Transparency News 7/9/14

If you missed VCOG’s tweets from yesterday's FOIA Council subcommittee meetings reviewing FOIA’s exemptions, check out these recaps on Storify.
Records exemptions subcommittee
Meetings exemptions subcommittee

When a call comes in to a state or local child abuse hot­line, chances are it will never be investigated. A Virginian-Pilotanalysis shows that of the 80,000 complaints to Hampton Roads social services departments in a recent four-year stretch, only 21 percent were investigated. Statewide, the number was even lower: 17 percent. Records show that the more cases social workers investigate, the more often they find abuse. But many complaints end up on a track that provides services or training, instead of an inquiry into the allegations. In some cases, the system winds up leaving children in the care of their abusers.
Virginian-Pilot

Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones and leaders from Venture Richmond and the city Democratic Committee gathered at a private event in the Fan District on Monday, but it was no ordinary backyard get-together. More than 70 people assembled for a presentation by Venture Richmond Executive Director Jack Berry, who addressed the crowd next to a projector screen showing the logo for “Loving RVA,” the promotional campaign in support of a new baseball stadium in Shockoe Bottom. The event, which was not announced publicly, was held at the Fan District home of Andy Stefanovich, a local branding guru who helped organize the TedxRVA ideas conference. Tammy D. Hawley, the mayor’s press secretary, said Monday’s event does not signify any imminent action on the stadium issue. She said people who support the plan are looking for clarity and information that will allow them to be “louder voices.“ “As I understand it, there are several people who are moving to host these sort of on-the-ground meetings,” Hawley said. “It was basically just another community conversation,” said Berry, adding that his presentation consisted of the same images he’d used previously.
Times-Dispatch

The Washington County Board of Supervisors will hold a work session to discuss the proposed ordinance governing natural gas drilling in the county. Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday night to plan for a workshop to delve into the ordinance.
Herald Courier

Williamsburg City Council will consider a new policy Thursday allowing members to participate in meetings electronically if needed, according to an agenda released in advance of the meeting. The ordinance follows up on House Bill 193, which the General Assembly passed this year, providing localities the power to allow electronic participation as long as the locality already has a written policy in place. Virginia's Freedom of Information Advisory Council drafted the model ordinance the city is using, City Attorney Christian Shelton said in a staff memo. It allows members of city council to participate in meetings electronically for either emergency and personal reasons, or because of disability or medical condition.
Virginia Gazette

National Stories

A federal investigative agency is examining 67 claims of retaliation by Veterans Affairs Department supervisors against employees who filed whistleblower complaints, including 25 complaints filed since June 1, after a growing health care scandal involving long patient waits and falsified records at VA hospitals and clinics became public. The independent Office of Special Counsel said that 30 of the complaints about retaliation have passed the initial review stage and were being further investigated for corrective action and possible discipline against VA supervisors and other executives. The complaints were filed in 28 states at 45 separate facilities, Special Counsel Carolyn Lerner said.
News Virginian

The power outage at the D.C. Unified Communications Center disrupted the police department’s radio communications for five minutes and disabled the 311 information call line for 16 minutes, a spokeswoman for the Office of Unified Communications said Tuesday.
Washington Times

A late Navy SEAL accused of defamation by former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura described an alleged altercation between the two men in 2006 in a videotaped deposition played for jurors in a federal trial that began on Tuesday. The issue of whether that confrontation happened is at the heart of Ventura's case against Chris Kyle, who was killed in 2013 at a Texas shooting range. A troubled Iraq War veteran he was trying to mentor has been charged with his murder. Hours of Kyle's deposition are expected to be played during the trial.
Reuters

The Senate Intelligence Committee voted to approve a cybersecurity bill on Tuesday that proponents say will help stop attacks by reducing legal obstacles to data-sharing between businesses and the government. The text of the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, which passed 12-3, has not been released to the public yet. Committee chairwoman and the bill's co-author Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) trumpeted its passage in a statement. Feinstein and Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), the bill's co-author and committee vice-chairman, said that the bill is an important piece of anti-terrorism legislation. Chambliss said, "The legislation passed out of committee today is a strong, bipartisan bill that encourages the private sector and the government to share information voluntarily about these threats, without fear of frivolous lawsuits and without unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles."
CNET News

Being a judge is a lot simpler than being a blogger. A judge merely has to follow rules written by a few tipsy lawyers who were playing cards with representatives of corporations. Being a blogger, on the other hand, entails choosing every word carefully, in order to stimulate your audience on a regular basis. Judges will always have people filling their courtrooms. Bloggers can often inhabit a very empty space. This is something that Judge Richard George Kopf of Nebraska is just beginning to grasp. He's already wondered whether female lawyers should dress more conservatively. He's told Congress to "go to Hell." Which I'm sure most members are very happy to do for the appropriate emolument. He may, however, have taken his blogging to an edge beyond eternal damnation when he opined that the Supreme Court should "stfu."
CNET News

2nd Circuit says Bush, Cheney requests are exempt from FOIA. The Second Circuit rejected the claim of political journalist John Cook, who sought not the presidential and vice-presidential materials from the National Archives themselves, but the requests for such records made by the former president and vice-president.
New York Law Journal
 

Editorials/Columns

When he ran for governor last year, Libertarian candidate Robert Sarvis found himself caught in the classic third-party Catch-22: Debate organizers would not let him participate, and some media would not give him coverage, until he achieved the widespread support that he could get only by participating in debates and receiving media coverage. Debate organizers and news outlets are private organizations. They can do what they want, whether other people like it or not. The commonwealth of Virginia, however, is a horse of a different color.
Times-Dispatch

Confidence in the election process means everything in a representative democracy. If we cannot trust how votes are cast and counted, then it calls into question the outcomes and, ultimately, the men and women who hold public office. That is why we took such interest in the three tightly contested races for Newport News School Board in May. Each was decided by a slim margin, and the Election Board's audit of results ended with the at-large race won by Gary Hunter after Rick Jones was declared the winner on election night. The allegations that followed were serious indictments of the election process, but were delivered without evidence or justification. When made by candidates seeking elected office —or, worse, those holding office — they are not something citizens should allow to fade into memory. So we call on those who have leveled accusations of manipulation to provide evidence for those claims. If our election system needs repair, then we urge those with suggestions to come forward. If there has been malfeasance, then we beg it be rooted out. If not, those allegations should be rescinded because those unfairly tarnished deserve better, especially from an elected official. It is critical citizens have confidence in City Hall and coming to a conclusion based on facts rather than conjecture will allow our community to do just that.
Daily Press

In the days after Sen. Phillip Puckett's resignation, some public officials and advocates of Medicaid expansion jumped at the chance to accuse the departing senator of trading his elected office and his principles for a lucrative job on the state's Tobacco Commission. But it's worth noting that many Republican and Democratic leaders almost immediately shrugged off the episode, dismissing any criticism of Puckett and insisting there was nothing unethical – or even anything that appeared unethical – about the series of events. Among those who said they saw nothing wrong were Republican Sen. Tommy Norment and House Speaker Bill Howell, as well as Democratic Sens. Dick Saslaw and Chuck Colgan. Such a sanguine attitude to an unseemly enterprise is no surprise, given the frequency with which lawmakers have left office and secured other, more lucrative, forms of public employment.That frequency is its own disturbing commentary, one that has desensitized elected officials from recognizing the problems associated with an appearance of impropriety.
Virginian-Pilot