Advocates of open government had a very good session in the Nevada Legislature in 2021. Only two bills containing provisions the Nevada Press Association opposed became law and their impact on transparency will be relatively minor. The other bills we fought either died in committee or were amended to our …
Read More »Ethics case turns into open-meeting ruling
By Barry Smith The Nevada Supreme Court has upheld a strict reading of the state’s open-meeting law in a case that began with wildlife traps set by a Nevada state legislator five years ago and transformed into an ethics complaint. It all began when Assemblyman Ira Hansen, a plumber, outdoorsman, …
Read More »Open meeting law violations — the best and worst
by Barry Smith In one case, a city council paused its meeting for a three-minute recess and huddled in private before the mayor announced, “We’ve got this figured out.” In another, the board’s policy on public comments advised its members “not to respond to even the most ridiculous statements.” And …
Read More »Sunshine Week starts Sunday
Sunshine Week, which runs March 11-17, is the annual event by the American Society of Newspaper Editors and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. They provide materials for Nevada Press Association members to use during the week, including cartoons, columns and logos, as well as ideas for story …
Read More »First Amendment scoreboard
In case you’re keeping score, First Amendment and open-government advocates this week had a couple of successes, took a continuing loss and will look forward to another significant contest next week. One of the wins came in the Nevada Supreme Court, which said a district court judge was wrong to …
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