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Opinion: Kentucky city’s flag ordinance deemed constitutional

donal brown September 6, 2011

The new Lexington, Virginia ordinance on flags means no Confederate flags may be flown since only current government flags qualify for display, a policy that Ken Paulson of the First Amendment Center thinks is neutral and constitutionally sound. Others point out that the city may be sorry since the ordinance would prevent them from flying a flag promoting a special event. -db From a commentary for the First Amendment Center, September 2, 2011, by Ken

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A&A:Costs soar for City Council meeting DVDs

FAC September 5, 2011

Q: I know that cities cannot charge for staff time when it comes to making photocopies in public records requests. Does this extend to DVDs as well? It appears we are being charged staff time, so DVDs now cost $18 each. Previously I was able to get them free by bringing in a blank DVD disc, which is of minimal cost to me. I can deal with $5, but $18 per meeting DVD is much

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A&A: How can copy fees vary from agency to agency?

FAC September 4, 2011

Q: I submitted a bid to be the janitorial service provider for the county court house.  After the bid was over I asked for the bid results, evaluation results and winning bidders proposal. I received a letter back stating that I had to pay $0.50 per page when I normally pay $0.10 per copy from government agencies. Is this correct? Also, why do most agencies just email it to us at no cost and some

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A&A:I couldn’t video tape my own arrest, but a reality show was allowed

FAC September 4, 2011

Q: Fish & Game “wardens” recently arrested me near a remote campground where I had been sitting in my car trying to sleep. My blood alcohol level was .11 and I was charged with a DUI. During the arrest, a reality TV show camera crew tagging along with the wardens filmed the whole event–including that the wardens were harassing a woman wearing only a see-through nightgown who was alone at night in a remote area.

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Legislature approves FAC-sponsored bill on cell phone privacy. Will Brown sign it?

Peter Scheer September 2, 2011

SB 914, a FAC-sponsored bill to prohibit warrantless searches of cell phones during an arrest, has been approved by the California Legislature. The legislation now goes to the Governor’s office, where, because of opposition by law enforcement, its fate is uncertain. The Senate yesterday approved the bill, which was introduced by Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), by a bipartisan 31-4 vote. It was approved by the Assembly in August. Police ordinarily have authority, following an

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