Jul 2010
FOI action generates Monessen School District response
July 31, 2010 | Filed in: Right to Know
Law | Open
meetings
The Monessen School District has responded to an
appeal filed by The Valley Independent under the
state's Right-to-Know Law. In its response, the
district gave reasons why it believes the request
by the newspaper to get the name of a fired
Monessen teacher should not be heard.
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Opinion: No legal notice required for reconvened meeting
Q: A school board meeting ran long and as a
result, the board recessed the meeting for one
week. Does the Sunshine Act require the school
board to place a legal notice in our paper
stating the date, time and place of the
reconvened meeting? Read
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Exeter offers no public apology over meeting
July 27, 2010 | Filed in: Sunshine
Act | Open
meetings
Exeter borough residents hoping for an apology
for being locked out of a council meeting April 6
will have to wait at least a little longer. None
was given at Tuesday’s meeting of the borough
council. Read
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Opinion: Secrecy in age of information
July 26, 2010 | Filed in: Open
records | Right to Know
Law
Most public officials in 2010 would blush at
acknowledging that staff members do not know how
to use e-mail or electronically transfer data.
But not Wyoming County Recorder of Deeds Dennis
Montross. He thinks his staff's alleged
technological ignorance is a valid excuse to
maintain the secrecy of public records.
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Yankees lose appeal in open records case brought by Times Tribune
July 23, 2010 | Filed in: Open
records | Right to Know
Law
A state appeals court has ruled against the SWB
Yankees LLC - the management group for the
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees and PNC Field - in
its attempt to block The Times-Tribune from
obtaining the paperwork concerning how bids were
awarded at the Lackawanna County Multi-Purpose
Stadium in Moosic.
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Expert: Riverside vote violated open-meetings law
July 23, 2010 | Filed in: Sunshine
Act | Open
meetings
A vote by the Riverside School Board to change
the logo displayed on football helmets violated
the Pennsylvania open-meeting law, a media-law
expert said Thursday. The 5-4 decision, reached
after a district employee polled school board
members by phone, changed the helmet decals for
Riverside Junior-Senior High School football
players from a wing to a Viking horn.
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Opinion: Sunshine Act penalties infrequently imposed
Q: Our newspaper would like to pursue legal
action against a local agency for Sunshine Act
violations. Are there civil or criminal penalties
for violating the act? Read
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University lodges appeal to keep foundation records private
A Pennsylvania state university and its nonprofit
fundraising foundation have asked the state’s
high court to hear an appeal in a case over
whether the foundation, which is staffed by
public employees, is subject to state public
records laws. Read
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Pa. State Police ordered to release work records
Pennsylvania's Office of Open Records has ordered
the release of documents detailing the
moonlighting done by state troopers to the
Tribune-Review and the Associated Press.
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Pa. state police ordered to disclose moonlighting
HARRISBURG (AP) — The Pennsylvania State Police
must release most of its records about work that
its employees perform while they are off-duty,
the state Office of Open Records has ruled. The
office concluded in Wednesday's decision that the
state police erred in withholding information
about employee moonlighting in response to a
right-to-know request filed in April by The
Associated Press. Read
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ESU appeals court's open-records ruling
East Stroudsburg University and its foundation
have asked the state's highest court to reverse
an appellate court ruling that would force the
foundation to turn over records to the Pocono
Record. In the latest turn in an ongoing legal
battle, ESU and the private ESU Foundation, which
raises money for the university, filed an appeal
in the Middle District of the Supreme Court of
Pennsylvania, arguing that a unanimous decision
of a full panel of judges of the Commonwealth
Court in May should not be allowed to stand
because it is overbroad and intrusive.
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Opinion: Taxpayers have a right to know
July 12, 2010 | Filed in: Right to Know
Law | Open
records
This newspaper applauded state Senate Majority
Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-9, of Chester, when he
advanced the cause of open government by
sponsoring the Open Records Act of 2009, but the
struggle for public access continues.
Commonwealth Court issued decisions this month
interpreting the amended Right to Know Law.
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Opinion: Win or lose in court, you cannot erase the news
July 11, 2010 | Filed in: Open
records
Sometimes the meaning of the 45 words of the
First Amendment seems to escape even those
trained in the law. In Pennsylvania last week,
two judges in Centre County - home to Penn State
University - signed off on what generally are
standard instructions to police and other
agencies to expunge certain official records of
five people involved in criminal investigations.
But the orders, thanks to the defense attorney
for the five, also required that two area
newspapers erase archived news reports about the
defendants, who faced charges ranging from
assault to drug possession.
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