EDITORIAL: Keep legal notices in plain sight

Each year in the Indiana General Assembly, it seems, there are challenges to the principles that the public's business should be done in public and that public information should be easily accessible.

Veteran newsman Mark Kiesling dies

Mark Kiesling, longtime staff writer and columnist for The Times, died Thursday afternoon.

The Times wins 8 HSPA awards

INDIANAPOLIS | The Times won eight awards, including best website among two first-place honors, at Saturday's Hoosier State Press Association Better Newspaper Contest luncheon in Indianapolis.

Times ad designers scoop HSPA awards

The Times Media Co. recently won top prizes in the 2012 Hoosier State Press Association Foundation Advertising Contest, including a first place for its creative work on the "Care & Share Food Drive" that fed thousands of school-age children.

EDITORIAL: Put public notices where public will find them

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management's Office of Air Quality has decided to post notices of public hearings exclusively on its website and no longer in the media. In doing so, the agency has made the public's business much more difficult to follow.

New law imposes fines for denying access to public records

INDIANAPOLIS | Government officials who refuse to turn over documents requested by the public can be fined under a law signed Monday by Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels.

EDITORIAL: Indiana public access laws close to gaining teeth

Indiana received high marks Wednesday for state government transparency from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, but that's not the only good news. Transparency will be improved further because of state legislation approved this year to add penalties to the state's public access laws.

The Times to webcast Lake County trials

INDIANAPOLIS | The Times soon will begin broadcasting Lake County civil court hearings on its website, nwi.com, as part of a pilot project intended to bring courts closer to residents.

The Times wins 16 HSPA awards

INDIANAPOLIS | The Times won 16 awards, including four first-place honors, at Saturday's Hoosier State Press Association Better Newspaper Contest luncheon in Indianapolis.

EDITORIAL: Screen candidates on public access

As state laws go, Indiana's Open Door Law and Access to Public Records Act have left their dentures in the glass on the nightstand. Those laws lack the teeth they need to enforce them.

DOUG ROSS: What would Obama say about Northwest Indiana?

When President Barack Obama visited Indianapolis on May 6, state Sen. Earline Rogers, D-Gary, said she wants the president to visit Gary. After Thursday's speech on the Middle East, I started wondering what he would say about Northwest Indiana.

EDITORIAL: Access laws need more teeth

Residents eager for guidance on how to interact with their government sparked a spirited discussion on public access laws Wednesday. It was a good training session for the nearly 90 attendees. The seminar also served as a reminder that the laws themselves need some updating, too.

Public access laws explained at seminar

MERRILLVILLE | Local elected officials, police officers and residents were among those who received a better understanding of the state's open meetings and open records laws Wednesday.

GUEST COMMENTARY: Public access seminar supports open government

To gain and maintain the trust of the public, government must be open and transparent in the way it conducts the public's business. If government officials huddle behind closed doors or refuse to release public records, they won't enjoy the public's trust. And trust is a necessity to govern.

Times wins 17 Hoosier State Press Association awards

The Times was recognized Saturday by the Hoosier State Press Association as second best in general excellence among the state's largest newspapers.

Times executive editor named to Hall of Fame

Times Executive Editor William Nangle has been named to the Indiana Journalism Hall of Fame for his conspicuous contribution to the field of journalism during his more than 47-year career.

EDITORIAL: What is waste management board hiding?

There are two differing legal opinions on whether the Lake County Solid Waste Management District broke the law with a secret meeting. The bigger question, though, is this: What is it trying to hide?

Access counselor reaffirms opinion that waste district meeting followed the law

Since 10 solid waste district board members were not an officially appointed board committee, no open meetings laws were violated during their closed Sept. 23 gathering, the state's access counselor said Tuesday.

Attorney: Closed meeting may have violated law

Lake County solid waste officials may have convened what should have been a public meeting when they discussed a contract issue in a meeting they closed to the public, a media-law attorney says.