Parachini says he was fired because the court didn't like his openness

Allan Parachini was a rarity in the world of government affairs: He was helpful. That very quality appears to be the thing that did him in as PIO for the Los Angeles County court system. While accusing Parachini of leaking information to the celebrity-gossip site TMZ (which embarrasses celebrities), court officials seem to have been more concerned with Parachini's efforts to make public information available to the public (which has the potential to embarrass court officials), according to today's Los Angeles Times story.

Parachini got fired this week after eight years on the job. The Times story indicates that court officials got fed up with him after he failed to find excuses to drag his feet in turning over documents related to contracts, salaries and court spending - all of which are supposed to be public.