U. students to local governments: Be more open

During a year of intensively studying information in the Internet age, a class of University of Utah honors students has developed a set of five guiding principles to help local governments throughout the state become more transparent.

"Information is the currency of democracy. It is the key to citizen engagement," said Theresa Krause, one of the honors "Think Tank" students who will unveil those guiding principles on Wednesday. "The Internet has made data available and changed the way we think about transparency and access to government."

Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker and Council Chairman Soren Simonsen are expected to be present to express their support for the Transparency Project during its formal introduction at the U.’s Hinckley Institute of Politics.

The project’s goal is to persuade all 270-plus county and city governments in Utah to adopt the principles. Salt Lake Tribune