Transparency News 9/28/18

 

VCOG LOGO CMYK small 3

Friday
September 28, 2018

spacer.gif

You can smile on VCOG when you shop on Amazon. Click here!

divider.gif
 

state & local news stories

quote_1.jpg

"Neither the city nor Fleenor have made the document — or any related materials — available to the public."

The city claims Bristol Virginia Councilman Doug Fleenor’s lawsuit challenging the bid to remove him has no basis because the city charter expressly allows it, according to a response filed Thursday with the circuit court clerk. The filing, called a demurrer, is a legal objection that an opponent’s point is irrelevant and the lawsuit should be dismissed. City officials notified Fleenor in an Aug. 28 written notice that they planned to remove him for malfeasance or neglect of duty. In his Sept. 6 lawsuit, Fleenor claims City Council doesn’t have the authority to remove him. In his lawsuit, Fleenor claims state law trumps the city charter. In the response, City Attorney Randy Eads cites five versions of the city charter that all allow for removal. The city’s filing does not include a copy of the written notice served Aug. 28 that presumably spells out the reasons council moved to remove Fleenor. In the month since, neither the city nor Fleenor have made the document — or any related materials — available to the public.
Bristol Herald Couier

State seeks public comments on study examining medical aid-in-dying laws
The Roanoke Times

The Harrisonburg School Board has hired a firm to help find a new superintendent. The panel interviewed the second of two firms vying for a contract to recruit a replacement for Scott Kizner during a closed meeting on Tuesday.
Daily News-Record

Abingdon interim Town Manager Tony Sullivan resigned from that position Thursday because Town Council doesn’t have enough faith in him to hire him to fill the position permanently, according to his letter of resignation. The resignation is effective Oct. 12. Sullivan, who said he hand-delivered the letter to council members, said he will return full time to his position as Abingdon’s chief of police. Sullivan’s letter revealed that council asked him to prepare a request for proposals to hire a consulting firm to find candidates for the town manager position. He denied the request.
Bristol Herald Courier

The two finalists for the Lynchburg chief of police position outlined their visions for the department in a public meeting Thursday at City Hall. In what was effectively a public job interview, Interim Chief Ryan Zuidema and Deputy Chief Mark Jamison described the challenges facing the force and took questions from city residents in attendance.
The News & Advance

The city of Charlottesville spent $921,334 on personnel, materials and mutual aid for the anniversary weekend of the deadly Unite the Right rally, according to information released Thursday. The city’s costs bring the running — though still incomplete — total for the agencies involved last month to approximately $4.6 million. Charlottesville spent about $600,000 more in 2018 than in 2017 because officials expected a full weekend of events.
The Daily Progress

State occupational safety and health officials cited Virginia Beach this month for serious violations related to a training event in which firefighters burned a home near Pungo in April so they could train outside it though the department had not determined whether asbestos was present at the site. Virginia Beach Professional Firefighters Local 2924, a union that represents most city firefighters, sought records related to the training and filed complaints with regulatory agencies and the city auditor, who works directly for the City Council and not the city administration. The Independent News obtained the citations from the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry through an open records request. However, the newspaper did not obtain additional files it requested because the matter is still open.
Princess Anne Daily

divider.gif

national stories of interest

From million-dollar price tags to requests for a few cents, MuckRock and its users have had its fair share of FOIA fee debacles. We decided to look at our 50,000+ requests to-date and break down the biggest in each state. Although many requesters still find the fee system to be a major barrier for obtaining documents, MuckRock’s data showed fees are still the exception rather than the norm. In fact, 48,000 total requests filed through MuckRock showed no fees assessed. 
Muck Rock

The Metro Board is poised to dissolve its only direct mechanism for rider feedback and advocacy, the Rider Advisory Council (RAC), according to testimony during a Thursday morning meeting. “You have a serious credibility gap with the public,” RAC Chairman Katherine Kortum said to the board and warned that the transit agency’s new online survey program would not restore the falling trust or ridership that plagues Metro after years of safety incidents and shutdowns.
The Washington Times
 

 

quote_2.jpg

"MuckRock’s data showed fees are still the exception rather than the norm."

divider.gif
 

editorials & columns

quote_3.jpg

"Why would a hospital deny a patient access to his or her own medical records?"

A former colleague spent weeks in a local hospital recovering from a heart attack. Being the good reporter he is, no manner of medical procedure could squelch his thirst for the facts. Those he wanted most were his own. He kept requesting access to his medical records, and the hospital kept denying him. So he did what good reporters do: He invoked the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, which clearly allows patients in public hospitals access to their own records. While he can take care of himself just fine, two things trouble us. First, not many people know what he knows about the state’s open records laws. Where he knew how to push back and fight for his rights, we fear many others would crumble in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Second, why would a hospital deny a patient access to his or her own medical records?
Richmond Times-Dispatch

What would you think if you went to your local public library to check out J.K. Rowlings’ “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” and were told it had been pulled from the shelves? Or James Baldwin’s “Native Son”? Or Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple”? Odds are you’d be angry and would want to talk to the library director. And then you’d learn that “Goblet of Fire” had upset religious fundamentalists who claimed it promoted satanism and witchcraft, that “Native Son” stirred up racial animus and that “The Color Purple” upset people because of its purported “sexual explicitness” and “troubling ideas about race relations.” That’s why every year in September we observe Banned Books Week, which concludes tomorrow, to draw the public’s attention to books some people have tried to destroy, mainly out of fear of the ideas they espouse and the freedom they bestow upon readers.
The News & Advance

Categories: