Transparency News 2/18/19

 

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Monday
February 18, 2019

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Eventbrite - ACCESS 2019: VCOG's Open Government Conference
April 11 | Hampton University
 
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state & local news stories

 

 

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A little post-Valentine's verse:
Records are public
That's why I use FOIA
It's my right as a citizen
It's not meant to annoy-ya

The state of Virginia offers public university presidents broad protection from public oversight, granting them extensive exemptions under the state’s Freedom of Information Act. Legislative attempts to remove this exemption have failed. Megan Rhyne, the executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, said that it is “very common to hear that the exemption has been invoked” in the course of public records requests. Rhyne pointed out that the exemption extends to “literally hundreds” of state officials, including, as the law stipulates, “the members of the General Assembly, the Division of Legislative Services, or the Clerks of the House of Delegates or the Senate of Virginia.”
The College Fix

A photo sent to the Richmond Times-Dispatch by a concerned citizen shows piles of paper and files on desks and the floor of the human resources director of the Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation. Acting DPOR Director Mary Broz-Vaughan said Friday that Linda Bell, the human resources director whose office is shown in the photo, “is in the process of tidying up. But she does work with a lot of paper.” Broz-Vaughan said it was likely that at least some of the files shown in the photo would be personnel records, but said the human resource director’s door is generally locked.
Richmond Times-Dispatch

Nearly twice as many African-Americans were stopped in December by Charlottesville police officers than were white people. The Charlottesville Police Department released data on investigative detentions for January, commonly called “stop-and-frisk,” on Friday. The report shows the second-straight month that more African-Americans were stopped than were white people in the city since data was first published in September. The data doesn’t provide demographics of the people stopped by officers with multiple detentions.
The Daily Progress

Local Democrats will hold a hastily-organized “firehouse primary” Tuesday, Feb. 19 to pick their nominee for an April 2 special election to fill Supervisor John Jenkins' seat on the Prince William County Board of Supervisors.  But those plans could change even as voters cast their ballots in the contest if the supervisors make good on a promise to push the special election back one week – to Tuesday, April 9. If all of that sounds a bit unorthodox, that’s because it is.  The head-spinning turn of events stems from a vote the county board of supervisors took Tuesday, Feb. 12 to request that a special election to fill the Neabsco District supervisor’s seat take place on Tuesday, April 2.  The board’s vote came after the supervisors retreated in closed session that afternoon in part to get legal advice about their options in the wake of Jenkins’ passing on Wednesday, Feb. 6.
Prince William Times

Charlottesville city councilors have charged $3,092 on city credit cards in the past three months. In that same time, council support staff has spent nearly $9,000, of which more than $6,000 went to catering council and other city meetings. Details about the credit card expenditures were obtained through a Virginia Freedom of Information Act request covering activity from Nov. 9 to Feb. 11.
The Daily Progress

Halifax County High School administration on Thursday banned the use of all recording devices on school property, and Superintendent Dr. Mark Lineburg said on Sunday this ban will be enforced as a district-wide school policy. Lineburg said the high school administration has had issues with parents coming in the school recording students and students recording fights both that are then posted to social media, which causes disruptions to the school day. “We’re absolutely not putting up with it. That’s common sense,” said Lineburg, who added, “We have nothing to hide; it’s just good practice.”
The Gazette-Virginian

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stories of national interest

The (California) First Amendment Coalition (FAC) filed suit today against California Attorney General Xavier Becerra for failing to comply with the state’s new, landmark police transparency law. The suit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, seeks the release of records regarding serious police misconduct—records that all state and local agencies are now required to disclose under Senate Bill 1421. The bill, which went into effect on Jan. 1, requires the disclosure of files that have been confidential for decades, including those involving police shootings and accusations of police misconduct. The California Department of Justice, under the authority of the Attorney General, is one of a relatively small number of agencies that has refused to comply with the law. FAC requested records from the department under SB 1421 on January 4, but it refused to disclose the records in a response sent on January 28, prompting FAC’s lawsuit.
First Amendment Coalition

Text messages between a Portland, Oregon, police lieutenant and Joey Gibson, the leader of right-wing group Patriot Prayer, in 2017 and 2018 show the officer provided Gibson a heads-up on counterprotesters’ movements during demonstrations and warned Gibson to tell group members with active warrants to avoid drawing police attention, revelations that spurred two city leaders to call for an inquiry. Hundreds of texts, reported Thursday by Willamette Week and the Portland Mercury and later released on the Portland Police Bureau’s website, show a friendly rapport between Gibson and Lt. Jeff Niiya, a more-than-20-year member of the Portland Police Bureau. He routinely reaches out to protest leaders to learn what officers should expect during demonstrations. 
The Oregonian

 

 

 

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