Robert Plotkin (right), the former prosecutor who owns the Point Reyes Light, has obtained a court injunction to prohibit the Light’s former owner, Dave Mitchell (left), from writing a column on a local Web site, according to the Marin Independent Journal. Plotkin’s argument is that the online column violates the non-competition agreement Mitchell signed when he sold the 4,000-circulation weekly paper to Plotkin for $500,000 in November. The injunction, issued Aug. 18 by Judge John A. Sutro, will stand until an Oct. 6 hearing. Mitchell said he believes the order violates his right to free speech. “There’s a political campaign coming up and I can’t cover it. I can’t believe they can hush up a person like this in this country,” Mitchell told the IJ. The injunction appears to be the latest round in the battle between Mitchell and Plotkin, who got into a scuffle earlier this year that resulted in an injunction prohibiting Mitchell from visiting the newspaper’s offices. Mitchell ran the weekly for 28 years and won the Pulitzer in 1979 for “meritorious public service” for the Light’s coverage of the Synanon cult. (Photos by Darcy Holdorf, special to the Marin IJ.) [PPC, April 28: New publisher upsets, fascinates locals] [PPC, May 29: Point Reyes Light controversy covered by LA Times] [PPC, March 17: Pulitzer winner hit with restraining order]
Court orders ex-publisher to stop writing
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