The Drakes Bay Oyster Company has decided to appeal the judge’s decision to deny the motion for preliminary injunction. More from the Associated Press

The owners of a Northern California oyster farm that is scheduled to be removed from Point Reyes National Seashore are appealing a judge’s refusal to allow it to stay open while its lawsuit against the government proceeds. Drakes Bay Oyster Co. on Wednesday filed an appeal with the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Bloom Energy whistleblower speaks about the crony company’s mistreatment of workers. Read the account on Mercury News:

They traveled 1,300 miles and toiled long hours, earning the equivalent of $2.66 an hour in Mexican pesos while working in the Bay Area for acclaimed Silicon Valley tech startup Bloom Energy. “It wasn’t right what they were doing. It’s not the way to treat people,” said a former Bloom Energy contractor who claims he blew the whistle to authorities about the company’s mistreatment of the workers, who were brought to this country on visitor visas from the Bloom Energy plant in Chihuahua.

The Oversight Committee is demanding information from agencies who have failed to be transparent, delay FOIA requests. The Hill reports:

Scores of agencies across the federal government have failed to update their regulations involving the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), despite a 2009 directive from Attorney Gen. Eric Holder ordering them to adopt a “presumption of openness,” Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) said. Additionally, the lawmakers pointed to a backlog of requests for information at some agencies, an excessive use of exemptions allowing officials to withhold information and exorbitant — and potentially illegal — fee assessments. 


President Obama continues to fill his cabinet, his latest pick for the Department of Interior.