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A&A: How much detail does the Brown Act require for agenda items?

FAC June 8, 2012

Q: The board of supervisors recently passed a resolution requiring public water and sewer for homes built on properties smaller than 40 acres.  The resolution number was not listed on the agenda. Is this a violation of the Brown Act? A: The Brown Act requires that agendas include “a brief general description of each item of business to be transacted or discussed at the meeting, including items to be discussed in closed session. A brief

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A&A: Can I use public records to find out why I was denied unemployment benefits?

FAC June 8, 2012

Q: I received a Notice of Determination from Employment Development Department (EDD) stating that I had I refused a Job…and under Code 1257B will be denied U/I benefits for 10 week…” I believe that EDD was supplied with false information by a previous employer simply for relation and or harassment do to a previous administrative law appeal that I won awarding me unemployment benefits over the objections of my employer. Point being, that I’d like access

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Berkeley PD’s $24,000 chat with a reporter

FAC May 19, 2012

The city of Berkeley will spend up to $24,000 for a consultant to review the police department’s media policies. The move follows the chief’s decision to have an officer make a midnight call on a reporter whose story irked the chief. Chief Michael Meehan ordered Sgt. Mary Kusmiss to the home of reporter Doug Oakley at 12:45 a.m. March 9. Meehan was dissatisfied with a story on a town hall meeting about whether police should

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FAC, EFF and Wired win unsealing of documents in hip-hop website seizure case

FAC May 15, 2012

BY DEBORAH FRUIN–A federal district court in Los Angeles has unsealed records related to a government shutdown of a music blog/website, Dajaz1.com, for suspicion of copyright piracy. The unsealing had been requested by FAC, Wired, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Using a forfeiture authority usually invoked to seize cars and houses in drug cases, federal authorities had seized the hip hop website, then avoided a hearing in the matter and refused to give an explanation

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A&A: Yelp violates right to freedom of speech by “filtering” good reviews out, leaving bad ones in!

FAC May 15, 2012

Q:  My reputation has been attacked by a few Yelpers, who never used my services, or met me.   However, my concern is that right now about 75% of my positive reviews are “filtered” while all the negatives mostly stay at the top! Apparently, Yelp is not interested in real experience of those who really use my services.  At the same time negative reviews posted for some businesses are filtered in large number. For me the

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