A growing number of city and county governments are joining class action suits that say online hotel brokers are stepping around tax obligations with their business practices.

. . . David Holmes with Homes & Walter, said he doesn’t really know how much money the counties could take in if a suit is won, but he explained why such a suit represents “free money for the county.”

We first reported on the problems Fort Bend County has with transparent government in,
County Refuses Open Records Request That Could Implicate County Clerk in Federal Privacy Violations

Texas Assistant Attorney General James Coggeshall ruled last month that the county acted improperly in withholding the audit report.

The National Association of Title Examiners and Abstractors is warning county officials of the threat they are exposing their constituents to by placing the records, including the often sensitive information they contain, over such an easily accessible medium. . .

Bernard Youngblood, the county register of deeds for Wayne County, Michigan, is considering having the county sell its own title insurance to residents after title insurance companies recently threatened to stop selling policies in his county.

According to documents provided to News for Public Officials by Akhilesh Agarwal, owner of Aditya International, the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has ordered that the default judgment rendered in Digital Filing Systems, Inc, vs. Aditya International by the District Court for the Eastern Division of Michigan should be vacated in part and the action remanded for additional findings of fact.
Read Federal Judge Orders County Imaging Software Destroyed

The legal action seeks to block the purchase or use of Diebold, Sequoia, ES&S, and Hart InterCivic touch- screen computerized voting systems. The lawyers say the systems have a well-documented history of problems with security, reliability, verifiability, and disability access.

Loving County, Texas is the smallest County in America with a population of 71 and a rich history of political intrigue.

The New York Times reported February 25, 2006 of a plot by factions within the Libertarian Freetowners to take control of County Government.

National Headlines Show Dangers of Online County Records

23-year-old drug user shows Police How He Used County Website to Steal Identities New York Times

Privacy for Pets? Yes. Privacy for People? No
Online Records: Gold Mine for Thieves, Stalkers, Terrorists CNS News

Data exposure: Counties across the U.S. posting sensitive info online Computer World

AP Names County Records Series "Investigative Report of the Year"

Sensitive: When private info is compromised, the public needs to know - quickly Lansing State Journal editorial

Registering to Vote May Lead to Identity Theft WTOP Radio