Morning News for Monday, February 18, 2013

Money left behind by passengers at airport checkpoints ends up being used by TSA. NBC News reports:

TSA makes “every effort to reunite passengers with items left at security checkpoints,” said agency spokesperson Nico Melendez. But all those nickels, dimes, quarters – and a smattering of poker chips and crumpled bills – usually end up getting counted, forwarded to the TSA financial office and then spent on general security operations. Congress approved that TSA expenditure in 2005, but some lawmakers and passengers rights groups are unhappy TSA gets to keep the change.

Foreign governments are paying for Congressional staffers to take lavish trips according to this story in The Washington Post:

More and more foreign governments are sponsoring such excursions for lawmakers and their staffs, though an overhaul of ethics rules adopted by Congress five years ago banned them from going on most other types of free trips. This overseas travel is often arranged by lobbyists for foreign governments, though lobbyists were barred from organizing other types of congressional trips out of concern that the trips could be used to buy favor.

As the fight for Drakes Bay Oyster Company continues, local businesses worry the price of oysters will significantly increase if the farm is forced to close. Read more from the Marin Independent Journal:

The Drakes Bay Oysters Co. is making its final legal bid to stay open and there is fear if it fails oyster prices will rise and the bivalve business in the region won’t be the same…If it does not grant the injunction, Drakes Bay will have to close operations by March 15, a move many believe will lead to higher oyster prices in the region.

Morning News for Tuesday, February 12, 2013

The latest update in the Drakes Bay Oyster case covered today by The Press Democrat:

A federal judge on Monday denied Drakes Bay Oyster Company’s second legal bid to remain in business beyond a Feb. 28 deadline to quit harvesting oysters from Drakes Estero in the Point Reyes National Seashore. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers issued a 70-word order rejecting oyster farm operator Kevin Lunny’s appeal of her previous ruling on Feb. 4.

DNC chairwoman tries to deceive the press in an effort to criticize Marco Rubio. The Washington Examiner has this story:

Democratic National Committee chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz attempted a bit of deception Monday in an effort to criticize GOP rising star Marco Rubio ahead of his State of the Union rebuttal Tuesday night. But on this occasion, the press wasn’t falling for it. In a conference call Monday, Wasserman Schultz enlisted the help of Annette Capella, described by party officials as a “Medicare recipient from Florida,” to warn of the “extreme budget priorities,” they believe Rubio is likely to outline in his televised response to President Obama’s address.

A senator sharply criticizes overspending and program duplication by the Justice Department. The Daily Caller reports:

Pointing to charts showing the web of redundant and expensive Justice Department grants, Coburn argued that the last thing the Senate should do is add to the mess. “Department of Justice grants — 253 different programs, not just run by the Department of Justice, but nine other agencies besides them — [are] spending $3.9 billion a year,” he said, while displaying a cost chart. “And we might say that’s okay. Now let’s look at the organization.”

 

Friday February 8, 2013 Morning News

There is more coverage of the Drakes Bay Oyster Conflict today. The Washington Free Beacon has the latest:

The Drakes Bay Oyster Company is appealing a judge’s decision to deny injunctive relief against the secretary of the interior’s decision not to renew the business’ permit to use federal land, Cause of Action announced Wednesday. “We are committed to fighting against government abuse and overreach to keep the Lunny family in business … and are taking all the necessary legal steps to appeal this ruling,” said Amber Abbasi, Cause of Action’s chief counsel for regulatory affairs, in a statement. Cause of Action is representing the company and its owner in this case along with Briscoe Ivester & Bazel, LLP, and SSL Law.

Retiring DOT Secretary, Ray LaHood says, “America is one big pothole.”  More from The Hill:

Critics of President Barack Obama’s recess appointments are calling on Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan to recuse herself from a potential Supreme Court hearing on the matter. The Chamber of Commerce raised the prospect of recusal, citing then-solicitor general Kagan’s defense of President Obama’s recess appointments in a previous case regarding the composition of the National Labor Relations Board.

Senators are blaming congress for agency waste and duplication. Government Executive has this story:

Key reasons for wasteful duplication of federal programs include a lack of knowledge among lawmakers and their tendency to think parochially and short-term, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said Wednesday. “We have a great federal workforce, but the problem is that members of Congress, while well intentioned, lack oversight and knowledge of what programs are out there,” Coburn told business executives at a forum on transforming government for the 21st century sponsored by the Business Roundtable and Governing magazine.

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is concerned about how the DOJ is enforcing adherence to FOIA laws. 

Tuesday February 5, 2013 Morning News

The judge in our Drakes Bay Oyster company lawsuit issued a ruling on the motion for preliminary injunction yesterday. The Associated Press reports:

A federal judge on Monday denied a Northern California oyster farm’s request to have its removal from Point Reyes National Seashore overturned, and ruled against allowing it to continue doing business in the park while its lawsuit is being heard in court. The judge denied owner Kevin Lunny’s request to void Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s refusal to renew the historic oyster farm’s lease for another 10 years. The rulings dealt a blow to the popular Drakes Bay Oyster Co.’s last-ditch effort to remain in business beyond its March 15 eviction date. 

[UPDATE] Be sure to read our response to the judge’s ruling.

President Obama is starting to vet replacements for cabinet members. More from Reuters:

A California-based hospital company says it will not comply with at least two National Labor Relations Board rulings from the past year after a federal court invalidated three of President Barack Obama’s recess appointments to the NLRB last week. 

A DOJ memo detailing legal justification for drone strikes, even on American citizens, was leaked. The New York Times has this story:

Obama administration lawyers have asserted that it would be lawful to kill a United States citizen if “an informed, high-level official” of the government decided that the target was a ranking figure in Al Qaeda who posed “an imminent threat of violent attack against the United States” and if his capture was not feasible, according to a 16-page document made public on Monday.

Media Advisory: Court Hearing to Determine the Future of Drakes Bay Oyster Company Scheduled for Jan 25

***MEDIA ADVISORY***

 

COURT HEARING TO DETERMINE THE FUTURE OF

DRAKES BAY OYSTER COMPANY

WHAT:  A hearing in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California to determine whether to grant a Preliminary Injunction and allow Drakes Bay Oyster Company to continue operations on their family farm.

After receiving news on November 29, 2012 from Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar that their family-run oyster farm could no longer remain on National Park Service land, the Lunny family enlisted the help of Cause of Action, as well as Stoel Rives, LLP, SSL Law Firm, LLP, and Briscoe Ivester & Bazel, LLP, to help fight for their farm, family, and their community against the government’s abuse of authority.

 

On December 18, Cause of Action filed a Motion for Preliminary Injunction, which if granted, will allow Drakes Bay Oyster Company to remain in business until the merits of the National Park Service and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar decision to shut down the farm have been decided by the Court.

 

 

WHO:   Kevin Lunny, owner, Drakes Bay Oyster Company

Amber Abbasi, Chief Counsel for Regulatory Affairs at Cause of Action

Ryan Waterman, of Counsel at Stoel Rives, LLP
Peter Prows, Partner at Briscoe Ivester & Bazel, LLP

Cause of Action is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that uses investigative, legal, and communications tools to educate the public on how government accountability and transparency protects taxpayer interests and economic opportunity.

 

 

WHEN: Friday, January 25, 2013 at 2:00pm Pacific Time

 

WHERE: Oakland Courthouse, Courtroom 5 – 2nd Floor

1301 Clay Street, OaklandCA 94612

 

RSVP: This hearing is open to the media and the public. Cameras will not be allowed inside the courtroom.

 

To speak with Kevin Lunny, owner of Drakes Bay Oyster Company or Amber Abbasi, Chief Counsel for Regulatory Affairs at Cause of Action, contact Mary Beth Hutchins,  202-400-2721 or Jamie Morris, jamie.morris@causeofaction.org, at

202-499-4232

 

 

 

Drakes Bay Oyster Company Court Order on Scheduled Closing of Operations

117261524-2012-12-17-Order-Re-Briefing-Schedule

Drakes Bay Oyster Company Pushes Back, 90 Day Deadline Extended

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                    CONTACT:

DECEMBER 18, 2012                                                   Mary Beth Hutchins or Jamie Morris

202-499-4232

Movement in Drakes Bay Oyster Company’s Push against the Government: 90 Day Deadline Is Extended

SAN FRANCISCO – The first signs of progress have come for Drakes Bay Oyster Company (DBOC) and the Lunny family in their fight against the National Park Service and Department of Interior following Sec. Kenneth Salazar’s November 29 decision that essentially shut down their business.

 

In a stipulation approved by order of the court, the Department of Justice, which is defending the government in Drakes Bay Oyster Company, et al. v. Kenneth L. Salazar, et al., conceded to requests by the DBOC attorneys as follows:

 

  1. DBOC may conduct activities involving planting and growing new oysters in the water at Drakes Estero, and will thereby avoid threatened layoffs of one-third of its employees right before the holidays.
  2. DBOC will no longer be required to remove the mobile residential units located on site and currently inhabited by Drakes Bay Oyster Company employees, thereby providing more time for those employees to look for affordable housing.
  3. DBOC now has until March 15, 2013 to complete the removal of all other personal property within the onshore area, instead of the original February 28, 2013 deadline.
  4. A hearing is set for January 25, 2013 on a request for a preliminary injunction.

 

Under the agreement, DBOC withdraws its request for a temporary restraining order that was submitted to the court last week, and instead will file a Motion for a Preliminary Injunction.

 

“While this decision brings some temporary relief for the Lunnys and their employees, the attorneys representing the best interests of DBOC know that this is only the first step in fighting against the abuse perpetrated by Secretary Salazar – at the expense of a small, family-owned and environmentally sound business,” said Dan Epstein, executive director of Cause of Action.

 

Cause of Action, Stoel Rives, Briscoe Ivester & Bazel, and SSL Law represent Drakes Bay Oyster Company.

 

To schedule an interview with Dan Epstein, Cause of Action’s Executive Director, contact Mary Beth Hutchins,  202-400-2721 or Jamie Morris, jamie.morris@causeofaction.org, at 202-499-4232.

 

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