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California: Developers in La Jolla sue over alleged open meeting violations

donal brown July 13, 2011

Developers of a controversial three-story project in La Jolla are suing the La Jolla Community Planning Association (LJCPA), a nonprofit advisory group for the city of San Diego, for violating the Brown Act, California’s open meeting law. The suit brought by Bob and Kim Whitney claims the LJCPA deliberated and voted in private over the development project and denied them access to the meetings. -db From the La Jolla Light, July 13, 2011, by Dave

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First Amendment travesties far and near

Peter Scheer July 12, 2011

BY PETER SCHEER—The Israeli Parliament on Monday passed legislation to bar public calls for a boycott against Israel or its West Bank settlements, according to the New York Times. The law’s supporters said it was necessary to push back against what they described as a strategy to delegitimize Israel in the eyes of the world. Am I the only one to see the irony here? Suppressing calls for boycotts or other demonstrations, ostensibly to protect

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‘News of World’ phone hacks too ‘phreaking’ easy says noted hacker

FAC July 11, 2011

The British tabloid News of the World has gone extinct following accusations that the editors and reporters hacked the voicemail of celebrities, royalty and even crime victims. In fact, accusations have poured in so fast and furiously that one begins to wonder if the organization’s entire news budget went to hackers.  CNET asked a somewhat different question: if a bunch of tabloid reporters and editors can do it, how hard can it be to hack

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A&A: Making a FOIA request to the Dept. of Homeland Security

FAC July 11, 2011

Q: I’m an investigative reporter trying to obtain information from the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection regarding the 32 miles of the northern border  that are considered secure; about the number of drugs, guns and weapons crossing over the border; staffing levels compared to the southern border. They say some information can’t be provided because it’s “law enforcement sensitive.” Is that a valid excuse? If not, how do I request the

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A&A: Police claims officer ‘use of force’ reports personnel not public issue

FAC July 8, 2011

Q: We are a police monitoring and accountability organization. For awhile we have been concerned about police use of force; where it is occurring and under what circumstances, and which officers are involved. We have twice asked for this information from the Police Department. Once, for several years worth of reports, which were denied to us on the grounds that they were ”evaluative reports of officer conduct akin to a personnel matter.” We made a

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