A man attempting to film a meeting of a sheriff commission in 2017 in a federal courthouse was escorted out of the meeting and fined for scuffling with security. YouTuber Gil Gileno appealed the fine only to lose with the judge emphasizing that security in a federal building was a serious issue and Gileno should have followed orders. Gileno claimed he had a right to film the proceedings under the First Amendment and plans to appeal the judge’s ruling. (Los Angeles Times, April 7, 2018, by Victoria Kim)
An editorial in the Chico Enterprise-Record, April 22, 2018, schooled the Chico City Council on the Brown Act, California’s open meeting law. The council met in closed session on a matter related to the homeless issue that the newspaper thought should be discussed in open session then failed to report a vote taken in the closed session.
The Altadena Library director accused the board of trustees with trying to change the minutes of a meeting, voting in secret session, amending the budget with it being an agenda action item, and cherry picking citizens to speak during public comment period. (Pasadena Weekly, April 19, 2018, by Patricia Cunliffe)
Guest columnist T. Keith Gurnee writes in The San Luis Obispo Tribune, April 16, 2018, criticizing the San Luis Obispo City Council for ignoring public input on the Anholm Bikeway proposal. In deciding on a rejected plan from two years ago, the council failed to conduct a public hearing, according to Grunee. He writes that the citizenry had suggested design ideas that would temper traffic and make it safe for all modes of transport.
A visiting Chinese scholar from Inner Mongolia studied the Davis and Woodland city councils to see local government in operation. He is working on his Ph.D. and hopes to return to the U.S. to find out more about transparency and public engagement in the U.S. . (Davis Enterprise, April 15, 2018, by Anne Ternus-Bellamy)
The state senator serving Marin County is backing a bill in the legislature to put financial reports of special agencies online. (Marin Independent Journal, April 8, 2018, by Richard Halstead)
A South San Luis Obispo County Sanitation District board member protested a meeting he considered violated the state open meeting law. Arroyo Grande Mayor Jim Hill boycotted a meeting held out of district according to staff to utilize Skype for teleconferencing. The mayor felt that there were locations in the district that could accommodate Skype and that the meeting was in violation of the Brown Act. (Cal Coast News, April 8, 2018)
An editorial in the Marin Independent Journal, April 7, 2018, criticizes the Marin County Board of Supervisors for squandering $89,935 in legal fees in a failed attempt to withhold county records from a group of Tam Valley residents. The judge hearing the case agreed with the residents that they should receive the records and slapped the county with the residents’ legal tab.
Supporters of a school counselor fired for not fitting in won a delay in the proceeding by claiming that the trustees of the Petaluma City Schools violated the Brown Act in putting the counselor’s name on a list for a closed session. (Petaluma Argus Courier, March 20, 2018, by John Jackson)