By Pat Bradley
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-848056.mp3
Montpelier, VT – Using grant money, two Vermont public policy think tanks from opposite ends of the political spectrum have worked together to create a new web site to give the public better access to government information. WAMC North Country Bureau Chief Pat Bradley has more.
The liberal-leaning Public Assets Institute and the more conservative free-market Ethan Allen Institute have named the new web site Vermont-Transparency . The groups will post information about Vermont government at all levels. Public Assets Institute Analyst Jack Hoffman says the Ethan Allen Institute's John McClaughry contacted them after reading an article on the germinating idea in the weekly Seven Days.
Seven Days Political Columnist Shay Totten says the two Institutes could not be more different philosophically, but have successfully collaborated to create the site .
Resources on Vermont Transparency range from municipal spending to access to Vermont Supreme Court opinions. Republican Party Chair Rob Roper says a website like Vermont Transparency has been needed.