2024-03-21T06:26:52-07:00 2023-12-31 680228024 HARMON BURSTYN CPA 1012 HACIENDA DR WALNUT CREEK CA 94598 990EZ 2023-01-01 844618329 Informed California Foundation DBA - Open Vallejo INFO 7078478398 490 43rd Street 12 Oakland CA 94609 Geoffrey W King President & CEO 2024-03-21 true Geoffrey W King 999009999 true Harmon Burstyn P00855188 9252863522 X 2 AAL1 IAL1 FAL1 2023 2023-04-26 12:10:37Z X https://openvallejo.org X X 190228 X 188255 0 0 0 0 1973 190228 98874 17931 4659 416 53249 175129 15099 -4048 -1140 9911 X 17962 38972 63 63 18025 39035 22073 29124 -4048 9911 Informed California Foundations primary activity is original public service news reporting, initially in Vallejo and then in other locations in California. This explanatory and investigative reporting illuminates local and state institutions, public and private individuals holding disproportionate power, and underreported themes such as civil rights and municipal corruption. The organization features deeply researched reporting and expert analysis to ensure the public, policymakers, enforcement bodies, and other stakeholders have access to comprehensive and contextualized information on topics of relevance to the community. Informed Californias news content and method of producing the content is educational in nature, and consistent with tax requirements. The purpose of the reporting is to provide readers with sufficient information and development to aid a reader in forming an independent opinion about issues of relevance and importance in the local community. This reporting and exper Investigative Reporting in the public interest Open Vallejo published groundbreaking, original stories in 2023 that have generated major impact in Vallejo and in Solano County as a whole, earning our website approximately 28,833 unique views per month. Our work informed a decision by the California Department of Justice to impose a consent decree on Vallejo police, and information we uncovered is playing a major role in local criminal cases. Vallejo police officers have quit or retired. Our investigations have sparked investigations and won numerous awards. Our work is referenced by the public in numerous city council meetings, public rallies, and other forums. Some of our reporting in 2023 included:Senior officials ordered destruction of Vallejo police shooting evidencehttps://openvallejo.org/2023/02/05/vallejo-destroyed-evidence-of-police-killings/The Vallejo city attorneys office has long resisted public scrutiny of the police departments frequent shootings. With a new law poised to force the release of shooting records, a lawyer and a detective made a decision no court can reverse.In January 2021, officials for the city of Vallejo intentionally and with approval from a senior attorney for the city destroyed key evidence in multiple police killings and one non-fatal shooting, documents obtained in a public records lawsuit filed by Open Vallejo show. The city destroyed the records although many were set to be disclosed under California transparency laws a potential crime, according to a motion filed by this newsroom.The article sparked a third-party investigation and interest from state and federal authorities. Vallejo police concealed violent deaths for years, Open Vallejo lawsuit revealshttps://openvallejo.org/2023/08/24/vallejo-police-concealed-violent-deaths-for-years-open-vallejo-lawsuit-reveals/All of the victims were Black. All of them were unarmed. Their names are Andrew Lamar Washington, Otis Edward McPeters, Charles Khristopher Gordon, and Michael Todd White. The city of Vallejo has fought for years to keep their deaths secret but was forced to disclose after a Solano County judge ordered their release in response to a lawsuit filed against the city by Open Vallejo. The disclosures, along with death records obtained by this newsroom, paint a disturbing picture of officers use of force in the four deaths which local officials deemed accidental. A review of the records shows that all four men were Tased by officers, and that in at least two cases, police attempted controversial restraint positions that have since been banned in California.Twisted to conceal: How laws meant to protect children help police evade scrutinyhttps://openvallejo.org/2023/06/28/twisted-to-conceal-how-laws-meant-to-protect-children-help-police-evade-scrutiny/State and federal laws have long restricted government agencies from publicly releasing information about juveniles interactions with the criminal justice system. The laws aim to protect young offenders from social stigma and reduce barriers to employment, housing, and higher education. Those same protections, however, have come to shield police who use force on children from the scrutiny of state transparency laws. In response, the author of a landmark 2019 state transparency law, State Sen. Nancy Skinner, condemned the ruling in Open Vallejos case as it applied to juvenile records; a co-sponsor of the bill pledged to address the issue in subsequent legislation. 169183 Public records requests and litigation Open Vallejo filed numerous public records requests in 2022, which has contributed to the public understanding of local government. A lawsuit filed in September of 2021 has uncovered thousands of pages of records. This generated news reporting on the killing from this newsroom as well as others, and has informed the public both in Vallejo and across the country. During a May deposition of Vallejos then-public records coordinator, Open Vallejo discovered that senior Vallejo officials deliberately destroyed records, which were due to be disclosed to this newsroom, amid an investigation by the California Department of Justice. This led to an early 2023 news article that has forced the city to launch a third-party investigation into the destruction of evidence after months of inaction. Press freedom Open Vallejo has been an early and active partner in the Protecting Journalists Pro Bono Program, a collaborative effort of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP), Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, and Microsoft. The program has provided tens of thousands of dollars worth of pro bono support to this newsroom through pre-publication review of news articles and representation in the public records litigation mentioned above.In addition to participating in this program, Open Vallejo signed on to several RCFP amicus briefs and letters supporting press freedom and other First Amendment rights. 169183 Geoffrey W King President 40.00 150 Victoria Baranetsky Secretary 1.00 0 Sophia Cope Director 1.00 0 Harlo Holmes Director 1.00 0 Dan Rubins Treasurer 1.00 0 false false false false false false false 0 0 0 false 0 0 false CA Rebecca Kyles 490 43rd St 12 Oakland CA 94609 9168339194 false false false false false false false false false false false NONE NONE true X 12847 149074 173110 188255 523286 0 0 12847 149074 173110 188255 523286 0 523286 0 0 1973 1973 525259 X 0.00000 RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED Other Revenue.1 Return of Funds $1330 Other Revenue.2 Miscellaneous $643 Other Expenses.1001 Advertising and Promotion $5847 Other Expenses.1002 Office Expenses $9645 Other Expenses.1005 Travel $8949 Other Expenses.1008 Interest $-2 Other Expenses.1012 Insurance $11391 Other Expenses.1 Dues & Subscriptions $8485 Other Expenses.2 Reimbursable Expenses $3663 Other Expenses.3 Program Expenses $2959 Other Expenses.4 Other Business Expenses $756 Other Expenses.6 Licenses and Permits $414 Other Expenses.7 Meals & Entertainment $357 Other Expenses.8 Taxes and Licenses $350 Other Expenses.9 Purchases $240 Other Expenses.10 Bank Charge $140 Other Expenses.11 Job Supplies $55 Other Assets.1 Other Assets - Beginning $63 Other Assets - Ending $63 Total Liabilities.1001 Accounts Payable and Accrued Expenses - Beginning $22073 Accounts Payable and Accrued Expenses - Ending $29124