The State Compensation Insurance Fund, an obscure agency with control over a huge budget, is now subject to open-government rules. Once exempt from open-meeting will laws, the agency, following a criminal investigation, is exempt no more. Los Angeles Times By Marc Lifsher October 20, 2008 Next month, a little-known state agency that doubles as a $20-billion insurance company will hold its first public board of directors meeting in 94 years. After years of secrecy, questionable

California Superior Court judges have been told to adopt security procedures that assure that courtrooms will not be closed to the press and public. The directive from the California Judicial Council responds to an incident last summer in which reporters and the public were barred from a Yolo County court hearing in a case involving the murder of a police officer. At the time, the Yolo County judge, while not defending the closure, said the

A Superior Court judge in San Diego has ruled that firefighters suffered no breach of their First Amendment rights when ordered to attend a gay rights parade. The firefighters had argued that their appearance, in uniform, at the parade constituted “coerced speech,” protected by the First Amendment. The court held that firefighters, like other government employees, accept some limitations on their free speech rights when they go to work for the government. 10/13/08 Dana Littlefield,

A seller on eBay reportedly has initiated libel proceedings in a British court based on the online feedback given by the customer. The customer wrote that the cell phone yet purchased through eBay was damaged. The seller claimed that this feedback was “unreasonable” in view of the fact that the customer had received a full refund. The Telegraph By Jon Swaine Oct 23, 2008 Chris Read used the auction website’s feedback facility to claim that

The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Craiglist, the online classified advertising service, will begin charging for listings in its “erotic services” category, which includes many ads placed by prostitutes. The policy change is part of a deal that Craigslist has struck with law enforcement agencies to crack down on the use of the internet to promote prostitution. By charging for these listings, buyers will be required to submit a credit card and to give identifying