Transparency News 7/30/15

Thursday, July 30, 2015



State and Local Stories


The Portsmouth City Council may have violated state law Tuesday when its members discussed in closed session lowering the time allotted to public speakers from five minutes to three. Councilman Mark Whitaker alluded to the 5 p.m. closed-door discussion during the 7 p.m. public meeting. Whitaker said he had a motion to reduce the time allotted to public speakers that was "talked about in the earlier meeting." For its Tuesday closed session, the council had cited Freedom of Information Act exemption 2.2-3711A.7, which pertains to consultation with legal counsel, and exemption 2.2-3711A.1, which is for a discussion of prospective candidates for boards and commissions or discussion about specific employees. The exemption related to candidates does not apply to limiting public speaking, FOIA experts say, and the exemption related to legal consultation likely doesn't apply.
Virginian-Pilot

Two months after a University of Virginia dean filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Rolling Stone magazine, three UVa graduates who are members the fraternity profiled in a discredited and retracted story about a gang rape in their chapter house have filed a lawsuit against the publication, its publisher and the writer of the article. George Elias IV, Stephen Hadford and Ross Fowler, members of Phi Kappa Psi, are suing Rolling Stone, Wenner Media and journalist Sabrina Rubin Erdely on three counts, including defamation and negligent infliction of emotion distress, and are asking for at least $75,000 for each count. In the lawsuit, their lawyer said each of their identities was listed online by anonymous users when the article first came out and each of their “names will forever be associated with the alleged gang rape.”
Daily Progress

An email peppered with exclamation marks and a smiley face from Loudoun County Chairman Scott York (R) to a top land use attorney reveals a comfortable relationship between the two and a politically-acute mindset from York three months after announcing his retirement. In the April 6 email obtained by the Times-Mirror, York provided Colleen Gillis, a partner with Cooley LLP's real estate group, directions on the petition process for York to appear on the November ballot as an independent.  York on Tuesday told the Times-Mirror that Gillis, a frequent presenter at Loudoun Board of Supervisor meetings, was one of many people to encourage his independent candidacy.  Gillis has secured favorable outcomes for some of the largest real estate developers in Loudoun. She has worked on behalf of the One Loudoun development, Dulles World Center, Brambleton and Willowsford.
Loudoun Times-Mirror

Richmond City Council President Michelle R. Mosby is seeking $5,000 for an independent committee to study whether council members’ pay is sufficient. The nine-member board would be appointed by the council and asked to assess whether members’ salaries are appropriate, “in light of the amount of time they spend attending meetings and otherwise representing their constituents,” according to legislation Mosby introduced this week. Del. Jennifer McClellan, D-Richmond, said the proposal merits consideration at a time when the corruption conviction of former Gov. Bob McDonnell has thrust ethics issues to the fore. “Some have asked if we are paying public officials enough for them not to be tempted,” McClellan said. She declined to say whether the same applied to members of the General Assembly, whose positions pay less than $20,000 annually.
Times-Dispatch

National Stories

An irritated federal judge Thursday put the Hillary Clinton email scandal into stark terms, grilling the State Department on a pattern of delayed document releases that has turned a possible bureaucratic logjam into a major problem for the leading Democratic presidential contender. U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon, known for his blunt manner, said he simply did not understand why the State Department has dragged its feet on responses for emails in requests to the Freedom of Information Act. “Now, any person should be able to review that in one day — one day,” the judge said, examining a request for just over 60 emails. “Even the least ambitious bureaucrat could do this.”
Politico


Editorials/Columns

It's bad enough that Portsmouth residents have had to deal with a City Council so dysfunctional, so petty, and apparently in so far over its members’ heads that it approved a budget that raised taxes, cut services and still preserved structural problems that threaten the city’s financial future. But the contempt that council members have shown toward their constituents stands as a remarkable display of arrogance, and as an embarrassingly poor example of how elected officials — public servants — ought to run a government. The latest insult came Tuesday, when council members unanimously agreed, with no notice, to add items to that night’s council agenda. Member Mark Whitaker proposed slashing the comment period for public speakers from five minutes to three, and noted that he and other council members had talked about the reduction in “the earlier meeting.” Perhaps the reduction is a reasonable change. After all, as Somers reported, other cities in Hampton Roads use a three-minute limit, and some cap the comment period at 30 minutes; Portsmouth doesn’t have such a cap. But the council’s failure to give residents a heads up that it was even considering such a change is a testament to how little regard members have for residents.
Virginian-Pilot

Henrico County refuses to disclose which companies are bidding for a $165 million regional radio system for first responders. Henrico is negotiating on behalf of itself, the Capital Regional Airport Commission, Richmond, Chesterfield, Hanover and Colonial Heights. True, naming the interested parties could make it easier for them to collude behind Henrico’s back. But then, the big players in the industry could collude in many ways regardless — e.g., through tacit arrangements not to poach on one another’s turf, longtime customers and so on. Yet not only does Henrico refuse to name the players, it will not even divulge how many there are. The result is that residents will be kept in the dark about negotiations until they become a fait accompli.
Times-Dispatch

In Virginia, if you want to know what the State Police found investigating the worst mass murder in U.S. history, or what the consultants Hampton taxpayers hired to look into a proposed aquatics center found, or what Newport News council members had to say about the city manager's performance last year, you're out of luck. If you were a parent in Staunton wondering about the financial management that allowed a school bookkeeper to embezzle thousands from an account holding student-raised funds for extracurricular activities, too bad. Wondering what happened when that Winchester council member was charged with illegally shooting a gun, or the costs Richmond thinks it needs to cover with higher water and sewer bills?  If you don’t get the picture, let us bring it home for you. The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office routinely withholds reports of criminal activity throughout the county and within the department itself. Loudoun’s Board of Supervisors routinely retreats to executive session to decide who’s building what on the land near your house or your children’s school.  Just because an exemption could apply, however, doesn’t mean it must. Exemptions are discretionary. They are intended to be interpreted narrowly to increase awareness of all citizens of government activities. But it doesn’t work that way. The commonwealth is at a crossroads when it comes to the relationship between citizens and their government.
Loudoun Times-Mirror

The seven Stafford County parents who challenged the middle school redistricting plan approved by the School Board earlier this year were not successful in Circuit Court. But at least they were heard. One of the complaints made by the parents was that the School Board came up with the new school zones at a weekend work session that didn’t include any input from the public. Three days later, the School Board voted to formally approve that plan. As a result, more than 500 signatures were gathered by parents opposed to the new attendance zones. So in April, a group of parents filed a petition in Stafford County Circuit Court, claiming the action by the School Board was arbitrary and capricious and was done without necessary transparency. They asked the court to stay the redistricting plan, and order the School Board to vote again, using a more transparent process and provide a detailed report on the reasoning for the decision.
Free Lance-Star

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