FOI Blog

There were two stories last week in the Daily Press about the Hampton City Council and its efforts to reduce the cost of public meetings.   The first story, “Hampton City Council may ditch the costly paper agendas,” sets us up, telling us that it costs an average of $1,500 to print agendas for council…

It was a cruel spring at Mr. Jefferson’s University. In what should have been a time of flowering dogwoods and days of hope and promise for the future, the University of Virginia found itself in the midst of two issues of national interest, and both including a transparency element.     The first, and most…

VCOG was pleased to play host yesterday, May 22, to David Cuillier’s Access Across America tour. Forty citizens, private investigators and print and broadcast journalists signed up to spend their Saturday afternoon hearing Cuillier deliver a lively presentation on the power of public records and strategies for getting them.   The Society of Professional Journalists…

In today’s troubled economic times, it’s not hard to understand the sense of nervous excitement generated by the prospect of a new business locating in the area or of an existing business expanding: jobs, tax revenue, community involvement, stability.   If there were ever any doubt, see the crushing flip side of this when, say,…

In an excellent editorial published in late April, the Daily Press criticized the Hampton City Council’s recent changes to the citizen comment period of public meetings.   The Daily Press didn’t fault the city for wanting to improve the meetings’ efficiency, or to eliminate personal attacks or the rehashing of past decisions. The newspaper’s complaint instead…

Prince William County resident Mark Hjelm finally got his day in court April 14. And it was a pretty good day.   The aftermath, well, that’s not so pretty.   Hjelm has been locked in battle with the Prince William County School system for the past few years over Hjelm’s FOIA request to view visitor…

FOIA isn’t something most people think about day in and day out. I remember the Virginia FOIA Council’s Maria Everett once saying something to the effect of, “No one grows up wanting to be a FOIA geek.” True that. But it is funny to me, as a card-carrying FOIA geek, how FOIA suddenly becomes the…

Working the edges By Megan Rhyne   1. Prior to a city council meeting, Councilman A huddles with Councilman B, talking, nodding and gesturing. Councilman B then goes over to Councilman C, again talking earnestly. Councilman B, then goes to Councilman D, then Councilman E, then Councilman F, where similar conversations take place. The meeting…

Watching Richmond politics unfold in person or on the General Assembly’s Web site is complicated, but one man has made getting informed simpler Waldo Jaquith, the Albemarle County resident behind the 3-year-old legislative tracking Web site Richmond Sunlight (richmondsunlight.com), spends his nights and weekends keeping up the aggregation site and giving people a place to…

UPDATE: The bill was effectively defeated in committee this morning. Lawmakers voted to “continue” the bill until 2011. Sens. Houck and Quayle voted against the motion. HB 778 is up for consideration by the Senate Rules Committee on Friday, March 4, at 9 a.m.On the General Assembly’s Web site, you can currently find out which…

Following the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007, the Virginia General Assembly mandated that public universities set up Threat Assessment Teams (TATs) to identify and evaluate students, staff or faculty who might pose a threat to the campus communities. The teams are made up of representatives from student affairs, law enforcement, human resources, counseling services, residence…

Note: Wise County Clerk of Court, Jack Kennedy, served on the VCOG board of directors for several years.HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 245Offered February 4, 2010Commending the Wise County and City of Norton Bar Association and the Clerk of Circuit Court for Wise County and the City of Norton for their leadership and innovation in information…

At Crossover:Despite the huge number of access-related bills that were on the table as the 2010 General Assembly session started, through consolidation, referrals to study commissions and, of course, the axe, that number has been cut nearly in half.First, there are the bills that were “passed by indefinitely,” “tabled,” or “continued until 2011.” Those phrases…

Del. Lee Ware (R-Powhatan) has proposed a bill to prohibit clerks of court from releasing concealed handgun permit applications filed in that locality. The bill is HB79, and VCOG is opposed to it. Here’s why.   As long as the permits are required in Virginia, there should be some public access to them. it is…

With the advent of the iPhone, the Droid and any number of other so-called smart phones, it seems almost quaint that the world teetered on the edge of chaos in 2006 when a patent case threatened to darken the screens of the then-revolutionary BlackBerry.NTP, a Virginia-based company, told BlackBerry’s maker, Research in Motion, that the…

The FOI Advisory Council is required by statute to file an annual report of its activities. It’s 2009 report is now online.The report contains statistics breaking down who has used the council’s services this year (government – 913, citizens – 628, media as well as every year since the council opened its doors.The report includes…

A tangible (and colorful) way to give.   Printer ink is expensive! Black and color ink for our copier/fax/printer by far takes up the  biggest chunk of our office supply budget. We buy house brand refills when we can, save as many files electronically as possible and squeeze every last drop out of cartridges we…

Consider donating to the Virginia Coalition for Open Government this holiday season. Read about what we do here at VCOG and why every penny counts. http://hosted.verticalresponse.com/560788/e9ff536f91/282550247/d5b8798474/

(Note: Laurence Richardson was a founding member of VCOG)   Call For Entries The Laurence E. Richardson Community Service Award is is annual award given by the VAB to the station that exemplifies the benefits of local community service by Virginia’s broadcasters.  The award will be presented at the Legislative Cocktail Reception on Wednesday, January…

“There are citizens and members of the media who are convinced that all of us in this room are … criminal[s]. They will never change their mind. You could give them the key to your entire filing cabinet and they’ll still think you’re hiding something. “But on the flip side, you have public officials who,…

The following is a statement issued by ASNE, the sponsors of the yearly effort known as Sunshine Week (March 14-20). If you know of a Virginia “local hero,” please pass that information on to VCOG at vcog@opengovva.org. Next year’s national Sunshine Week (March 14-20) will highlight local heroes across America who have played significant roles…

Back when he was still roaming the halls of the Virginia General Assembly, and keeping everyone laughing along the way, Del. Chip Woodrum added a nice little provision to the law governing purchases made under the Virginia Public Procurement Act.Section 2.2-1111(B)(2) says that the Division of Purchases and Supply within the Department of General Services…

Election results of contested seats in Virginia’s House of Delegates. Results were taken from the State Board of Elections’ Web site, current as of 9:30 a.m., 11/4/09. An asterisk indicates the incumbent candidate. Bolded names indicate the contest winners. District Democrat Republican Other Party Other Party 3 Dan Bowling* James Morefield 6 Carole Pratt Anne…

On Monday, Oct. 26, the Advisory Committee on Rules of Court, a committee of the Judicial Council of Virginia, issued a revised proposed rule on the confidentiality of juror information. The new rule eliminates the blanket use of anonymous jurors in all criminal cases and reworks a few of the provisions regarding subsequent use of…