn these credentials varies greatly.

Personal and business financial records are generally not accessible as public records. However, financial assets are typically disclosed in divorce filings and are thus backed into the public record.

International Right to Know Day was September 28. In keeping with the right to know spirit, we are presenting a four part series on freedom of information acts passed worldwide. We start with an overview on the US Freedom of Information Act.