ALBEMARLE COUNTY  On a 5-2 vote, the school board adopted a gag order for anything discussed in a closed session. Public disclosures can occur only when authorized by a majority vote. But a footnote was added: "Nothing in this policy shall be construed to limit rights protected regarding freedom of expression or freedom of speech"

ALEXANDRIA  When a tenants' group asked for documents regarding purchase of their apartment buildings by the Virginia Department of Transportation, VDOT said it would cost nearly $70,000 for state workers to locate, copy and deliver the requested materials. "Show me the files and I'll Xerox them myself," the group's president said. A VDOT spokeswoman advised the group to "specific down" its records request for lower search and copying costs.

ALEXANDRIA  A burglar used ropes attached to a rooftop to swing into a 17th floor apartment one year ago, then tied up two residents and stole money, jewelry and a computer. In June, a police officer's cruiser was damaged and her personal car was torched. The burglary went unreported until a July indictment; the arson was reported 23 days after it happened.

APPOMATTOX  County Administrator Andy Carroll individually polled members of the board of supervisors by telephone on whether an appeal should be filed in a circuit court fight over courthouse improvements. In the first polling, the appeal was blocked on a 3-2 vote. A couple of days later, one vote got changed and the appeal was authorized, again by a 3-2 margin. No public vote occurred.

BLUEFIELD  Annexation opponents complained to the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors that they were kept in the dark about Bluefield's expansion plans. "Not having received notification, we thank the General Assembly for passing powerful freedom of information laws that allowed us to find out what was taking place," county resident Connie Bailey told the board.

BUCHANAN COUNTY  When representatives of the Virginia Education Association asked the school board for financial records, the superintendent distributed a memo in employees' payroll envelopes, claiming "personnel records" were being sought. Employees were asked to sign a document if they objected to disclosure of base pay and their total income from the school system. State law requires disclosure of any public employee's salary exceeding $10,000.

CHARLOTTESVILLE  The city council went behind closed doors to work out a consensus on a new school board appointee. A League of Women Voters representative got an invitation to join in questioning the candidates; other citizens were kept out.

CHARLOTTESVILLE  JAUNT, a public transportation system, refused a request for contracts with its law firm. Donna Shaunesey, executive director, wrote a reporter the contract was covered by public-record "Exemption 7." That exemption is intended to protect the attorney-client privilege, not to cover up public expenditures.

CHESAPEAKE  Longtime assessor Laurence Street retired abruptly Aug. 1. City council members said only that it was a "personnel matter." The city attorney said an audit of Street's operations would stay classified indefinitely, as a "working paper." Virginian-Pilot reporter Bob McCabe examined public records, interviewed key officials and disclosed double-billing for a Daytona Beach conference (later reimbursed) and large credit-card expenditures the city's purchasing manager knew nothing about.

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY  Circuit Judge T J. Hauler got a $90,000 settlement in a libel suit he'd filed against the local clerk of courts. Another $299,000 went for the clerk's legal expenses. Taxpayers picked up the tab. Records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act revealed that the state Division of Risk Management had paid the damages and the clerk's defense under general-liability coverage the state provides for elected constitutional officers.

DANVILLE  Behind closed doors, city council picked Albert "Buddy" Rawley over 11 other candidates for a council vacancy. The Danville Register & Bee said editorially: "We didn't get to meet the applicants in an open forum. We didn't get to watch council interview the candidates and discuss their merits before voting on their final choice. Instead, city council discussed the issue quickly and secretly." Earlier in the year the council moved across the hall to its "work session" room when a large number of citizens showed up to discuss a controversial topic. The work session room has fewer seats, and no cable TV cameras.

MANASSAS  Prince William County Circuit Judge Leroy F. Millette Jr. denied a request from broadcasters to televise the trial of sniper suspect John Allen Muhammad. TV coverage could intimidate witnesses and compromise Muhammad's right to a fair trial, Millette said.

PORTSMOUTH  The cash-strapped city rescued an 11-day music festival with a $155,000 grant  but it all got worked out behind closed doors, leaving citizens wondering where the money came from. The city manager's contingency fund was used for part of the bail-out; other funds came from a surplus account. No public votes took place. The Virginian-Pilot editorialized, "Elected officials should not play with so much money outside the public eye."

RICHMOND  The Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services proposed a FOIA exemption for its "active investigations." The plan later was dropped. "Giving the state the power to keep investigations in darkness and secrecy is a return to the bad old days of lunatic asylums," the (Staunton) News-Leader editorialized.

RICHMOND  According to July 16 minutes kept by the Richmond Economic Development Committee, Item 9 on the agenda was a "Closed Session . . . to further discuss the Cordish development and other real estate matters." No FOIA exemption was cited, no purpose and topic were described, no roll call was reported. Minutes also failed to show a later certification that a legal closed session had been held.

RICHMOND  In 1998, a state watchdog agency recommended that the Virginia Department of Transportation look at the cost of galloping privatization. VDOT did just that. The resulting report found that the state could have saved millions of dollars by using VDOT employees instead of private consultants to perform highway projects. But the report was withheld from legislators and transportation policymakers by the Gilmore administration.

RICHMOND  When the Department of Corrections refused to release prison records, it told the ACLU the requested records could be kept confidential under FOIA's security-procedures, exemption 69. Not in this case, said the FOI Advisory Council. The ACLU wanted to learn more about DOC's procedures for notifying family or friends in case of inmates' serious illness, injury or death. "Information that does not affect the security or safety of the building or individuals, such as when an inmate's designee is notified of serious illness, does not rise to the level of jeopardy set forth in the exemption. FOIA would require the release of this part of the record, even if other information in the same record may be redacted," the Council said.

ROANOKE  The Virginia Veterans Care Center repeatedly failed to provide requested notices for meetings of its board of trustees.

ROANOKE  A deputy in the office of clerk of courts withheld a "sensitive" document sought from a public file, despite the Code of Virginia's mandate that "records and papers of every circuit court shall be open to inspection" unless a judge has ordered the material sealed. In behalf of seven Roanoke Valley judges, after a reporter complained, Judge Cliff Weckstein wrote local clerks that they had discretion only to assure that inspection and copying did not interfere with "orderly administration" of their office. If a clerk or his deputies believe a document has been mistakenly placed in an open file, "please bring it to a judge's attention," Weckstein said.