COMMUNITY MEDIA
'North Coast (Arcata) Journal'
http://www.sfbg.com/39/23/cover_foi_winners.html
Emily Gurnon
It's the kind of case that has long come to represent everything that's wrong with our political system but that so often becomes very difficult to prove: close ties – and blurred boundaries – between government and big business. In Fortuna it played out in the form of local politico Debi August, a real estate broker and 15-year veteran of the town's Planning Commission, who began pushing for a swanky, 24-acre hilltop development almost as soon as she was elected to the city council in April 2002.
The Humboldt County Grand Jury finally launched an investigation May 4, 2003, following a neighbor's complaint, but when the North Coast Journal tried to get the records, the court clerk said the judge on the case had ordered the transcripts sealed well beyond the 10 days required by law – "until further notice." If the Journal wanted a peek at the information, it would have to go to court – a potentially bank-busting venture for a small, independent paper.
But editor Emily Gurnon and staff writer Hank Sims stayed on the case, and the paper's attorney dispatched several letters. The grand jury finally unsealed the docs last September. The North Coast Journal ran a story, posting excerpts of the transcripts on its Web site. Now the would-be developer has dropped its plans to build. And August is scheduled to stand trial for malfeasance in May. (Camille T. Taiara)
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