Monthly Archives: January 2009

Did your neighbor donate to Obama’s inauguration?

You can find out by going here. Or if you don’t care about whether your neighbor donated, but just want to know who did, you can find that out too. The president-elect’s inaugural committee made public the list of people … Continue reading

Posted in FOIA, Freedom of Information Act, Online records, Scott Blanchard | Leave a comment

A reader asks …

A reader e-mailed this story, which originated outside Pittsburgh and was disseminated across the state by The Associated Press, about a man who shot at government workers who had come on his property. The reader noted that police had not … Continue reading

Posted in Pennsylvania open records, Pennsylvania public record, Pennsylvania Right to Know, Right-to-Know Law, Scott Blanchard | 2 Comments

City police sign seems designed to dissuade

The following editorial will appear this week in the York Daily Record:   Maybe the York City Police Department deserves the benefit of the doubt on the sign it recently posted regarding the state’s new open records law. Maybe police … Continue reading

Posted in Pennsylvania open records, Pennsylvania public record, Pennsylvania Right to Know, Right-to-Know Law | Leave a comment

King papers go online today

Today historical documents from the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. went online on a Web site hosted by the Robert W. Woodruff Library of the Atlanta University Center. The Atlanta Journal Constitution had a story about the online access to … Continue reading

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Records online

(Angie Jones, of Hanover, tosses a frisbee to her dog Nestle. Nov. 17, 2006) Over the past few years I have noticed a growing number of state agencies that have created online databases. Although these are state agencies, most allow … Continue reading

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An open-records victory in Texas

A Texas agency had argued that if state employees’ birth dates were made public, it could lead to identity theft. An appeals court said that was speculation and ruled in favor of the Dallas Morning News. The paper said birth … Continue reading

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In search of shotspotters

When your city says a high-tech system that tracks gunshots will help police do their jobs better, you’d think the public should be able to look at the information police get from their Shotspotter system. Ultimately, you’d be right — … Continue reading

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How is your kid’s school doing on standardized tests?

About a month ago, reporter Nickie Dobo put together this searchable report on school districts’ results on the science part of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment. It was among the most popular things on our Web site for a … Continue reading

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Tracking DUIs

If you’re curious how many DUI arrests have been made in your neighborhood … or whether someone you know has been charged with DUI … or if there is a certain road where most DUI-related fatal crashes happen … you … Continue reading

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Interpretations of the law

Shortly after the new open records law took effect, a sign appeared at York City Police headquarters that said, “Pennsylvania’s Right-to-Know Law has changed. Police Reports and other records relating to police investigations are not available to the public.” (See … Continue reading

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