Mr. Governor, why do you try to control our right to know?

From John Curry, May 6, 2011

And...why didn't the Dispatch run an editorial like this one....after all...they are so much closer to Columbus, aren't they? John

P.S. Didn't former Supreme Court Justice Brandeis say, "Sunshine is the best disinfectant"?

There should be no deal on advertising that could compromise government integrity, and no effort to make it harder for Ohioans to find public notices they need to see.

http://toledoblade.com/Editorials/2011/05/06/Public-notice.html

Public notice

The Ohio House of Representatives has taken a big step toward ensuring that government will continue to notify citizens of public matters in timely and accessible fashion.

State Rep. Randy Gardner (R., Bowling Green), led a bipartisan House effort to resist proposed changes in the way that public notices, on issues from tax delinquencies to local elections, are published. Gov. John Kasich's administration tried to substitute government Web sites for local newspapers as the places where such notices first, fully appear. That plan would have carried too much risk of citizens missing important notices.

Newspapers such as The Blade make money by printing public notices. But it is safe to say that most citizens are more apt to see such notices in their local newspaper than on government Web pages.

When Internet use is universal, citizens may no longer have to depend on print media to relay public information about official business. Until then, access to public notices continues to require a medium that can reliably deliver data to a wide variety of people.

Another administration proposal would allow government agencies to sell commercial advertising on their official Web sites. That prospect would create conflicts of interest among governments who deal with potential advertisers with business before them.

There should be no deal on advertising that could compromise government integrity, and no effort to make it harder for Ohioans to find public notices they need to see.

Mr. Gardner and his colleagues deserve credit for recognizing the public interest in official transparency.