On April 7, federal agencies released their individual plans to be more transparent, participatory, and collaborative, pursuant to the Obama administration’s Open Government Directive (OGD). The plans varied in scope and quality, but several interesting trends were noticeable. As agencies update their plans, these trends may become baselines for open government or may be abandoned, depending on how successful key agencies' plans prove to be.
On May 3, a group of open government experts, including OMB Watch, released a 
In the wake of the latest coal mining disaster that killed 29 miners at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia, calls for safety reforms and enhanced regulatory powers echo once again. While mine safety has improved since the recent high death toll of 2006, it remains to be seen if this incident will result in significant changes or if deaths and injuries will continue to be perceived as a cost of doing business.
Of the $38.6 billion worth of contracts and grants obligated to Iraq and Afghanistan during fiscal year 2008 and the first half of fiscal year 2009 by the Department of Defense (DOD), the Department of State (State), and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), roughly $1 billion went to contractors to help administer some of the contracts and grants. A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) 
On April 15, the Institute for Justice (IJ) filed a lawsuit on behalf of two volunteer groups challenging part of Washington State's grassroots lobbying disclosure law as a violation of their First Amendment rights to free speech, assembly, and petition. In