CalAware Today

Feinstein: No Shield Law for Bloggers, Wikileaks

By Anne Lowe

FREE PRESS -- A bill headed for a vote in the U.S. Senate could extend protection to journalists who refuse to divulge their materials or sources, but contentions have arisen as to who should share that protection. California's Sen. Dianne Feinstein, unsuccessful at excluding bloggers from the bill, now wants an amendment excluding Wikileaks.

Report: L.A. County Sitting on Child Death Data

By Anne Lowe

OPEN GOVERNMENT -- An Independent audit released Monday found that the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services has often failed publicly to report child deaths related to abuse or neglect, which is a violation of a state law effective in 2008.

Newspapers Warn of Purpose-spiked Traffic Fines

By Anne Lowe

FREE PRESS -- Last-minute amendments to a bill aiming to increase punishment for Hollywood paparazzi who violate traffic laws could also lead to serious problems for ordinary journalists in transit to breaking news stories, warns the California Newspaper Publishers Association.

Keeping School Board Business All in the Family

By Anne Lowe

OPEN MEETINGS --  Three members of the same household are vying for spots on a school board in Sunnyvale, and their housing situation could make compliance with the Brown Act difficult if they are elected in November.

CSU Stanislaus Releases Palin Speaker's Contract

PUBLIC INFORMATION -- CSU Stanislaus today released the Sarah Palin speaking engagement contract as ordered by the judge in the case brought by Californians Aware, with the following statement by University Counsel Dawn Theodora.

Judge: CSU Stanislaus Must Release Palin Contract

PUBLIC INFORMATION -- California State University Stanislaus violated its duties under the state’s public records law and must release the CSU Foundation's speaking contract with former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, as well as its own costs for the July 20th event, a judge has ruled.

Court: Judge Can't Bar Publishing of Lawful Photo

FREE PRESS -- The California Court of Appeal has ruled that once the Los Angeles Times lawfully took photos of a criminal defendant on court premises, the judge who gave permission could not constitutionally reverse herself and order it not to publish the pictures except as a last resort, reports Kenneth Ofgang in the Metropolitan News-Enterprise—and the judge failed that principle. 

Judge Poised to Rule against Brown Act Challenge

OPEN MEETINGS  -- Can a local government body hold unannounced, nonpublic "team-building" luncheon gatherings (before their official meetings) without violating the Brown Act so long as their discussions stick to comparing notes on office procedures, travel plans and other administrative issues and do not get into "policy making discussions?"  One judge is apparently poised to rule to that effect, reports Valerie Gibbons in the Visalia Times-Delta.

A Hell Far Worse Than Bell

OPEN GOVERNMENT -- The story of official avarice in the city of Bell continues, astonishingly, to worsen. But it can’t compare with what Los Angeles County officials at the highest level are doing to avoid being brought to account for the suffering and deaths of helpless children.

Court: Bogus Heroes' Lies Steal Nobody's Valor

FREE SPEECH -- Josh Gerstein, writing for Politico's Under the Radar column, comments on today's 2-1 decision by the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that Congress's Stolen Valor Act violates the First Amendment by criminalizing lies—"I won this military medal"—that cause no evident harm. As earlier argued here, this is the correct decision. 

California Officials’ Tin Ear for Religious Speech

FREE SPEECH -- The California Court of Appeal has decided, in Snatchko v. Westfield LLC, that the owner of a shopping mall called the Roseville Galleria, north of Sacramento, violated the speech rights of a Christian youth pastor when its staff turned him over to police for having a religious conversation with two other mall patrons. The decision is significant statewide for several reasons.

A.G.: CSU Stanislaus Foundation Ignorant of Duties

OPEN  GOVERNMENT -- Concluding an investigation into fundraising practices at California State University Stanislaus, Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced today that the CSU Stanislaus Foundation has agreed to improve oversight of the money it raises and spends for the school.

Why Bell Happened and How to Prevent Repeats

OPEN GOVERNMENT -- The explosive self-dealing scandal that has in a matter of weeks blown away the city of Bell's senior administrative tier was probably inevitable, given the gaps in the Brown Act and the newspaper publishing tradition that once provided small towns with a watchful eye and a voice to be reckoned with, notes a commentary in Voice of OC.