The Electronic Frontier Foundation is alleging that a California police training commission is using copyright claims to evade the state transparency law requiring public release of documents on training new officers. EFF wants to see materials on automated license plate readers, facial recognition and use-of-force. (Newsweek, June 29, 2020, by Daniel Villarreal)
The county grand jury criticized the Santa Barbara county supervisors for its actions in setting up the cannabis industry, particularly in establishing an ad hoc committee in charge of implementation that met behind closed doors without public scrutiny or input. (Santa Barbara News-Press, July 4, 2020, by Jorge Mercado)
The Tulare County supervisors denied they had violated the Brown Act, the state’s open meeting law, in votes in May on pandemic protocols. A citizen committee alleged that the posted agenda did not mention a particular vote and that action was taken without consulting with public health officials, the public, essential workers and local governments. (Valley Voice, July 3, 2020, by Catherine Doe)
A citizen alleges that the board of the Palisades Charter High School violated the Brown Act by failing to answer tough questions regarding decisions to cut spending and requiring members of the public to give full names when addressing the board. The citizen claims the board accepted money from the Covid-19 Payroll Protection Plan and has no accountability for how it intends to spend the money. (Pacific Palisades Patch, July 2, 2020, by Carl J. Petersen
Residents are suing Rancho Mirage and In-N-Out Burgers for an alleged violation of the Brown Act. The group says the city council rescinded a resolution accepting In-N-Out’s decision to withdraw from a project and reestablished a ban on dive-thru restaurants on Highway 111, but failed to mention in the meeting’s agenda that the vote was on the In-N-Out project (Palm Springs Desert Sun, June 30, 2020, by Sherry Barkas)
The Tehama County Board of Supervisors is struggling with keeping Covid-19 in check while reopening meetings to limited numbers from the public. But plans to require names and contact information of those admitted ran afoul of the Brown Act. The board is now delaying the reopening. (Red Bluff Daily News, June 20, 2020, by Julie Zeeb)
The county grand jury reported that the Southern Humboldt Unified School District was in serious decline. Among its deficiencies, the grand jury listed a failure to follow the Brown Act. (Redheaded Blackbelt, June 10, 2020, by Kym Kemp)
The Bay Area News Group is suing Alameda County to obtain records of Covid-19 cases and deaths in nursing homes. The county had rejected a request for the information without citing exemptions under the California Open Records Act. (The San Jose Mercury News, June 5, 2020, by Angela Ruggiero)
The Oakland Police Commission violated the Brown Act in firing five police officers for roles in the shooting death of a homeless man resulting in the officers’ reinstatement. The commission scheduled a re-vote on the issue. (San Francisco Chronicle, April 30, 2020, by the Bay City News Service)