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Actress Katie Holmes wins settlement in defamation suit

donal brown April 28, 2011

Star magazine is publishing an apology in its current issue for suggesting that actress Katie Holmes was a drug addict. It also said it made a substantial donation to a nonprofit dance foundation, one of  the actress’ favorite charities. Holmes was suing for $50 million in damages but the financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed. -db From Reuters, April 27, 2011, reporting by Jill Serjeant. Full story

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U.S. Supreme Court hears Nevada case on whether recusal rules interfere with First Amendment rights

donal brown April 28, 2011

In hearing a case on recusal rules and the First Amendment, the Supreme Court seemed to doubt that conflict of interest rules could run afoul of the First Amendment. The case concerned a Sparks city council member reprimanded for casting a vote on a issue involving his campaign manager. The man’s lawyer argued that not all ethics laws were unconstitutional but that the Nevada law was vague and excessively far-reaching to the point of denying

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Now Let Us Praise a Famous Man: Rich McKee, 1949-2011

Peter Scheer April 27, 2011

Richard P. McKee, who died this week at age 62, was indefatigable in his advocacy of open government and participatory democracy in California. Co-founder of Calaware and a former Board member and Board President of this organization, Rich cast a big shadow in the world of people committed to shining light on government decision-making in California.  But he cast an even bigger shadow among city councils, school districts and boards of supervisors that had made

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Business lobby opposed to order requiring government contractors to disclose political donations

donal brown April 27, 2011

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce made it known to the Obama administration that they oppose its plan to require government contractors to disclose their political donations. The Chamber argued that disclosures would chill the free speech rights of businesses and cited the case of Target which suffered boycotts and protests after the revelation that the company contributed to a group that supported a candidate opposed to gay marriage. -db From The New York Times, April

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Study shows traditional media plays crucial role in enforcing open govenment

donal brown April 26, 2011

Research by a Brigham Young professor revealed that newspapers are behind almost every court case and law promoting public access and open government. With newspaper revenues shrinking, it is not guaranteed that as bloggers take over much of the reporting that they will be able to challenge government agencies. The online news publication ProPublica that does investigative reports is fortunate to have pro bono legal work, but others may have to bank on greater transparency

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