In Indiana County, a resident was forbidden to see the terms of a $2 million state grant given to a railroad to move coal on dormant tracks 200 yards from his house.

In Allentown, the coroner refused to release the autopsy report of a police officer killed at police headquarters by a fellow officer.

The New Castle News has been forced to sue to get a copy of a settlement between the New Castle School District and two families who disputed a uniform policy.

Statewide, the Department of Agriculture refuses to release the names of restaurants that have committed health violations serious enough to result in criminal charges. And police departments aren't required to release information about unsolved violent crimes, including rape and murder.

Secrecy in government isn't just bad for democracy, it's dangerous.

For years, Pennsylvania newspapers, Common Cause and other advocacy groups have been trying to change Pennsylvania's Right to Know law. So far, most of the state legislators haven't shown much interest. They've told us that open records aren't important to their constituents. They're wrong.

According to the Associated Press, most public-records requests received by PennDOT in 2004 came from the general public. At the state Department of Health, only a third of written requests that year came from reporters.

With your help, we think things can change.

It's an election year, and legislators are still worried about a backlash from last year's midnight pay-raise vote. For the first time in decades, incumbents are facing competition as they try to keep their seats. Many of those new candidates were recruited by PACleanSweep, which advocated accountability in the legislature.

Accountability is impossible without open records. Unfortunately, Pennsylvania has one of the worst open-records laws in the nation.

Most other states presume all records made by public entities are open to the public, then make exceptions for confidential informants, medical information and other items that legitimately need to be kept private. In Pennsylvania, all records are presumed to be closed, with only a few exceptions.

Pennsylvanians don't have a right to timely crime information, traffic studies, school board agendas and thousands of other documents people in other states can see.

The state legislature is exempt from the Right to Know law. Pennsylvanians don't have a right to see their legislators' complete voting records, monthly expenses or legislative studies, even though that information was compiled with taxpayer dollars.

Pennsylvanians must sue in court if they disagree with a government agency's decision to withhold records. There's nothing like an election to make politicians sit up and pay attention to what their constituents have to say.We regularly ask politicians about what they would do to improve the state's economy, and that's an issue they have little control over. The Right to Know law is completely in their hands.

This year is the best chance Pennsylvanians have had in ages to get the open government we deserve. But it won't happen unless residents show that they care.

If you'd like the right to see the documents the government has compiled on your behalf, attend a public meeting or debate in which your candidates are speaking. Ask them about their stance on the Right to Know law and what they plan to do to change it.

Write letters to the editor about their response. If you need more information, please contact me at 570-752-3646 or Susan.S@pressenterprise.net. I can provide you with a copy of the Right to Know law and more examples of how the current law has hurt ordinary Pennsylvanians.