Transparency News, 8/30/2022

 

Tuesday
August 30, 2022

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Contact us at vcog@opengovva.org

 

state & local news stories

Virginia’s Supreme Court has rejected the Loudoun County School Board’s request to file its appeal under seal, as the school system seeks to overturn a ruling that let a special grand jury investigation continue. Two weeks ago, WTOP reported the board filed an appeal to Virginia’s highest court, asking it to reverse a Loudoun County Circuit Court judge’s decision. Last month, the judge ruled against the board’s lawsuit to halt a special grand jury convened by Attorney General Jason Miyares, to look into how the school system handled two sexual assaults by the same high school student last year. The basis of the school board’s appeal hasn’t been clear, because it was filed under seal. Monday, Virginia’s Supreme Court ruled “additional sealing is unwarranted” and ordered Loudoun County’s School Board to file a redacted copy of its appeal within eight days. Also Monday, Miyares’ office filed its redacted opposition to the school board’s appeal.
WTOP

trove of thousands of rejected vanity plates from 2019, 2020, and most of 2021 obtained by VPM News highlights drivers’ continued interest in pushing the boundaries of what’s allowed on roadways. There’s the celebratory (“YEHAWMF”), callouts (“DMNGRL”), memes (“TFKAREN”) and self-congratulatory (“PRTTYAF”). Perennial favorite topics include poop jokes (“OHHPOO” “FARTCAR” and, in a possible nod to an iconic Seinfeld episode, “POOPMAN”), drug references (“REEFAH,” “COCAIN,” and “SHROOMZ”), slights directed at other motorists (“CYALUZR” “PPULSUC”) and a slew of unrepeatable sex references. The plates are an unorthodox index on the country’s political anger. Former President Donald Trump continues to make appearances (“45CROOK,” “FTRMP,” and “DONSUX”), and 2021 saw a spate of plates attacking his successor (“BIDNWTF,” “JOESKS,” and “BDNH8R”). The turbulence of 2020 inspired new plate proposals ranging from the pandemic (“FCOVD19” “FUCVID” “WTH2020”) to racial justice protests (“BLMFTP,” “BLMF12” and simply “BLM”). Other plate requests appear to cross the line into racism.
VPM

The Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority board of directors continues to do business with two empty seats. At their regular meeting on Friday, board members re-elected Jeff Browne as chairman, Marjorie “Jorie” Martin as secretary and Jim Wolfe as treasurer. Members elected Scott Jenkins as vice chairman to succeed Greg Harold. The board has had two vacancies for more than a year. The Warren County Board of Supervisors has yet to appoint anyone to fill the vacant seats. The board voted 5-0 to adopt revisions, as recommended by Pandak, to the EDA’s by-laws that would allow electronic meetings under state code. But Browne raised concerns about reaching a quorum with two, unfilled seats in order to conduct board business. At least four members of the seven-member board must attend a meeting in person to make a quorum, Pandak said. If two members cannot attend the meeting in person, then the board cannot conduct business. A member attending the meeting electronically does not count toward a quorum, Pandak said.
The Northern Virginia Daily
 

stories of national interest

Since 2013, the number of government funding opportunities for cloud computing has increased dramatically, according to a Government Technology data analysis — cloud now represents about one-sixth of all gov tech funding opportunities. At their peak in 2018, funding opportunities such as requests for proposals (RFPs) for cloud computing services made up about 18.5 percent of all gov tech funding opportunities, according to an analysis of more than 400,000 requests for proposals collected by the Government Technology Industry Navigator. The growth in gov tech funding opportunities has slowed slightly, with only 15 percent in the past 12 months being for cloud computing-related projects. Still, governments in the U.S. are hoping that the ubiquity of cloud computing will help them better fulfill their mission and save money.
Governing

 

editorials & columns

As the nation reeled from the deadly, cowardly shooting attack on an Independence Day parade in Illinois, Richmond officials said a citizen tip provided key information to thwart a July 4 mass shooting planned for Virginia’s capital city. As time has passed, however, this episode appears less emblematic of how citizens and law enforcement working together can bolster public safety, and more indicative of deficiencies of transparency and accountability at the heart of calls for police reform. On Saturday, the RTD published another revelation, thanks to documents obtained through a FOIA request: The tipster who contact the authorities did not specify a location for any attack. The chief was told that by his staff, but pressed ahead with his belief that Dogwood Dell as the target. If they’re willing to lie about this, a citizen might reason, what else will they lie about?
The Virginian-Pilot

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