Transparency News 6/25/13

 

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

State and Local Stories  

The Isle of Wight NAACP plans to file a petition to remove Isle of Wight School Board member Herb DeGroft from office on July 1 if they get enough signatures, said chapter president Dottie Harris at a special meeting Monday night. The group convened the special meeting primarily to discuss the petition effort and found that they had collected 182 signatures, 23 short of the minimum of 205 signatures required to file the petition with the Circuit Court to initiate the removal procedure.
Daily Press

In prepared remarks delivered before the Richmond School Board went into a closed session, Board Chariman Jeffrey Bourne addressed a verbal spat last week between Kimberly Gray of the 2nd District and Tichi Pinkney Eppes of the 9th. “Like every Richmonder, I am personally shocked and embarrassed by last week’s altercation,” he said. “If that had happened in a fifth-grade classroom, the students involved would have been suspended. Unfortunately, that is not possible when adult elected officials act out.” Bourne also announced plans to create a subcommittee that would examine how the board governs itself when members misbehave. Vice Chairman Donald Coleman of the 7th District will lead that group, whose members will be chosen Thursday. But a note left by Eppes, who was out of town and missed the meeting, seemed to suggest that she was not yet ready to move on. She accused Gray of deliberately invading her personal space and of secretly recording meetings.
Times-Dispatch

Gov. Bob McDonnell fired back Monday at news reports that his family took state-purchased items at the Executive Mansion for their personal use, saying they are "false" and that he has reimbursed the state periodically for state-bought goods put to private purposes. News reports and allegations in court filings in the pending theft trial of the mansion's former chef, Todd Schneider, contend that McDonnell and his family used items from the mansion or had the state pay for purely personal items ranging from hair products to protein powder.
Free Lance-Star

A special grand jury and the prosecutor investigating allegations Loudoun County Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio (R-Sterling) abused public office won't seek indictments against Delgaudio, according to the jury's report released today. Through the jury's four-month investigation it met with at least 31 witnesses – including Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott York (R-At Large) – and reviewed at least 36 pieces of evidence. Delgaudio, first elected in 1999, was accused of using his Loudoun County office and other county resources for political fundraising. The special grand jury's report, while not pinpointing criminal activity by Delgaudio, highlights testimony of a potentially harsh working environment in the Sterling supervisor's office, a lack of focus on constituent services and a likely, but not blatant, misuse of county resources.
Loudoun Times-Mirror

One of the gas companies a state lawyer helped in a lawsuit over royalty payments says a federal judge was out of line when she said she was shocked by the lawyer’s actions. Emails from the state lawyer that the judge cited weren’t relevant “and should not ‘shock’ anyone,” EQT Production Co. said in formal objection to the judge’s decision that landowners suing it for payment of royalties had grounds for a class action case. “The Magistrate Judge’s comment about the messages is just a gratuitous personal observation,” EQT added.
Roanoke Times

National Stories

Eight projects from the Knight Open Gov news challenge will divide the money, including the Oyez Project, which gets $600,000 to expand its collection of summaries and transcripts from Supreme Court cases to include information from federal appellate courts. Another winner, OpenPlans, aims to make it easy for cities and towns to provide information about planning projects.
Poynter

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider a challenge to a Massachusetts law that ensures access for patients at clinics that offer abortions. Anti-abortion protesters challenged the law, saying it violated their constitutional rights, including their right to freedom of speech, by preventing them from standing on the sidewalk and speaking to those entering clinics.
Reuters

Americans are almost evenly split, 48%-47% according to a USA TODAY poll, over whether they approve or disapprove of these programs to fight terrorism. Yet they believe, 49%-44%, that the release of classified information serves rather than harms the public interest. What about the release of information that's merely embarrassing? The Pentagon in recent months has delayed, or released at night, or denied all together reports that might make the brass turn red in the face. Consider some recent examples.
USA Today

The first newspaper printing of the Declaration of Independence appeared on July 6, 1776, and the edition will be for sale. Robert A. Siegel Galleries in New York City is auctioning The Pennsylvania Evening Post issue Tuesday. It's estimated to fetch up to $750,000.
USA Today

Publishing the name or address of a concealed gun permit holder or applicant is set to become a crime in Louisiana, under a pair of new laws recently signed by Gov. Bobby Jindal. The laws provide that anyone who publicly identifies a gun permit holder or disseminates information contained in a permit application could face up to six months in jail and a $10,000 fine. The laws also impose penalties on state and local government employees who release gun-permit information without a court order.
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

The Internal Revenue Service targeted liberal groups as well as conservatives seeking tax-exempt status, a Democratic congressman charged on Monday after the agency acknowledged the inappropriate practice continued until last month. Rep. Sander Levin said the term "progressives" was included on IRS screening lists of applicants for tax-exempt status made available to Congress on Monday.
CNN

Following some high-profile leaks of classified data, the spotlight was shining last week on corporations hired to do secret intelligence work for the federal government. The scrutiny came from congressional hearings as well as from a new report on political contributions by private contractors. Because Edward Snowden, who leaked secret info on the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs, was an employee of a private government contractor, the Senate Armed Services Committee Thursday received a closed briefing that included details about who has access to classified data. Senators heard from NSA deputy director John Inglis; Robert Litt, general counsel for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence; and deputy U.S. attorney general James Cole.
Corporate Counsel

U.S. intelligence agencies are worried they do not yet know how much highly sensitive material is in the possession of former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, whose whereabouts are unclear, several U.S. officials said.
Reuters

Government in Ohio is supposed to conduct business for the people in public, but several measures being considered by the General Assembly would dim the spotlight that keeps public officials’ actions illuminated. One open government advocate estimates that lawmakers have proposed at least 10 measures that would affect Ohioans’ ability to keep watch on their government. “I think there is more going on than usual,” said Dennis Hetzel, president of the Ohio Coalition for Open Government and executive director of the Ohio Newspaper Association. “I don’t think there’s any big conspiracy to have less open government, I just think there’s a lot going on.” Among the proposals:
Cleveland Plain Dealer