CalAware Today

Berkeley Sunshine Ordinance Gets First Review

By Anne Lowe

OPEN GOVERNMENT – A work session on a proposed ordinance to increase public access to public meetings and records has been continued to January, the Berkeley Daily Planet reports.

L.A. Times Debuts Online Crime-Tracking Feature

By Anne Lowe

PUBLIC INFORMATION – The Los Angeles Times will now be using daily reports from local law enforcement agencies to create an online database that maps and analyzes crime in Los Angeles County.

Californian's Bill Would Slow Secrecy Stamping

OPEN GOVERNMENT – Venice Congresswoman Jane Harman's  Reducing Overclassification Act, which aims to curb the excessive secrecy labeling of intelligence materials, passed the House and Senate Monday and will now be sent to President Obama for his signature.

Feel-Good Bill Signed to Cure a Non-Problem

PUBLIC INFORMATION – A bill allowing the families of murdered children to request that the autopsy reports be sealed was signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Monday, but these reports are already treated as confidential.

San Bernardino County Gets Sunshine Ordinance

By Anne Lowe

OPEN GOVERNMENT – San Bernardino County supervisors tentatively approved an ordinance Tuesday that will increase public access to county documents, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reports.

Alameda Sued for E-mails on Development Deal

By Anne Lowe

PUBLIC INFORMATION – The City of Alameda has beeen sued for failing to respond to a Public Records Act request that sought e-mail messages pertaining to a contract with a real estate developer; the city's policy is that all e-mails are exempt as "drafts" until they are periodically and routinely destroyed on a wholesale basis.

Ten Promises Any Politician Can Make—and Keep

By Anne Lowe

OPEN GOVERNMENT– Politicians are well-known for grand campaign promises that are quickly forgotten once elections are over. Californians Aware’s General Counsel Terry Francke says there are ten promises a candidate could make that could give him or her an edge over competitors—no matter wh at the office or the other issues may be.

Bill to Put Key Financial, Audit Data online Vetoed

By Anne Lowe

OPEN GOVERNMENT – A bill aiming to increase government transparency by requiring key financial information of state and local agencies to be posted in a central location on the Internet was vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Saturday—with something like a "been there, done that" rationale.

L.A. County Stalls Naming the Quarter Million Club

By Anne Lowe

PUBLIC INFORMATION – Los Angeles County is stalling a Public Records Act request for information on county employees earning more than $250,000 per year, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Courts Want Comment on Transparency Proposals

By Anne Lowe

OPEN COURTS – The Judicial Council of California is inviting the public to comment on a proposal that would increase news media access to court proceedings and records.

Father of Open Records Law Backs Yee's SB 330

By Anne Lowe

OPEN GOVERNMENT – A bill aimed at increasing accountability for university auxiliary organizations has gathered a wide base of support as it sits on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s desk—and supporters include the father of the California Public Records Act (CPRA) himself.

Union: Workers Comp Fund Board Too Secretive

By Anne Lowe

OPEN GOVERNMENT – The Service Employees International Union has filed an unfair labor practice charge against the State Compensation Insurance Fund (SCIF) due to a “lack of transparency” within the organization, which was recently made subject to the state's sunshine laws.

Educator Held Personally Liable for Expulsion

By Anne Lowe

FREE SPEECH – A former public university president who summarily expelled a student without notice in retaliation for his criticism will be held personally liable in damages for violating the student’s due-process rights, a federal court has ruled in an unprecedented decision.

Court: City Employee Blew the Whistle Too Soon

By Anne Lowe

WHISTLEBLOWERS – The California Court of Appeal affirmed Tuesday that a fired City of San Diego employee is not protected under a state law that shields whistleblowers from employer retaliation—because the conduct by a fellow employee that he reported had not violated any law.

Decision Imminent in Principal's Dismissal Case

By Anne Lowe

OPEN MEETINGS – A decision is expected soon in a case filed by a high school principal who was dismissed by the Santa Ynez Valley Union High School District without any explanation in an open session.

Blythe Overdue in Providing Salary Information

By Anne Lowe

PUBLIC INFORMATION – A request for information on the salaries and benefits of Blythe city employees has gone without disclosure for more than a month, the Palo Verde Valley Times reports.

Idyllwild Newspaper Defeats Defamation Claim

By Anne Lowe

FREE PRESS – A former Chamber of Commerce president has filed a motion to dismiss his defamation lawsuit against the Idyllwild Town Crier, the Press-Enterprise in Riverside reports.

Sunshine Group Seeks Input on Evaluation Plan

By Anne Lowe

OPEN GOVERNMENT – A group that is preparing to audit the openness of federal agencies is seeking public reactions to its proposal.

Federal Judges Edit Their Financial Statements

By Anne Lowe

OPEN GOVERNMENT – Federal judges are allowed to censor their financial disclosures showing which companies they or their spouses hold stock in before they are released to the public, the Associated Press reported today.

Huntington Beach Council Reports: Buried, Late

By Anne Lowe

OPEN GOVERNMENT – Documents related to Huntington Beach City Council study sessions have a history of being buried in late communications packets, an investigative report said today.

Free Speech Suit Against College Thrown Out

Anne Lowe

FREE SPEECH – A lawsuit challenging the Los Angeles Community College District’s sexual harassment policy, alleging violations of the First Amendment, was dismissed by the U.S. Court of Appeals Friday, because the student bringing the case to court failed to show how anything he said or did could have triggered sanctions under the policy.

Dismissal of Chronicle Libel Suit Upheld on Appeal

By Anne Lowe

FREE PRESS – The California Court of Appeal has upheld an anti-SLAPP motion granted to the San Francisco Chronicle, ending a libel suit brought by an Oakland City Council member.

PG&E: Disclosing Major Gas Line Routes Too Risky

By Anne Lowe

PUBLIC INFORMATION – Pacific Gas & Electric Co. is refusing to release details about high-risk areas of its pipeline system due to security concerns, the Bay Citizen reported last week. But the Sacramento Bee reported Sunday that large gas mains underlie several neighborhoods in the state capital "like shadow interstates," including its downtown.

Update:  The company, bending to public pressure, has disclosed 100 of its highest-risk pipeline locations.

Attorney Requests Closed Hearing for Ex-Officer

By Anne Lowe

OPEN COURTS – An attorney for former California Highway Patrol officer Ruben Salgado has requested a closed preliminary hearing for his client, who is accused of arranging a murder-for-hire transaction.

Update:  See comment below.

Sierra Club Appeals Limit to Parcel Map Database

By Anne Lowe

PUBLIC INFORMATION – A judge's decision granting Orange County an exemption from the California Public Records Act for its computerized parcel map system is headed for the Court of Appeal.

Historians Seek 1975 Nixon Grand Jury Transcript

By Anne Lowe

PUBLIC INFORMATION – Four historians’ organizations have filed a petition with a U.S. District Court to unseal the transcript of former U.S. President Richard Nixon’s testimony before a federal grand jury in 1975, taken through interviews at his San Clemente residence.

Brown: Bell Officials Concealed Their Pay Padding

By Anne Lowe

OPEN GOVERNMENT – Eight City of Bell officials actively conspired to hide their true earnings from the public eye, Attorney General Edmund G. Brown said in a lawsuit suit filed today.

Complaint Disclosures Trigger Abrupt Retirement

By Anne Lowe

PUBLIC INFORMATION – An elementary school principal in Morgan Hill announced his resignation Tuesday after his school district's response to a Public Records Act request revealed at least 11 valid complaints against him in the past two years, reports the Morgan Hill Times.

Judge: CalPERS Must Release Investment Records

By Anne Lowe

PUBLIC INFORMATION  – Documentation of a failed investment by the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) must now be released to the public, a San Francisco judge has ordered.

San Bernardino Sunshine Ordinance Vote Delayed

By Anne Lowe

OPEN GOVERNMENT – A San Bernardino County supervisor has postponed presenting his proposed sunshine ordinance for a vote by his colleagues until he can remove remaining language that would cost him support.