First Amendment Coalition & SacBee file suit for names of Sacramento County retirees with highest pensions

The Sacramento Bee and the First Amendment Coalition have filed a lawsuit to force the Sacramento County Employees’ Retirement System to release the names of all its retirees with pensions of over $100,000. -db The Sacramento Bee April 16, 2010 By Robert Lewis The Sacramento Bee and the First Amendment Coalition on Thursday filed a [...]

Open government advocates sue California State University campus over lack of transparency on Palin contract

Californians Aware is suing Cal State Stanislaus over their failure to provide documents about the fee they are paying Sarah Palin to speak at a June 25 fundraiser. They claim that the public’s right to know outweighs privacy concerns. -db San Francisco Chronicle April 17, 2010 By Nanette Asimov In the latest salvo in the [...]

States move to exclude 911 recordings from public record

Noting a trend to keep 911 records from the public, Citizen Media Law Project blogger Justin Silverman argues that there is a compelling public interest in allowing access to the records in the interest of shining light on the performance of public safety officers . He says laws can guarantee access and still protect the [...]

Presidential pardons: Obama administration puts privacy above transparency

The Justice Department filed a brief in federal appeals court in a bid to deny a journalist’s request for the names of the nearly 10,000 individuals denied clemency by President George W. Bush. -db Politico Commentary March 29, 2010 By Josh Gerstein While President Barack Obama has vowed to operate the most open and transparent administration [...]

Former California Governor Jerry Brown opens gubernatorial records

At least three people have been granted access to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown’s records from his term of office as California’s governor from 1975 to 1983. The records are only made available with Brown’s written permission. -db California Watch March 22, 2010 By Chase Davis According to Attorney General’s office spokeswoman Christine Gasparac, at [...]

Federal court orders release of list of jets used by Big 3 automakers

ProPublica won a court battle in its Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to gain the release of a list of corporate jets used by Big 3 automakers to fly to Washington, D.C. to ask for a taxpayer bail out. -db ProPublica Commentary February 26, 2010 By Michael Grabell A federal district judge ruled Friday that [...]

OMB Watch posts details of risks posed by U.S. chemical facilities

A government watchdog agency, OMB Watch, has posted updated risks to public health of thousands of chemical facilities allowing the public information needed to protect families and communities. The government has been derelict in providing the information. -DB OMB Watch Press Release October 29, 2009 WASHINGTON, D.C.—OMB Watch today posted updated information about the risks [...]

Santa Clara County pays $500,000 in legal fees to settle FAC suit

FAC’s victory in a lawsuit against Santa Clara County over access to digital mapping data has resulted in the county’s release of the data and payment of $500,000 to FAC’s lawyers, a record-high fee recovery in a California public records case. -DB San Jose Mercury News October 7, 2009 By John Woolfolk Santa Clara County’s [...]

White House releases logs showing visits by medical industry executives

Under pressure, the Obama administration released logs of White House visits of medical industry executives just after the inauguration, fueling speculation that the industry gained concessions in the private meetings. -DB First Amendment Center July 23, 2009 By The Associated Press WASHINGTON, D.C. — Administration officials began talking privately to major players in the health care [...]

White House secretive about who prepped Sotomayor

The Obama administration is refusing to name those who conducted practice sessions for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, withholding information of significant public interest. -DB Legal Times July 22, 2009 By David Ingram At the request of a Democratic Senate, the Bush administration in 2006 opened a rare window on the process for preparing a Supreme [...]

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