AP Open Records Series
Open records or closed records? Sun-Gazette reporters find out
December 24, 2009 |
With the revamping of open records laws in
Pennsylvania earlier this year, the Williamsport
Sun-Gazette agreed to become part of an effort
with The Associated Press and other newspapers
statewide to see just how accessible government
records are in municipalities and school
districts.
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III: Changes could be on horizon for Pa.'s records law
December 23, 2009 |
Many issues that have arisen during the first
year under Pennsylvania's revised Right-to-Know
Law, which may soon be amended. Should taxpayers
have to foot a part of the cost of massive
requests? How does the law work when the records
are also integral to an ongoing lawsuit? Should
the government be able to cancel a request it
deems to be a practical impossibility?
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II: New records law seems to bring change in attitudes
December 22, 2009 |
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A new test of how
government agencies respond to records requests
shows that a year after Pennsylvania's revamped
Right-to-Know Law took effect, it may be
transforming attitudes among public officials
about the public documents and information under
their control. Over two days this fall, reporters
and others from 33 Pennsylvania newspapers, a TV
station, and a community college journalism class
filed 274 requests for public records from police
agencies, local government offices and school
districts in an audit coordinated by The
Associated Press.
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Right-to-know’ inquiries yield mixed results for staff
December 22, 2009 |
NORRISTOWN — The Times Herald partnered with The
Associated Press in its 2009 audit of the
Pennsylvania Right-To-Know Law by sending several
staffers on undercover assignments to various
municipalities, school districts and police
departments throughout the coverage area in early
October. Read
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II: Rules for Pa. Right-to-Know Law survey
December 22, 2009 |
How the audit of compliance with Pennsylvania's
Right-to-Know Law was conducted. Read
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II: Media organizations in the Pa. open-records audit
December 22, 2009 |
List of news organizations that participated in
the design and execution of the 2009 audit survey
of compliance with Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know
Law. Read
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Centre County's open records response improves
December 21, 2009 |
During two days in early October, five surveyors
dispatched by the Centre Daily Times drove more
than 230 miles and traveled to 11 public agencies
in Centre County to test the state's almost
year-old Right-to-Know Law. Read
More...
Franklin Co. tests state open records law: 2 failures out of 5 info requests
December 21, 2009 |
Public Opinion participated in the 2009 Audit of
Public Access to Government Records, requesting
five items from five different departments with
two failures among them: Shippensburg Police
Department and Franklin County 911. Read
More...
Access to county public documents examined
December 21, 2009 |
As part of the Associated Press'
Right-to-Know Law audit, staff writers Kent
Jackson, Coulter Jones and Bob Kalinowski
canvassed communities in The Citizens' Voice's
and Standard-Speaker's coverage area over several
days in October. They made requests for what are
supposed to be public documents, and didn't
identify themselves as newspaper reporters until
pressed. Here's what they encountered:
Read
More...
Statewide audit: 5 Daily News reporters find progress, but a few roadblocks
December 21, 2009 |
Four years ago, when Christina Perrone began
showing up at Radnor Township meetings asking
about municipal spending, authorities in the
Delaware County suburb treated her like an
unwelcome pest.
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I: Major elements of revised Pa. Right-to-Know Law
December 21, 2009 |
Major provisions of the Right-to-Know Law that
took full effect in January 2009. Read
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I: Reach of new Pa. FOI law gets tested in first year
December 21, 2009 |
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A wealth of information
about the actions and decisions of Pennsylvania
public officials has been pried loose in the year
since a broad expansion of the state's
Right-to-Know Law took effect. There are signs,
including a recent spot check of government
agencies, that the state is shedding its
long-standing reputation as a public-access
backwater. Read
More...
Right-to-know audit: Law is a challenge for small municipalities
December 19, 2009 |
So what happens when a government hires a
contractor to perform a task – engineering work,
making a grant request, zoning decisions – and
the contractor keeps the paperwork? How can
people see documents they are entitled to see?
When dealing with the smallest municipalities,
governments with only a few part-time employees,
it can get complicated. Read
More...
Right-to-know: Daily Record/Sunday News audit results
December 19, 2009 |
In October, the York Daily Record/Sunday News
made 18 right-to-know requests as part of a
statewide audit of the new open records law that
was led by The Associated Press. Here are the
results of those requests. The records requested
were public under the law. Read
More...
Right-to-know audit: Police question request
December 19, 2009 |
The Newberry Township Police Department fulfilled
a request for a 24-hour incident log only after
requiring the requester to identify his employer.
Pennsylvania's Right-to-Know law does not require
requesters to identify their employer before
being given access to a record, according to the
Pennsylvania Newspaper Association's media law
counsel. A reporter from the York Daily
Record/Sunday News asked for a log of calls the
department responded to Oct. 3 as part of the
Associated Press' statewide audit of public
access to government records under Pennsylvania's
new Right-to-Know law. Read
More...
NCC journalism students examine Right to Know Law
December 10, 2009 |
Students at the Monroe Campus of Northampton
Community College's (NCC) Journalism and Society
class played an integral part in the Associated
Press (AP) Pennsylvania-wide audit, "Right to
Know." They were the only students to take part
in the project, which otherwise included media
professionals. Read
More...
V: Pa.'s new law improves state's access reputation
December 26, 2008 |
V: Q & A — Pa. law provides paper option for electronic files
December 26, 2008 |
Q: What
if the public record I want is in electronic
form, but I don't have access to a
computer? Read
More...
IV: In Pa., neglected records may mean longer waits
December 25, 2008 |
IV: Q & A — Can non-Pa. residents seek records under new law?
December 25, 2008 |
Q: Can I
be denied a public record under Pennsylvania's
new Right-to-Know Law because I am not a
Pennsylvania resident? Read
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III: New Pa. law opens up government contractor records
December 24, 2008 |
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Private businesses that do business with state and local governments in Pennsylvania are about to find themselves having to make some of their records available to the public. Read More...
III: Q & A — Will the Right-to-Know Law foster identity theft?
December 24, 2008 |
Q: Will
Pennsylvania's new Right-to-Know Law make it
easier for someone to steal my identity?
Read
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II: Terry Mutchler: Right-to-know advocate and arbiter
December 23, 2008 |
In high school, Terry Mutchler's tenacity could be measured in broken field-hockey sticks, including the time she broke her wooden stick in the heat of a game and had to use one belonging to her coach. Read More...
II: Q & A – What is the Pa. Office of Open Records?
December 23, 2008 |
I: New Pa. open records law seen as key to public access
December 22, 2008 |
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Public-access advocates hope that widely shared frustration will subside after Jan. 1, when an overhaul of the state's Right-to-Know Law takes effect. The changes are expected to dramatically expand what people can find out about what goes on behind the scenes of the state and local governments. Read More...
I: Q & A — What makes new Pa. open-records law different?
December 22, 2008 |
Q: What
is the major difference between Pennsylvania's
old and new Right-to-Know laws?
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I: Pa. Right-to-Know law contains 30 exceptions
December 22, 2008 |
Pennsylvania's new
Right-to-Know Law contains exceptions for 30
categories of records. Most do not apply to
financial records or aggregated data, such as
spreadsheets and databases. A summary of the
exceptions: Read
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I: How to file a Right-to-Know request under Pa. law
December 22, 2008 |
Common
questions and answers about how to file a request
under Pennsylvania's new Right-to-Know
Law. Read
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I: What's public and what's not under new Pa. law
December 22, 2008 |
Examples
of information that the government must make
available to the public under Pennsylvania's new
Right-to-Know Law, and examples of government
information that will remain private:
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More...