Terry Francke (left) and Peter Scheer (right), two attorneys who have fought for First Amendment rights and have advised many reporters who were attempting to open closed meetings or obtain public documents, have been selected to receive the 2006 Eugene S. Pulliam First Amendment Award sponsored by the Sigma Delta Chi Foundation. The California First Amendment Coalition will receive the award too. The recipients will share the $10,000 award. Scheer is the current director of CFAC, and Francke is its most recent past director who has gone on to start a new organization, Californians Aware, with a similar mission. Both groups are particularly interested in access to governmental records in California, an important part of preserving citizen oversight of actions carried out in the name of the public. The award will be presented at the 2006 SPJ Convention & National Journalism Conference in Chicago on Aug. 26. Go to the SPJ Web site for more information. [Marin IJ: Ardent activist for free speech earns laurels]