News roundup
Nov 1st, 2007 by dani_k
In a Monday editorial, Philadelphia Inquirer says, “Lawmakers should be guided by openness and access, not loopholes.”
The next day, the Centre Daily Times said “The General Assembly should consider adopting a new state slogan. You’ve got a friend in Pennsylvania. We just won’t tell you who it is.” That same day, the Chambersburg Public Opinion noted the irony of “Legislative ‘leaders’ need[ing] more time to meet in secret before they can discuss open records legislation on the House floor?” and the Philadelphia Daily News wrote that as they consider open records reform, “lawmakers better get wise: When it comes to ethics, Pennsylvanians aren’t afraid to throw the bums out.”
In case you were wondering, the polling place policy I blogged about on Sunday has been rescinded by the Governor. And the Pittsburgh property record debate has been reported on again by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - their research has shown that 16 of PA’s 67 counties sallow for the name-based searching that Onorato is trying to drop. Beaver County won’t honor requests to remove names from their system, the story says, because it’s public record. Bravo, Beaver Countians!
The FOI/FYI blog of the Society of Professional Journalists calls HB443, as amended, “lame.”
And finally, the Allentown Morning Call reports that Bucks County restaurant inspections are on their own website and will soon be added to the PA Dept. of Ag website. I wrote about restaurant inspections beginning in June, and if you live in one of the areas where you can’t find your local restaurant inspections, make a mental note to check the Ag site again, says the Morning Call. “According to state and local officials, Allentown and Bethlehem inspections should be online in coming months. Inspections of establishments in Philadelphia, Wilkes-Barre, Harrisburg and Erie also should be online soon, according to Agriculture Press Secretary Chris Ryder.”