Transparency News, 4/6/20
Monday
April 6, 2020
April 6, 2020
state & local news stories
"About a week ago the Central Shenandoah Health District stopped sending out press releases about new cases, so it's impossible to know."
When Virginia lawmakers return to Richmond in late April, Speaker of the House Eileen Filler-Corn wants them to hold their session and votes outdoors to limit risk during the coronavirus pandemic. She said in an interview Friday she’s still weighing options for a location and thinking through how it would work logistically for delegates to be able to speak and cast recorded votes while avoiding close contact.
Daily Press
The outbreak of COVID-19 has caused Stafford County officials and supervisors to take a closer look at the proposed fiscal year 2021 budget. Supervisors held a work session Thursday to wade through the budget one final time ahead of Tuesday’s public hearing, which will allow citizens an opportunity to weigh in on the proposal. County residents can submit comments to supervisors by completing an online form either before or during the meeting. All submissions received will be read into the public record. Although county officials want the public to remain at home during the coronavirus pandemic, provisions will be made for those residents who choose to come to the government center Tuesday. A camera, microphone and speakers will be situated near the main entrance of the facility to allow residents to communicate directly to supervisors during the evening’s public hearing. County officials said deputies will be on hand to ensure social distancing is maintained.
The Free Lance-Star
It's not just an "old-person" problem. People between the ages of 50 and 59 are becoming infected with COVID-19 more than any other age group, according to data from the Virginia Department of Health. How do those numbers translate to our area? The News Leader is seeking that information. About a week ago the Central Shenandoah Health District stopped sending out press releasesabout new cases, so it's impossible to know.
News Leader
There’s good news out of Richmond for high school seniors: The Virginia Board of Education approved two emergency measures on Thursday to waive temporarily certain rules that would otherwise prevent students from earning high school credits for courses interrupted by the extended school closures. Because of the pandemic, state board members used Zoom video-conferencing software to meet virtually on Thursday afternoon. The special meeting was called “to take action on items related to the governor’s declared state of emergency and items that if not acted upon could result in irrevocable public harm,” according to online board documents.
Martinsville Bulletin
The Harrisonburg School Board has announced an emergency meeting to be held virtually on Thursday at 7 p.m. in closed session to discuss COVID-19 and the impact it is having on local revenue and how that might affect construction of the new high school. Construction on the high school has halted until the School Board can consider its options, which include delaying construction by a year, which is the recommendation of the city manager, slowing down construction or delaying it, said School Board Chairman Andy Kohen. The nature of Thursday’s meeting will be to discuss with the School Board’s attorney the options that the board has given the contract it has with Nielsen Builders Inc. “This is a very serious fiscal matter,” he said. “We have to have all the facts before the board can make a decision. We’re on very uneven grounds.” Pending the School Board’s meeting on Thursday is a vote by City Council on Monday to allow the board members to remotely conduct a meeting. Currently, a physical quorum is required to conduct a meeting.
Daily News Record
Also in relation to COVID-19, Halifax County Board of Supervisors members are slated to consider an emergency continuity ordinance. The ordinance allows supervisors to hold public meetings electronically and without a quorum of members physically assembled in one place, to ensure that essential government business is carried out. The ordinance must be limited in effect to six months after such disaster and provide for resumption of normal governmental authority at the end of the disaster. County administrator Scott Simpson said he does not anticipate the county to utilize these measures, but should conditions change, he said it would allow for the continuity of local government operations.
The Gazette-Virginian
Daily Press
The outbreak of COVID-19 has caused Stafford County officials and supervisors to take a closer look at the proposed fiscal year 2021 budget. Supervisors held a work session Thursday to wade through the budget one final time ahead of Tuesday’s public hearing, which will allow citizens an opportunity to weigh in on the proposal. County residents can submit comments to supervisors by completing an online form either before or during the meeting. All submissions received will be read into the public record. Although county officials want the public to remain at home during the coronavirus pandemic, provisions will be made for those residents who choose to come to the government center Tuesday. A camera, microphone and speakers will be situated near the main entrance of the facility to allow residents to communicate directly to supervisors during the evening’s public hearing. County officials said deputies will be on hand to ensure social distancing is maintained.
The Free Lance-Star
It's not just an "old-person" problem. People between the ages of 50 and 59 are becoming infected with COVID-19 more than any other age group, according to data from the Virginia Department of Health. How do those numbers translate to our area? The News Leader is seeking that information. About a week ago the Central Shenandoah Health District stopped sending out press releasesabout new cases, so it's impossible to know.
News Leader
There’s good news out of Richmond for high school seniors: The Virginia Board of Education approved two emergency measures on Thursday to waive temporarily certain rules that would otherwise prevent students from earning high school credits for courses interrupted by the extended school closures. Because of the pandemic, state board members used Zoom video-conferencing software to meet virtually on Thursday afternoon. The special meeting was called “to take action on items related to the governor’s declared state of emergency and items that if not acted upon could result in irrevocable public harm,” according to online board documents.
Martinsville Bulletin
The Harrisonburg School Board has announced an emergency meeting to be held virtually on Thursday at 7 p.m. in closed session to discuss COVID-19 and the impact it is having on local revenue and how that might affect construction of the new high school. Construction on the high school has halted until the School Board can consider its options, which include delaying construction by a year, which is the recommendation of the city manager, slowing down construction or delaying it, said School Board Chairman Andy Kohen. The nature of Thursday’s meeting will be to discuss with the School Board’s attorney the options that the board has given the contract it has with Nielsen Builders Inc. “This is a very serious fiscal matter,” he said. “We have to have all the facts before the board can make a decision. We’re on very uneven grounds.” Pending the School Board’s meeting on Thursday is a vote by City Council on Monday to allow the board members to remotely conduct a meeting. Currently, a physical quorum is required to conduct a meeting.
Daily News Record
Also in relation to COVID-19, Halifax County Board of Supervisors members are slated to consider an emergency continuity ordinance. The ordinance allows supervisors to hold public meetings electronically and without a quorum of members physically assembled in one place, to ensure that essential government business is carried out. The ordinance must be limited in effect to six months after such disaster and provide for resumption of normal governmental authority at the end of the disaster. County administrator Scott Simpson said he does not anticipate the county to utilize these measures, but should conditions change, he said it would allow for the continuity of local government operations.
The Gazette-Virginian
stories of national interest
The office of Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer announced Sunday evening that she has signed Executive Order 2020-38, which relaxes requirements for responding to Freedom of Information Act requests made by mail or faxduring the COVID-19 emergency. This action will protect workers who handle FOIA requests by allowing public bodies to defer portions of requests that would require workers to report to work in-person. The Executive Order takes effect immediately and ends at 11:59 p.m. on June 4, 2020.
Fox 17
Fox 17
editorials & columns
"Keep in mind, too, that part of what makes our democracy work is the ability to look our leaders in the eyes and demand answers from them, to insist on personal accountability."
Perhaps those who have electronic connection capabilities at home, but lack the time to drive to and sit through meetings, might eventually benefit from a hybrid system that allows more interactive participation via an online meeting format. But keep in mind, too, that part of what makes our democracy work is the ability to look our leaders in the eyes and demand answers from them, to insist on personal accountability. It is the ability to see our fellow citizens in action and get a better understanding of their ideas and motives. It is the ability to be enlivened and challenged by the energy of a public meeting, which is always more powerful in person than in an electronic setting. Taking away these elements may artificially sanitize public meetings and strip them of an element of their humanity.
The Daily Progress
During a seminal moment in the founding of this nation, Hanover County native son Patrick Henry thundered, “Give me liberty or give me death.” Wednesday night, in a boardroom empty except for elected officials and a handful of county staff, Hanover Supervisor Angela Kelly-Wiecek placed a statuette of Henry in front of her as she argued that residents should not have to choose between petitioning their government in person and endangering their community. “Let us not ask our citizens to choose between coming forward and being heard and infecting their neighbor,”she said before the board voted 4-3 against delaying an April 22 hearing and vote on a massive Wegmans distribution center on Sliding Hill Road. Wednesday’s board meeting underscored the dilemma inherent in trying to do government business amid the threat of the coronavirus and the state’s ban on public gatherings. The board’s budget “hearing” featured written public comments that popped up onscreen. But bills and people don’t get paid, nor services provided, without a budget. “Government still has to do its business, and the restrictions for in-person gatherings could last for weeks, even months,” said Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government. Count me among those who don’t view the Wegmans matter as the highest of priorities in a global pandemic.
Michael Paul Williams, Richmond Times-Dispatch
We’re told there’s a highly-contagious virus going around; why aren’t we being told more about who has it and where they got it? The short answer is federal patient privacy laws that didn’t exist in the 1950s; most recently codified under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, otherwise known as “HIPPA.” That law covers 169 pages of provisions relating to health care, but the operative one for our purposes today deals with privacy. Essentially, patient information can’t be released to the public without the patient’s permission. So back to our reader’s question: How do I know if I’ve been in contact with any of these people? How do I know that I’m not in danger? The short answer to that: If you had been, you’d likely have gotten a call from the Virginia Department of Health.
The Roanoke Times
We applaud state and local governments for releasing as much data as possible about the pandemic and salute Northam for opening up his thrice-weekly news conferences to questions from reporters around the state. At the same time, however, for privacy reasons, government and medical officials can’t talk about specific cases or individuals. That’s too bad, because we believe that only when faces and names are attached to the numbers will people realize the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic. No one is immune – no matter their age or station in life. Even if they don’t have any symptoms of the disease, they may be carrying it and passing it on to their friends, neighbors, co-workers and family members.
InsideNoVa
The Daily Progress
During a seminal moment in the founding of this nation, Hanover County native son Patrick Henry thundered, “Give me liberty or give me death.” Wednesday night, in a boardroom empty except for elected officials and a handful of county staff, Hanover Supervisor Angela Kelly-Wiecek placed a statuette of Henry in front of her as she argued that residents should not have to choose between petitioning their government in person and endangering their community. “Let us not ask our citizens to choose between coming forward and being heard and infecting their neighbor,”she said before the board voted 4-3 against delaying an April 22 hearing and vote on a massive Wegmans distribution center on Sliding Hill Road. Wednesday’s board meeting underscored the dilemma inherent in trying to do government business amid the threat of the coronavirus and the state’s ban on public gatherings. The board’s budget “hearing” featured written public comments that popped up onscreen. But bills and people don’t get paid, nor services provided, without a budget. “Government still has to do its business, and the restrictions for in-person gatherings could last for weeks, even months,” said Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government. Count me among those who don’t view the Wegmans matter as the highest of priorities in a global pandemic.
Michael Paul Williams, Richmond Times-Dispatch
We’re told there’s a highly-contagious virus going around; why aren’t we being told more about who has it and where they got it? The short answer is federal patient privacy laws that didn’t exist in the 1950s; most recently codified under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, otherwise known as “HIPPA.” That law covers 169 pages of provisions relating to health care, but the operative one for our purposes today deals with privacy. Essentially, patient information can’t be released to the public without the patient’s permission. So back to our reader’s question: How do I know if I’ve been in contact with any of these people? How do I know that I’m not in danger? The short answer to that: If you had been, you’d likely have gotten a call from the Virginia Department of Health.
The Roanoke Times
We applaud state and local governments for releasing as much data as possible about the pandemic and salute Northam for opening up his thrice-weekly news conferences to questions from reporters around the state. At the same time, however, for privacy reasons, government and medical officials can’t talk about specific cases or individuals. That’s too bad, because we believe that only when faces and names are attached to the numbers will people realize the seriousness of the coronavirus pandemic. No one is immune – no matter their age or station in life. Even if they don’t have any symptoms of the disease, they may be carrying it and passing it on to their friends, neighbors, co-workers and family members.
InsideNoVa
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