First Amendment News

The Information Security Oversight Office reviewed 1,000 classified documents last year, finding that 25 percent of the classification decisions were “questionable.” Moreover, it said in its report to the president, 67 percent of the classification guides used by agencies had not been updated in at least five years. – DR Secrecy News 1/14/2008 “At a time where we would expect to find increasing stability in the [national security classification] program, we are instead finding failure

North San Diego County officials, while claiming that an internal investigation rejects a whistleblower’s claims of ethics abuses, refuse to release the report of the investigation. An article in the North County Times says the county asserts the report is covered by the attorney-client privilege.-PS North County Times January 13, 2009 By EDWARD SIFUENTES The county reprimanded several employees and revised its ethics policies on accepting gifts after investigating a complaint from a whistleblower filed

A Foster City dentist has sued two people and Yelp, which allows users to post online reviews of products and services. The dentist asserts that negative comments about her work were “lies.” A previous suit related to a Yelp review of a San Francisco chiropractor has been settled. Details were not disclosed. – DR Dentist sues over negative Yelp review Deborah Gage, Chronicle Staff Writer Tuesday, January 13, 2009 (01-12) 18:37 PST — A pediatric

A New Jersey appeals court backs Governor Corzine’s refusal to disclose 2007 emails between himself and union leader (and ex-girlfriend). The court says the governor’s “executive privilege” trumps the disclosure requirements of New Jersey’s FOI law, according to this report from Bloomberg.-PS By Terrence Dopp Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) — E-mails between New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine and a labor leader he once dated need not be made public, a state appellate court ruled. “I am

A new state law protecting high school journalism teachers from retaliation when school administrators take umbrage at student coverage is one of several positive moves, says James Rainey in the Los Angeles Times. – DR From the Los Angeles Times Commentary: On the Media Write away, student journalists There’s hope for high school papers, especially with the new state law that protects teachers. James Rainey January 11, 2009 Not so long ago, a journalism foundation