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BART feud shows that censorship is never local

Peter Scheer August 24, 2011

BY NICOLE WONG—Here’s the thing about censorship: in this globally connected world, censorship is never local. So, whether you live in the SF Bay Area or not, whether you ride the BART rail system or not, the recent actions of local government officials affected us all. Last Thursday, during the evening rush hour commute, BART shut down cell antennas in several of its San Francisco stations. According to BART’s official statement, silencing mobile devices was

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New survey: People want more government transparency, traditional media less likely to sue to get it

Peter Scheer August 24, 2011

COLUMBIA, Mo. (August 23, 2011) — While a lack of resources have made news organizations increasingly less inclined to file freedom of information lawsuits, citizens have a growing interest in government transparency and are becoming more active in asserting their right to government information. The rise of citizen interest and the decline of newsroom aggressiveness are among the findings of an informal open government status study by the Media Law Resource Center (MLRC) and the

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A&A: City Council allowing presentation not on the agenda

FAC August 24, 2011

Q: At our last City Council meeting our mayor personally invited a federal government agent to speak during our public comment session, although this presentation was not on the agenda.  Our mayor allowed him to speak over the allowed three minute time period and  allowed City Council members to ask questions of this man, but the public was not allowed to speak.   Can he do this? Also, as of late our Mayor is not allowing 

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California: Two board members leave closed session fearing violation of open meeting law

donal brown August 23, 2011

Two board members for Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare bolted from a closed door meeting fearing that the panel had violated the Brown Act, California’s open meeting act. One of the two requested a legal review of the issue during the meeting and left when he was not happy with the response. An anonymous source said the board was discussing hiring a consultant on a possible merger with another health care institution. An open government expert

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Lohan sues for rap song she claims hurt her reputation

donal brown August 23, 2011

Lindsay Lohan is suing the rapper Pitbull and associates for mentioning her arrest record in his hit, “Give Me Everything.” The song goes “he’s got it locked up, like Lindsay Lohan.” Given her rap sheet, that seems like an innocuous reference, but Lohan claims the song released March 18 has injured her career and caused her grievous emotional distress. You would think Lohan damaged any claims to privacy by repeatedly drawing attention to herself with

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