firstamendment

A federal judge will hear arguments May 29 on whether Newsday and a local TV station can publish photos of a Nassau County legislator taken while he was under arrest for alleged tax evasion. The man’s attorney claims the photos will hurt his client’s chances for a fair trial. -DB Newsday May 19, 2009 By Celeste Hadrick The attorney for Nassau Legis. Roger Corbin, accused of evading taxes on $226,000 he allegedly received from a

An Electronic Frontier attorney says Apple routinely rejects e-book reader apps on the grounds that they are protecting their users from “bad” apps. They recently excluded Eucalyptus that carries a translation of Kama Sutra that one reviewer considered objectionable. -DB Electronic Frontier Foundation Commentary May 22, 2009 By Fred von Lohmann Eucalyptus is the name of an e-book reader app for the iPhone. It allows you to read public domain books that have been digitized

Active citizens won a reprieve on water district rate hikes claiming the Helix Water Board violated the requirement that the public be given adequate notice of any rate increases. The board voted to cancel a hearing and revise its rate hike proposal to accommodate public concerns about its fairness. -DB East County Magazine May 24, 2009 By Dennis Moore LA MESA, Calif. – Following a joint investigation by East County Magazine and Channel 10 news

Moderate candidates in the Iranian presidential election on June 12 are criticizing a government move to close down Facebook and prevent them from mobilizing the youth vote. -DB Kansas City Star May 24, 2009 By ALI AKBAR DAREINI Associated Press Writer Iran’s decision to block access to Facebook – less than three weeks before nationwide elections – drew sharp criticism Sunday from a reformist opposition hoping to mobilize the youth vote and unseat President Mahmoud

Visalia Mayor Jesus Gamboa says he had no intention of denying developers a chance to comment on issues affecting their work. The developers say the mayor has not regularly opened meetings for public comment. –DB The Fresno Bee May. 21, 2009 By Lewis Griswold Developers in Visalia complain they are being ignored when issues affecting their industry come before the Visalia council during work sessions, and they blame Mayor Jesus Gamboa for not opening the