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Police said encryption will ensure that sensitive personal information being communicated over the radio does not violate someone's legal rights or reasonable expectations of privacy.
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Police in the Richmond area will begin encrypting all their radio transmissions beginning July 2, effectively ending the public's and the media's ability to listen in and monitor law enforcement activity. Police in Richmond and the counties of Henrico and Chesterfield said encryption of their radio channels is needed for the safety of first responders, as well as the public, "by ensuring that the dissemination of in-progress tactics and activities during high-risk events is limited to those whose mission is to resolve those events swiftly and with minimal risk," according to a joint statement issued by the police chiefs in those three localities. Police also said encryption will ensure that sensitive personal information being communicated over the radio to resolve an event does not violate someone's legal rights or reasonable expectations of privacy. But ending access to real-time police radio transmissions likely will effect the media's ability to alert local residents of emergencies and other public safety concerns, and could erode the relationship between law enforcement and the media, said Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Attorneys for a group of Charlottesville residents suing organizers and key participants of the Unite the Right rally last summer are demanding that Michael Peinovich reveal the identity of the legal counsel who has been ghostwriting his court documents. Since the lawsuit was filed in October, Peinovich — identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a white nationalist who hosts an online radio show — has represented himself in court. At a recent hearing in the case, Peinovich joined with other defendants in the case to argue that the lawsuit should be dismissed for lack of legal standing. Now, according to a motion that that was filed by the plaintiffs Thursday, Peinovich, of New York City, has admitted that he has “shadow counsel” that ghostwrites his pleadings, but has refused to identify such counsel. Between October and March, Peinovich has filed 16 briefs with the court, according to the plaintiffs’ motion. “Peinovich acknowledged that he had ‘hired an attorney’ and explained that he believes he is ‘allowed to hire an attorney to ghostwrite pleadings’ and that his attorney ‘does not want to identify himself’ for fear of being harassed,” according to the motion.
The Daily Progress
Three former Richmond Times-Dispatch reporters have joined a state policy-focused news outlet that will go online next month. The Virginia Mercury’s offices will be in the Stearns Iron-Front Building, near the Virginia State Capitol. Robert Zullo, who most recently covered environmental news for the Times-Dispatch, will be editor. For reporters, he’s hired Ned Oliver, Katie O’Connor (both from the RTD) and Mechelle Hankerson from the Virginian-Pilot. Broadly, coverage will include energy and the environment, transportation, health care, criminal justice, and eventually education. “FOIA and elections are what we want to cover right out of the gate,” Zullo says. “As the capitol press corps has shrunk, a lot of meatier issues tend to get left by the wayside. I think there are a lot of issues with Virginia’s FOIA laws. Lots of exemptions, lots of loopholes.”
Style Weekly
During the EDA’s Friday board meeting, no direct reference was made to the charge. Board member William Biggs did note that he supports EDA Executive Director Jennifer McDonald “100 percent,” but did not expand any further on why he was supporting her. The remaining six board members seconded Biggs’ support of McDonald, moved on to other business, and eventually entered a closed session. That meeting’s agenda states that one reason the board went into closed session was for “discussion, consideration, or interviews of prospective candidates for employment, assignment, promotion, appointment, promotion, performance, demotion, salaries, disciplining, or resignation of specific public officers, appointees, or employees of any public body.” The closed session was “limited to the Executive Director’s review.” County Attorney Dan Whitten explained that the board reviews the executive director’s performance annually, and it was a coincidence that it fell a week after the charge. Minutes from the board’s June 2017 meeting confirm that a closed session was held last year citing the same reason. Those minutes, however, do not state that the conversation should be limited to the executive director’s review.
The Northern Virginia Daily
Earlier this month, the City of Williamsburg mistakenly released 13 Social Security numbers in documents that were made available to the public. On June 1, documents in support of a Board of Zoning Appeals application from Midas Inc. were posted to the city’s website as part of a meeting agenda. The documents were provided by a third party, which failed to redact the 13 Social Security numbers. The application was regarding duplex rental properties at 211 and 217 Harrison Ave., and the sensitive documents were removed from the website later the same day.
The Virginia Gazette
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