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First Amendment News

TV cable broadcasts of city council meeting in Norwalk censored

donal brown February 21, 2010

During broadcasts of its meetings on a government access cable channel, the Norwalk City Council blacks out public comments. Legal experts says the practice is legal but express dismay that the council feels it’s necessary to censor the public. -db The Los Angeles Times February 20, 2010 By Jeff Gottlieb Like most towns, Norwalk broadcasts its City Council meetings on its government access cable channel. But unlike most cities, Norwalk blacks out the portion of

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Half Moon Bay officials plan private meeting to discuss safety issues of surfing contest

donal brown February 21, 2010

Half Moon Bay public safety agencies are meeting to air concerns about safety issues concerning the Mavericks Surf Contest but don’t want to open it to the public in the interests of encouraging an open and frank discussion. The editor of the Half Moon Bay Review argues that to close the meeting is not only illegal but denies the public a chance to offer ideas about solving problems that concern the entire community. -db Half

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Poll: 80% of Americans oppose SCOTUS campaign finance ruling

FAC February 17, 2010

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds that nearly 80% of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents are  united in their opposition to the recent Supreme Court ruling that opens the door for corporations, labor unions, and other organizations to spend money directly from their general funds to influence campaigns. Left and right united in opposition to controversial SCOTUS decision The Newsroom By Brett Michael Dykes, a contributor to the Yahoo! News blog Much has been made

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Special-ed teacher fired for objecting to paddling of autistic student

donal brown February 12, 2010

A federal district court ruled that because her speech was work-related, a special-ed teacher could be fired for opposing the paddling of one of her autustic students for disruptive behavior. -db First Amendment Center February 12, 2010 By David L. Hudson Jr. A special-education teacher in Booneville, Miss., who complained about corporal punishment of an autistic student by another teacher has no First Amendment claim, a federal district court has ruled. The court reasoned that

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Pennsyvania court fires on local agency for withholding names of Homeland Security contractors

donal brown February 12, 2010

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review will have access to the identities of contractors who supplied first responder equipment to local agencies. In making the records public, the commonwealth court said it found no reasonable public safety argument in favor of withholding the names. -db The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press February 11, 2010 By Cristina Abello A Pennsylvania agency improperly redacted the names of all recipients of Homeland Security-funded contracts for first responder equipment and

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