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California: Judge dismisses open meeting lawsuit against Capistrano schools

donal brown August 29, 2011

Schools watchdog Jim Reardon lost his suit against the Capistrano Unified School District when a judge ruled the district properly dealt with an alleged viiolation of California’s Brown Act, the open meeting law. After Reardon challenged the district over a March closed door meeting to  partially restore pay cuts to employees, the district met again to vote a second time on the issue. Reardon claimed they should have also admitted to violating the Brown Act.

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Texas Gov. Perry’s penchant for privacy

FAC August 28, 2011

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, whose campaign for president has faulted Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke for purported failure to open the workings of the Fed to public view, has “adopted policies that shroud his own office in a purposeful opaqueness that confounds prying reporters – or any member of the public questioning his policies,” the Houston Chronicle reports. Perry’s approach contrasts with another former Texas governor, George W. Bush, who revealed voluminous records of his

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A&A: Sheriff’s office won’t release names of inmates held on immigration charges

FAC August 26, 2011

Q: I’m working on a story about inmates in county jail released into ICE (Immigration Customs Enforcement)  custody. Seeking records of these individuals has brought up two questions. The first: are records of jail inmates (aka booking info) public? The county sheriff’s office says no. The second: are local jails prohibited from release names of inmates on immigration holds? I’ve asked for info on inmates released into ICE custody. They refused first on the (incorrect)

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Tabloid gossip threatens credibility of mainstream journalism

donal brown August 25, 2011

The sight of the mainstream media picking up tabloid speculation about a Will and Jada Pinkett Smith breakup is distubing, writes Mary Elizabeth Williams in a commentary for Salon, “…the Smith story…illuminates how utterly pathetic the mainstream media’s mania for headlines has become. Just toss up any old dubious report, and if you’re really butt-covering, tack a question mark at the end of it. You’ve got a story!” In a desperate attempt to fill space,

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