Transparency News, 9/26/2022
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September 26, 2022
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state & local news stories
The city of Portsmouth parted ways with three of its department heads Friday, according to a city spokesperson. Deputy City Manager Mimi Terry, Chief Information Officer Daniel Jones and Human Resources Director Dee Wright no longer work for the city as of Friday, according to city spokeswoman Dana Woodson. She couldn’t confirm whether they resigned or were terminated. Friday’s departures mark a total of four top city or police officials who have departed since City Manager Tonya Chapman began her tenure more than two months ago. Chapman fired Police Chief Renado Prince in July.
The Virginian-Pilot
A federal judge threw out a lawsuit on Friday from parents that accused Attorney General Merrick Garland of stifling their free speech, saying the group misunderstood a memo addressing increased harassment against schools. In 2021, Garland released a memo addressing the "disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence" levied at schools. The memo sparked months of backlash and false claims that the attorney general believed parents who were concerned about education policy were "domestic terrorists." In an attempt to stop the Justice Department from enforcing the memo, a group of parents from Virginia and Washington sued Garland, claiming the memo tried to silence parents who were lawfully protesting the "harmful, immoral, and racist policies of the 'progressive' Left" at their local schools. Federal Judge Dabney Friedrich, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, ruled that the memo did little more than announce a "series of measures" that directed federal authorities to address increasing threats targeting school board members, teachers and other school employees.
CNN
News that a former adviser to the committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection is publishing a book billed as a “behind-the-scenes” look at the committee’s work came as a shock to most lawmakers and committee staff when it was announced last week. Denver Riggleman, a former Republican congressman, is set to publish “The Breach” on Tuesday, just one day before the final public hearing of the Jan. 6 panel, which has gone to extraordinary lengths to prevent unauthorized leaks, as well as keep its sources and methods of investigation under wraps. Riggleman’s book announcement came in the form of a tweet touting his upcoming appearance Sunday on “60 Minutes” as his first time speaking publicly about the book. Lawmakers and committee staff were largely unaware that the former staffer had spent the months since leaving the committee writing a book about his limited work on staff — or that it would be published before the conclusion of the committee’s investigation, according to people familiar with the matter who, like others interviewed by The Washington Post, spoke on the condition of anonymity to detail private conversations.
The Washington Post
stories of national interest
Our quest for public records shedding light on Olympia Development's mysterious parking tickets hit another roadblock. Faced with a $4,856 bill, we're forced to close this request for now. Why it matters: Obtaining public records can be costly — as we've documented in our weekly spotlight. News organizations and citizens have limited resources and sometimes cannot afford records without knowing if the disclosed information is worth it. Without knowing whether the emails would help answer questions about Olympia's authority to write the tickets, we can't justify paying so much while waiting nearly a year.
Axios Detroit
