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Pennsylvania's new open records law gives you a stronger tool for keeping an eye on how government spends your money. We'll be watching, too.-
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- Old Pa. birth, death records available online beginning Feb. 15
- Penn State’s openness website: Some transparency, some PR
- Corbett: Penn State should comply with RTK law or risk state aid
- Some useful things you may not have known about Pennsylvania’s open meetings law
- Like poking around in lists and databases? Here’s a page for you
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Monthly Archives: April 2010
Group organizes end-around to get some states’ records
I think this is a cool venture: ProPublica, a nonprofit online investigative journalism outfit, started a project to have people in Virginia, Tennessee and Arkansas file public records requests when ProPublica is looking for documents from those states. To get … Continue reading
Posted in Right-to-Know Law
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H.S. students on public records: Where? What? How?
Just got done speaking to about 15 high school students about public records as part of a journalism workshop put on by our sports editor, Chris Otto. Before I started I asked if anyone had any questions — and the … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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Pa.’s open records office releases 2009 annual report
This just in: Pennsylvania’s open records office, created in 2009 as part of the state’s new right-to-know law, has released its first annual report. The entire report is here. Some highlights from the first year of the new law: the … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
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Public-records group honors advocates at luncheon; tickets available
You can still get tickets to hear Mark Bowden, national correspondent for Atlantic Monthly and author of “Black Hawk Down,” speak at the Pennsylvania Freedom of Information Coalition’s luncheon in Philadelphia honoring two open records advocates. Go here to reserve … Continue reading
Posted in Pennsylvania Right to Know
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Story behind the story: Listen to Harve Johnson’s statement in Darisabel Baez case
When YDR staffer Jason Plotkin began work on a [documentary ](http://www.ydr.com/ci_14822816)about murdered toddler Darisabel Baez and the hold she still had on the first responders, he knew he wanted access to the evidence in the case. Evidence that has been … Continue reading
Posted in Judicial records
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Getting all hot and bothered over 54 cents
I think there are a lot of people who work with open records who think it’d be great if agencies were told they can’t charge 25 cents per copy, because that’s a money-making deal for them. Not that they’re getting … Continue reading
Posted in fees
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Stetler’s defense fund: Transparent … kind of
Steve Stetler, the leaders of his defense fund say, wanted the fund to be transparent, says a solicitation letter. But there’s a but. ”At Steve’s insistence,” the letter reads, “and in the interests of openness and transparency, this fund will … Continue reading
Posted in Pennsylvania open records
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A different definition of privacy
An Oklahoma state employees’ group rips a newspaper for seeking birth dates of employees, calling the reporters “privacy pirates.” The Oklahoman and the Tulsa World combine to write a story that reveals that the state makes millions of dollars selling … Continue reading
Posted in Scott Blanchard
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Some states move to limit access to 911 recordings
This is disconcerting to open-records advocates: Charles Coble, on the Newsroom Law Blog, sums up Associated Press reporting on some states’ efforts to limit access to 911 call recordings. Coble writes that the bills “appear to be driven by the … Continue reading
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Quick, name a reason why public docs shouldn’t be online
Is there a downside to this? And wouldn’t it be great for Pennsylvania and its municipalities, too? U.S. Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., has introduced a bill that would pave the way for federal agencies to put all public information online. … Continue reading
Posted in Online records
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