7-27: those pesky limits on public comments

✅Oakland protesters set fire to courthouse, smash windows -- A protest in Oakland, California, in support of racial j ustice and police reform turned violent when a small group of demonstrators wearing helmets and goggles and carrying large signs that doubled as shields set fire to a courthouse, vandalized a police station and shot fireworks at officers, authorities said.  Associated Press -- 7/27/20

 

✅Hundreds march in LA area Sunday after protests end with injuries, arrests Saturday -- Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the Federal Building in Westwood on Sunday, July 26, to protest police violence and to stand in solidarity with protesters in Portland, Ore. who have recently clashed with federal police officers. The item is in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 7/27/20

 

✅Public Commenters Limited During Coronavirus by Closed Government Offices, New Policies

Voice of OC

     Throughout the coronavirus shutdown, many of Orange County’s public agencies have struggled to provide access for constituent voices to be heard. 

     Since many government buildings closed their doors to the public in March, opportunities for county residents to comment on policy decisions have been limited by multiple agencies, with some favoring only in-person commenters or cutting out the observations altogether. 

     Orange County residents have taken issue with the decision across several meetings, accusing city councils and other elected officials of using the pandemic as an excuse to silence dissenting opinions. Additionally, legal experts have begun asking if municipal panels are circumventing open government and transparency laws to the detriment of constituents….

 

✅California desperate for signs of turnaround after stunning coronavirus setbacks

LA Times

     July has brought a month of grim COVID-19 headlines for California, with a state once seen as a model of prevention enduring a new surge in cases as the economy rapidly reopened.

 

✅Lightning Rod Professor Found Dead

Inside Higher Ed

     Mike Adams, whom the University of North Carolina at Wilmington recently paid $504,000 to retire, was found dead at home last week from an apparent gunshot wound, Port City Daily reported. Sheriffs went to Adams’s house after a friend of his requested a welfare check, according to 911 records obtained by Port City Daily. The friend reportedly said that Adams had been “erratic” due to stress and that he had firearms in his home. No formal cause of death has been released.

     Adams was due to retire Aug. 1, in accordance with his agreement with UNC Wilmington. The late professor of sociology and criminal justice had a long history of offending students and colleagues with his public statements. He most recently railed against COVID-19-related state shutdowns and some protests for police reform. In May, for example, he tweeted this criticism of Democratic governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina: “This evening I ate pizza and drank beer with six guys at a six seat table top. I almost felt like a free man who was not living in a slave state of North Carolina. Massa Cooper, let my people go.” Adams condemned the police officers who killed George Floyd while calling rioters “thugs.”

     Adams took UNC Wilmington to court in 2007 for allegedly denying him a promotion over his views and eventually won $50,000 in back pay and a $9,000 raise in 2014, according to Star News Online. Police are investigating his death but do not immediately suspect foul play.