Transparency News 11/21/17

Tuesday, November 21, 2017


State and Local Stories

Following up on his campaign promise to file legislation restricting access to college students' publicly available data, Harrisonburg-area Del. Tony Wilt prefiled the first bill of the 2018 General Assembly session. Wilt's bill limits access to student directory information like phone numbers and addresses unless college students "opt-in" for their information to be publicly available.  Currently, students can "opt-out" of the directory by telling university officials not to publish their information. Wilt's bill would reverse the situation and require student to "opt-in" to the directory. If passed, Virginia would be the first state to adopt an "opt-in" policy.
The Roanoke Times

Newport News Del. Mike Mullin helped Virginia House Democrats prefile their first bill of the 2018 General Assembly session on Monday: a proposal to open the Supreme Court’s case information database in response to a legal battle the Daily Press lost this summer seeking to do just that. House Bill 4, sponsored by Mullin and Del.-elect Dawn Adams, D-Richmond, requires that the case management system operated and maintained by the Office of the Executive Secretary of the Supreme Court of Virginia to be open to the public for inspection.
Daily Press

Events in the Town of Purcellville over the past week have caused a domino effect that is calling into question the town’s staffing levels and its ability to administer core government services. As the events continue to unfold and administrative vacancies begin to have an effect on town management, the Times-Mirror has learned Purcellville Mayor Kwasi Fraser contacted both Loudoun County Supervisor Tony Buffington (R) and County Administrator Tim Hemstreet Sunday night to request the county's assistance with “two strong managers with human resources and project management background during this period of operational change.” Purcellville requested county personnel for the next two months. The mayor has also asked for additional support for the Purcellville Police Department to be considered. The town's request for county resources was confirmed through a Freedom of Information Act request by the Times-Mirror.
Loudoun Times-Mirror



National Stories


The Department of Homeland Security's official watchdog is accusing his own agency of slow-walking the public release of a report about confusion that ensued earlier this year after President Donald Trump issued his first travel ban executive order. The still-unreleased inspector general report found that senior managers at Customs and Border Protection were "caught by surprise" by Trump's order and that agency officials "violated two court orders" limiting implementation of Trump's directive to suspend travel to the U.S. by citizens of seven majority-Muslim countries, according to a letter sent to lawmakers Monday and obtained by POLITICO.
Politico



Editorials/Columns


Virginia prides itself on its close ties with, and support of, the military. Virginia prides itself on the strategic importance of its position on the Chesapeake Bay, a natural resource that allows the U.S. Navy to operate the world’s largest naval station at Hampton Roads. But now the U.S. Navy has brought a level of shame to Virginia — where an investigation uncovered an illegal police force among civilian employees that allegedly squandered some $21 million in taxpayer money, with $4 million worth of property still unaccounted for. The scam apparently went on for 12 years. NCIS had investigated the problem in 2014, but was unable to persuade a prosecutor to take action. Some details have now been disclosed as a result of Freedom of Information requests, although the investigation report has been heavily redacted. Nonetheless, enough data is available to paint a frightening picture of mismanagement and loose-cannon behavior by poorly supervised employees.
The Daily Progress
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