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In California, a clearer look at gifts to public officials

FAC April 26, 2013

The toughest financial disclosure rules for public officials have little effect if the press and public can’t easily gain access to the information. Now the California Fair Political Practices Commission and a non-profit called Code for America are trying to bridge the information gap. By digitizing required disclosure data from California judges into spreadsheet-readable form, then plotting the results on a chart, the project created a picture of who’s giving and who’s taking gifts and

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Government officials beware: the “private” emails you write today will be public tomorrow

FAC April 24, 2013

It has become a regrettably common practice. . . . Local government officials, when sending emails about government business, use their private email accounts–rather than their dot-gov accounts–to assure that the messages will never see the light of day. In a case involving the city of San Jose, a Superior Court judge recently ruled that this legal subterfuge will not suffice to transform public records into the private, personal property of government officials. If an

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A&A: Accessing reports on police officer involved shooting

FAC April 16, 2013

Q: For the last few weeks, I’ve been investigating an officer-involved shooting:  Needless to say, there are ton of issues involved here, but I keep running into walls finding documents because of the Peace Officer’s Bill of Rights here in Calif.  I wondered if you could give me a call for a few minutes and chat about some background and what information I may or may not be entitled to. A: Here is detailed information

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A&A: Rules for noticing city council study session

FAC April 15, 2013

Q: City Council posted a notice for a Special Meeting (Study Session). Then during the “meeting” it was referred to as a workshop and there was no record of the meeting kept. Study sessions have audios and council meetings are televised. Additionally, there is a pdf that lists the “consensus” of the council regarding chartering our general law city. My question is, can a city post one meeting and then switch to something different basically

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Fox News reporter faces jail or betrayal of source

FAC April 10, 2013

A reporter for Fox News says she won’t reveal her source or sources for a story that Aurora, Colo., mass-shooting suspect James Holmes had sent a notebook to a psychiatrist indicating intent to kill people. According to Courthouse News Service, Jana Winter has vowed to appeal the order to testify. Her attorney says Winter would go to jail rather than identify a confidential source, Fox News reported. Full story and links

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