From Daily Pilot: Costa Mesa officials have denied a public records request for a 20-year-old archaeological study about the Fairview Indian Site.
The Daily Pilot, which filed the request Sept. 23, had sought a copy of the 1993 report, conducted by the Keith Cos.
Visit Daily Pilot for more.
======
[…]
From Honolulu Civil Beat: News organizations throughout the state are asking the Hawaii Supreme Court to make it clear that a judge can’t close a criminal trial or hear arguments in secret unless the press and public are first given a chance to object.
[…]
Read More… from Hawaii news media seek court ruling on open trials
From First Amendment Coalition: Long gone are the days when major newspapers and network news operations had the power, through their selection of stories, to set the political agenda. That's a change for the better, to be sure. But the best of the ancient media regime are still peerless in their ability to compel change in the actions of the people and institutions they report on.
[…]
From StatesmanJournal.com: We’re all facing a tough decision by Congress later this year — and it’s not about the federal budget or national health care policy.
A question that ultimately will affect us all involves a bill with the innocuous name “Free Flow of Information Act.” In other words, it’s a proposal to create — for the first time legislatively — a national “shield law” aimed at protecting news sources and the confidential information they have provided from having to be disclosed by journalists facing a subpoena or federal grand jury.
[…]
Read More… from Gene Policinski: Tough decision ahead for all on ‘shield law’ definition
From Voice of OC: Voice of OC and open-government advocate Californians Aware have petitioned the state Supreme Court to overturn an Orange County gag order, arguing the county is trying “an end run” to hide what executives may have known about alleged sexual abuse of female workers.
Earlier this year, county officials, including the Board of Supervisors, took the unusual step of seeking the order in criminal court so they wouldn’t have to make information public in the case of former county Public Works executive Carlos Bustamante.
[…]
[…]
Read More… from Voice of OC asking California Supreme Court to hear records case
From Daily Trojan: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission top administrator John Sandbrook was found guilty of testifying falsely during USC’s lease negotiations with the Coliseum on Oct. 4, according to the Los Angeles Times.
[…]
From San Francisco Chronicle: BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (AP) — A state panel reviewing ways to balance victims’ privacy with Connecticut’s open records law is holding its second public hearing.
The Task Force on Victim Privacy and the Public’s Right to Know is scheduled to hear from members of the public Wednesday at Bridgeport City Hall. The hearing begins at 6 p.m.
Visit San Francisco Chronicle for more.
======
[…]
Read More… from Victim privacy panel to hold 2nd Conn. hearing
From The New York Times: IN March last year, a college freshman named Maxwell Birnbaum was riding in a van filled with friends from Austin, Tex., to a spring-break rental house in Gulf Shores, Ala. As they neared their destination, the police pulled the van over, citing a faulty taillight. When an officer asked if he could search the vehicle, the driver — a fraternity brother of Mr. Birnbaum’s who quickly regretted his decision — said yes.
[…]
From Union Leader: MANCHESTER — The Telegraph of Nashua will be honored next month with the Nackey S. Loeb First Amendment Award for its continuing series of stories focusing on just how accessible Nashua area government is to the public.
[…]
The newspaper will be recognized Tuesday, Nov. 12, at the 11th annual Nackey S. Loeb School of Communication’s First Amendment Awards at the Executive Court Conference Center in Manchester. Featured speaker for the luncheon event will be George Stephanopoulos of ABC News.
[…]
Read More… from Nackey S. Loeb First Amendment Award recipient chosen: The Telegraph of Nashua
From VtDigger.org: Vermont’s public records law is rife with exemptions, but last spring the Legislature lifted one that had kept locks on all records relating to criminal investigations.
A committee of lawmakers, given the task of inventorying all 245 exemptions during a three-year period, revisited that change Friday, three months after it took effect.
Visit VtDigger.org for more.
======
[…]
Read More… from New access to criminal investigation records assessed by Vermont lawmakers
