FAC

CA Open Gov News Roundup: LA Times sues for records of parolees charged with rape/murder of four women

The LA Times’ suit against the Dept. of Corrections and San Jose’s draft Sunshine law are headlines that offer a succinct summary of our state government’s commitment to transparency: it’s a work in progress.  Here’s more on those and other CA public access stories:   The Los Angeles Times has sued the California Department of Corrections (CDCR) for records on Franc Cano, 27, and Steven Dean Gordon, 45, who were arrested a few months ago and are charged with the rape

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A&A: City Hall withholding excessive water users’ ID info

Q: I cover city council meetings for a weekly newspaper in Northern California. City Hall will not release names or addresses for those exceeding city water rationing requirements. The city is in a declared water emergency. I can get a list of high users identified as residential or business water users like motels or restaurants, but no names. What gives? I think I should be able to see names. It is a sale of water from

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A&A: Are letters to legislators public?

Q: Yesterday I asked a California Senate committee for copies of the opposition letters they received regarding an active bill and shortly thereafter they faxed seven letters to me. So far so good, but on three of the letters the identity of the writer was redacted. (The other four letters were from organizations, and their identities were not redacted.) Two of the three redacted letters appeared to be from private individuals, not on behalf of any

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A&A: Urgent meeting scheduled for July 4 seemed to circumvent the public process

Q: Our municipality has filed for bankruptcy. As part of this ongoing nonsense the town officials have been doing what ever they can to be sneaky and underhanded. Recently they held a special meeting on July 4. The meeting was to transfer money from a special tax fund for a purpose specifically excluded from use by the bond measure. Since the shortfall in the fund to receive the money had been known for two months, urgency is not really a good reason for

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A&A: City Councilmembers texting each other while deliberating

Q: Can a city council members in CA engage in text message/emailing while deliberating over an appeal brought by an applicant (CEQA Doc) after his application failed at the planning commission level? A: If I understand correctly, you are asking whether a city council member can text or email other city council members over an issue that is formally before them. The Brown Act is violated when “a series of communications of any kind, directly

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