Watchdog.org Podcast

This is “In Our Backyards,” Watchdog.org’s podcast that examines local government — because the government that is the closest to you often can be the most important, even if you don’t hear much about it. We look at city councils, school boards and even water treatment authorities, because local officials can waste your tax dollars as easily as Congress can waste them. Government is real when it’s close by, in schools and local police forces. As Eric Boehm explains in this episdoe, police in Washington State will have to get a judge's permission before using so-called "stingrays" to track and monitor cell phone calls.  Police using stingrays, also known as simulated cell towers, now have to get approval from a judge, and they will have to use the devices to seek specific individuals rather than sweeping all calls in a certain area. State Rep. David Taylor, who sponsored the legislation, sits down with Boehm to discuss the importance of protecting our privacy and why st