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August 5, 2010 by
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chairman yesterday when he ordered Channel 6 News cameras to not film a public meeting. In the middle of a meeting disputing changes to St. Joseph’s baseball field, the chairman of the zoning board told reporters they could stay, but they had to turn their cameras off.
This was a direct violation of the .
“It’s a public hearing but we don’t do that. We don’t want people to do that. It causes a zoo. We don’t want it to become a zoo,” said Zoning Board Chairman Kenneth Aaron, Esq.
When the journalists refused to turn off their cameras, the chairman called the police. The police sided with the chairman and ordered the cameras to be turned off. The journalists relented, turning off their cameras, but at the cost of government transparency.
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June 28, 2010 by
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From to , local municipalities are facing crippling financial woes. This week will be the first city to terminate all public employee jobs, including the police department. On the brink of bankruptcy, the city is trying to regain ground by outsourcing all of its work.
Maywood has also not be very forthcoming with its financial data, having not posted any information since 2008. Overall, the city scored a “D” on Sunshine Review’s transparency checklist.
Then there is . The capital of Pennsylvania is just over $68 million in the hole, more than its annual budget. Harrisburg is not only asking creditors to forgive or restructure old debt, but is also considering cutting 537 public sector jobs.
However, unlike Maywood, Harrisburg has been very forthcoming with its , and earned a “C” transparency grade from Sunshine Review.
Looking at these two situations, one can see transparency is not enough. While many elements have contributed to the cities financial troubles, it could have been averted by vocal taxpayers. Yet, taxpayers had access to the data in Harrisburg, and many remained silent on the matter.
This is a clear example that while transparency is a tool citizens can use to hold their government accountable, but without active citizen watchdogs we’ll continue to see crisises like these. There remains a great need for local involvement by constituents. We can not be so focused on the federal level that we forget to look after our homes.
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August 14, 2008 by
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The editor has an ax to grind- with corrupt incumbent Pennsylvania legislators. In response to a poll taken by Quinnipiac University, 3 out of 4 Pennsylvania residents do not believe the legislature will take steps to improve ethics in their state capitol. The poll was taken in the wake of the scandal.
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This is sound advice for many, many -too many- cities. Voters of New Orleans, Chicago, Youngstown, Detroit.. are you listening???
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July 23, 2008 by
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Pennsylvania Treasurer Robin L. Wiessmann opened a new yesterday that allows taxpayers access to information on state contracts. The database was created to comply with PA’s new Right-to-Know Law signed into law early this year.
According to the , the database seems to have been carefully crafted for usability.
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Additional parts of the Right-to-Know legislation will be enacted on Jan 1, 2009.
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June 23, 2008 by
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Here’s my transparency weekend round-up:
prescription cialis: The bill I mentioned became law last week with Gov. Jodi Rell’s signature on the steps of the Capitol, where she took her oath of office. The legislation allowing a judge to reduce or revoke the pension of a corrupt public official will go into effect October 1. More from
prescription cialis: The Buckeye Institute released a with Americans for Prosperity’s Jack Boyle that discusses transparency and fiscal restraint.
prescription cialis: Legislation advanced in the Senate to require all taxpayer-funded advertising to include the dislaimer “Paid for with Pennsylvania taxpayer dollars.” Read more .
prescription cialis: Indicted Congressman William Jefferson defies ethics advocates by for re-election.
Hope you’re looking forward to another great week of transparency reporting.
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June 1, 2008 by
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lauds the Pennsylvania state Senate for the online release of its legislative journals going back to 1993. The journals contain records of floor votes and debates. It also calls for additional transparency within the state’s government.
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In a bipartisan , Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati (R-25) said, “This is another step in our ongoing effort to make the Senate’s activity more transparent to the public. It is a natural outgrowth of our new rules and our new attitude.”
If you want to check out the newly released journals, please click .