FAC’s challenge to China’s Internet censorship weighed by US Trade Reps, Google and other Internet providers

Top US trade representative Ron Kirk says U.S. trade officials are in talks with Google and other Internet providers on FAC’s proposal to challenge China’s Internet censorship via the World Trade Organization (WTO). dh
U.S. weighing China Internet censorship case

(Related News: Q+A: Is there a WTO case against Chinese Internet censorship?)
(Reuters) – The United States is [...]

Attorney Judy Alexander Joins FAC as Special Access Litigation Counsel

Starting this month, FAC has retained veteran first amendment and access lawyer Judy Alexander as FAC’s Special Access Litigation Counsel. Judy will be representing FAC in access cases across the state as part of FAC’s  expanded litigation initiative.
Alexander, a former FAC Board member, has 25 years experience in first amendment and access matters, including litigation [...]

Attorney Matteo-Boehm honored by California Lawyer for victories in FAC cases

Congratulations to Attorney Rachel Matteo-Boehm of the law firm Holme Roberts & Owen, San Francisco for being named a Public Interest Lawyer of the Year by California Lawyer Magazine.  The magazine singled out work on behalf of FAC in two important government transparency cases: CFAC v. Santa Clara and and CFAC& Maplight.org v. [...]

Obama administration weighs FAC proposal to challenge China’s internet censorship in WTO

FAC Executive Director Peter Scheer describes the administration’s interest as “an important step,” and details FAC’s position on the issue:”We believe that China’s censorship of the internet is not only a human rights issue but also a free trade issue.
“That’s why FAC petitioned the US Trade Representative to challenge the firewall before the WTO. Google’s [...]

Join the fight: NFOIC Seeking New Executive Director

The National Freedom of Information Coalition, a national network of state freedom of information advocates, with headquarters in the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism, is seeking a new executive director.
The NFOIC has recently expanded its first amendment mission to include a legal initiative, thanks to a $2M, three-year grant [...]

Palo Alto’s trio of newspapers staying alive in hard times

The online news boom and the busted U.S. economy have combined to make community newspapers an endangered species.  So how does Palo Alto manage to support three newspapers–The Palo Alto Weekly, The Daily Post and The Daily News?
The New York Times asked that question of the newspapers’ publishers, including FAC board member Bill [...]

Haiti Rewired: Wired.com tackles Haiti’s reconstruction with online collaboration

Haiti Rewired launched by Wired.com following the January earthquake, is an innovative response to the problem of on-going disaster relief. Editor-in-Chief Evan Hansen, a member of FAC’s board, calls the project an online “collaboration of writers, editors, technologists, researchers, geographers, infrastructure specialists, aid groups and others” dedicated to rebooting Haiti’s future.

Haiti Rewired’s Mission [...]

Pultizer Prize-winning reporter describes quest for truth in Las Vegas construction deaths

By Donal Brown
Wall Street Journal reporter Alexandra Berzon said that favorable circumstances set the stage for the stories on Las Vegas construction deaths that earned her a 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service when she was with the Las Vegas Sun. It is clear, though, that her success in the project derived centrally from her [...]

Court rules CA counties must disclose pension amounts paid to government retirees

Nov 6, 2009—In a case filed by the First Amendment Coalition, the Modesto Bee and the California Newspaper Publishers Association, a California Superior Court has ruled that county governments, upon request, must disclose–by name–their retirees’ pension payments.
The Superior Court for Stanislaus County reasoned that the public interest in access to government employees’ pensions outweighs the [...]

First Amendment panel finds promise, pitfalls in social media

By Donal Brown
The panel on journalists and social media at the First Amendment Coatition Assembly offered wise advice and a few emphatic warnings, chief among them: everything a journalist puts up on Twitter or Facebook or other social media is public.
Speaking at the assembly October 24 in Los Angeles on the panel entitled “Twitter with [...]

FAC names free speech award winners–and one loser

The First Amendment Coalition, a California-based non-profit public interest group, has named the 2009 recipients of its awards for service in the cause of free speech, open government and the public’s right to know.  In contrast, the Coalition also has presented its “Darkness Award,” given in recognition of conduct that thwarts freedom of speech.
The Bill [...]

NEW name, NEW website, Bigger role, Same mission

Welcome to our new website. In addition to a new home (and address) on the internet, we are also announcing our new name. Instead of “California First Amendment Coalition,” the name given this organization at its birth in 1988, we are now just “FIRST AMENDMENT COALITION.” We shrunk our name to confirm our expanding role [...]

First Amendment Coalition joins forces to write stiffer rule for access to court records

The First Amendment Coalition along with the California Newspaper Publishers Association and Californians Aware have submitted written comments on a draft of a Rule of Court to grant the public access to administrative court records. -DB
CNPA Legislative Bulletin
September 16, 2009
CNPA, the First Amendment Coalition and Californians Aware all lodged informal written comments last week on [...]

Obit: Dick Fogel, Bay City News Service founder, and long-time FAC supporter, at 86.

Richard Henry Fogel, co-founder of Bay City News Service, died last Wednesday  at 86. Fogel was among the founders of FAC in 1988. Ever a free speech advocate, he was a recipient of the James Madison Freedom of Information Career Achievement Award, among others.

By Wayne Futak
Bay City News
09/10/2009 —- Richard Henry Fogel, co-founder of San [...]

Texas open meeting law supported by FAC amicus stands

The Texas Open Meetings Act supported by an FAC amicus brief withstood a constitutional challenge by former city council members who asserted the law violated their rights to exchange e-mail messages discussing city business in secret.
September 10, 2009
After four years of litigation, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Dallas (5th Cir.) today  dismissed Rangra vs. [...]

Governor signs FAC-sponsored access bill

With encouragement from the California First Amendment Coalition, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SB 786 that limits the ability of state and local governmental agencies to win fee awards from citizens bringing lawsuits under the state’s open government laws -DB
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law SB 768 on August 6 a measure vital to maintaining the ability [...]

FAC files amicus in US Sup Ct free speech / campaign contributions case

The First Amendment Coalition has filed an amicus brief in Citizens United v. FEC, the US Supreme Court case involving First Amendment challenges to federal campaign finance laws regulating corporate political speech during elections.
The Court held this case over for re-argument in September and invited briefing on broader issues than the case originally had been [...]

Settlement in Database Access Suit Announced

BERKELEY, CA, June 16 —The California First Amendment Coalition (CFAC) and MAPLight.org, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research organization that shows the connection between money and politics, announced today that they have settled their freedom of information lawsuit against the Office of Legislative Counsel of California, having gained the object of their suit: a machine-readable database of [...]

Las Vegas Sun series on construction deaths wins CFAC Sunlight award

By Donal Brown
The California First Amendment Coalition today announced that the 2009 Sunlight Award has been given to reporter Alexandra Berzon and the Las Vegas Sun for an investigative series of 50 articles on the high rate of accidental deaths among construction workers at a huge casino construction site on the Las Vegas strip. [...]

Nonprofits to downsizing law firms: Loan us your laid off junior lawyers; we'll return them when the economy recovers

By Peter Scheer
A mind is a terrible thing to waste. So is a highly skilled and expensively trained junior lawyer at a large law firm.
That is what law firms across the country must be thinking as they hand out pink slips to very talented, but now underutilized, young lawyers (aka “associates”): over 1,200 in just [...]

CFAC files brief to lift gag in BART homicide case

The California First Amendment Coalition has asked a Superior Court judge in Oakland to rescind his gag order in the highly publicized prosecution of a former BART police officer who is charged with murder for the shooting death–captured on numerous cellphone videos uploaded to Youtube–of Oscar Grant III on New Year’s Day.
The Coalition’s brief, written [...]

CFAC Litigation

CFAC and MAPLight sue for public access to state’s legislative database
The California First Amendment Coalition filed suit today against the Legislative Counsel’s office in Sacramento. With our co-petitioner, MAPLight.org, we are seeking a copy of California’s full legislative database–the texts of bills, amendments, votes, dates, etc.—for all legislation.
Although the public currently can access this info [...]

CFAC sponsors bill to prevent agencies from using anti-SLAPP law to deter citizens' open-gov suits

The California First Amendment Coalition is sponsoring legislation to limit the risk assumed by those who resort to court to force local and state agencies to comply with the open records and open meetings laws. The bill, SB 786, has been introduced by State Senator Leland Yee.
SB 786 is directed to lawsuits in which a [...]

Las Vegas Sun series on construction deaths wins Sunlight award

A rookie Las Vegas Sun reporter’s extensive investigation of deaths of construction workers on the Los Vegas strip was the top winner in the Associated Press/California First Amendment Coalition 2009 contest to celebrate tenacious reporting in the public interest. -DB
May 5, 2009
Associated Press
For her series of over 50 stories on contruction worker deaths, Alexandra [...]

Appeal judges hear arguments in CFAC's suit for release of county's digital mapping database

CFAC is awaiting a decision in an appeal of its trial court victory against Santa Clara County for release of the county’s digital “basemap” of real estate parcels, which can be used in various digital mapping applications. Santa Clara County, which has licensed the basemap for tens-of-thousands of dollars, now claims release of the files [...]

CFAC joins appeal to permit webcasting of file-sharing case in federal court

CFAC has joined a legal brief urging the federal Court of Appeals in Boston to allow the webcasting of court hearings in a music file-sharing lawsuit filed by the recording industry. Although TV cameras are permitted in California state trial courts on a case-by-case basis, few federal courts have allowed cameras since an experiment in [...]

Lawyers' group fails in attempt to intervene in CFAC suit over State Bar affirmative action records

CFAC’s lawsuit against the State Bar for bar exam records relevant to research on law schools’ affirmative action policies has moved forward. CFAC successfully turned back an attempt by a group of lawyers, who claim to be interested in the confidentiality of the Bar data, to intervene in the case to block disclosure. [...]

Major newspapers back CFAC/MAPlight lawsuit to expand public access to Legislative actions

The San Francisco Chronicle and Sacramento Bee have endorsed a lawsuit by the California First Amendment Coalition and MAPlight.org to open the state Legislature’s entire database of bills, votes and amendments to public view. The state currently allows the public to see only one bill at a time — in a form that makes [...]

Newsgathering at CA polling places on election day

Every election day brings confusion about what reporters (and bloggers or other journalists) can and cannot do in the close proximity of polling places. CFAC executive director Peter Scheer in this brief video explains the rules.
www.tokbox.com
Provisions of California law governing newsgathering activities at polling places while the polls are open:
18541. (a) No person shall, [...]

Call for Nominations: Farr, Beacon & "Darkness" awards

The California First Amendment Coalition and the California Society of Newspaper Editors are soliciting nominations for the 2008 Bill Farr Award for furthering the principles of free speech, free press and public access to government.
In addition, CFAC is seeking nominations for its annual Beacon awards, presented to those who have fought to keep government open, [...]

CFAC Excutive Director Discusses China's Internet Censorship on Radio

CFAC’s Executive Director, Peter Scheer, discusses China’s internet censorship on KALW in a program produced by New American Media. Scheer also talks about CFAC’s petition to the US Trade Representative to bring a case against China to the WTO, alleging that China’s censorship is a violation of free trade.
Hear the radio interview here.

Responses to Peter Scheer's Commentary on Vallejo's Bankruptcy

In response to Peter’s recent commentary on Vallejo’s Bankruptcy. For most cities staff compensation is the city’s biggest expenditure. There should be more room for citizen oversight and input.
One of the most important aspects in need of close scrutiny are a city’s revenue projections. I would guess when Vallejo negotiated and approved staff compensation packages [...]

China resident responds to Commentary on China's censorship of internet

To: CFAC
I read and appreciated your article about China and the Internet which appeared recently in the International Herald Tribune. As a 20 year resident of China who has been on line here since 1996, I am intimately acquainted with the problems one encounters accessing information on line. As China becomes more sophisticated in its [...]

AP Sunlight Freedom of Information Awards Announced

Earlier today the Associated Press, in conjunction with CFAC, announced the winners of the 2008 Sunlight Freedom of Information Award.
The Sunlight award is given to the two stories in the California-Nevada region that best exemplify the use of public records in an effort to effectively shed light on issues of civic importance.
The award is judged [...]

Subscribe to CFAC's RSS Feed

Have CFAC’s provocative First Amendment news and commentary delivered to you. CFAC now offers an RSS feed that allows people to stay abreast of CFAC news and opinion without even coming to our website — although that’s something we would not encourage.

The RSS feed works with iGoogle, myYahoo! and all other RSS readers.

Join The Resistance on Facebook and MySpace

The California First Amendment Coalition is now on Facebook and MySpace. You can join our official Cause, The Resistance. Or you can start your own Cause and select CFAC as a beneficiary.

The Causes application allows people to support their favorite organizations, through tax-deductible contributions, or simply through joining the Cause.
Let your online friends and [...]

Scheer appointed to Bench Bar Media committee

Chief Justice Ronald M. George has announced the formation of a committee of judges, lawyers and journalists–including CFAC’s executive director, Peter Scheer–to promote improved relations among the courts, the Bar and the media. Here is a press release from the Judicial Council:
Chief Justice George Names
Bench Bar Media Steering Committee
San Francisco—Chief Justice Ronald M. George today [...]

For Sunshine Week, CFAC to lead LA discussion on national security and 1st Amendment

Discussion on Open Government will follow L.A. Theatre Works March 13 Production of Pentagon Papers Docudrama
California First Amendment Coalition Director Peter Scheer to Lead Panel
Washington — Sunshine Week will host a discussion on open government and secrecy issues following a Thursday, March 13, L.A. Theatre Works production of “Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon [...]

CFAC protests new legislation curbing access to government mapping data

CFAC today registered its opposition to legislation that seeks to vest in local and state governments monopoly control over real estate data used in digital mapping systems.
The legislation, AB 1978, submitted by Assembly member Jose Solorio (D-Orange County), would exempt from the California Public Records Act the basemap data essential for many local applications of [...]

CFAC's Scheer discusses wikileaks case on NPR's All Things Considered

Go here to listen to the story on NPR

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