On Monday, April 11, the city of Austin and City Council members filed separate responses to the open records lawsuit filed by online newsletter the Austin Bulldog alleging that the city and council had not “fully and promptly” responded to open records requests for copies of stored emails sent by various council members. The Bulldog sued under the Texas Public Information Act and Local Government Rec­ords Act; the defendants responded that the newsletter has no standing to sue under the LGRA and that the TPIA claims should be rejected by a state district court “on the grounds of mootness,” because the records requested by the Bulldog have either “been released or [are] in the process of being released.” On his website, Bulldog Publisher Ken Martin posted that further legal action will be determined by his evaluation of whatever additional materials the city may release.

This article appears in April 15 • 2011.

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Contributing writer and former news editor Michael King has reported on city and state politics for the Chronicle since 2000. He was educated at Indiana University and Yale, and from 1977 to 1985 taught at UT-Austin. He has been the editor of the Houston Press and The Texas Observer, and has reported and written widely on education, politics, and cultural subjects.