FOI Blog

FOIA process needn't be adversarial

Posted 6/17/09 by Megan Rhyne
  Once again, the FOI Advisory Council has had to remind FOIA requesters and government officials alike to play nice.
In its June 9, 2009, opinion (AO-06-09), the council congratulated a citizen and a rep from the AG's office for their "polite and concise" communications with each other. But the council also observed:

Public departures/private reasons

Posted 6/10/09 by Megan Rhyne
A story and an editorial from the Lynchburg News & Advance about high-profile resignations that leave more questions than answers.
In Amherst County, the county administrator abruptly resigned in a closed-door session. No one's talking, so the public has no idea what happened.
In Appomattox, it was the school board superintendent.

Secret lawsuit settlement amounts

Posted 6/1/09 by Megan Rhyne

An edited version of this article appeared Sunday, May 31, in the Roanoke Times

http://www.roanoke.com/editorials/commentary/wb/206505

Let's settle this thing

by Megan Rhyne

Two juveniles held in a Newport News detention center claim they were raped by two other residents. The two boys sued the city, saying the city was at fault because the facility was too crowded and did not separate juveniles based on size or other factors.

Liberty U. v. college Dems.

Posted 5/27/09 by Megan Rhyne
  Below is a round-up of stories and editorials related to the decision by Liberty University to revoke university recognition of a student Democratic Party club.

Public bodies, lawyers & confidential settlements

Posted 5/13/09 by Megan Rhyne
The City of Newport News has recently settled a lawsuit brought by two youths at a juvenile facility who were raped by two of their fellow inmates. The amount of the settlement is not being released because the settlement and its terms have been sealed.

Of course, settlements don't seal themselves, and judges don't seal settlements without the parties first suggesting it.

Asked, then, why they agreed to a clause that keeps secret the amount the taxpayers will pay to settle this lawsuit, here's what the Newport News City Council members had to say:

Va. laws take hit in court

Posted 9/16/08 by Megan Rhyne
It's been a tough few weeks for the Commonwealth.

Despite being fought over by the candidates for president and vice president like she was the Corn Festival Queen, Virginia's had to endure the rains of Hanna, the price gouging of Ike and the scorn of the New York Times over its student voter-registration policies.

FOI Advisory Council subcommittee on meeting minutes

Posted 9/4/08 by Megan Rhyne
9-3-08

NOTE: The subcommittee was convened to study whether a change needs to be made to the minutes requirement of FOIA. 2.2-3707(I): "...Minutes shall include, but are not limited to, (i) the date, time, and location of the meeting; (ii) the members of the public body recorded as present and absent; and (iii) a summary of the discussion on matters proposed, deliberated or decided, and a record of any votes taken."

FOI Advisory Council subcommittee on e-meetings

Posted 9/4/08 by Megan Rhyne
8-25-08

VPA's initial objection was that the section eliminated the quorum requirement and said members could participate regardless of whether the public could attend.

It seemed that DEQ was creating for itself a lower bar than anyone else conducting electronic meetings.

Sticking point with DEQ is really the quorum issue.

Why FOIA matters

Posted 3/19/08 by Waldo Jaquith
Why FOIA Matters

For those of you out there who think FOIA is just a tool for the media to use to annoy public officials, I’ve got news for you: In this day and age access to information about not only what your government does but how it makes its decision can literally have life or death results.

The Shady (as in no Sunshine) General Assembly

Posted 3/11/08 by Waldo Jaquith
Not a good year legislative year for access advocates

The 2008 Virginia legislative session was not a good one for defenders of freedom of information.    Bills that would have improved public access to information died.  Bills that chipped away at Virginia’s FOI Act through small exemptions passed into law with little opposition from lawmakers.  To make matters worse a couple of really bad access-damaging bills were passed into law.

And all of this was not for lack of effort by VCOG, the Press Association and other open records advocates.

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