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The New England First Amendment Coalition just released the results of its poll of New Englanders’ views on open government in general and public records access in particular.

Some key findings:

– 92 percent of New Englanders feel having easy access to public records is important to their role as citizens;

– A quarter of respondents strongly believe public business in their community is done in secret;

– 49 percent agree  their local government does an excellent job of keeping government records up to date and open to the public. The number falls to 37 percent for state government;

– Most people polled believe the media seeks public information useful to citizens. (One in four people disagreed, 14 percent strongly.)

An early take from this corner: Looking at some results, one might think the majority of folks are pretty happy with the openness of their government. For example, most residents — in the 90 percent range — say they have never been denied access to a public record they wanted or been barred from a public meeting.

Nine out of 10, though,  isn’t good enough. It’s easy to turn over a basic public record, or allow access to an uncontroversial meeting. The real test is how open government officials are when dealing with controversial issues.

That seems to be supported by some of the report’s deeper numbers, as shared by the First Amendment Coalition:

Dr. Andrew Smith, director of UNH’s Survey Center said the overarching significance of the poll lies in how highly citizens value openness in government and how skeptical they are that public officials share that value.

He points to the high percentage of respondents who believe open records laws should be strengthened (63 percent agree, 40 percent of those strongly) and the high number who believe officials who withhold information should have to pay a citizen’s legal bills to gain access.

Skepticism was widespread in the poll’s findings. For example, 44 percent of the respondents either strongly agreed or somewhat agreed that not “all public business” is done in public view. And 23 percent doubted that a public record would be surrendered in a timely manner. Only 37 percent believed state government does an excellent job of keeping records up to date and open to the public.

You can find the full report here.

Hundreds of news stories, briefs, editorials, letters to the editor and photographs appear in the six issues of The Salem News every week. Here are some stories and photos you may have missed:

PHOTO OF THE WEEK: Holly and Ryan Travis of Salem met years ago at Spooky World and share a unique bond -- relishing the chance to scare the heck out of people. Photo by Ken Yuszkus

– The race for mayor of Beverly is heating up. Check out last week’s profiles of incumbent William Scanlon and challenger John Burke.

– Homelessness was in the news Wednesday, with a report on the increasing number of homeless students in Danvers hotels and a look at how the Salem Mission is helping two of its clients get back on their feet.

– Our stomachs are still churning over the idea of clam chowder ice cream.

– Columnist David Shribman, editor of the Pittburgh Post-Gazette, used his national column to remember a favorite North Shore teacher.

– St. John’s Prep golf coach Larry O’Neill earned his 300th victory.

Holly and Ryan Travis when they're not trying to scare folks half to death.

The Salem News will host a candidates debate in Peabody next week. The event, to be held in City Hall, will feature candidates for mayor, the School Committee and city councilor at-large, and will run from 7 to 9 p.m.

If you have a question you would like the candidates to answer, e-mail it to dolson@salemnews.com, and it may be included in the debate. Questions specific to Peabody have the best chance of being asked.

The Salem News guide to autumn activities, North Shore in Fall, will publish Oct. 15

Much like our popular summer guide, the glossy magazine will include information on local  concerts, plays, musicals, harvest festivals, author visits, comedy fundraisers, museum exhibits and Halloween events, just to name a few.

We’re looking for help giving our readers a packed calendar. If your nonprofit or community group has an event this fall and you would like a free listing in our fall calendar, please send the information to fallguide@salemnews.com.

The deadline for listings is Sept 10.

This week’s editor’s column talks about our new calendar. We’d love to hear your feedback.