Posted in Open Records on Mar 31st, 2008 No Comments »
For all the bad stuff that went on behind its closed doors, the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Association has proved a treasure trove for award-winning journalists, who persevered through thick stonewalling to open the state-run student loan agency to public scrutiny . . . and in the process helped change Pennsylvania’s 50-year-old Right-to-Know law, which […]
Posted in Open Records on Mar 28th, 2008 No Comments »
• From Virginia . . .
… We want to know what our politicians are doing and, of equal import, why they are doing it. That’s why journalists and community activists alike remain ever vigilant on the lookout for attempts to revise state laws to allow more secrecy and for efforts to skirt the existing law. […]
Posted in Open Records on Mar 26th, 2008 1 Comment »
• Thomas Jefferson once said that if he had to choose between a nation with government and no newspapers, or one with newspapers and no government, he’d always choose the latter.
Jefferson was no fan of intrusive Revolutionary War era media. He was a constant target of scurrilous coverage. But Jefferson also cherished the role of […]
Posted in Open Records on Mar 24th, 2008 No Comments »
Beginning this Wednesday, March 26, Teri Henning, general counsel for the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association, will lead a series of workshops around the state. The indefatigable Ms. Henning has set a schedule of two-a-days for herself that would exhaust both the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers and makes the Nittany Lions’ spring practice schedule look […]
Posted in Open Records on Mar 20th, 2008 No Comments »
This is “Sunshine Week” across the United States – a time to reflect on and discuss the importance of open government and the freedom of information. It is the critical flip side of the Right-to-Know efforts that resulted in a new open records law earlier this year.
The Sunshine Act refers to open meetings, and it […]
Posted in Open Records News on Mar 18th, 2008 No Comments »
Saying that West Virginia University “has engaged in a constant and consistent practice of delay, evasion and concealment” in violation of West Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette will sue the university for failing to comply with the state’s open records law. Excerpts from the article follow:
The newspaper alleges the university committed numerous […]
Posted in Open Records on Mar 14th, 2008 No Comments »
Two powerful and high-profile politicians announce their intention to leave office on the same day. Although their stories are completely unrelated, each is leaving under a cloud. And that cloud may also be taken as a symbol of the secrecy under which they both operated. Is there a connection to be made to open records […]
Posted in Open Records on Mar 13th, 2008 No Comments »
• The Pittsburgh Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists is hosting the Region 4 Conference – “Digital Democracy” tomorrow and Saturday (March 14 & 15) at the Omni William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh.
One of the panel discussions will be on “Open Records Laws: Forum & Update,” which will compare open records laws in Pennsylvania, […]
Posted in Open Records on Mar 12th, 2008 No Comments »
Some officials need a change of attitude
So recently opined the Reading Eagle, noting that bringing real transparency to state and local governments in Pennsylvania will require not just opening public records but changing official attitudes as well.
The example, as reported initially by the Patriot-News of Harrisburg, involved the refusal by officials of Dauphin County to […]
Posted in Open Records on Mar 11th, 2008 No Comments »
I know that everyone wants to focus on the feel-good news. We have a new open records bill, passed unanimously by the Senate and the House and signed with some – not a lot, but some – fanfare by the governor. And that’s fine.
But it doesn’t hurt to remember why we needed a new law […]