Kern County Superior Court Agrees to Ensure Public Access During Pandemic
FAC
January 11, 2021
Agreement comes after FAC, ACLU file First Amendment lawsuit
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FAC
Live Event: Erwin Chemerinsky on the First Amendment and the Capitol Riot
FAC
January 11, 2021
UC Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky on the First Amendment and the Capitol Riot — A Conversation About Trump, Twitter and the Limits of Free Speech The Capitol riot and its aftermath raise a host of questions about the First Amendment and free expression. Was Trump’s speech protected? When does political protest cross the line into unlawful behavior? Meanwhile, publishers and social-media platforms have taken unprecedented steps to silence speakers, including Trump. What are the
FAC Pays Tribute to Late Journalist Tim Crews
FAC
January 4, 2021
Tim Crews, a longtime California newspaperman in rural Glenn County who, amid one of many public battles, noted his abundance of “good friends and quality enemies,” died in November at age 77. The small-town journalist described by Poynter as the “everything” of the Sacramento Valley Mirror — a founder, publisher, editor and owner who reported, took photos, sold ads and even delivered copies — had an outsized impact on the community he covered, crusading against government
A&A: Must An Agency Provide Translation Services for Board Members Who Need Them?
FAC
December 14, 2020
Q: We work with a number of local water boards. Community Service Districts and Public Utility Districts. which are required to comply with the Brown Act. The boards we work with are typically in disadvantaged communities, where Spanish is the language of a large number of residents (if not the majority). I have been trying to find some law on what translation services are required for board members who are monolingual. A: I’m not aware
A&A: How Do Citizens Know If Agenda Items Meet the Criteria for Closed Sessions Discussion?
FAC
December 14, 2020
Q: How does a member of the public know if matters taken up in the closed session portion of a meeting of a state body qualify under relevant law to be so classified? Do we have to take the agency’s word for it? At meeting this year of a committee of CalPERS pension fund, many topics that for years have been taken up in open meetings were moved to the closed meetings. This is an