OOR chief in cross fire over Penn State's ability to keep secrets.
November 22, 2011 Right to Know Law
The Pennsylvania State University child sex-abuse scandal has riveted the nation since criminal charges were announced Nov. 5. Requests for records that might reveal what school officials knew, and when, have placed the state's Office of Open Records in the cross fire - especially because Penn State, as a state-related and not state-run university, is exempt from the open-records law. On Monday, the office's executive director, Terry Mutchler, answered questions from The Philadelphia Inquirer's Amy Worden. Excerpts follow. Read More…
Opinion: Penn State keeping secrets
November 16, 2011 Right to Know Law
The child sex-abuse scandal at Penn State has revealed a serious flaw in Pennsylvania's open-records law that should be corrected immediately. Read More…
Option to purchase ends agency's right to executive session
Q: A local agency has agreed to purchase property to be used to store and repair government-owned vehicles. An option to purchase has been obtained but the sale is not complete. The agency continues to hold private discussions about the property citing the real estate executive session exception. Can they do that? Read More…
Delinquent water bills public under RTK
Q: I submitted a request to the local water authority for delinquent account records for 2010. The agency denied my request and cited “bill payer privacy” as the reason for denial. Is that right? Read More…
Opinion: Resident, Charter Board stand up for open meetings
Even though the news was not supposed to become public for a couple of weeks, it was nice to hear that the city Charter Board opted to censure City Council President Vaughn D. Spencer for improperly excluding the public from a council meeting last summer. Read More…
Kutztown, ex-mayor still in records battle
A seven-year battle between Kutztown and one of its residents over public financial records won't be resolved any time soon. In the latest round, Gennaro A. Marino, a former mayor, contends that the borough has not provided profit and loss statements he requested for television cable and Internet access services the municipality provides to residents and some customers in Maxatawny Township. Read More…
The Edinboro University open records case
On the day it announced the largest gift in its history, Edinboro University told the Post-Gazette that the gift from Joseph T. Buba and Eleonora C. Navari Buba went to the Edinboro University Foundation, which does not release its donor records and thus the amount would not be made public. Read More…
Alumni gift to Edinboro University: What was it worth? The Bubas' gift to Edinboro University: What was it worth?
Just how much money did Edinboro University -- and by extension Pennsylvania taxpayers -- receive when it got the largest gift in its history?
That question -- posed to Edinboro in December 2009 -- began a 14-month odyssey that illustrates not only how universities use foundations to keep information out of the public eye, but also how difficult it can be to obtain a public document using Pennsylvania's Right to Know Law, even when the document belongs to a state agency. It ended when Edinboro said that it "admits to making a mistake" and agreed to pay a voluntary civil penalty and legal fees to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette earlier this month. Read More…
That question -- posed to Edinboro in December 2009 -- began a 14-month odyssey that illustrates not only how universities use foundations to keep information out of the public eye, but also how difficult it can be to obtain a public document using Pennsylvania's Right to Know Law, even when the document belongs to a state agency. It ended when Edinboro said that it "admits to making a mistake" and agreed to pay a voluntary civil penalty and legal fees to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette earlier this month. Read More…
Opinion: Court ruling bolsters public's right to know
The state Commonwealth Court last week reversed a decision of the York County Court of Common Pleas by finding that 911 response logs are required to contain destination addresses or cross street information. This is a positive decision in the name of the public right to know and, most importantly, the public's right to know things accurately. Read More…
Public comment alert: Speaking could get your address online
February 19, 2011 Sunshine Act | Open meetings
When Chris Jaccarino went before Macungie council in January to speak out about his rising tax bill, he knew he was putting himself in the spotlight. What he didn't realize was that his visit to the podium meant his home address would show up on the borough's website. Jaccarino says the borough violated his privacy. Citing concerns about identity theft and other computer crimes, he's asked for his address to be removed from the public meeting record. Read More…
