Judge Rebukes Schwarzenegger for Use of Fake Video News Releases on Nurses

[rainbow4321]

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=danews.story&STORY=/www/story/12-01-2005/0004226517&EDATE=THU+Dec+01+2005,+07:14+PM

In a victory for nurses and other workers, Sacramento Superior Court Judge Lloyd Connelly today ordered the Schwarzenegger administration to remove a controversial video news release from a state Web site, and barred the administration from producing similar VNRs in support of proposed or emergency regulations. The full ruling is available from the CNA for reporters who wish to view it.

The ruling came in response to a March lawsuit in which the California Nurses Association, the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO, and United Healthcare Workers West (SEIU) sued the administration over two video news releases produced by the administration earlier in the year to promote emergency regulations issued by the administration to roll back the nurse-to-patient ratio law and meal and break protections for workers.

Ruling for the plaintiffs, Connolly wrote, "The court concludes that respondents have improperly expended public funds to produce and distribute the nurse-to-patient ratios VNR and the meal and rest periods VNR without clear legislative authorization "

The videos were designed in the form of pre-packaged news stories with the intent that they be run in full or in part on local news stations reporting on the two issues that have garnered considerable public attention. Both have the common characteristics of being one-sided reports that were littered with misleading information, and that deliberately disguised the fact they were produced by the Schwarzenegger administration at public expense.

[iamjoy]

1. If Only Dubya Could Get Busted

he did the same thing for lots of his programs, didn't he?

[No Exit]

2. Sure did, probably still doing it! Ahnie's just following his leader's

example!

[No Exit]

3. "And from now on, Mr. Governor, you may NOT play with Karl Rove!"

[CountAllVotes]

4. kick!!!

:dem: :kick: :kick: :kick: !!!!!!!

[yellowcanine]

5. Nurses 2, Ahnold 0. May the Ahnold smackdowns continue! First the

No vote on the public employees inititive, now the court says no to Ahnold's fake news using public funds. So how do California taxpayers' get their money back?