Open records
SWB Yankees appeals ruling to Supreme Court
August 25, 2010 |
The management company for the
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees has appealed to the
state Supreme Court a ruling that ordered it to
make public its records on concessions. SWB
Yankees LLC wants the state's highest court to
overturn a Commonwealth Court ruling that found
the Right to Know Law applies to a company
contracted to manage the publicly owned baseball
team. Read
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County court employee e-mails exempt from Right to Know Law
August 24, 2010 |
A decision by the Commonwealth Court to make
e-mails of employees of court offices exempt from
the Right to Know Law is broad in the eyes of
open records experts and the state Office of Open
Records - but they say it shouldn't stop people
from making requests. Read
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Judge bars release of county official's e-mails
August 13, 2010 |
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania courts' broad
exemption from the Right-to-Know Law shields
judicial records from public scrutiny even when
they are in the hands of agencies that are
subject to the law, a three-judge panel of the
state Commonwealth Court has ruled. Read
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Court ruling broadens open record exemption for courts
August 12, 2010 |
In a precedent-setting ruling handed down
Wednesday by Commonwealth Court, records of
ancillary offices to the state's court system
have been found exempt from the 2009 Right to
Know Law. Addressing whether The Times-Tribune
and others were entitled to Lackawanna County
records for its Department of Domestic Relations,
the court ruled the county and state Office of
Open Records were permanently barred from making
the information public. Read
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Superintendent locks down school salary data
August 11, 2010 |
Days after a Daily News columnist wrote about the
high salaries of School District Superintendent
Arlene C. Ackerman and several of her top
deputies - with salaries higher than those of
Mayor Nutter and Gov. Rendell - Ackerman moved to
limit the number of district employees able to
access the district's payroll system.
Read
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South Mountain forestry study details types, number, conditions of trees
August 05, 2010 |
Allentown's portion of South Mountain has trees,
plenty of them -- more than 1,000 yellow poplars
and black oaks, and even a few black cherry.
While this may not be a surprise, the
administration of Mayor Ed Pawlowski has filed a
petition in court to keep a tree inventory and
other details about South Mountain out of the
public domain. Read
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Opinion: Secrecy in age of information
July 26, 2010 |
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.
Read
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Yankees lose appeal in open records case brought by Times Tribune
July 23, 2010 |
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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University lodges appeal to keep foundation records private
July 16, 2010 |
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
July 16, 2010 |
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.
Read
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Pa. state police ordered to disclose moonlighting
July 15, 2010 |
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
July 14, 2010 |
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.
Read
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Opinion: Taxpayers have a right to know
July 12, 2010 |
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 |
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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Penn State to revise its Right-to-Know filing
June 08, 2010 |
Penn State University said today it plans to
submit a revised Right-to-Know report to the
state on Friday that will include salaries of two
employees left off of the university's initial
filing last month. Read
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Court case might set precedent on open records
June 07, 2010 |
A landmark decision by the Commonwealth Court
that helps define the term "governmental
function" in the Right to Know Law could change
the way local governments and their vendors do
business. It could also impact the outcome of
three cases involving vendor records related to
Lackawanna County government. Read
More...
Commonwealth Court issues significant Right to Know opinions
May 28, 2010 |
Last week was a significant one for access
issues, with the Commonwealth Court issuing four
decisions interpreting the amended Right to Know
Law. Read
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Opinion: Thumbing noses at Right to Know
May 16, 2010 |
Pennsylvania may have a new Right to Know Law,
but it is becoming increasingly apparent that
many bureaucrats and elected officials have no
intention of following it. Read
More...
Lower Windsor Twp. changes policy, increases public access
May 14, 2010 |
Lower Windsor Township changed a policy and will
let people see drafts, ordinances and other
documents before the supervisors act on them, as
long as the information isn't privileged. On
Thursday, supervisors unanimously voted for the
change, saying they wanted to be open with the
public about information. Read
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Opinion: Close open records loophole
May 14, 2010 |
Sometimes, a final decision isn't exactly final.
That's the case with Pennsylvania's revamped open
records law. The law, intended to grant the
public greater and easier access to public
documents, allows government bodies to appeal
decisions — called final determinations — by the
state Office of Open Records. And sometimes that
results in records remaining closed because
petitioners cannot afford to hire lawyers to
defend appeals. Read
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Release all expenses incurred by district officials
May 05, 2010 |
If Wyomissing School Board members are so
concerned about informing the public how much it
costs the district to gather information under
the Pennsylvania Right to Know Act, perhaps they
should include themselves on the list of who
requested information, what information was
sought, the time it took to fulfill the requests
and how much that cost the district. Read
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Wyomissing School Board publishing names, costs in Right-to-Know requests
April 27, 2010 |
The Wyomissing School District has begun to
publish the names of people who request
information from the district under the
Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law. Read
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Opinion: Citizens, not reporters, got new law's access
April 26, 2010 |
Back in 2008, when the Pennsylvania Legislature
was considering changes to strengthen
Pennsylvania's open records law, we offered the
opinion that a stronger law would be of far more
benefit to ordinary Pennsylvanians than it would
be to newspapers, although newspapers were among
the strongest supporters of the new law.
Read
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Lackawanna County stadium naming contract must be made public, state says
April 20, 2010 |
A naming-rights agreement for the county-owned
baseball stadium is public record and must be
turned over to The Times-Tribune, the state
Office of Open Records has ruled. Read
More...
NCC forum discusses new Right to Know law, open records
April 14, 2010 |
For more than 50 years, Pennsylvania's public
agencies could deny residents access to public
records without explaining why residents couldn't
have access. The state's new Right to Know law,
enacted Jan. 1, 2009, puts the burden on agencies
to prove why records are exempt.
At a Tuesday night forum at Northampton Community College's Tannersville campus, the public got a better sense of this new law. The forum was sponsored by the Pocono Record and NCC. Read More...
At a Tuesday night forum at Northampton Community College's Tannersville campus, the public got a better sense of this new law. The forum was sponsored by the Pocono Record and NCC. Read More...
Panel provides insight into Pennsylvania’s Right to Know Law
April 09, 2010 |
Four panelists gave insight on the first year of
the Pennsylvania Right to Know Law during a
symposium in the HUB Ohio room at 7 p.m. March
31. The event came after Sunshine Week, which
celebrated the one-year anniversary of the Right
to Know Law, which is a type of Sunshine law,
meant to give open access to public documents.
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Opinion: OOR can't order payment of legal fees
April 08, 2010 |
Q: I recently filed an appeal with the Office
of Open Records. The agency has asked the Office
of Open Records to order me or my newspaper to
pay the agency’s legal fees related to the
appeal. The agency argues that my request is
“frivolous” because I requested the same record
under the old law and was denied. Can the Office
of Open Records order me to pay the agency’s
legal fees resulting from the OOR appeal?
Read
More...
Office of Open Records rules text messages from Wind Gap police chief's cell phone are public record
March 25, 2010 |
The Pennsylvania Office of Open Records has
granted The Express-Times access to the Wind Gap
police chief's text messages in a ruling that a
government transparency watchdog group called
groundbreaking. Read
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Opinion: Open records still a work in progress
March 18, 2010 |
It’s a pretty good law. But having a good law and
having a universally good “open government”
attitude across the state are two different
things. Pennsylvania’s new “Right to Know Law”
took effect Jan. 1, 2009, more than a year ago.
Has it been successful? It depends whom you ask
and how you measure success when it comes to
citizens being able to keep track of what their
government is doing.
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Pennsylvanians have better access to their government — but there's room to improve
March 14, 2010 |
It's been more than a year since Pennsylvania
enacted its new Right-to-Know law, but experts
say it's going to be years before it gets
perfected. Case law and trial-and-error still are
taking place across the state when citizens ask
for — and expect to receive — government records
they believe to be accessible to the public.
While officials familiar with the law admit there
is room to improve it, everyone agrees on one
thing — Pennsylvania is more open than it was
before the Right-to-Know changes.
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Opinion: Coroner rulings are a matter of public record
March 02, 2010 |
Just over a year old, Pennsylvania's Right to
Know Law remains a work in progress. That fact is
clearly evident through a court case brought by
our colleagues at WGAL-TV. In what should be a
clear-cut situation, the television station has
been forced to go to the Commonwealth Court in an
effort to determine not if a record is public -
on that point everyone agrees - but when it
should be released.
Read More...
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Ex-official: Show me the money
March 01, 2010 |
In light of recent accusations about undue
political influence in Montgomery County
government, a former county official has asked
the Board of Elections for details about the
commissioners’ campaign finance spending over the
past two years. Read
More...
Troopers criticized over withholding
February 25, 2010 |
HARRISBURG - A new Pennsylvania State Police
policy requires troopers to withhold names and
other information about victims and witnesses
when they issue citations for certain minor
crimes - drawing criticism from open-government
advocates and raising concern among judges and
defense lawyers. Read
More...
Opinion: Clean Streams Act makes DEP records public
February 25, 2010 |
Q: I want to look at applications filed with
the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
Can the DEP deny my request? Read
More...
Montgomery County requests more time
February 24, 2010 |
Montgomery County has stated it will require
another month to provide the county’s
professional services contracts and related
documents requested earlier this month by The
Times Herald. Read
More...
Dad seeks to block report in son's death
February 17, 2010 |
A new legal battle could be brewing over a
Shippensburg University student's death that
already has prompted a court duel over the
state's Right to Know Law. Read
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Court says government must prove need to keep information secret
February 09, 2010 |
A state appeals court's first ruling on the new
Right to Know Law upholds the idea that
government agencies must prove they have a good
reason for withholding information, lawyers and
others said yesterday. "It's a strong decision
for open government," said Barry Fox, spokesman
for the state Office of Open Records.
Read
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Opinion: No blanket exemption for email on personal account
January 28, 2010 |
Q: I requested access to e-mails sent between
council members and the mayor of a local agency.
The agency denied my request on the basis that
the agency does not provide e-mail accounts to
council or the mayor, and the e-mails are sent
from personal e-mail addresses. Can they do
that? Read
More...
State revises access policy for court documents
January 27, 2010 |
The prevalence of identity theft is one of the
reasons the state has revised its paper record
access policy for magisterial district courts.
“Personal financial and Social Security
information are two key elements of the kind that
will not be included in court files for public
review,” said Stuart Ditzen, assistant for
communications, Administrative Office of
Pennsylvania Courts.
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Allentown sues Morning Call, reporter, open records office
January 27, 2010 |
Allentown is suing The Morning Call, reporter
Jarrett Renshaw and the state Office of Open
Records, claiming the agency improperly ruled on
Renshaw's request under the year-old
Right-to-Know Law for the official e-mails and
schedules of Mayor Ed Pawlowski and other
administration officials. Read
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Judge rules to release names as sewer records fight ends after 8 months
January 27, 2010 |
An eight-month fight over the identities of
Sharon sewer customers who collectively owe about
$1 million in unpaid bills ended Tuesday with a
judge agreeing with the state Office of Open
Records and ordering the records be released.
Read
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WGAL-TV appeals ruling barring it from information on college student's death
January 26, 2010 |
A midstate TV station is appealing a Cumberland
County judge’s ruling barring it from information
on a Shippensburg University student’s death.
Read
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Prison board OKs release of inmate photographs
January 26, 2010 |
Mercer County Prison Board on Tuesday ruled that
inmate photographs from Mercer County Jail can be
released to the press after a Herald request made
earlier this month. Read
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Bucks County appeals state Office of Open Records decision
January 23, 2010 |
Bucks County officials do not believe the record
of when two employees – opponents in a county
election – entered the courthouse each day should
be a matter of public information. Read
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Beaver Co. Times' open records appeal upheld
January 13, 2010 |
The state Office of Open Records this week upheld
an appeal by The Beaver County Times of a fee
imposed by the State Employees Retirement System
for providing information under Pennsylvania’s
open-records law. Read
More...
Ruling: County must make prison receipts public
January 13, 2010 |
Lackawanna County must obtain and provide to The
Times-Tribune any receipts and invoices related
to the cost of medical care at Lackawanna County
Prison between November 2004 and November 2009,
the state Office of Open Records has ruled.
Read
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Ruling: County must make prison receipts public
January 13, 2010 |
Lackawanna County must obtain and provide to The
Times-Tribune any receipts and invoices related
to the cost of medical care at Lackawanna County
Prison between November 2004 and November 2009,
the state Office of Open Records has ruled.
Read
More...
Allentown fights open records ruling
January 10, 2010 |
Allentown officials are appealing an
administrative ruling ordering the city to
provide the e-mails and records of daily
schedules for Mayor Ed Pawlowski and two Cabinet
members to a reporter from The Morning Call.
Read
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Opinion: Agency can't take additional extension
January 07, 2010 |
Q: An agency requested an additional 30
calendar days in which to respond to my Right to
Know Law request. On the 30th day, I received a
letter stating that the records are public but
the agency will take an additional three months
to compile and copy them due to staffing
limitations. Can the agency extend their time for
response like that? Read
More...
Open records ruling goes against county
January 03, 2010 |
Ben Vonderheide spends a lot of time at the
Lancaster County Courthouse, pursuing fathers'
rights and inconveniencing local officials in the
process. As such, Vonderheide said, he's been
tossed out of many a county office and courtroom.
But his ejection from one courtroom this fall
prompted him to request copies of the
surveillance tapes for his records. The county
refused to provide the tapes, saying it would
constitute a security breach. The Pennsylvania
Office of Open Records disagreed. In a Christmas
Eve ruling, appeals officer Lucinda Glinn ordered
the county to turn them over to Vonderheide.
Read
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