On barks, botulism and bridges
Aug 10th, 2007 by dani_k
An interesting piece from Monday’s Morning Call about kennel inspections reveals that the Dept. of Ag. has dropped the “final grade” on inspections because the “satisfactory” rating was pretty much a given. Hmm…so they finally post the results online, but the inspections are pretty much useless?
Keep reading and I bet you’ll see a pattern.
We’ve already blogged on the spotty availability of restaurant inspections around the state. Open and available in one borough, closed and impossible to obtain in the next. So hey! Just think about restaurant cleanliness as a surprise - you never know what you’re gonna get!
Also on Aug. 6, Kori Walter of the Beaver County Times & Allegheny Times brought up PennDOT’s reticence in sharing bridge inspections.
On Tuesday, the 7th, Post-Gazette reported that Rep. Babette Josephs, D-Philadelphia, pushed for the inspection records, saying, “the more information that the driving and [transit] riding public has, the smoother things go. There should be no withholding of publicly financed studies, reports, documents, rankings, etc., when matters pertaining to life and death are at stake, as unfortunately is the case in regards to structurally deficient bridges.”
Of course, two days later when they reversed their decision, PennDOT Secretary Allen Biehler said, “The numbers help our engineers monitor the structures,” reported by the Patriot-News. “A low rating does not mean a bridge is unsafe.” So bridge inspections are useless too?
The AP’s Marc Levy called it a lesson for state legislators on why open records reform is needed - “In front of them, the state’s top highway official reversed a decision his agency had made to withhold bridge safety ratings from the public.” After Biehler testified, Carl Lavin of the Philadelphia Inquirer spoke of several instances where public pressure has brought about a reversal in the decision to share public records.
How can this happen? Because Pennsylvania’s current definition of a public record - which is limited to limited to an account, voucher or contract, or a minute, order or decision - is…you guessed it! Useless!
Evidently, a lot of people feel strongly about open records, because the Post-Gazette reported that 17 people testified at the HB 443 hearing. The Gaming Board, which received a lot of scrutiny in the hearing, says they are bound by Act 71 - which created the Board - and the State’s Uniform Secrets Act (that’s the same Act PHEAA tried to hide behind) from releasing information to those who request it, according to the Patriot-News.