Feb 2009
Manager suspended in Radnor
February 28, 2009 | Filed in: RTK request
stories | Radnor Twp
RADNOR — It appears David A. Bashore’s days as
township manager are numbered. Whether he will
face criminal prosecution for allegedly awarding
hefty bonuses to himself and about 30 other
township employees without the approval of the
board of commissioners remains to be seen. A
string of public record requests uncovered
Bashore’s employment contract, signed in 2001,
which included a $175,000 interest-free loan he
used to purchase a home in the 200 block of
Spruce Tree Road. Read
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OFF THE FLOOR: Corbett, Scarnati, Rendell, McCall deserve reform kudos
February 27, 2009 |
The reform movement in Pennsylvania owes a debt
to the Pennsylvania Bar Association: If the state
bar hadn’t royally infuriated Attorney General
Tom Corbett, we might still be without a
functioning lobbyist expenditure disclosure law.
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City Council meets again in secret
Philadelphia City Council continued to assert its
right to meet in secret yesterday with an
"administrative" session to discuss budget
hearings in the neighborhoods.
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Council meeting on public meetings held in secret
Philadelphia City Council President Anna Verna
and at least nine of her colleagues locked
reporters out of a secret meeting yesterday. The
meeting's topic: How to hold public budget
hearings.
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Review panel OKs PA lobbyist disclosure rules
HARRISBURG – Proposed regulations governing
compliance with Pennsylvania's lobbyist
disclosure law received the green light Thursday
from a state regulatory panel that had rejected a
version last fall.
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Lobbying law passes IRRC after November rejection
HARRISBURG – After Attorney General Tom Corbett
today asked the state’s top regulatory review
body to ignore its staff, reverse its November
decision and approve Pennsylvania’s lobbying
expenditure disclosure law, the panel did just
that. Read
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Lower Merion residents question closed budget sessions
The future of a budget committee of Lower
Merion's board of commissioners is in question
after a citizen challenged the township's
practice of holding its meetings in private.
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Records appeal turned down
February 25, 2009 | Filed in: Final
determinations | Office of
Open Records | Open
records | Penndel
The Office of Open Records denied a borough
resident's request for records of inspections of
two privately owned properties. The office also
rejected an appeal from Quakertown School
District Read
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Ruling: Government employee birth dates are public records in Pa.
The new state Office of Open Records ruled on six
appeals, offering access to government employee
dates of birth, names of government contractor
employees and school board committee reports.
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Pa. open-records office: birth dates are public
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Names of employees of
government contractors and birth dates of
government employees are public information, the
state Office of Open Records has ruled in some of
the first appeals under Pennsylvania's new
Right-to-Know Law. Read
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Rulings keep secret Pa. lawmaker-lobbyist contacts
February 24, 2009 | Filed in: Open
records | Government
transparency | State
government | Lobbyist
disclosure
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Appeals officers for both
chambers of the Pennsylvania Legislature said
Tuesday the new Right-to-Know Law does not give
the public the right to review correspondence
between lawmakers and lobbyists. Read
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THE WATCHDOG: Public has right to hear tapes of meetings
February 22, 2009 |
The ruling is in. You're entitled to listen to
tapes of your elected officials' public meetings.
But ask quickly, because those tapes don't have
to be kept for long. Read
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Open-records chief says meeting tapes are public.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP, Feb. 20) – Pennsylvania's
open-records chief says audio recordings of
government meetings are public records that must
be provided to people who request them.
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Office of Open Record says recordings of meetings are public record
February 19, 2009 | Filed in: Advisory
opinions | Tape
recordings | Office of
Open Records | Open
records
The Office of Open Records has issued an Advisory
Opinion stating that tape recordings made by a
board secretary for the purpose of writing
minutes are to be considered public record.
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Documents in Right-to-Know case released
The Radnor Township School District has released
two sets of documents that it has maintained for
nearly two years were not public records.
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Amend Sunshine Act to allow stiff fines for violations
The Issue: City Council holds an illegal secret
meeting.
Our Opinion: The Sunshine Act needs a stronger enforcement provision. Read More...
Our Opinion: The Sunshine Act needs a stronger enforcement provision. Read More...
Your RTK: Gaming Control Board halted leak investigation when questioned
February 17, 2009 | Filed in: RTK request
stories | Open
records
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board canceled an
investigation of its own employees over suspected
press leaks the same day The Morning Call
formally asked about it. Read
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Judge's nondisclosure in Williams Township landfill case has unpleasant odor
February 17, 2009 |
The saga of Williams Township and the proposed
rezoning and expansion of Chrin Landfill has had
a fetid smell all along. Read
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Judge in suit over Chrin deal will reconsider recusal
A Northampton County judge -- criticized for not
excusing himself from a recent case involving a
deal with Chrin Brothers Sanitary Landfill --
will consider a recusal request next week.
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Opinion: You have a right to know
February 15, 2009 |
One reason state lawmakers dragged their feet for
so long in updating Pennsylvania's weak open
records law was because they thought most voters
didn't really care much about easy access to
government documents. Read
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State responds to Shrewsbury Twp. record request
The state Office of Open Records sent a
letter to Shrewsbury Township regarding
an open record appeal filed by a resident.
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Ruling may return autopsy issue to Pa. Legislature
February 14, 2009 | Filed in: Autopsy
reports
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Veteran Cumberland County
Coroner Michael Norris puts the implications of
the recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling that
made most autopsy reports public in stark and
personal terms. Read
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Radnor School District releases Right-to-Know documents
February 12, 2009 | Filed in: Open
records | Radnor Twp
The Radnor Township School District has released
two sets of documents that it has maintained for
nearly two years were not public records.
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PNA Legal Hotline: Redaction of Cell Phone Records
Q: We requested and received cell phone records
from a township in November of 2008. We recently
received a letter from the township solicitor
requesting that we return the cell phone records
so that telephone numbers can be redacted in
accordance with the new Right to Know Law and the
recent Supreme Court case of Tribune Review
Publishing v. Bodack. Do we have to return the
cell phone records for redaction? Read
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Judge denies access to Gates autopsy
February 11, 2009 | Filed in: Autopsy
reports
BEDFORD — Saying that to release the autopsy
report in a long-unsolved murder “would not
hinder the prosecution, it would end the
prosecution,” a judge sealed the Dana Gates
autopsy Wednesday until an arrest is made.
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Secrecy & Favoritism: Auditor General draft report slams administration handling of tech contracts
Auditor General Jack Wagner is accusing Gov. Ed
Rendell's administration of hiding the details of
nearly $600 million in technology contracts with
one company and is suggesting abuses ranging from
vendor favoritism to no-bid contracts.
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Findings test new open-records law
Representatives of the state auditor general's
office said they found the Rendell
administration's commitment to government
transparency lacking when they sought records
about information-technology contracts awarded to
Deloitte Consulting from 2004 through 2007.
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Reading sewage plant costs discussed in closed meeting
The cost of Reading's new sewage treatment plant
may be substantially less than the $250 million
estimate because of a potential change in its
treatment process, city officials have said. But
City Council, under lawyers' orders, discussed
that change Monday for more than an hour behind
closed doors to keep the U.S. Justice Department
from hearing about it, according to sources.
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DA asks court to seal autopsy in Gates’ case
February 09, 2009 | Filed in: Autopsy
reports
BEDFORD — The Bedford County district attorney
late Monday afternoon requested a hearing to
prevent the autopsy report in a 2001 Imler
homicide from being released to The
Tribune-Democrat. Read
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Shrewsbury Twp. couple among first to file right-to-know appeal
When Linda and Kurt Kurzmiller arrived Jan. 15 at
the state's new open records office in
Harrisburg, it was still under construction.
Workers were filing in and out of the North
Street building. There wasn't a sign outside to
direct them where to go. But they made it to the
office. Read
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Appeals show what right-to-know requests are being denied
When Michael J. Cavanagh submitted his public
records request to the Uniontown City Council, he
did so with the understanding that the office
would respond to the inquiry within five business
days. It didn't. Read
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At odds over autopsy: Officials split on whether report should be made public
February 06, 2009 | Filed in: Autopsy
reports
A Bedford County prosecutor said he will fight
the release of the autopsy from a 2001 murder,
even after the Blair County coroner said the
information would be made public because of a
recent court ruling. Read
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State, local governments should encourage citizen participation
February 04, 2009 |
At Annville-Cleona School District the board
members decided to extend the budget discussion
beyond that table and at the same time perhaps do
away with the Monday morning quarterbacking that
residents are sometimes forced to do after the
vote on a final spending plan. Board members are
asking the public to take a hard look at the
budget, which it posted at the administrative
building. The board said it wanted to get
thoughts from residents on the spending plan, and
as one director put it, "to help us ax it."
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House Republicans question timing of publication of Democrats' rules
February 03, 2009 | Filed in: State
government | Government
transparency
HARRISBURG - House Republicans are angered about
the after-hours posting Monday night of rules
resolutions sponsored by House Democrats.
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New Open Records Law presentation Feb. 10 in Philadelphia
February 02, 2009 | Filed in: PaFOIC
| New RTK
Law
PHILADELPHIA – An educational presentation on the
state’s new open records law will be hosted by
the Pennsylvania Freedom of Information Coalition
on Tuesday, Feb. 10 in Philadelphia. Read
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Pennsylvania Supreme Court holds that autopsy reports are public records
Last month the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held
that autopsy reports are public records. Although
the court’s holding stands as a resounding
victory for public access, its long-term
implications are less clear, as the court
expressly avoided deciding whether autopsy
reports will remain accessible under the
Commonwealth’s new Right to Know Law, which went
into effect just three weeks before the Supreme
Court handed down its decision. Read
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