Transparency News, 5/14/20
Thursday
May 14, 2020
May 14, 2020
state & local news stories
"The 27 pages of specific requirements for businesses that could reopen were not uploaded to the state’s website until 4:30 p.m. Friday. Roughly two hours later, those guidelines were removed from the state’s website and not uploaded again until the next day."
The Supreme Court of Virginia ruled this morning that the Dickenson County Commonwealth's Attorney was not absolutely immune from a defamation claim made by a former employee over false statements the CA made to members of the pair's shared political party about the reason why the CA fired the employee. The circuit court erroneously applied a federal immunity analysis. The statements were made within a context that did not share enough of the characteristics of the judicial process to qualify as "performing judicial functions," as required under the applicable Virginia immunity laws.
Supreme Court of Virginia
As most of Virginia readies for its Phase One opening Friday, some businesses are wondering what went into deciding what can open and what can’t. Northam announced May 4 that Virginia could start reopening by the end of this week if coronavirus health trends continued. But the governor’s office did not disclose until Friday which types of businesses would be permitted to open in Phase One. The 27 pages of specific requirements for businesses that could reopen (barbers, tattoo parlors, massage centers and campgrounds) were not uploaded to the state’s website until 4:30 p.m. Friday. Roughly two hours later, those guidelines were removed from the state’s website and not uploaded again until the next day. “Outside dining was never mentioned, much less restricting dining to only outside. That was a total surprise to the task force members,” said task force member Bruce Thompson of Gold Key PHR. The governor’s office did not disclose who made the outdoor-only dining recommendation or any others. Northam said Friday that he has spoken to restaurant owners extensively about the restrictions for Phase One.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Some of Charlottesville’s board and commissions could soon get back to work electronically. City Council met virtually Wednesday to discuss which boards it would allow to meet electronically amid the coronavirus pandemic and how to maximize access to the meetings. While the council backed continued live broadcast on the city’s public access channel for itself and the Planning Commission, Board of Architectural Review and the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority, it is seeking more information on staff’s capacity to run broadcasts of other meetings. Communications Director Brian Wheeler said there is time to facilitate other meetings beyond the four that are typically broadcast, but different types of broadcasts require more staff time. At stake is transparency and access. Although meetings would be broadcast online with an option to call in, some residents might not have internet access or know where to find the number to call. The biggest discussion was around the Planning Commission, particularly what type of business it would be able to conduct.
The Daily Progress
After a nearly two-month absence, Fauquier’s board of supervisors on Thursday will return to the Warren Green Building in downtown Warrenton to conduct regular meetings. To satisfy social distancing orders and guidelines, the county livestreamed three board meetings from the Warrenton Community Center at 430 E. Shirley Ave. But largely because of technical problems — the live video and/or audio feed repeatedly failed during all of the community center meetings — the board scrapped that plan. The spacious community center meeting room accommodated the five supervisors, necessary staff, Mr. Rankin’s team and one journalist — without exceeding the governor’s order that limits public gatherings to 10 people.
FauquierNow.com
The Edinburg Town Council held a public hearing on the proposed 2021 budget Tuesday night. Mayor and Town Manager Dan Harshman said they have received no comments on it. Harshman said that he and all the council members, Steven Wood, Clyde Beachy, Bill Boone, Bradley Dellinger, Stephen Van Stee and Fay Wymer-Hollar, were in attendance at Tuesday’s council meeting at the Town Hall. Harshman said they were spread out 6 feet apart across the room.
The Northern Virginia Daily
The Prince William Board of County Supervisors wants the details on the school board’s investigation into Superintendent Steven Walts’ Twitter direct messages with students. And they want to see the messages – all 10,000 of them. The supervisors voted 7 to 1 Tuesday to send a letter to the school board asking the school board to explain “the process” it is taking to investigate Walts’ Twitter messages, which were called to the school board’s attention in March by Gainesville resident Guy Morgan. Morgan filed a Freedom of Information Act with the school division asking for all of Walts’ direct messages with students since 2018. The county supervisors also voted 7 to 1 Tuesday to submit their own FOIA request to the school division asking them to release all the direct messages Walts exchanged with students over the past 18 months. The request will ask that the students' names be redacted for privacy. In a statement released Wednesday, May 6, the school board said it hired an outside firm to investigate and produce a “confidential” report for the board. Supervisor Pete Candland and other supervisors agreed the county board should submit a FOIA request for the messages because doing so would likely be cost-prohibitive for county residents.
Prince William Times
Supreme Court of Virginia
As most of Virginia readies for its Phase One opening Friday, some businesses are wondering what went into deciding what can open and what can’t. Northam announced May 4 that Virginia could start reopening by the end of this week if coronavirus health trends continued. But the governor’s office did not disclose until Friday which types of businesses would be permitted to open in Phase One. The 27 pages of specific requirements for businesses that could reopen (barbers, tattoo parlors, massage centers and campgrounds) were not uploaded to the state’s website until 4:30 p.m. Friday. Roughly two hours later, those guidelines were removed from the state’s website and not uploaded again until the next day. “Outside dining was never mentioned, much less restricting dining to only outside. That was a total surprise to the task force members,” said task force member Bruce Thompson of Gold Key PHR. The governor’s office did not disclose who made the outdoor-only dining recommendation or any others. Northam said Friday that he has spoken to restaurant owners extensively about the restrictions for Phase One.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Some of Charlottesville’s board and commissions could soon get back to work electronically. City Council met virtually Wednesday to discuss which boards it would allow to meet electronically amid the coronavirus pandemic and how to maximize access to the meetings. While the council backed continued live broadcast on the city’s public access channel for itself and the Planning Commission, Board of Architectural Review and the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority, it is seeking more information on staff’s capacity to run broadcasts of other meetings. Communications Director Brian Wheeler said there is time to facilitate other meetings beyond the four that are typically broadcast, but different types of broadcasts require more staff time. At stake is transparency and access. Although meetings would be broadcast online with an option to call in, some residents might not have internet access or know where to find the number to call. The biggest discussion was around the Planning Commission, particularly what type of business it would be able to conduct.
The Daily Progress
After a nearly two-month absence, Fauquier’s board of supervisors on Thursday will return to the Warren Green Building in downtown Warrenton to conduct regular meetings. To satisfy social distancing orders and guidelines, the county livestreamed three board meetings from the Warrenton Community Center at 430 E. Shirley Ave. But largely because of technical problems — the live video and/or audio feed repeatedly failed during all of the community center meetings — the board scrapped that plan. The spacious community center meeting room accommodated the five supervisors, necessary staff, Mr. Rankin’s team and one journalist — without exceeding the governor’s order that limits public gatherings to 10 people.
FauquierNow.com
The Edinburg Town Council held a public hearing on the proposed 2021 budget Tuesday night. Mayor and Town Manager Dan Harshman said they have received no comments on it. Harshman said that he and all the council members, Steven Wood, Clyde Beachy, Bill Boone, Bradley Dellinger, Stephen Van Stee and Fay Wymer-Hollar, were in attendance at Tuesday’s council meeting at the Town Hall. Harshman said they were spread out 6 feet apart across the room.
The Northern Virginia Daily
The Prince William Board of County Supervisors wants the details on the school board’s investigation into Superintendent Steven Walts’ Twitter direct messages with students. And they want to see the messages – all 10,000 of them. The supervisors voted 7 to 1 Tuesday to send a letter to the school board asking the school board to explain “the process” it is taking to investigate Walts’ Twitter messages, which were called to the school board’s attention in March by Gainesville resident Guy Morgan. Morgan filed a Freedom of Information Act with the school division asking for all of Walts’ direct messages with students since 2018. The county supervisors also voted 7 to 1 Tuesday to submit their own FOIA request to the school division asking them to release all the direct messages Walts exchanged with students over the past 18 months. The request will ask that the students' names be redacted for privacy. In a statement released Wednesday, May 6, the school board said it hired an outside firm to investigate and produce a “confidential” report for the board. Supervisor Pete Candland and other supervisors agreed the county board should submit a FOIA request for the messages because doing so would likely be cost-prohibitive for county residents.
Prince William Times
stories of national interest
"The news organizations are seeking access to records showing who received subsidized loans under both programs, the size of each loan and which bank processed the loan, as well as other loan-specific information."
The Washington Post and four other news organizations are suing the U.S. Small Business Administration for access to government records showing who received more than $700 billion in taxpayer-backed small-business loans. A spokeswoman for The Post said the lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Washington, is meant to ensure the public has access to information about how public funds are spent and to enforce federal freedom-of-information law. The Post is joined as a plaintiff in the lawsuit by the New York Times, Wall Street Journal parent company Dow Jones, Bloomberg LP and the investigative news organization ProPublica. The news organizations are seeking access to records showing who received subsidized loans under both programs, the size of each loan and which bank processed the loan, as well as other loan-specific information. Separate requests submitted in April by all five media organizations under the Freedom of Information Act, known as FOIA, failed to produce a loan-specific database, even though the SBA has published that information in the past as part of its loan program.
The Washington Post
An edited police incident report and tape recording of a 911 emergency call from the home of rap superstar Eminem shed little light on what transpired during an April 5 break-in — apparently for the safety of the singer and others, police say. Under the state Freedom of Information Act, The News obtained a two-page document and short tape recording from the Clinton Township Police Department concerning events leading up to the arrest of Matthew David Hughes, 27, who told officers he lived “down the street” from the home of Eminem — whose real name is Marshall Mathers. Police said some details contained in the heavily redacted police document and tape had been removed under legal exceptions because both an unnamed “victim and witness” revealed information about the layout of the home and security measures that would make “persons and property more vulnerable to future trespass and actions.”
The Detroit News
While the patient count in North Carolina hospitals was dropping, so was the number of hospitals responding to a daily survey the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services uses to tally hospitalizations, bed usage and ventilator stocks. When about 25 additional North Carolina hospitals added in their missing numbers that Tuesday, the number of hospitalized patients leapt by more than 100, the largest increase since state officials began publishing the data. An analysis of limited data provided by the state shows significant gaps exist in responses to the survey, sometimes from the state’s largest hospitals. But a month after a collaborative group of newsrooms requested that survey data, DHHS has yet to produce it. And those aren't the only records reporters are awaiting that could shed more light on the spread of the virus and its impact on the state.
WRAL
The Washington Post
An edited police incident report and tape recording of a 911 emergency call from the home of rap superstar Eminem shed little light on what transpired during an April 5 break-in — apparently for the safety of the singer and others, police say. Under the state Freedom of Information Act, The News obtained a two-page document and short tape recording from the Clinton Township Police Department concerning events leading up to the arrest of Matthew David Hughes, 27, who told officers he lived “down the street” from the home of Eminem — whose real name is Marshall Mathers. Police said some details contained in the heavily redacted police document and tape had been removed under legal exceptions because both an unnamed “victim and witness” revealed information about the layout of the home and security measures that would make “persons and property more vulnerable to future trespass and actions.”
The Detroit News
While the patient count in North Carolina hospitals was dropping, so was the number of hospitals responding to a daily survey the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services uses to tally hospitalizations, bed usage and ventilator stocks. When about 25 additional North Carolina hospitals added in their missing numbers that Tuesday, the number of hospitalized patients leapt by more than 100, the largest increase since state officials began publishing the data. An analysis of limited data provided by the state shows significant gaps exist in responses to the survey, sometimes from the state’s largest hospitals. But a month after a collaborative group of newsrooms requested that survey data, DHHS has yet to produce it. And those aren't the only records reporters are awaiting that could shed more light on the spread of the virus and its impact on the state.
WRAL
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