Oct 2010
Paper wins ruling in bid for Philly police records
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) ― The Philadelphia Daily
News won a court decision Friday in its quest to
obtain copies of police grievance arbitration
awards from the city. A Commonwealth Court panel
reversed a Philadelphia judge's injunction that
has prevented city officials from turning over
the records to reporter Wendy Ruderman. The
judges said the union did not show a clear right
to relief and a reasonable likelihood it would
prevail on the merits.
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Opinion: A teacher's home address should not fall under Right to Know law
Is an individual's home address a public record,
and subject to the state's Right to Know Law, if
that person is a public employee? That is the key
question in a debate over personal privacy versus
the public's right to know, in an age dominated
by the Internet. Read
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Non-profit Form 990 accessible through U.S. law
Q: I want to look at a local non-profit
organization’s annual IRS Form 990 return. Is
there a section of the Right to Know Law that
governs access? Read
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Sen. Pileggi responds to concerns about SB1469
Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, prime
sponsor of the 2008 Right to Know Law, has
responded to concerns raised by newspapers and
others regarding Senate Bill 1469. That
bill, which passed the Senate with no
negative votes this month, would have
amended the Right to Know Law to restrict
access to government contractor records,
charge the public for viewing a public
record, and expand access to 911 time
response logs and drafts considered at
public meetings, among other things. Senator
Pileggi intends to introduce a new bill in
January and promises a public, methodical
approach to amending the Law. Read
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Charging fees would limit citizens' access to information
HARRISBURG -- Jennifer Hara, a mother of four who
drives a school bus, worries about bills pending
before the General Assembly that would make it
harder to access government records at a time
when many Pennsylvanians are challenging gas
drilling. "Any degradation of the Right to Know
laws would hurt efforts to get more information
on Marcellus shale," said Hara of Enola, during a
recent gathering about property owners' rights on
the huge natural gas formation in Pennsylvania.
A Senate-passed bill would allow governments to charge people for reviewing records, even if they do not request copies. The Senate bill allows local governments to charge up to half of the 25-cents per page copying fee for records people request but do not copy.
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A Senate-passed bill would allow governments to charge people for reviewing records, even if they do not request copies. The Senate bill allows local governments to charge up to half of the 25-cents per page copying fee for records people request but do not copy.
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Opinion: Right to Know Law changes on hold
When the House went into its election recess
Wednesday (Oct. 6), it left a number of bills
that PNA opposes in committee. Since the passage
of Act 3, the Right to Know Law, numerous bills
have been introduced to carve out more exceptions
from the presumption of access in both chambers,
and although none have passed the House, three
proposals passed the Senate – all without debate,
and with less than a handful of negative votes
among them. Read
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West Chester cancels closed door meeting after questions raised
WEST CHESTER -- The borough cancelled the
executive session scheduled Wednesday evening
where members of the Turk‘s Head Stadium Alliance
planned to discuss the proposed minor league
baseball stadium with borough council.
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New 'public participation' conduct rules in Nuangola
October 06, 2010 | Filed in: Sunshine
Act | Open
meetings
A contentious audience was met with new “public
participation” conduct rules at the late
September Nuangola Borough Council session. The
new policy was seemingly adopted in response to a
raucous August meeting which had residents
shouting over Council members’ comments and each
other. It was enacted as Resolution No. 8 of
2010. Read
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Borough of Leetsdale turns over document
LEETSDALE — It took about two weeks, but two
Leetsdale residents have received documents they
formally requested from the borough, despite
initial reluctance from a councilman to providing
the information. Read
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