Transparency News 11/8/17

Wednesday, November 8, 2017



State and Local Stories

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• Waldo Jaquith

The Virginia Beach City Council voted 9-1 on Tuesday to end its contract with a developer to build a sports and entertainment arena near the Oceanfront. But the company argued that it had met its deadline to file its loan paperwork. Andrea Kilmer, president of Mid-Atlantic Arena, and Valerie Wilkinson, the company’s chief financial officer, told council members that loan documents had been delivered to the city attorney’s office and that they were waiting for direction from council members. “I am not going to get into details,” Kilmer said. “We have delivered everything to the city for closing.” Mayor Will Sessoms said that the city disagreed with Kilmer’s representation during the council meeting, but that he couldn’t explain the details because Mid-Atlantic Arena’s information is proprietary.
Virginian-Pilot

Each school year millions of dollars come through the schools in the way of purchases, booster activity, fundraisers, scholarships and more. While an operating budget pays for the running of schools and the compensation of employees, the student activities fund pays for clubs, events and more.  An outside firm audits this fund once a year, as well as the practices of those handling the money. It's not uncommon for an auditor to find minor violations in the handling of checks, small purchases and documentationsas thousands of transactions occur over the course of a school year.  However, when a school division has significant weaknesses when it comes to internal control, that's when the potential for fraud and even embezzlement can occur.
The News Leader


National stories

Starting next year, long-time lawmakers convicted of corruption in New York can no longer count on their pension. On Tuesday, voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot measure that gives judges the right to trim or revoke the pensions of any public servant convicted of a job-related crime. The measure was largely driven by outrage over the corruption scandal that forced the resignation of New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos in 2015. Both long-time lawmakers put in for their substantial pensions just days after their convictions. (Both of their convictions were later overturned on a technicality.)
Governing

"I hate the stuff that shows up in the press," said Gen. John E. Hyten, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, at a congressional hearing on nuclear deterrence last March, the record of which has just been published. Gen. Hyten was responding to a question from Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA) about the volume of unclassified information that gets released concerning the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD). "General Hyten, we have seen a lot of GBSD acquisition details loaded into unclassified acquisition databases and run by the Air Force," said Rep. Scott. "We all know that Russia, China, and others scoop all this stuff up to the best of their abilities and analyze it intensively." "Why is all of this put out in the open? Should we reassess what is unclassified in these acquisition documents?" Rep. Scott wanted to know. "I hate the stuff that shows up in the press," Gen. Hyten replied. "I think we should reassess that." "Just to complete that thought, I hate the fact that cost estimates show up in the press as well," he added. "So I would really like to figure out a different way to do business than that. I hate seeing that kind of information in the newspaper."
Secrecy News


Editorials/Columns

In April 2015, Jamychael Mitchell, a 24-year-old-man suffering from bipolar disorder, was arrested for stealing five bucks worth of junk food from a convenience store in Hampton Roads. Over the course of 101 days, he languished in the Hampton Roads Regional Jail, forgotten by his jailers despite a judge’s order he be sent to a mental hospital. In those 101 days, he lost 46 pounds before dying. It was a story that shocked Virginians and then enraged them as the Richmond Times-Dispatch uncovered more and more details about Mitchell’s death. But in the four months since the law took effect, the Board of Corrections and its staff have not investigated any of the 17 jail deaths that have occurred. The panel set up by the board, as of just two weeks ago, had neither met nor filled the two staff positions dedicated to the panel, one a part-time administrative assistant and the other a full-time investigator. When pressed by the media, the corrections department was tightlipped about details of the hiring process. A spokesperson could only say 165 applications for the investigator’s post had been received but couldn’t say how the part-time position would be filled. Nor did the spokesperson have any explanation for the delays in implementing the law. The department knew as early as the 2016 Assembly session that the oversight provision would be addressed with investigatory duties being assigned to the department in one form or another. The corrections panel charged with investigating jailhouse deaths will hold its first meeting Nov. 15, regardless of whether the staff positions have been filled. It is past time for the department to implement its investigatory program, and we expect the Board of Corrections to move with all deliberate speed to do so.
News & Advance