Above: Every get the feeling you've done this before?

Today is Groundhog Day. So the International Brotherhood of Hack Writers commands that we come up with something that has to do with the feeling that we've already lived through this day before. (If Harold Ramis got a residual for every time somebody used that metaphor, he'd be very, very rich.)

So, we give you GRAMA WATCH. The effort is new. The issue never goes away.

- GRAMA WATCH: Keeping an eye on government - Salt Lake Tribune Editorial

Last year’s legislative assault on Utahns’ right-to-know laws came out of the dark and caught nearly everybody by surprise. Thus the rapid rise and ugly fall of HB477 was itself a textbook example of what goes wrong when government policy is made in secret.
This year, The Salt Lake Tribune and its many partners in the Utah Media Coalition have launched GRAMA WATCH at utahsright.com/grama. It is an effort to keep a public eye on pending legislation that may have an effect, good or bad, on the openness of Utah government.
The watch list, as of Wednesday, included four bills, only one of which is judged by the coalition to be a threat to the public’s right to know. That one, HB304, would remove from public records the full birth dates of those who have registered to vote in Utah. ...
...A neutral “Pale Light” rating has been given to a companion bill, SB18, to remove from public view the email addresses of voters. That data is not required for verification of election conduct, and it does open up voters to unwanted spam.
The coalition gives the positive “Bright Light” rating to two other bills, SB45 and HB89, which would force more legislative caucuses to be held in public. Such a practice, had it been in effect last year, could have prevented the whole HB477 debacle from happening in the first place.

- GRAMA WATCH will keep an eye on government’s openness - Nancy Conway, The Salt Lake Tribune

- Push for local government reforms - Munster (Ind.) Times Editorial

- Lawmakers should respect citizen's wish for openness - Mason City (Iowa) Globe Gazette Editorial

- Wisconsin needs more disclosure of campaign contributions, not less - Racine (Wis.) Journal-Times Editorial

- Diner debate - Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World Editorial

It’s hard to imagine that dinner meetings at the governor’s mansion with Republican committee majorities were simple social gatherings.