The Oakland Coliseum authority is taking a re-vote on a management contract for running the complex that they awarded to Anschutz Entertainment Group on April 20. Competitors claimed that the April 20 meeting was held without notice. -db From the Mercury News, May 8, 2012, by Angela Woodall, Oakland Tribune. Full story
The listing of job description of the county administrative officer appears nearly every week on the agenda for a closed session of the Kern County Board of Supervisors, a suspicious phenomenon, writes Lois Henry for The Bakersfield Californian. A citizen watchdog says that discussions of job performance, not job description, are exempt from open meetings. -db From a commentary for The Bakersfield Californian, May 5 2012, by Lois Henry. Full story
In sending an e-mail to the director about layoffs in the St. Helena Planning Department, a commissioner sent a copy to fellow commissioners, an alleged violation of the Brown Act, the state’s open meeting law. The law prevents a majority of a legislative body from communicating outside a public meeting. -db From the St. Helena Star, May 3, 2012, by Jesse Duarte. Full story
The Los Angeles County Supervisors admitted they had erred in meeting behind closed doors to discuss with state officials the transfer of prison inmates to the County. Los Angeles County agreed to pay legal fees for Californians Aware which brought the lawsuit and are releasing transcripts of the September closed meetings. -db From The Antelope Valley Times, April 20, 2012, by The AV Times Staff. Full story
A local farmer claims that the assistant to the Imperial Irrigation District general manager and the board president through e-mails discussed issues that should only be addressed in public session, allegedly violating the Brown Act, the state’s open meeting law. The board president is calling for an investigation on how the e-mail was stolen from his laptop computer. -db From the Imperial Valley Press, April 19, 2012, by Elizabeth Varin. Full story