The Supreme Court of Virginia says there’s no reversible error in a lower court’s ruling that the Hanover County Sheriff’s Office must release the names of its police officers in response to a public records request. On that basis, the court declined to take up the case, which Hanover Sheriff Col. David R. Hines had requested earlier this summer after the Virginia Court of Appeals ruled against his office in February. The decision likely signals a conclusive end to the case, but Hines’ office said it was still reviewing whether it would release the record in question: a payroll spreadsheet including the names and salaries of Hanover County Sheriff’s Office employees.

For years, to obtain a birth certificate for a newborn child, Virginia parents had to bring a check or money order to the hospital and wait a month or more for the certificate to arrive in the mail. Now, after five years of work, one of the less sexy functions of state government has become more efficient. Parents can fill out a digital form, pay with a credit card and receive the birth certificate in about two days. The process for obtaining a marriage license and certificates for death or divorce are faster and conducted online. The state sends the records to the federal government, which uses the troves of data to make policy decisions. For years, Virginia’s system for collecting and reporting data was so poor, the federal government put the state on a performance improvement plan. Now, Virginia has one of the top systems in the country, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Monday when the state’s Office of Vital Records cut the ribbon on a new facility at 8701 Park Central Drive in northern Henrico that opens to the public Tuesday.

Former City Hall communications director Petula Burks has been deposed in Connie Clay’s wrongful termination suit against her. But in a Thursday court filing, Clay’s lawyer, Sarah Robb, accused Burks and her attorney of being uncooperative and walking out on a second day of court-ordered deposition because a court reporter was available two minutes late. Clay, a former Freedom of Information Act officer for the city, is suing city officials and Burks, alleging Burks fired her for refusing to break public records law. Clay is seeking $250,000 in compensation and reinstatement to her position. The numerous hearings leading up to the three-day trial, which begins Sept. 23, have featured testy arguments over discovery and witnesses, often prompting Judge Claire Cardwell to implore the two sides to work together. According to Robb, former finance department Director Sheila White was one of two former city employees who failed to appear for depositions on Aug. 27, despite the fact that the parties had confirmed the depositions only two days prior.

Maggie Clemmons, who served as the chief talent officer for Richmond Public Schools, has filed a lawsuit against the School Board, its individual members and Superintendent Jason Kamras over a School Board meeting where employees called for her dismissal during the public comment period. The federal lawsuit alleges that the board and Kamras permitted those employees to defame her at the meeting, and asks for more than $6.35 million in damages. At issue is the school board meeting on Feb. 4, where 18 employees spoke or presented letters about Clemmons, accusing her of creating a hostile work environment, discriminating against employees of color, violating division policy and law and being unqualified for her job. She was put on administrative leave less than a week later, and said in the lawsuit she was later asked to resign.

Prince William County will appeal a judge’s ruling that canceled the massive Prince William Digital Gateway, a project that could bring as many as 37 data centers to the edge of the Manassas battlefield. The Board of County Supervisors voted 4-2 after its closed session on Tuesday, Sept. 9 to file a notice to appeal the August ruling that voided the Digital Gateway rezonings due to deficiencies with the county’s public notices before the project’s 2023 public hearings. Nikki Brown, a county spokeswoman, said the county does not have an estimate on what it might have to spend on the appeal. Already, the county has spent about $1 million fighting the legal effort to kill the project.

A King William County supervisor has been censured by the other board members after she was accused of insulting the mother of a girl who died of an overdose. The actions of Mary Sue Bancroft, the 5th District supervisor who is seeking reelection this year, dominated the Board of Supervisors meeting on Sept. 8. Bancroft apologized, then criticized others for publicizing the issue. Frank Parker, an Ashland resident, complained about a comment made by Bancroft on a public memorial post and a private message the supervisor sent to his wife. Bancroft did not attend the meeting in person. She made a virtual statement to the board. Bancroft read the letter of apology she sent to the Parkers. It said her “mental acuity was impaired.”

There is no indication that Exmore’s elected leaders sought to intentionally hide Ward’s appointment. It’s much more likely that not voting on the matter in public was an honest mistake and a misunderstanding of the requirements. To the layperson, the town council’s behind-closed-doors appointment might not seem egregious. It is certainly easily corrected. But processes are important.

President Donald Trump filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times and four of its journalists on Monday, according to court documents. The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Florida names several articles and one book written by two of the publication’s journalists and published in the lead up to the 2024 election, saying they are “part of a decades-long pattern by the New York Times of intentional and malicious defamation against President Trump.” “Defendants published such statements negligently, with knowledge of the falsity of the statements, and/or with reckless disregard of their truth or falsity,” the lawsuit says. In a Truth Social post announcing the lawsuit, Trump accused The New York Times of lying about him and defaming him, saying it has become “a virtual ‘mouthpiece’ for the Radical Left Democrat Party.” Trump has gone after other media outlets, including filing a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the The Wall Street Journal and media mogul Rupert Murdoch in July after the newspaper published a story reporting on his ties to wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein.