Newspapers lose bid to open tribal meetings

A judge in Portland, Maine, has denied a bid by two Maine newspapers to gain access to meetings of the Passamaquoddy Tribal Council, AP reports. The judge ruled that the tribal council is not violating state law by holding closed-door negotiations with an Oklahoma company that hopes to build a liquefied natural gas terminal on tribal land.

Thomas E. Humphrey, chief justice of Maine's Superior Court, concluded that because the Pleasant Point reservation is acting as a corporation and not a municipality, the Tribal Council is not violating the Freedom of Access Act by keeping tribal members and the press out the meetings.

• Another report: Judge rules open meetings not required for LNG project.