I'm in Columbus today, with five of my colleagues from the Sandusky Register, attending the Spring Conference 2009 of the Society of Professional Journalists.

In this age of "transparent" governments, I thought it would be good to compile a list of some of the public documents that have not yet seen the light of day:

*The report that led to Perkins police Lt. Al Jenkins firing (estimated cost to taxpayers, $10,000);

The irony is just when you need them most, budget cuts for the Erie County Jobs and Family Services agency, and peer agencies across the five-county region, make it more difficult to provide all the services agency workers would like to provide.

Here's a thumbs up to Ottawa County Sheriff Bob Bratton, who on Saturday expressed some anger about the lake rescue of 134 ice fishers near Crane Creek State Park.

Just how Gov. Ted Strickland will pay for the funding hike he’s proposed for Ohio’s public schools remains to be seen. At least he had the guts to put it on the table, however, and keep with the timeframe he established when he took office in January 2007.

Maybe some people were just born with the ability to talk effectively to the media. If so, then Brian Vogt, a vice president at American Coating Specialists in Norwalk, is one of those people.

Fired Sandusky police Chief Kim Nuesse's civil service hearing is a dog-and-pony show costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. Erie County prosecutor Kevin Baxter is the dog, and retired judge Joseph Cirigliano is the pony.

Kevin Baxter will testify this month in the Kim Nuesse civil service hearing, and I expect he will allow the cameras to roll when he does. That would be the best way to assure residents get the best and most complete information on this important topic.