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Although the 9/11 Commission ordered that their investigative records of al Qaeda’s attack on the United States should be opened to the public in 2009, the National Archives has not yet released the vast majority of the information. John Berger, an author who maintains a website with 9/11-related documents, said to withhold the information is not in the public interest since scholars and journalists are kept from analyzing the information.”You can point to things produced
The Santa Barbara District Attorney’s Office informed backers of the outgoing Santa Barbara City College president that the college Board of Trustees had not violated the Brown Act, California’s open meetings law, by not disclosing the outcome of Superintendent-President Andreea Serban’s evaluation. The backers of the former president are seeking to recall three of the trustees. -db From the Santa Barbara Independent, September 8, 2011, by Chris Meagher. Full story
California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill requiring state university foundations, auxiliaries and bookstores to grant public access to their records. Jon Keigwin, chief of staff for Senator Leland Yee who authored the bill, said it would open a new era in accountability and transparency, “I’ve talked to several reporters who have been waiting for this law to go into effect for several years. They basically have their … requests and are ready to hit
A Justice Department report says Puerto Rican police have routinely cracked the heads of reporters and people in nonviolent demonstrators, in serious violation of their First Amendment rights to peaceful protest. In protests by students and workers against higher university fees and government layoffs, police used pepper spray and choke holds along with batons to assault bystanders and journalists. -db From The New York Times, September 8, 2011, by Charlie Savage and Lizette Alvarez. Full