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Ivory towers, grass-roots accountability

This post original appeared on VCOG's Substack Newsletter, September 13, 2022
 

This isn’t a criticism, more of an observation: Our public institutions of higher education are technically state agencies, but they should act more like local public bodies. School districts.

Public records as history's first draft

This post originally appeared on VCOG's Substack newsletter, Aug. 31, 2022.

 

It’s not uncommon in our fractious political discourse for someone to hurl admonishments at foes that they must learn from history lest they be doomed to repeat it.

But how can we know history if we can’t even agree on what history is? Even without the acrimony or political axes to grind, there are many ways to view history, the same history, even.

Just don't

Yeah, hi, so, um, I pretty much just want to vent. Hope you’re OK with that. 

There’s a lot going on in the world today and I might be processing some subconscious feelings. But it might be that yesterday I had the pleasure of doing two presentations to the constituents of Pat O’Bannon, current chair of the Henrico County Board of Supervisors and member of the VCOG board of directors for at least 10 years.

April's shower of FOIA cases

April 2022 was a full month of FOIA cases that were filed or decided

Preserve access to police records

The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press weigh in on why the Virginia Senate should reject an attempt to roll back access law passed last year

What I would have said

We don't get the chance to respond to things said in committee, so......
 

Pilot & Daily Press on transparency 2022

This originally appeared in The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press on Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2021.
Reprinted with permission

Agency position on credit card names rankles

An FOI advocate and a Virginia FOIA officer agree

Spirits dancing on the head of a pin

Spirits dancing on the head of a pin:The public can lose out from rigid adherence to the words on the page

This post originally appeared on VCOG's Substack Newsletter

 

No incentive to stay

How the announced closing of a brewery tasting room reminds us of how economic development incentives aren't so easy to track

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