The News-Press' carried the story of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling denying a rehearing in the "News-Press 8" case on its front page Friday.
The headline described the NLRB's petition for a rehearing as a "government attack." Kind of sounds like they're taking a page out to the Tea Party politics book.Conspicuously absent from the article, which runs under Scott Steepleton's by-line, is any statement from Barry Cappello, who was the lead attorney for the News-Press on this case. The lack of any quote or comment from Cappello would appear to corroborate my reporting that he no longer represents owner Wendy McCaw and the newspaper.
The normally close-mouthed McCaw and her boyfriend Arthur von Wiesenberger had plenty to say however, and are quoted as giving the following statement: "We sincerely hope this marks the end of a four-year jihad against the Santa Barbara News-Press by (NLRB Regional Director) James McDermott and the Teamsters." They went on to observe: "This marks the third time we have won in these ongoing attempts to take our First Amendment rights -- in the federal court and now in the Ninth Circuit Court twice. It makes one wonder how many times you have to prove your case until an adversary gets the message?"
Considering the large number of violations of the National Labor Relations Act that have been sustained against the paper, a lot of us have wondered the same about you Mrs. McCaw.
© 2010 by Craig Smith and www.craigsmithsblog.com
