With the Legislature back in session, it’s time once again for politicians to consider tinkering with the state’s Public Records Law.
Even when our state faces dire economic times, legislators and lobbyists for public agencies can always find time to make an effort to undermine the law, first passed by citizen initiative back in 1972.
In the nearly 40 years since the campaign to pass the law, the number of exemptions allowed has risen from a concise 10 exemptions to more than 300, according to Greg Overstreet, a former assistant attorney general who works on open government issues with Seattle’s Allied Law Group.
And this year, at least four more bills are before the Legislature.
In the Sunday and Monday Herald, reporters John Trumbo and Kristi Pihl will detail those efforts, what prompted them and just what public officials see as the current problems with the law.
They found, among other surprises, that reporters from newspapers, radio, television and websites are but a small part of the flood of public records requests that public agencies must deal with.
“We used to make 80 percent of” the records requests, said Rowland Thompson, executive director of Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington, which represents two dozen newspapers across the state. “But now I’ll bet it is 5 percent.”
And if this hasn’t whetted your appetite to find out more about the Herald’s two-day series, you can hear more on National Public Radio at KFAE-FM, 89.1 mhz, Friday morning at 6:35 and 8:35.
NWPR’s Sueann Ramella interviewed me about the series this week for the debut of a new occasional series on the public radio station.
It’s a new collaboration between NWPR and the Herald, plus some other Washington state newspapers, to discus important issues facing our region’s communities.
And if you can’t catch the broadcast, there’s a link above to an mp3 of the interview Sueann prepared.
— Ken Robertson: 582-1520; krobertson@tricityherald.com
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Public records request: Dialogue could save a lot
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Lunch in the White House in 1961
Lunch in the White House in 1961
In 1961 President John F. Kennedy began a series of luncheons with newspaper publishers. Even Mrs. Kennedy hosted a luncheon in April of that year in the East ballroom for 196 women who worked in news, radio, television and magazines. In October, 1961 Tri-City Herald publisher Glenn Lee was invited and his experience is reprinted here. Too bad he didn't bring a camera. Accompanying this story is the original photo...one of Lee himself.
Herald publisher tells of his luncheon with President
By Glenn C. Lee, Herald publisher
Published on October 22, 1961
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