About this blog
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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Recent Posts
- Judge John Cleland on Sandusky trial, news organizations and the ‘Twitter’ ban
- Matthew Diehl’s court documents related to Rodney Miller’s death, other cases
- Eight York County school districts approved to raise tax rates higher than state ceiling
- Thoughts from open records advocates on proposed amendments to right-to-know law
- Time-response log definition — including location — part of proposed amendments to Pa.’s right-to-know law
Recent Comments
- Eight York County school districts approved to raise tax … – YorkBlog « Tax Rate Calculator on Eight York County school districts approved to raise tax rates higher than state ceiling
- TBC on Eight York County school districts approved to raise tax rates higher than state ceiling
- Barb Harman on York County school superintendent contracts are online
- massages in modesto ca on Sandusky lawyer: State has no legal right to revoke pension
- 12/5 Morning Buzz | PoliticsPA on Pa. lottery: State senator asks Corbett for copy of company’s privatization bid
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Category Archives: Transparency
Kony controversy sparked our latest look at nonprofit finances
Our latest effort at reporting on nonprofit finances grew from the controversy surrounding a video that urged an all-out effort to catch Joseph Kony of the Lord’s Resistance Army in central Africa. The nonprofit behind the video, Invisible Children, faced accountability questions after the video went viral across the world.
Posted in Transparency
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Twitter censorship drama: Were NBC execs trained in Pennsylvania regarding private email addresses?
Poynter.org aggregates info revealing that Twitter told NBC that a Guardian reporter’s tweets were critical of the network’s Olympics coverage. Those tweets included the work email for NBC’s president of Olympics coverage. In an email to Poynter, NBC vice president … Continue reading
Posted in Transparency
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Pa. Supreme Court OKs grand juries that could replace public hearings in witness intimidation cases
The state Supreme Court reinstated “indicting grand juries,” or grand juries that would determine whether prosecutors have probable cause to hold a case over for trial. The goal is to reduce witness intimidation, the court says. Unlike at a public … Continue reading
Posted in Court records, Transparency
Tagged crime, grand jury, supreme court, transparency
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Bill would offer more transparency in school superintendent buyouts
Angie Mason reports in her Cram Session blog that a bill approved by the Senate that focuses on school superintendent buyouts says that if a school board agrees to a buyout with a superintendent, it “must publicly disclose the reason … Continue reading
Posted in Transparency
Tagged buyouts, school boards, school districts, schools, superintendents
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Penn State’s openness website: Some transparency, some PR
I took a quick look at Penn State’s openness website that debuted yesterday. The school bills it as “a resource for the Penn State community and other stakeholders to find answers to their questions regarding ongoing investigations and related matters.” … Continue reading
Posted in Transparency, Uncategorized
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A note about our teacher salary database
Sometimes, stories that have been on our site for a while show up in the “most popular” listing, which shows stories with the highest number of clicks in the preceding 12 hours. Our teacher salary database, published as part of … Continue reading
Today in #transparency
I’m playing with this new WordPress plugin that renders tweets visually, just because I can. Here are some selected tweets using the hashtag #transparency from today:
Two things real quick: 1) Bill would restrict Pa. coroners’ info; 2) a local effort to correct a federal agency’s mistakes
Two interesting open-records-related stories in the paper this weekend: 1. A bill that would restrict public access to autopsy reports is awaiting a vote in the state Senate. It’s a classic argument: Coroners cite privacy concerns; open-records advocates cite accountability concerns. … Continue reading
Posted in Federal government, Transparency
Tagged autopsy reports, coroners, epa, federal government, pennsylvania right to know
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Jury selection held secretly in case of parents charged in adopted Russian son’s death
The judge in a high-profile York County case said he was concerned that if information that jury selection was taking place had been made public, there would have been a “big story” in the York Daily Record/Sunday News before selection … Continue reading
Posted in Court records, Transparency
Tagged court access, courts, jury selection, public access, secrecy, transparency, york county common pleas court
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Budget cuts threaten Data.gov, other transparency sites
Reports are that data.gov, a federal website designed to increase the public’s access to information about agencies, will shut down along with several other similar transparency websites. The Sunlight Foundation is running an online petition drive to send a message … Continue reading
Posted in Federal government, Transparency, Websites
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