CalAware Today

Montebello Warned to Cure Brown Act Violations

By Anne Lowe

Californians Aware last week issued a stern warning to the Montebello City Council regarding alleged Brown Act violations in recent closed sessions, the Pasadena Star-News reports.

Vehement City Hall Gadfly Ordered to Stay Away

By Anne Lowe

A frequent visitor to—and critic of—San Jose City Hall, perceived as a threat after repeated aggressive behavior,  has been ordered to stay well away from city officials despite his effort to challenge the ruling under the First Amendment.

Editorial: Nonprofit Centers Need More Oversight

By Anne Lowe

After an audit of six regional nonprofit centers caring for the developmentally disabled last year found that the Department of Developmental Services provides too little oversight into the centers’ operations, some are calling for more transparency for these private centers.

Local Agencies Warily Adapting to Social Media

By Anne Lowe

Local governments are slowly adapting to the world of Twitter, Facebook and blogging by starting new social pages for them to interact on with the public.The hyper-paced world of social media, however, makes complying with current law difficult for these agencies to accomplish.

L.A. Courts' Spokesman Says He Was Fired for TMI

By Anne Lowe

A recently fired public information spokesman for the Los Angeles Superior Court says he was terminated because of a conflict with administrators who wanted to “prevent or delay” the release of salary and other public information to the press—and who resented his advocacy of camera coverage of trials.

Lawsuit Alleging Campus Rape May Be Unsealed

By Anne Lowe

A sealed civil case involving the alleged rape of a student at the University of the Pacific in Stockton may soon see the light of day, if a federal judge changes his mind.

City's Copy Fee Mounts Quickly at 25 Cents/Page

By Anne Lowe

The City of Lindsay will be happy to comply with resident Steven Mecum’s Public Records Act request for copies of more than 35,000 pages—for more than $8,800, with $6,000 as an advance deposit.

CalAware: We'll Sue to Stop Mass Email Purging

By Anne Lowe

Californians Aware General Counsel Terry Francke has a message for the city of Lake Forest: Don’t execute a plan to destroy e-mails or you will be sued.

Appeal: Act Now for Better Whistleblower Shield

By Anne Lowe

As the lame duck session begins in Congress, the Government Accountability Project (GAP) is asking those concerned with  government integrity to sign an online petition urging lawmakers to pass a bill greatly improving federal employees' whistleblower protection.

Was "Junk" Protester's Taping of TSA Agents Legal?

FREE PRESS

By Anne Lowe

An Oceanside man who refused to undergo an intimate airport security pat-down made national headlines after discreetly recording the incident and posting the videos on Youtube. His videotaping the encounter raises the same risk issues faced by journalists.

Brown Act Violations Alleged in Library Takeover

OPEN MEETINGS

By Anne Lowe

The City of Santa Clarita is facing a lawsuit alleging Brown Act violations tainting the city council's recent decision to take over three libraries from the county system.

Comment: Private Judges Undermining Justice

OPEN COURTS

By Anne Lowe

California law allows attorneys to conduct private trials even though they have not been sworn in as a judge—and that, Anastasia Blackwell contends, is threatening to create a two-tiered system where money determines justice.

CalAware Challenges Email Destruction Policies

OPEN GOVERNMENT

By Anne Lowe

City attorneys in Orange County and representatives of Californians Aware are clashing over emails and their status under the law requiring cities to preserve records for at least two years.

Papers, Others Support Suit for Bar Exam Records

OPEN GOVERNMENT

By Anne Lowe

News organizations from across California filed a friend of the court brief Wednesday in support of the First Amendment Coalition’s suit for access to records of the State Bar of California, seeking Bar examination results for a study concerning the effects of affirmative action in law school admissions.  The matter is now on appeal.

Honoring Vets by Paying Attention to Today's News

FREE PRESS -- On Veterans' Day there are several ways to recognize those who have given our country years of regimented service, a lifetime of disability, or even life itself.  One is to indulge in the myth that these sacrifices alone have enabled all our rights and liberties—a myth that evinces an underlying current of impatience, if not resentment, for the complex principles and processes of civil society.

Chino Board Corrects Some Brown Act Violations

OPEN MEETINGS

By Anne Lowe

Chino Valley Unified School District trustees corrected Brown Act violations at their November 4 board meeting by disclosing facts related to items discussed in closed sessions throughout the past year.  But challenger Richard McKee says some compliance items are still due.

Del Mar School District Delays Salary Information

PUBLIC INFORMATION

By Anne Lowe

The Del Mar Union School District refused to release salary information for all its employees in response to a Public Records Act request for weeks, the Del Mar Times reports—until repeatedly threatened with litigation.

Sonoma County Ordered to Release Pension Data

PUBLIC INFORMATION

By Anne Lowe

The Sonoma County Superior Court ruled Friday that pension information for thousands of county retirees is public information and must be released to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat and the public, but the Sonoma County Employees Retirement Association (SCERA)  said it will appeal the decision.

Editorial: Nonprofits Hide Major Ad Fund Sources

By Anne Lowe

PUBLIC INFORMATION – Political ads run by candidates for insurance commissioner illustrate perfectly a point the Los Angeles Times makes in an editorial: Determining whose contributions have funded the ads can difficult—and sometimes impossible—to accomplish.

City Won't Give State Controller Its Pay Data

By Anne Lowe

PUBLIC INFORMATION – The City of Orange has told the State Controller it will not provide W-2 information on its employees unless the state can prove its authority to release the figures.

Journalist: Guide Can Slow Court Secrecy Trends

By Anne Lowe

FREE PRESS– The California Judicial Council's new guide to the law of public access to court records, now in preparation, can be a great opportunity to increase the transparency of the often-secretive California court system, comments veteran journalist Bill Girdner for Courthouse News Service.

State Media Endorse Improved Court Access Ideas

By Anne Lowe

OPEN COURTS – The California Newspaper Publishers Association (CNPA), Los Angeles Times, Associated Press and New York Times Co. have issued a “wholehearted” endorsement of suggested changes to court access policies that would improve its relations with the news media.

Lawyer: Grand Jury Transcript Too 'Evil' to Unseal

By Anne Lowe

PUBLIC INFORMATION – The attorney for Nancy Garrido, who with her husband Phillip is charged with the kidnapping and rape of Jaycee Lee Dugard, is opposing efforts by the Sacramento Bee and other media organizations to force the release of sealed grand jury transcripts.

Paper to Report on Orange County Schools Pay

By Anne Lowe

PUBLIC INFORMATION – The Orange County Register announced Wednesday it will be issuing a series of reports detailing the compensation of nearly 72,000 employees in the county’s 27 school districts.

Condo Association Drops Ban on Political Signs

By Anne Lowe

FREE SPEECH – A San Francisco homeowner’s association recently avoided a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) by withdrawing its ban on the posting of political signs by a condominium resident.

Santa Monica Council Mulls Noise Restrictions

By Anne Lowe

FREE SPEECH – City council members in Santa Monica are considering placing restrictions on decibel levels at the popular Third Street Promenade to control the level of noise produced by musicians on the street—without banning loud music altogether.

D.A.: No Brown Act Violation by Rose Bowl Body

By Anne Lowe

OPEN MEETINGS – The Los Angeles District Attorney's office has concluded that the Rose Bowl Operating Company did not violate the Brown Act at a recent meeting in which directors discussed renovation plans for the Rose Bowl, the Pasadena Star News reports.