Join us for the first of a monthly hangout where New Mexico journalists compare notes on Inspection of Public Records Act requests, offer tips, generate story ideas, talk to experts and hold local government accountable. (Here’s the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government’s FAQ on the state’s IPRA, if you’re looking for some background.)

We’ll be chatting via Google Hangout with Kelly Hinchcliffe, an investigative reporter at WRAL.com in Raleigh, N.C., about employment contracts. Find her on Twitter: @RecordsGeek

Check out her article for Poynter: Why employment contracts are so much fun for a public records geek.

“Several years ago, I collected contracts for all 115 public school superintendents in North Carolina and found that some received thousands of dollars in bonuses, cars, security details and money to pay for their mortgages.

One of the most memorable contracts came from a small coastal community whose new superintendent got school board members to give her a house. But that wasn’t all. She also convinced them to install a nearly $4,300 fence for her dogs, all paid for with taxpayer money.”

IPRA Friday

July 24, 2015

5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Albuquerque Press Club

201 Highland Park Circle SE, 87102