Transparency News, 12/16/2022

 

Friday
December 16, 2022

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
Contact us at vcog@opengovva.org

 

state & local news stories

 

WHO IS YOUR FOI HERO?
VCOG is seeking nominations for its open government awards for citizens, press and government.
Click here for details.

After Richmond officials put a spotlight on safety concerns at the Richmond City Jail, Sheriff Antionette Irving's office polygraph tested at least two deputies, multiple sources told CBS 6. Sources said the sheriff's office attempted to find out which jail officers have been leaking information from inside the jail to members of the public and the press. Jail administrator Mayor Stacey Bagby said determining who inside the jail may be providing information to outside entities is a matter of safety and security. She gave a few reasons why. "Safety and security within a jail or prison are key to daily operations. There is an increased opportunity for vulnerabilities when information is not held in confidence. This information may be critical to an ongoing investigation, and the safety of individuals and/or may create a risk to such operations," Bagby said. Bagby added that keeping information confidential, "helps reduce violence, vandalism, the introduction of illegal and dangerous contraband, unsanitary conditions, etc." CBS 6 asked the sheriff's office for the total number of assaults on staff for the year and has not received an answer. The question is now part of a Freedom of Information Act request that the sheriff's office said would cost CBS 6 more than $1,000 to fulfill.
WTVR

The Portsmouth City Council is asking state lawmakers to again pursue legislation that would change how elected officials are recalled. They’re requesting a bill in the upcoming legislative session that would change the city charter to only allow officials to be recalled for specific reasons. The bill would also allow citizens to be able to recall officials as soon as they take office, rather than a year after the officials begin their terms. The proposed bill also would allow Circuit Court judges to hold a hearing and determine the legitimacy of recall petitions. With the change, elected officials could only be recalled by voters for neglect of duty, misuse of office and incompetence. They could also be recalled for a misdemeanor conviction that would have a negative effect on their ability to perform in their elected positions.
The Virginian-Pilot

In a contentious 4-3 decision, the Warrenton Town Council voted Tuesday night to approve a resolution intending to hold a public hearing on the Amazon data center application – regardless of the outcome of the Planning Commission meeting on Dec. 20 – unless the tech company requests a delay. "If the Planning Commission is to take a vote, then the staff would be directed to advertise for a public hearing," Mayor Carter Nevill said during the council's regular monthly meeting. "If the Planning Commission fails to take a vote or request deferral – if the applicant approves or consents to that – then there will be no advertisement for a public hearing."
FauquierNow

Newly released documents from Virginia State Police's (VSP) hiring of Austin Edwards revealed that the would-be killer disclosed previous admittance to a mental health facility to authorities during his application process to become a trooper. Hiring documents from Edwards' entrance into VSP, obtained by private investigator and former law enforcement officer Jeff Pike, showed that the agency had at least some knowledge of an incident with Edwards in 2016. Speaking in Richmond yesterday, Gov. Glenn Younkin called for an investigation and more transparency from the agency. "The free exchange of information and understanding of what goes into a background check ... needs to be made readily available and fully understood," Youngkin said. "And so, I have asked for a full investigation, and I look forward to that investigation. Our job is to not let this happen again."
WRIC

The Board of Commissioners of the Washington County Service Authority has retained an accounting firm to conduct an internal investigation of its finances. The move coincides with the largely unexplained dismissal of longtime WCSA general manager Robbie Cornett. After dismissing Cornett, the board voted to launch an investigation. The board has hired Brown Edwards & Company, with an office in Bristol, Virginia, to comb through financial documents following the Nov. 3 dismissal of Cornett. Cornett’s dismissal includes a severance package, which was approved earlier this month, though no financial details were released to the public on how much that package will cost the WCSA.
Bristol Herald Courier

Portsmouth City Council voted on Tuesday to spend $300,000 to investigate how the city used the American Rescue Plan Funding. The city council vote to investigate the forensic audit was 6-1, with Mayor Glover in opposition. The vote for the forensic audit comes after $80,000 worth of gift cards that were purchased using the American Rescue Plan Funding were unaccounted for.
WAVY

stories of national interest

The National Archives on Thursday released thousands of secret documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. In a memo, President Biden authorized more than 70% of the roughly 16,000 remaining files on JFK's death to "now be released in full." The decision came after a "comprehensive effort to review" the files over the last year, Biden stated. Biden said all documents on JFK's assassination should be shared with the public "except when the strongest possible reasons counsel otherwise." "The profound national tragedy of President Kennedy's assassination continues to resonate in American history and in the memories of so many Americans who were alive on that terrible day," the memo stated.
Axios
 

editorials & columns

 

The 2019 mass shooting at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center opened a wound in our community that will never fully heal. It will scar over, be less painful to the touch, but the anguish, agony and grief of such an enormous loss promises to linger for years to come. There was hope that an independent commission investigating the shooting would help bring some measure of closure and perhaps some comfort by providing the unbiased and unvarnished truth about what happened. But with resignations mounting and infighting simmering, that seems increasingly unlikely. The Office of the State Inspector General, which oversees the commission, needs to make this right. Disinterested commission members should be replaced and roadblocks to this work must be removed. The wounds opened by the 2019 shooting may never heal, but they shouldn’t be exacerbated by a dysfunctional commission unable or unwilling to accomplish the important task which is its charge.
The Virginian-Pilot


 

Categories: