The Franklin County Board of Supervisors announced five applicants for the board’s Boone District seat during a special meeting Thursday, while those in attendance questioned if it was truly vacant. The special meeting lasted less than 10 minutes before the board adjourned into closed session to discuss the list of eligible candidates that was finalized Wednesday. … Chris Dadak, county attorney for the evening, reviewed the process of selecting a new Boone seat at the meeting. The process started Aug. 18 when then-Supervisor Mike Meredith announced his resignation from the dais, giving the board 45 days to choose a new representative. “It is the opinion of the county attorney that the Boone District supervisor seat is vacant,” Dadak said. … Meredith sent an email to supervisors Monday, two weeks after his resignation during last month’s board of supervisors meeting. In the email he stated his intention to remain in office and complete his term as supervisor.

People potentially hit by a data breach were notified by the city of Roanoke by letter in late August — over three months after the fact — of the possibility that their personal information had been accessed in early May. Mel Williams, a Roanoke attorney, received the letter from the city dated Aug. 24 that said that “on or about” May 11, the city found that on May 6 a “malicious actor gained unauthorized access to departmental data.” The letter does not identify the department or any other specifics about the hack. Nor did it disclose how many people could have been affected. The city did not respond to numerous submitted questions about the incident Wednesday or Thursday. … The city’s letter goes on to say that the following may have been accessed: first and last names, Social Security numbers, passport numbers and financial account information.

Lynchburg prosecutor finds no criminal conduct by Franklin County officials // Records show Purcellville stopped paying town manager in June // Virginia medical examiner’s departure raises questions over Tidewater cases // Turmoil in Mineral puts small town’s future in question

Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s administration held its first meeting of the Commission on Unlocking Housing Production on Thursday in downtown Richmond. The commission was created by Spanberger’s Executive Order 3, which aims to lower housing costs by increasing supply. She signed it on her first day in office. … The commission is chaired by the Secretary of Commerce and Trade Carrie H. Chenery. Its more than 30 members, none of whom are legislators, include representatives from several state government agencies, as well as representatives from local government and industry. … The bulk of the meeting was closed to the public, and the press were asked to leave after Spanberger’s opening remarks.
NOTE: FOIA’s definition of a “public body” that must follow rules for holding public meetings does not include entities created by an individual (governor, college president, sheriff, mayor). During his tenure, former Governor Bob McDonnell created a uranium mining workgroup, whose meetings were not going to be public. However, after public complaints, meetings were largely held in the open.

Gov. Abigail Spanberger has chosen an experienced fraud investigator and federal prosecutor to serve as Virginia’s next inspector general to investigate fraud, waste and abuse in state government. Spanberger has appointed Daniel Young, a Hampton Roads native and Fairfax County resident, to lead the state Office of the Inspector General. Young, who started work this week, succeeds Michael Westfall, who retired in April after more than 11 years in the office, including nine as inspector general. Young’s credentials include nearly three years as assistant general counsel at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, two years as appellate counsel at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and more than five years as assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria and Norfolk.

A federal judge rejected an effort Wednesday to block two Arkansas news outlets from publishing details about an agreement regarding a West Memphis data center, in a case that alarmed free speech groups who say restricting publication would have undermined the First Amendment. U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky on Wednesday denied Entergy Arkansas’ request for a temporary restraining order that would have prohibited the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and Arkansas Times from disclosing details about Entergy’s agreements with Altitude Capital LLC, a Google subsidiary being used to set up the data center. … The case over the documents may not be over. Rudofsky, who was named to the bench by President Donald Trump and has been nominated for a seat on the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, said in a docket entry that he would set a schedule for briefs regarding a request for a preliminary injunction after both sides confer.

Texas lawmakers heard hours of testimony last week about the effectiveness of the Texas Public Information Act (TPIA) and whether it is working as originally intended. While some officials claimed the transparency statute is being used as a weapon, some requesters said it is being used as a shield and is lacking adequate enforcement mechanisms. … Comal County Criminal District Attorney Jennifer Tharp said the volume of requests her office receives is up 35 percent over last year. She noted that small governments have limited personnel to process and comply with the requests within the 10-day window mandated by the TPIA. … “The law has deviated in many ways in recent years from its intent and the way it was originally written,” Kelley Shannon of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas (FOIFT) said, urging the lawmakers to keep that principle in place as they consider changes, since Texas has a “presumption of openness” that “gives power to the people of the state.” Shannon said the three main problems with TPIA included delays, abuse of the multiple TPIA exceptions, and the lack of “teeth” in the law to penalize noncompliant governments. … James Quintero of the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) noted that some governments may be using high-cost estimates to dissuade requestors.
NOTE: This story is included to demonstrate that the arguments over public records laws are the same in every state in the union.

A year ago, a spirited and public-records-powered newsletter needed a mascot. Sleuthy the Seal — born of a “fortuitous misunderstanding” — was created. Journalist and newsletter founder David Covucci promised his wife he’d get the plucky mascot tattooed if he could hit 500 subscribers with the solo venture. The football helmet-wearing seal quickly had a permanent place on his forearm. After being laid off in May 2025 from The Daily Dot, along with much of the news staff, Covucci decided to unleash his prodigious public records skills on the multi-billion-dollar world of college football. Many of the top programs, after all, are housed at public institutions subject to the Freedom of Information Act. His newsletter, FOIAball, has garnered roughly 7,500 subscribers, including 420 paid subscribers, in its first year.