Judges, open government groups blast exemptions to judicial council draft on open meetings

From Courthouse News Service: SAN FRANCISCO (CN) – Comments last week from judges, labor representatives and open government advocates poured criticism on the “vagueness and breadth” of exemptions to a draft rule that would open up meetings of Judicial Council advisory bodies.

But, when asked if the draft rule applies to the Judicial Council’s powerful internal committees, Justice Douglas Miller who heads the Executive and Planning Committee answered directly and clearly, “Yes it does.”

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SF law firm weighs in on Sorenson decision

From TheCalifornian.com: A San Francisco law firm is jumping on a local bandwagon asking the California Supreme Court to review an appellate court’s decision that would ultimately close all conservatorship hearings to the public.

In a Thursday amici letter to the Supreme Court, Duffy Carolan of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, argues the Sixth District Court of Appeals relied on a faulty understanding of the law to rule that all Lanterman-Petris-Short Act proceedings ought to be closed.

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Coliseum Commission administrator found guilty of violating California open-meeting laws

From Daily Trojan: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission top administrator John Sandbrook was found guilty of testifying falsely during USC’s lease negotiations with the Coliseum on Oct. 4, according to the Los Angeles Times.

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NFOIC’s State FOIA Friday for October 4, 2013

From NFOIC:  A few state FOIA and local open government news items selected from many of interest that we might or might not have drawn attention to earlier in the week. While you're at it, be sure to check out State FOIA Friday Archives.

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NFOIC’s State FOIA Friday for August 30, 2013

From NFOIC:  A few state FOIA and local open government news items selected from many of interest that we might or might not have drawn attention to earlier in the week.

While you're at it, be sure to check out State FOIA Friday Archives.

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NFOIC’s State FOIA Friday for August 23, 2013

From NFOIC:  A few state FOIA and local open government news items selected from many of interest that we might or might not have drawn attention to earlier in the week.

While you're at it, be sure to check out State FOIA Friday Archives.

US seeks to shield emails about emergency network

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Garden Grove city manager delays producing public calendar

From Voice of OC:  Garden Grove city officials are delaying the inspection of public records after Voice of OC requested to view the public calendar of its city manager, Matthew J. Fertal.

City staff are now saying that the city has 10 days to determine whether the document is public information.

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Santa Clara County supervisors consider proposal to publish calendars online

From San Jose Mercury News:  Six years after San Jose required its elected officials and key staff to post their public calendars online, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors is poised to enact its own policy on Tuesday. But open-government advocates and even some supervisors say it's an essentially toothless policy proposal that needs to be rewritten.

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California Common Sense launches open data portal

From CivSource:  California Common Sense (CACS) a non-partisan non-profit founded by Stanford students and alumni to open government to the public, develop data-driven policy analysis, and educate citizens about how their governments work has launched a new open data portal. Data will include national Medicaid spending figures, along with several California specific spending datasets available as .xls, .xlsx, .csv, .pdf, and other files.

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Opinion: Push in Sacramento to seal pension data based on false premises

Opinion from Terry Francke, general counsel of Californians Aware, via San Jose Mercury News:  Recent press reporting suggests that legislators in Sacramento, pressured by state employee unions and retiree associations, may be considering amending the California Public Records Act to exempt from public disclosure the names of CalPERS pensioners linked to their retirement payments — information that's been open to public scrutiny for the past 28 years.

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