E-mail messages to a city council member, county commissioner, state agency head or the governor are usually public records, available for anyone to view upon request.

The Marines took years to respond to a request for information about an Osprey crash.

Courthouses capture the drama of unraveling marriages, murderers ordered to die and landlords booting tenants.

Mecklenburg County now tapes non-public discussions. No Triangle agency is following suit.

Gov. Beverly Perdue is pushing North Carolina into the growing ranks of states that make public spending more accessible to those who foot the bill.

Cary police have until Sept. 2 to continue their investigation in private to solve the murder of Nancy Cooper, a judge ruled Monday.

A judge orders dozens of Johnston County cases sealed. A professor says they are on the public record.

Under the Dome:Superior Court Judge Jim Hardin entered a motion to dismiss a public records lawsuit against Richard Moore on Monday in Wake County Superior Court, the Associated Press reported.

Under the Dome:Gov. Mike Easley's administration is still having trouble turning over copies of the e-mail messages of its officials.

Under the Dome:Legislation that would require state and local governments to pay reasonable legal fees when they lose a public records lawsuit cleared a Senate judiciary committee Tuesday after an attempt to gut the bill.

Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, a Fayetteville Democrat, could not cite a reason under the public meetings law why a reporter would be excluded from a meeting of House and Senate leaders. But he said the meeting had nothing to do with the budget.

The White House on Friday asserted executive privilege in denying a congressional request for documents related to the federal government's rejection of California's efforts to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions.