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Supreme Court allows regulation of billboard ads

donal brown April 21, 2022

In a 5-4 decision the U.S Supreme Court ruled that Austin, Texas’ distinction between on-premise and off-premise signs (billboards) was content-neutral and thereby constitutional. (International Sign Association, April 21, 2022) The court found a lower court too extreme in ruling that Austin’s law was unconstitutional if a regulator has to read a sign to know if it is within the law. (Bloomberg Law, April 21, 2022, by Kimberly Strawbridge Robinson) For related FAC coverage, click

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State of journalism: Local journalism vital in stemming corporate misdeeds

donal brown April 21, 2022

A Harvard Business School professor found that when local news outlets shut down, corporate corruption goes up. Violations at local public companies rose 1.1 percent and financial penalties by 15 percent. Toxic emissions escalated to almost 20 percent after a newspaper ceased publication. (NiemanLab, January 3, 2022, by Ann Marie Lipinski) Congress is considering measures to help news organizations. The measures provide tax credits for 50 percent of newsroom employees’ salary or up to $25,000

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A&A: I’ve Filed A Brown Act Violation Cure or Correct Letter. What Is My Next Step If They Fail to Comply?

FAC April 21, 2022

Q: I have served a Brown Act Violation Cure or Correct/Cease and Desist Letter to a local city agency in California. I was wondering which would be the best next step if they do not comply. File a lawsuit? Contact the DA? I quoted an opinion from the CA Attorney General in the document which supports my position. I can’t afford to pay an attorney. Do you have any ideas? A: If the city agency

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A&A: Council Meetings On Zoom Have Increased Brown Act Violations During The Public Comment Period

FAC April 21, 2022

Q: Our city council meetings have recently moved to Zoom sessions due to COVID. I’m curious about possible Brown Act violations due to the way the council has been conducting the meetings. The hot topic has been the current proposed city budget which they’ve had for the past three months and finally released to the community three weeks before the supposed deadline. Now that they’ve been using Zoom for the meetings, the public comments that

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A&A: Notices of City’s Closed Session Real Estate Negotiations Provide Only Generic Information

FAC April 21, 2022

Q: First Question: for Real Estate transactions going to my City Council in a closed session for “price and terms of payment for the purchase, sale, exchange, or lease” all have the same catch-all description “Conference with Real Property Negotiators:1. Property: APN 000-000-000 (the addresses vary)2. Agency Negotiators: xxx, yyy, zzz (the names vary)3. Under Negotiation: Price and terms of payments Is the generic expression “Conference with Real Property Negotiators” too general to be sufficient?

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