Free Republic

LOS ANGELES (AP) - As a candidate, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger promised to illuminate the inner workings of Sacramento the way klieg lights bring sunshine to a movie set. No more back-room handshakes and whispers, no more money-for-favors legislating. "I will work to reform government by bringing openness and full disclosure to public business," the governor said on his inauguration day. As the former Hollywood actor marks his first 12 months in office Wednesday, his plan to usher in a new era of transparency at the statehouse remains a work in progress, even by the account of his staff. While Schwarzenegger...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Only days after California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 59 to increase the public's ability to inspect government records, a media-backed group is asking Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to release all his appointment calendars, schedules and meeting logs since taking office last Nov. 17. The California First Amendment Coalition, a group of journalists and civic activists formed in 1988, mailed the request to Schwarzenegger on Wednesday, the day Proposition 59 took effect in the state's constitution. The move represents an opening salvo among Proposition 59 supporters, who are urging aggressive requests statewide for government records from the state, schools,...