Monthly Archives: August 2009

Top 10 reasons public officials’ e-mails are private

Posted on August 31, 2009 by Scott Blanchard

York Township and its commissioners have lots of reasons why you shouldn’t be able to see their e-mails, even though public officials’ e-mails are open records under the state’s right-to-know law, according to the state’s Office of Open Records. Here’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Pennsylvania Right to Know, Scott Blanchard | 1 Comment

Carroll Twp. denies info on development; residents’ group appeals

Posted on August 30, 2009 by Scott Blanchard

The state’s Office of Open Records has told Carroll Township it must prove why plans for a proposed development should be kept from the public. The township denied a request from Carroll Citizens for Sensible Growth for a traffic impact … Continue reading →

Posted in denials, Pennsylvania open records, Scott Blanchard | 3 Comments

Updated FOIA resources

Posted on August 28, 2009 by Scott Blanchard

The Project on Government Oversight says it has updated its resources page for the Freedom of Information Act. Among the additions is a report by the Congressional Research Service that includes the history of the act, and how the Bush … Continue reading →

Posted in FOIA, Scott Blanchard | 3 Comments

Tracking property taxes

Posted on August 27, 2009 by nichole dobo

On Sunday, we published a story that tracked school district taxes over time. Here’s a database to search your school district or to compare tax rates. If you are a homeowner, it’s worth noting that simply looking at the rates … Continue reading →

Posted in Nichole Dobo, Online records | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Federal court’s initial worry of document-sharing plugin is off base, report says

Posted on August 26, 2009 by Scott Blanchard

Ryan Singel of Wired reports that a federal court spokesman says that RECAP, a Firefox plug-in that says it will help create free federal court documents (whereas you have to pay 8 cents a copy now on PACER), could make … Continue reading →

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Find yourself

Posted on August 25, 2009 by Scott Blanchard

Ever Google yourself to see what comes up? I just lost a little bit of time this afternoon on www.123people.com, a  site that scans for your internet presence and delivers a well-organized search-result page with lists from blogs, social networks, … Continue reading →

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Stimulus money cloaked in Pa.?

Posted on August 24, 2009 by Scott Blanchard

The group Project on Government Oversight* says New Hampshire is the best of the 50 states at posting federal stimulus information on the state web site, mainly because New Hampshire is posting scanned copies of the actual contracts involved. The … Continue reading →

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Land, schools and taxes

Posted on August 23, 2009 by Scott Blanchard

Looking up tax revenue records can reveal some pretty interesting things. Reporter Nickie Dobo has a story in today’s paper looking at how school district taxes have risen over the years, and how taxpayers who are already battling a tough … Continue reading →

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Like watching lightning? Here’s a different way to do it

Posted on August 22, 2009 by Scott Blanchard

I heard that a couple people were convinced that lightning had struck something on or near Beaver Street in York during yesterday’s thunderstorms. The city’s fire department didn’t know of any strikes there, but a Met-Ed spokesman said lightning hit … Continue reading →

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Get in touch, stay in touch

Posted on August 21, 2009 by Scott Blanchard

I put some new stuff on the blog I hope you’ll like — at the least, to stay up on open records issues; at best, to drop me a line, comment on what I’m linking to or connect with me … Continue reading →

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