Transparency News 5/1/19

 

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Wednesday
May 1, 2019

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state & local news stories

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"Spending $100,000 on lawsuits and public records requests, he has foraged through thousands of pages of transcripts, court testimony and documents from colleges and government agencies."

Earlier this month, Portsmouth City Council members voted to stop broadcasting speakers who take the lectern at the end of their meetings. But City Hall regular Mark Geduldig-Yatrofsky, frustrated by what he sees as an obstruction of transparency, is now recording those comments and posting them on YouTube. Geduldig-Yatrofsky, who has unsuccessfully run for a seat on council four times and made a brief bid for mayor in 2010, also runs the blog PortsmouthCityWatch.org. He shared footage with The Virginian-Pilot from the council’s most recent meeting April 23. He plans to do the same for every meeting he attends.
The Virginian-Pilot

We sent a Freedom of Information Act request for the list of plates Virginia’s Department of Motor Vehicles rejected in 2018, along with the reasons why. While the state didn’t provide individual reasons, it points to its guidelines, which disallow, among other things, messages that are profane, sexually explicit, violent, describe genitals, drug use, or illegal activity, or are in my favorite category, “Excretory-related.” Still, there’s a lot that aren’t immediately apparent. Sadly, the mysteries tend to evaporate the longer you read. You learn to read backwards (“ELOHA,” “ELH22A”). You marvel at the indomitable human spirit that keeps trying to sneak a version of “deez nutz” past the bureaucrat.
Washingtonian

The ousted Hopewell general registrar is suing the city’s Electoral Board to get her job back. Yolanda Stokes, fired by the city’s Electoral Board in March after attempting to print what the state said were unfair ballots in last year’s City Council election, also names the state Board of Elections and city of Hopewell officials as respondents in a petition that’s pending in the city’s Circuit Court. The lawsuit asks a judge to throw out the Electoral Board’s 3-0 decision to fire Stokes from the position she held for less than a year.  A lawyer for the Electoral Board said the lawsuit is unfounded and a waste of time and money. Stokes, who is representing herself in the litigation filed March 15, said Tuesday that her removal was unjustified and that the Electoral Board did not inform her of the reasoning she was fired. “I think this action doesn’t support voter representation in the city,” Stokes said.
Richmond Times-Dispatch

Franklin County recently changed the design and posting requirements for the public notice signs that are required to be displayed on properties being considered for a rezoning, special-use permit or variance. Virginia law requires that public hearings that have been scheduled for these types of land use requests be advertised in newspapers and have first-class letters sent to adjacent property owners. The previous signs were made of thin cardboard, were single use and were often damaged or destroyed. The new signs are made of plastic-like material, supported in metal frames and are reusable. Franklin County’s Department of Planning and Community Development will post the signs and retrieve them after the public hearings.
The Roanoke Times

Marc Edwards is on the prowl. Spending $100,000 on lawsuits and public records requests, he has foraged through thousands of pages of transcripts, court testimony and documents from colleges and government agencies. The tenacious Virginia Tech professor, who helped expose contaminated water in Flint and Washington, has an investigative bent that makes him a scourge of scientists and government bureaucrats. But this investigation isn't about lead-laced water. It's about his enemies. He is fighting with Flint activists and Michigan scientists. He said they're exaggerating the danger of city water, which has met federal standards for two years. They said he's unwilling to entertain new research. The dispute involves lawsuits, open letters, death threats, alleged spurned love and accusations of plagiarism and falsified water data.
Governing

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