Mayor Lifts Speaking Ban on Local Publisher

The mayor of Rancho Palos Verdes has lifted a ban that prevented a local newspaper publisher from speaking at council meetings.

After listening to arguments from the American Civil Liberties Union that he was trampling on publisher Enrica Stuart’s rights, Mayor Mel Hughes lifted his earlier edict prohibiting Stuart from speaking as a citizen during public hearings because she is also a journalist.

Stuart, 63, for two years has produced the Monitor, a quarterly newspaper, from her home. The paper, written mostly by Stuart and distributed free, routinely criticizes council members. Hughes had told her in May that she could not speak at meetings.