Transparency News 7/17/18

 

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Tuesday
July 17, 2018

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state & local news stories

 

The FOIA Council will be conducting four free FOIA "Records" training presentations on the following dates:

Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
Wednesday, November 7, 2018

The training will be held from 2:00 - 3:30 PM on each of the above dates in House Committee Room 300A of the Pocahontas Building located at 900 E. Main Street Richmond, VA 23219, near the Virginia State Capitol.  

To register, contact ric-foiatraining@dls.virginia.gov



Western State Hospital administrative staff held health records past the state mandated destruction deadline — because it misinterpreted the law.   State law mandates hospitals to purge patient records 10 years after the last date of service. Because the hospital thought it was only a guideline, it didn’t adhere to that timeline, said Heidi Dix, spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Mental Health and Rehabilitation Department.
News Leader

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stories of national interest

A group working to make the Supreme Court more transparent has asked a federal judge to force the government to release tens of thousands of documents related to the past work of Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s nominee to the top court. Fix the Court, along with attorneys with American Oversight, filed the motions in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Monday. The group is seeking court orders requiring the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), as well as the Department of Justice, to process Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests that Fix the Court submitted months ago while seeking all nonexempt files on Kavanaugh.
The Hill

It’s been a week since President Donald Trump nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, and much of Kavanaugh’s legal history as a jurist has been analyzed in that time. less discussed aspect of Kavanaugh’s history on the bench is his take on the First Amendment and other issues important to journalists. The Reporters’ Committee for Freedom of the Press is looking to change that. The nonprofit released a report detailing Kavanaugh’s rulings in First Amendment cases.
Observer

In cases such as this a disclaimer is needed: Kids, don't try this at home. On March 27 this year, a La Paz, Arizona sheriff's deputy pulled over Arizona State House representative Paul Mosley (R-5th District) for doing 97 miles per hour in a 55-mph zone. Regional online news site Parker Live Online filed a Freedom of Information Act request for the officer's bodycam video; the request was fulfilled on July 11. The result isn't what you'd want from an elected representative. Mosley cited "legislative immunity" to let the deputy know that a state representative can't be ticketed. After the deputy returned Mosley's license and told Mosley to watch his speed, the deputy began a sentence with "97 is absolutely...." Ignoring all social cues, Mosely took that as an opportunity to crow, saying, "Well, I was doing 120 earlier." Then he goes into meandering detail about how his Toyota Prius has been in the shop, so he has a Lexus LS 400 now, and not only does he drive it faster then 120 mph, he doesn't notice how fast he's going because of the nice wheels and suspension. When the deputy said he doesn't drive 140 mph in his cruiser, Mosley asked, "Does it have a governor on it?"
Autoblog

The U.S. Treasury said on Monday that it will no longer require certain tax-exempt organizations including politically active nonprofit groups, such as the National Rifle Association and Planned Parenthood, to identify their financial donors to U.S. tax authorities.
Reuters
 

 

 

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