Coalition News

SF Bay Guardian’s $21M award stands after CA Supreme Court refuses rival’s request to review amount

The CA Supreme Court declined to review the $21 million damage award a lower court had ordered the SF Weekly to pay its rival, the SF Bay Guardian, in 2008. The Bay Guardian successfully argued that the Weekly had slashed advertising prices to drive the Bay Guardian out of business.  Reportedly, management of the papers are now trying to negotiate a settlement. Bruce Brugmann, the Publisher of the San Francisco Bay Guardian is a member

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Pultizer Prize-winning reporter describes quest for truth in Las Vegas construction deaths

By Donal Brown Wall Street Journal reporter Alexandra Berzon said that favorable circumstances set the stage for the stories on Las Vegas construction deaths that earned her a 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service when she was with the Las Vegas Sun. It is clear, though, that her success in the project derived centrally from her determined questioning: Why were there so many workers dying on the strip? And why were the companies able to

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FAC posts online confidential CalPERS’ docs ordered released by Court

The First Amendment Coalition has posted on the internet more than 1,700 CalPERS documents relating to an East Palo Alto real estate investment in which CalPERS lost all of its $100 million investment.  The records–which include the partnership agreement, offering memorandum and email exchanges about the failed investment—were ordered released by the Superior Court in San Francisco. The documents have been released in two sets, one on September 24 and the second on September 30.

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Bench-Bar-Media Committee proposals for greater media access

By Susana Montes–The draft report includes 11 recommendations from the Bench-Bar-Media Committee, appointed by the California Supreme Court. The recommendations range from increasing access of cameras and other recording devices in the courtroom, instituting public notices for gag orders by posting on local court websites; and a proposal to develop a rule that requires all courts to post notice of any application for, or entry of sealed records. The report also addresses the need to

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FAC wins case against CalPERS for records on disastrous real estate investment

The Superior Court in San Francisco ruled Tuesday in FAC’s favor against CalPERS regarding access to records on their PageMill real estate investment. According to the ruling (FAC v CalPERS Order), the Court agreed with FAC that Govt Code section 6254.26, the exemption for certain information related to “alternative investments,”  does NOT apply to real estate investments. The Court also rejected CalPERS’ arguments that the records were subject to exemption as “trade secrets” or on

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