The long cleanup of Irene and Lee
Our opinion: The cleanup of the devastation left by this summer’s storms proceeds far more slowly than politicians’ upbeat press releases would suggest. It’s time for a reality check, and openness. If...
View ArticleSUNY’s secret game play
Our opinion: SUNY doesn’t seem to have fully learned that spending public money means the public gets to know how. Perhaps it takes a doctorate of logic to understand how the State University of New...
View ArticlePublic pensions, secret pensions
Our opinion: The state Senate needs to follow the Assembly’s lead and pass a bill to make pension recipients’ names public. The cost of the public employee pensions in New York is one of the most hotly...
View ArticleLong story short
Our opinion: We offer our views on a new state data website and speech-chilling policies, an agreement between the AG and gun show operators, and Siena’s decision to fire its basketball coach. Just in...
View ArticleWhose election is this, anyway?
Our opinion: Rensselaer County should give up its fight to to keep ballot records secret. In our republic, there is little as fundamental — as sacrosanct, really — as the voting process. To retain the...
View ArticleCharter school $ecret$
Our opinion: Charter schools are public schools spending public money. The books should be open. By the State Education Department’s latest count, 87,000 children in New York attend 233 charter...
View ArticleA fresh burst of sunlight in Washington?
Our opinion: The Obama administration’s secrecy underscores the need for changes in the federal Freedom of Information Act. For citizens who believe open government is fundamental to a healthy...
View ArticleProtect the public’s access
Our opinion: We mark the end of Sunshine Week looking at some state legislation that’s good, and not so good, for the public’s right to know. You cannot have a thorough discussion about the escalating...
View ArticleWill the First Amendment survive the information age?
(This is a full version of an op-ed that appears in print today, marking Sunshine week) By Anders Gyllenhaal Ten lawsuits have piled up this year over net neutrality, making the federal push to assure...
View ArticleEditorial: Shine light on Legislature
Forty-three years ago, New York’s state Legislature took a huge step from the days when government officials could arbitrarily keep secrets and do public business behind closed doors, to an era of...
View ArticleEditorial: 21st century tech, 20th century rules
(We’re doing some short daily editorials all week for Sunshine Week. Today’s concerns unnecessary fees for public information.) Remember those old spy movies where the hero covertly photographed secret...
View ArticleEditorial: Some New York sunshine
Our opinion: Bills to open police disciplinary records and compensate citizens who sue governments illegally withholding public information should become law. It’s about accountable government. What...
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