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February 23, 2023
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state & local news stories
VCOG’s annual conference
FOI Day — March 16
Charlottesville
Info and registration here
After Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) named him last summer to the University of Virginia’s governing board, Bert Ellis had a platform to influence the school’s administration. He spotted a potential target, a vice provost named Louis P. Nelson, tasked with community engagement, public service and academic outreach programs. “Check out this numnut who works for Baucom and has nothing to do but highlight slavery at UVA,” Ellis wrote on July 22 in text messages to two other new board members, Stephen P. Long and Amanda Pillion. “This bloated bureaucracy has got to be slashed.” That and other text messages from Ellis were obtained last week through Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act by Richmond-based author Jeff Thomas, who provided them to The Washington Post. Thomas, 38, author of the 2019 book “The Virginia Way: Democracy and Power after 2016,” has previously submitted FOIA requests to U-Va. on topics including university admissions. He has specialized in analyzing the state’s political culture and is an advocate for institutional transparency. He asked for the Ellis texts in August, but U-Va. refused to release them. Then he sued. A Richmond judge this month ordered the university to send him redacted documents.
The Washington Post
Richmond Public Schools’ Chief of Staff Michelle Hudacsko resigned from her post Wednesday amid ongoing tensions between school division administration and some members of the Richmond School Board. “The frequent actions that some Board Members take to dismantle progress and intentionally set the Administration up to fail, along with the mean-spirited personal attacks, threats, and unfounded accusations have made doing this work nearly impossible. Our students are the ones paying the price.” School Board Chair Stephanie Rizzi, who represents the Fifth District, said the board members could not come to an agreement on a public statement. Board member Kenya Gibson, who represents the Third District and generally opposes the administration, said that, while she is appreciative of Hudacsko’s leadership, she was disappointed when she read Hudacsko’s resignation letter. “Unlike DC public schools where Ms. Hudacsko worked before joining us here, Richmond Public Schools is governed by a democratically elected board. Democracy is not served when our elected officials are labeled as hostile when asking important questions and pushing for accountability,” Gibson wrote.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Warren County supervisor raised concerns on Tuesday that she and fellow board members don’t always know how departments spend their money. So, Board of Supervisors Vice Chairwoman Cheryl L. Cullers at their regular meeting voted against accepting the expense accounts — a report that members usually approve without fanfare or discussion. Chairwoman Vicky L. Cook and supervisors Jerome K. “Jay” Butler, Walter J. “Walt” Mabe and Delores R. Oates voted to accept the accounts even after raising similar concerns about the lack of details in the regular report. Cullers raised concerns that records supervisors receive on Amazon purchases do not provide enough detail about each item bought using county funds. Finance Director Alisa Scott said the county reconciles the Amazon statements as approved by department heads, Scott said.
Northern Virginia Daily