The Buzz 04-11-24

FREE SPEECH

When someone makes a request for a record, a public agency is required to make a concerted search for it under the California Public Records Act. In an October 2023 decision in City of Gilroy v. Superior Court, the Sixth District Court of Appeal determined that lower courts can only decide whether an agency unlawfully withheld specific records, with no further penalty. That case centered around whether the city violated the CPRA when it declined to release body camera footage of police officers conducting sweeps of homeless encampments. In a December letter to the California Supreme Court, the First Amendment Coalition argued that the court incorrectly decided that the CPRA prevents courts from issuing any remedy beyond ordering disclosure of records. Without consequences to hold them accountable, such a decision will make it easy for agencies to “sabotage the CPRA with impunity by ignoring their search obligations,” FAC stated in the letter. “To allow the ruling to stand would threaten to make a mockery of the CPRA’s founding premise: ‘Openness in government is essential to the functioning of a democracy.’” The California Supreme Court recently agreed to review the case.

GOOD WEEK / GREAT WEEK

Good:

Sun Street Centers’ dream of more than 20 years is coming true. The organization that offers addiction treatment and recovery services broke ground on its new recovery center in Salinas on April 4. The center will serve men, women, teens and families suffering with chronic addiction and mental illness. The nonprofit projects it will serve 300 people a year at the center and 40 men and women a year in sober living transitional housing apartments. It will be built at 284 and 286 Calle Cebu, next door to Sun Street’s current residential treatment program, with an expected late 2025 opening date. The estimated $4.4 million cost is being funded through grants and donations. “We are thrilled to take this momentous step forward to addressing the challenges of substance abuse in our community,” Anna Foglia, CEO of Sun Street Centers, said in a press release.

GREAT:

Over 4,000 prospective students and their families signed up for Admitted Otter Day at CSU Monterey Bay, which took place on Saturday, April 6. The turnout represents a 30-percent increase over last year, according to the university. The day was a chance for high school seniors who had been admitted to CSUMB but not yet committed to see what life is like on the university campus. It included tours, demonstration classes, information on clubs and organizations, and even an Otter Athletics women’s water polo game. Current students, alumni, faculty and staff were available for questions and there were workshops on financial aid and the career center in both English and Spanish. Ben Corpus, vice president for enrollment management and student affairs, told attendees that 80 percent of all California counties were represented that day, along with nine states.