Thailand has threatened to cut off relations with the United States beause of an ad run in the Philadelphia City Paper. "The ad -- which depicts [Thai King Bhumibol] Adulyadej as a bling-bling hipster with bleached highlights, lines shaved into his hair, stone-encrusted glasses and a shirt that sports an Adidas logo" was run by a suburban housewife for her restaurant, Howard Altman writes.
Boston Phoenix Publisher Stephen Mindich has turned over copies of about 20 personal e-mails to a judicial commission investigating his wife's conduct as a judge, The Boston Globe reports. The commission issued a subpoena for the e-mail in June 2001. The case involves whether Superior Court Judge Maria Lopez acted properly when she issued a lenient sentence in a sexual assault case. A lawyer for Mindich told a judge the publisher was complying with the subpoena "with the greatest reluctance."
Law enforcement officials from Maine to California detest open records laws as much as the media loves them.Unfortunately, as the Sante Fe Reporter's Maria Luisa Tucker reports, the laws governing those records vary widely from state to state. For example, California and Florida have relatively clear guidelines, while Delaware and Idaho’s are notoriously problematic. In New Mexico, a vague state law has created loopholes that allow police to shield reports about ongoing investigations — sometimes forever. Now, one newspaper's lawsuit may soon create more sunshine. It’s an important case, particularly in a post Sept. 11 culture, wher public access to public documents continues to shrink.
New Times has named Dawson Fercho, former director of e-business for Seventhwave Technology Corporation, as publisher of PitchWeekly in Kansas City.
