FOI Blog

Valerie Garner at Roanoke Free Press did an outstanding job writing up summaries, linking to other news articles, taking pictures and posting videos of VCOG’s annual conference …. all on her own. But that’s Valerie for you! She’s as dedicated to open government in Virginia as VCOG is. Take a moment to look through the…

Thank you to Bob Corso, Ed Reams and the other folks at WHSV in Harrisonburg and Staunton for having me on as a guest for their daily one-on-one feature for the 5:00 news.      

Virginia Coalition for Open Government bestows open government awards in citizen, media and government categories Carol Lindstrom is this year’s recipient of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government’s Laurence E. Richardson award for individual citizen contributions to open government. The award honors the memory of a longtime Charlottesville broadcaster and VCOG founding director and will…

When it comes to understanding both the letter and the spirit of Virginia’s Freedom of Information law, John Edwards, editor/publisher of The Times of Smithfield is one of the state’s best. So, it is of little surprise that he would have something to say about a couple of FOIA fights brewing in his home-county of…

  This day in 1996: President Bill Clinton signs amendments to the Freedom of Information Act that help usher in a new age of digital democracy. The new law requires the government to make electronic documents available online. http://www.wired.com/thisdayintech/2009/10/1002electronic-foia/ ====================   A federal judge in Washington, D.C., on Thursday ordered the Justice Department to release…

   Today at the FOI Advisory Council’s meeting, a representative from the Prince William County Schools, and the county’s outside attorney, announced their desire to ask for an exemption to FOIA in the upcoming session. (Actually, they asked for two, but only one is relevant here.) PWCS uses a system called the Electronic Visitor Identification…

As reported by the Miami Herald,  The Florida Public Service Commission chairman ordered his agency to disable all text messaging on state-issued Blackberrys as questions continued about whether staff used the devices to skirt public records laws. The commission has been targeted for potential ethics violations. Virginia officials would do well to remember that written electronic…

VCOG is not the only group opposing the rules advisory committee’s proposal to make jurors anonymous in all criminal cases. The ACLU of Virginia issued a press release that includes its legal counsel’s comments filed in opposition. So did the Virginia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. So did the Virginia Press Association. Kent Sinclair, chair…

The Texas Attorney General filed a brief today in the federal court appeal of a district court ruling that said parts of Texas’ open meetings law unconstitutionally infringed on the First Amendment rights of elected officials. In a press release, the Texas AG argues that the law furthers, rather than frustrates, fundamental First Amendment values.…

Recent FOIA “end-runs” show why a response of “no” to a request for records doesn’t always put an end to the matter.Most recently, a homeowners’ association for a neighborhood in both York County and Newport News asked both governments for certain records related to a zoning decision affecting the neighborhood. The association got most of…

A Daily Press editorial faults Newport News City Council for its handling of hearing on city manager’s fate. The meeting was open (at the manager’s request), but it was held at a time inconvenient to most citizens (10 a.m. on a Tuesday). Then, after the manager’s lengthy defense of his job and performance, the council…

Check out MapLight.org’s new feature: Money Near Votes It tracks campaign contributions to candidates as certain votes approach and shortly after votes are taken.

VCOG has submitted comments to the Va. Supreme Court’s Advisory Council on Rules in opposition to a proposed rule to refer to all jurors in criminal cases by number. The proposal goes on to say that juror records cannot be copied by the lawyers who receive them, and the records must be returned to the…

Full text of judge’s decision A Roanoke judge reminded local sheriff Octavia Johnson that mug shots are public records that must be released upon request (they can be kept confidential if their release would jeopardize an ongoing investigation, but not after that danger’s passed). Johnson’s policy was to release photos of those still in the…

Podcast on why VCOG’s board of directors is opposed to a rule proposed by a Va. Supreme Court advisory committee that would use numbers instead of names for jurors in all criminal cases.http://web.me.com/meganrhyne/Site_3/Podcast/Podcast.htmlFor a copy of the proposal, click here.And for a recent editorial on more on why the idea’s a bad one, see below.

The Warren County Department of Social Services has not violated the Virginia Freedom of Information Act as claimed in a pending lawsuit in General District Court, according to the county attorney. “An adage says there are two sides to every story,” Warren County Attorney Blair D. Mitchell says in a response to an argument made…

Loudoun County Chairman Scott K. York (I-At Large) has submitted a request under the Freedom of Information Act to try and find the truth about reports that have circulated about the Planning Commission since last week. York confirmed this weekend he has submitted a FOIA request to Commissioner Sandra Chaloux (Dulles) in an attempt to…

Virginia passed a law in 2008 that allows courts to close access to juror lists upon a showing of good cause (http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+19.2-263.3). The bill was originally introduced in 2007, sponsored by Del. Morgan Griffith (R-Salem), but was sent to the Crime Commission for study. Del. Bob Marshall (R-Manassas) carried the bill in 2008 and made…

It’s popular to bash mainstream media, says Lucy Dalglish of the Virginia-based Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (and VCOG board member), but they’ve spent a lot of money fighting for the public’s right to know what its public and private institutions are up to, “They spent the money on your behalf. You may…

  Once again, the FOI Advisory Council has had to remind FOIA requesters and government officials alike to play nice.In its June 9, 2009, opinion (AO-06-09), the council congratulated a citizen and a rep from the AG’s office for their "polite and concise" communications with each other. But the council also observed:However, some of the messages…

A story and an editorial from the Lynchburg News & Advance about high-profile resignations that leave more questions than answers.In Amherst County, the county administrator abruptly resigned in a closed-door session. No one’s talking, so the public has no idea what happened.In Appomattox, it was the school board superintendent.There’s nothing prohibiting board members from discussing…

An edited version of this article appeared Sunday, May 31, in the Roanoke Timeshttp://www.roanoke.com/editorials/commentary/wb/206505Let’s settle this thing by Megan Rhyne Two juveniles held in a Newport News detention center claim they were raped by two other residents. The two boys sued the city, saying the city was at fault because the facility was too crowded…

  Below is a round-up of stories and editorials related to the decision by Liberty University to revoke university recognition of a student Democratic Party club.Times Dispatch news story: Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and all four candidates for governor faulted Liberty University’s decision to revoke its recognition of the campus Democratic Party club on moral…

The City of Newport News has recently settled a lawsuit brought by two youths at a juvenile facility who were raped by two of their fellow inmates. The amount of the settlement is not being released because the settlement and its terms have been sealed.Of course, settlements don’t seal themselves, and judges don’t seal settlements…

It’s been a tough few weeks for the Commonwealth.Despite being fought over by the candidates for president and vice president like she was the Corn Festival Queen, Virginia’s had to endure the rains of Hanna, the price gouging of Ike and the scorn of the New York Times over its student voter-registration policies.But perhaps it’s…