Jan 2010
Yankees file brief in court fight with The Times-Tribune over concessionaire bid records
The management group for the Lackawanna
County-owned Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees argues
a judge erred in a case that will decide whether
concessionaire bids for the baseball team and
stadium are public records. Read
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Opinion: No blanket exemption for email on personal account
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
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State revises access policy for court documents
January 27, 2010 | Filed in: Open
records | Judicial
records
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 | Filed in: Open
records | Allentown
| Office of
Open Records | RTK request
stories
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
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 | Filed in: Office of
Open Records | Open
records | RTK request
stories | Cumberland
Co.
A midstate TV station is appealing a Cumberland
County judge’s ruling barring it from information
on a Shippensburg University student’s death.
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Prison board OKs release of inmate photographs
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 | Filed in: Office of
Open Records | Open
records | RTK request
stories | Bucks Co.
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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Pennsylvania Sunshine Act: Improvements needed
The Pennsylvania Newspaper Association's fsummary
of improvements needed in Pennsylvania's open
meetings law, known as the "Sunshine Act."
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Opinion: Cell phones may be used to record meetings
Q: I recently attended a public meeting and
was told that I could not use my cell phone to
record the proceedings because cell phones are
not approved by the board as an appropriate
recording device and because I didn’t get
permission to record in advance. Can the agency
do that? Read
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Beaver Co. Times' open records appeal upheld
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
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Ruling: County must make prison receipts public
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 | Filed in: RTK request
stories | Open
records | Right to Know
Law | Lackawanna
Co.
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.
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Allentown fights open records ruling
January 10, 2010 | Filed in: Open
records | RTK request
stories | Office of
Open Records | Allentown
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.
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Opinion: Agency can't take additional extension
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
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Open records ruling goes against county
January 03, 2010 | Filed in: Open
records | Right to Know
Law
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.
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