Asked & Answered

Publishing classified information Q: I have an email from a hospital system CEO sent to roughly 7,000 employees, actually every employee of the hospitals. We want to print aspects of the letter in which he bad-mouths a union. Question: Does the legal disclaimer at the bottom of the email mean anything? It says basically that the email is intended only for the recipient and cannot be used for any other reason. My first impression is

The CPRA… Q: The County Office of Education is refusing to provide me with documentation of a meeting that they are claiming occurred. It appears they are being disingenuous. A: Under the California Public Records Act (“PRA”), the public has a right to inspect and obtain copies of documents collected or maintained by state or local agencies.  The PRA requires agencies to provide you with the documents requested, or notify you that your request has

Accessing the black hole of the CIA Q: I am a reporter, and I have a question re: FOIA requests for CIA files. Specifically, I would like the employment records of a local mayor who says she was a CIA operative for 31 years.  But I’m worried that if I frame the request the wrong way, it will be denied, because I am asking for exempt personnel files or files containing a name, which are