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A&A: Can new board members ask for past closed session update?

FAC February 20, 2011

Q: I am a newly elected school board member. Our upcoming agenda will contain a closed session item that has also been discussed in closed session prior to my appointment. Can I ask the staff and board members who participated in the prior closed session to divulge what was discussed then? A: As you may know, the Brown Act provides that “[a] person may not disclose confidential information that has been acquired by being present

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Berkeley’s new sunshine rules: a step forward or a detour?

FAC February 19, 2011

The city of Berkeley has adopted an ordinance that expands access to documents, expands live streaming of meetings and bars confidential legal settlements. But, according to the local Web site Berkeleyside, it also has potential to weaken support for a more far-reaching sunshine ordinance schedule for a public vote in November 2012. The city ordinance, adopted Tuesday, would create an advisory commission that would seek voluntary agreements over open government disputes. By contrast, the much

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Court: Cops had right to restrict news photographer

FAC February 18, 2011

An Oakland Tribune photographer had no more right than any other citizen to stop his car on the freeway to take pictures of an accident, a federal appeals court ruled. The photographer, Ray Chavez, sued after police handcuffed him for refusing to leave the accident scene on Interstate 880 in Oakland. His lawyer argued that the court had misinterpreted the evidence and that Chavez was arrested for taking pictures of the wreck, which he had

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Righthaven files 32 lawsuits over alleged unauthorized use of photo

donal brown February 17, 2011

Righthaven, a law firm that acquired copyrights to online content, has sued a number of media outlets for using a photo from the Denver Post published last November of an airport pat-down by security personnel. Writing in the Huffington Post, P. Solomon Banda says, “Righthaven has been criticized by some for suing first, rather than asking bloggers or operators of websites to remove copyrighted content.” -db From the Huffington Post, February 15, 2011, by P.

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A&A: Are draft reports exempt under CPRA?

FAC February 17, 2011

Q: I have put in a public records request for a report done about the police dept. They have denied my request saying it a draft. The report has been around since August and read by the police chief, city managers office and other members of city staff. Do I have the right to access this draft report? A: The PRA exempts from disclosure “[p]reliminary drafts, notes, or interagency or intra-agency memoranda that are not

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