{"id":2099,"date":"2009-07-26T10:56:05","date_gmt":"2009-07-26T15:56:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/?p=2099"},"modified":"2022-05-13T14:41:44","modified_gmt":"2022-05-13T19:41:44","slug":"perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/2009\/07\/26\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\/","title":{"rendered":"Perry’s perks, tax protests, and bad PR"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"San<\/p>\n

Today’s front page of the San Antonio Express-News<\/a> was dominated by stories that all relied on public records:<\/p>\n

  • Karisa King<\/a> analyzed a public database that tracks property tax disputes in Bexar County. “Everybody wants lower property taxes. But those with the least ability to pay rarely protest their appraised values, while owners of upscale homes are far more inclined to fight their bills.”<\/li>\n
  • Melissa Ludwigg<\/a> used public records found at the courthouse and through an open records request to uncover “an embarrassing public relations problem” at the University of Texas at San Antonio.<\/li>\n
  • \nR.G. Ratcliffe at the Houston Chronicle examined<\/a> Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s disclosure statements. “On the dollars of taxpayers and wealthy donors, Gov. Rick Perry \u2014 reared amid the cotton fields of West Texas \u2014 gets to live the life of the rich and famous, traveling the world meeting captains of industry, sports stars and royalty.” <\/li>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Related: How to send documents to an investigative reporter<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

    These stories are a shining example of the value of public records — they help reporters, bloggers and the public discover new information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Today’s front page of the San Antonio Express-News was dominated by stories that all relied on public records: Karisa King analyzed a public database that tracks property tax disputes in Bexar County. “Everybody wants lower property taxes. But those with the least ability to pay rarely protest their appraised values, while owners of upscale homes … <\/p>\n

    Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5,6],"tags":[52,412,435,451,508,569],"class_list":["post-2099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-express-news-stories","category-journalism","category-open-records","tag-bexar-appraisal-district","tag-public-records","tag-rick-perry","tag-san-antonio-express-news","tag-texas","tag-university-of-texas-at-san-antonio","infinite-scroll-item","masonry-post","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"yoast_head":"\nPerry's perks, tax protests, and bad PR | John Tedesco<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/2009\/07\/26\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Perry's perks, tax protests, and bad PR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today’s front page of the San Antonio Express-News was dominated by stories that all relied on public records: Karisa King analyzed a public database that tracks property tax disputes in Bexar County. “Everybody wants lower property taxes. But those with the least ability to pay rarely protest their appraised values, while owners of upscale homes ... Read more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/2009\/07\/26\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"John Tedesco\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-07-26T15:56:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-05-13T19:41:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/propertyprotests1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"343\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"705\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"John Tedesco\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@John_Tedesco\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@john_tedesco\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"John Tedesco\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/07\\\/26\\\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/07\\\/26\\\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"John Tedesco\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c9553e8928f804751fd5f4b84ade59ce\"},\"headline\":\"Perry’s perks, tax protests, and bad PR\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-07-26T15:56:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-05-13T19:41:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/07\\\/26\\\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":189,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/65215f1cfbc6d6af95b00ec1b6e8eac5\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/07\\\/26\\\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2009\\\/07\\\/propertyprotests1.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Bexar Appraisal District\",\"Public records\",\"Rick Perry\",\"San Antonio Express-News\",\"Texas\",\"University of Texas at San Antonio\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Express-News Stories\",\"Journalism\",\"Open Records\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/07\\\/26\\\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/07\\\/26\\\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/07\\\/26\\\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\\\/\",\"name\":\"Perry's perks, tax protests, and bad PR | John Tedesco\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/07\\\/26\\\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/07\\\/26\\\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2009\\\/07\\\/propertyprotests1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2009-07-26T15:56:05+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-05-13T19:41:44+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/07\\\/26\\\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/07\\\/26\\\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/07\\\/26\\\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2009\\\/07\\\/propertyprotests1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2009\\\/07\\\/propertyprotests1.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/2009\\\/07\\\/26\\\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Perry’s perks, tax protests, and bad PR\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"John Tedesco\",\"description\":\"Investigative Journalist in Houston, Texas\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/65215f1cfbc6d6af95b00ec1b6e8eac5\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":[\"Person\",\"Organization\"],\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/65215f1cfbc6d6af95b00ec1b6e8eac5\",\"name\":\"John Tedesco\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/John-Tedesco-investigative-journalist.jpg\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/John-Tedesco-investigative-journalist.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/John-Tedesco-investigative-journalist.jpg\",\"width\":250,\"height\":233,\"caption\":\"John Tedesco\"},\"logo\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/11\\\/John-Tedesco-investigative-journalist.jpg\"},\"description\":\"Investigative reporter for the Houston Chronicle\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/johntedesco.net\\\/blog\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/johntedesco\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/john_tedesco\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/john_tedesco\",\"https:\\\/\\\/mastodon.online\\\/@John_Tedesco\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Key Topics Editor\",\"worksFor\":\"Houston Chronicle\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/johntedesco.net\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/c9553e8928f804751fd5f4b84ade59ce\",\"name\":\"John Tedesco\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Perry's perks, tax protests, and bad PR | John Tedesco","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/2009\/07\/26\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Perry's perks, tax protests, and bad PR","og_description":"Today’s front page of the San Antonio Express-News was dominated by stories that all relied on public records: Karisa King analyzed a public database that tracks property tax disputes in Bexar County. “Everybody wants lower property taxes. But those with the least ability to pay rarely protest their appraised values, while owners of upscale homes ... Read more","og_url":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/2009\/07\/26\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\/","og_site_name":"John Tedesco","article_published_time":"2009-07-26T15:56:05+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-05-13T19:41:44+00:00","og_image":[{"width":343,"height":705,"url":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/propertyprotests1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"John Tedesco","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@John_Tedesco","twitter_site":"@john_tedesco","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"John Tedesco","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/2009\/07\/26\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/2009\/07\/26\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\/"},"author":{"name":"John Tedesco","@id":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c9553e8928f804751fd5f4b84ade59ce"},"headline":"Perry’s perks, tax protests, and bad PR","datePublished":"2009-07-26T15:56:05+00:00","dateModified":"2022-05-13T19:41:44+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/2009\/07\/26\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\/"},"wordCount":189,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/65215f1cfbc6d6af95b00ec1b6e8eac5"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/2009\/07\/26\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.johntedesco.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/propertyprotests1.jpg","keywords":["Bexar Appraisal District","Public records","Rick Perry","San Antonio Express-News","Texas","University of Texas at San Antonio"],"articleSection":["Express-News Stories","Journalism","Open Records"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/2009\/07\/26\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/2009\/07\/26\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\/","url":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/2009\/07\/26\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\/","name":"Perry's perks, tax protests, and bad PR | John Tedesco","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/2009\/07\/26\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/2009\/07\/26\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.johntedesco.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/propertyprotests1.jpg","datePublished":"2009-07-26T15:56:05+00:00","dateModified":"2022-05-13T19:41:44+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/2009\/07\/26\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/2009\/07\/26\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/2009\/07\/26\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.johntedesco.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/propertyprotests1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.johntedesco.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/07\/propertyprotests1.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/2009\/07\/26\/perrys-perks-tax-protests-and-bad-pr\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Perry’s perks, tax protests, and bad PR"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/","name":"John Tedesco","description":"Investigative Journalist in Houston, Texas","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/65215f1cfbc6d6af95b00ec1b6e8eac5"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/65215f1cfbc6d6af95b00ec1b6e8eac5","name":"John Tedesco","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/John-Tedesco-investigative-journalist.jpg","url":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/John-Tedesco-investigative-journalist.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/John-Tedesco-investigative-journalist.jpg","width":250,"height":233,"caption":"John Tedesco"},"logo":{"@id":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/John-Tedesco-investigative-journalist.jpg"},"description":"Investigative reporter for the Houston Chronicle","sameAs":["https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/johntedesco\/","https:\/\/x.com\/john_tedesco","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/john_tedesco","https:\/\/mastodon.online\/@John_Tedesco"],"jobTitle":"Key Topics Editor","worksFor":"Houston Chronicle"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/c9553e8928f804751fd5f4b84ade59ce","name":"John Tedesco"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1LGaa-xR","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2099"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2099\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15939,"href":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2099\/revisions\/15939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johntedesco.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}