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California Public Records Act

USC journalism students fighting for death records for swine flu

donal brown November 9, 2009

Many California county health officials are discounting arguments that it is in the public interest to know who died from swine flu and refusing to release the records to journalism students from University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Journalism. In denying the requests, officials cite privacy issues and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, a federal law to keep patients’ health records confidential. -DB Neon Tommy Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism November

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Newspaper sues community college district for public records

donal brown October 22, 2009

The Contra Costa times is suing the Peralta Community College District under the California Public Records Act for records relating to a lucrative no-bid contract awarded to a developer, an associate of the district chancellor. The newspaper is also seeking records of employees punished for allegedly releasing information about the chancellor’s ties to the developer. -DB East Bay Express October 20, 2009 By Robert Gammon The Contra Costa Times and the Oakland Tribune have filed

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Governor Schwarzenegger vetoes open government, free speech bills

donal brown October 12, 2009

Facing a midnight deadline to sign or veto hundreds of bills, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger relented on threats to impose a mass veto over lack of progress on overhauling the state’s water system and signed at least 168 of the bills into law, but two open government and free speech bills were not among the 168. Schwarzenegger vetoed SB 218 to bring auxiliary organizations in the University of California and California State University systems under public

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First Amendment advocates criticize draft of new rules granting access to judicial records

donal brown October 2, 2009

Senate Bill X4 13 required that the California Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) adopt new policies to provide public access to nonadjudicative court records, budget and management information. A 19-page draft has now been released for public comment from the present until October 29. So far First Amendment defenders say there should be no charge for providing documents and that the draft provides an overbroad exemption of “deliberative process” that would too easily block

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Community college considers firing employee for providing information under public records act

donal brown September 29, 2009

The Peralta Community College district may fire an executive assistant to the vice chancellor over information the assistant is alleged to have provided to the press about payments in a non-bid contract to the chancellor’s longtime business partner. The newspaper involved denied receiving any information. -DB Contra Costa Times September 28, 2009 By Matt Krupnick and Thomas Peele Peralta Community College District trustees will decide tonight whether to fire an employee it says gave the

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