And why confusing the two costs you leverage One of the most common mistakes people make is treating a Public Records Request (PRR) like it’s discovery-lite. It isn’t. Discovery is a court-controlled process. Public records is a constitutional obligation. That distinction is not academic. It’s structural. And it determines who has leverage. Discovery: answers on their terms Discovery happens after …
Most people file public records requests like they’re ordering a pizza. “Any and all emails about X.” “Anything you have on Y.” Congrats. You just handed the agency a stall button. FOI isn’t about learning stuff. FOI is about making an institution account for itself in writing. And that’s where it gets interesting. Process Beats Protest Protest is noise. Process …
This isn’t about tone. Definitely not about personalities. It’s about sequence. Timing. And what ends up in the file when the meeting is over. At the last meeting (January 20, 2026), Commissioner Shinitsky, aka Proffer Shitsky of District #3, voted to stay with BSO. That motion failed, 3–2. No ambiguity there. Minutes later—same meeting, same issue—he votes to leave BSO. …
