In brief: SeaWorld sued over orca attack

ORLANDO, Fla. – A New Hampshire family who witnessed the Feb. 24 death of a killer-whale trainer at SeaWorld Orlando has sued the company in state court in Orlando, claiming their child was traumatized by the event.

The family of 10-year-old Bobby Connell said the boy has been bothered by nightmares ever since seeing trainer Dawn Brancheau battered and drowned by a six-ton killer whale named Tilikum, according to a report about the lawsuit in the New York Daily News.

SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment spokesman Fred Jacobs said the company had just learned of the lawsuit and has not yet reviewed it. He said SeaWorld was contacted in March by a lawyer claiming to represent the Connell family who threatened to have the family appear on Oprah Winfrey’s talk show if the company did not “immediately agree to a cash payment.”

LOS ANGELES – California State University officials violated the state’s open records laws when they refused to release the contract and other documents related to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s recent fundraising appearance at a Cal State campus, a judge has ruled.

Cal State Stanislaus and a foundation affiliated with the campus were sued by a government watchdog group in April after they refused to disclose details of Palin’s contract, including her speaking fee. Officials argued that the nonprofit foundation that hosted the former Republican vice presidential candidate was not subject to the state’s Public Records Act.

Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Roger M. Beauchesne ordered Cal State Stanislaus officials to release the contract as well as other documents related to the use of university facilities, staff and services surrounding the June 25 fundraising gala.

Beauchesne found that university employees used the contract as part of their official duties.