Transparency News 12/19/19

Thursday
December 19, 2019

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state & local news stories

"Thompson said he was 'all about public information,' but that many of the state Freedom of Information Act requests filed by these citizens were 'frivolous.'"

As the outgoing School Board members said their farewells at last week’s business meeting, thanking colleagues and reflecting on their time in office, chairman Rob Thompson took the opportunity to lambast several self-appointed citizen watchdogs who have been critical of the school system, calling out two by name. In his closing remarks, Thompson said he was “all about public information,” but that many of the state Freedom of Information Act requests filed by these citizens were “frivolous.” Through FOIA requests, citizens and entities can access previously unreleased information and documents from the government. Thompson said Chesterfield County Public Schools had received 2,252 FOIA requests over the past four years, with 1,064 coming from Midlothian resident Ron Hayes and 790 coming from Matoaca resident Brenda Stewart. “Our staff gets up, and the first thing they do in the morning, some mornings, is sit down and spend the next 35 to 40 minutes of the day [working] on these FOIA requests,” he said. “The FOIA process has been hijacked by these select few, and CCPS needs to find a way to recoup the hundreds of hours wasted by our staff for their meaningless requests.”
Chesterfield Observer

The Orange County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday evening in favor of a termination agreement with County Administrator Bryan David. Details were not immediately available. Board Chairman and District 2 Supervisor Jim White added the item to the agenda at the start of the meeting.
The Free Lance-Star

stories of national interest

A watchdog group is suing the city of San Diego, California, for not releasing data collected through its controversial Smart Street Lights Program, which have sensors that gather a wide swath of information, including pedestrian and traffic movements, and also record video that police say they have used to solve violent crimes. The suit from San Diegans for Open Government alleges that the city "illegally failed to disclose" public records requested by the group, which describes itself as a government watchdog. The City Attorney's Office said Monday it had not yet seen the suit, which was filed late last week. Mayor Kevin Faulconer's office declined to comment on the pending litigation. At issue is digital information collected from sensors on smart street lights throughout the city. The group, through attorney Cory Briggs, filed several requests last month asking the city to turn over all the source data collected by sensors on all its Smart Street Lights over a 24-hour period. The group also wanted all records related to processed data.
Governing

New York could become the next city to pass oversight legislation for police surveillance technology, joining the likes of San Francisco and Oakland, California. If passed, it would be a landmark law for the largest police force in the US.  The New York City Council held a hearing Wednesday with privacy advocates and two deputy commissioners from the New York Police Department testifying on the Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology (POST) Act. The bill calls for the NYPD to develop a privacy impact report and disclose all surveillance technology that it uses on the public.  Unlike other laws passed to regulate police surveillance, the POST Act is only calling for public disclosure of the technology, not limitations on it. 
CNET News
 

"The group filed several requests last month asking the city to turn over all the source data collected by sensors on all its Smart Street Lights over a 24-hour period."