Transparency News 8/4/14
State and Local Stories
With criticism mounting, University of Virginia officials now say they will change a proposal to stifle dissent among the Board of Visitors. University Rector George K. Martin said through a university spokesman that the current version will not last. “He permitted me to advise … that revisions to the draft would specifically address the First Amendment concerns that had been voiced,” spokesman McGregor McCance said Saturday.
Daily Progress
When you have a party, whom you invite is never as troublesome as whom you don’t. Ask Roanoke Mayor David Bowers. Bowers has put himself at odds with several council colleagues by leaving them off the invitation list to a lunch meeting with the new Virginia Tech president later this month. Bowers arranged the Aug. 27 “meet and greet” with Timothy Sands at Hotel Roanoke, and he has invited several political, education and business leaders. From city government, only Bowers, Vice Mayor David Trinkle and City Manager Chris Morrill got the nod. The remaining five council members were not even aware of the luncheon, let alone invited to such an important event, they said. City taxpayers are footing the bill. Bowers said he believed including more than three council members would constitute a public meeting under Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act, and require legal notices and that it be open to the public.
Roanoke Times
Local governments in Virginia would no longer need to advertise certain procurement notices in newspapers under a proposal being advanced by a state-appointed committee. A working group of representatives from business organizations, universities and government made the recommendation at a meeting July 23. The proposal came as part of a larger, ongoing study ordered by a joint legislative subcommittee to consider possible changes to Virginia’s public procurement policies. Under the recommendation, the state’s legal requirement that local governments advertise requests for proposals in a local print publication would be eliminated after a two-year transition period. That change could occur in 2017 if state lawmakers introduce the proposal as legislation and pass it during the 2015 General Assembly session.
Times-Dispatch
It was a clip that could make even a political opponent smile: candidate Bob McDonnell strolling down a sun-dappled sidewalk in the Northern Virginia suburb where he grew up as his kids scoot by, daughters on their way to Grandpa's, sons tossing a football and asking if he was up for a game, and ending as his wife encircles his waist with an arm as he says, "After all, we face the same challenges that you do." But after winning that 2009 election, McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, may have had their own special set of problems — or so they suggested in the first week of their trial on federal charges that they sought or accepted more than $160,000 in gifts and loans for themselves and family members from businessman Jonnie R. Williams Sr. They painted a picture of a broken marriage and the faulty judgment that so often goes along with that. And in doing so, they're raising difficult questions about how Virginia politicians and their families manage — and should manage — their personal and business affairs while in office.
Daily Press
While former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell fights for his freedom in a federal corruption case in Richmond, former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor prepares to leave office in the 7th Congressional District Aug. 18 after a stunning June primary defeat. And in Richmond, the House of Delegates and new Gov. Terry McAuliffe periodically spar over expanding Medicaid. The squabbles have left GOP delegates privately wondering if McAuliffe understands his constitutional duties while the governor laments the lack of health coverage for 400,000 Virginians. Virginia will continue to be a major player as a state in presidential politics, but has the Old Dominion receded in its influence and national prominence as a proving ground for potential presidential candidates? During the past decade, Republicans McDonnell and former governor and Sen. George Allen were touted as potential presidential timber, as was current Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, also a former governor. Now, Virginia is getting attention for the wrong reasons, scandal and political upsets.
News Virginian
Front Royal police are turning to a privately operated social media network as a possible replacement for the town's fading Neighborhood Watch program. The network's website will appear online for the first time today at http://www.Nextdoor.com. Officer Brad Pennington said the official unveiling is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at the town's National Night Out event at the Main Street Gazebo area. "It's designed to get you in contact with your neighbors," Pennington said of the network. "Most of us honestly don't know our neighbors that well."
Northern Virginia Daily
Alexandria’s top staff ranks, depleted by recent retirements and resignations, were refilled Friday when city manager Rashad Young announced the appointments of four city officials to new jobs.Craig T. Fifer, who has been acting director of communications and public information since February, when Tony Castrilli left for a similar position in Fairfax County, has been appointed to director.
(Fifer is the president of VCOG’s Board of Directors)
Washington Post
National Stories
The Marion County, Arkansas, Quorum Court's Personnel Committee voted to recommend that the vote by the Marion County Library Board to terminate a librarian last month be allowed to stand. At meetings in April and June, the library board voted to dismiss Anita Paulson, who contended its action in April violated the Freedom of Information Act and did not give the public a chance for input. Member Mike Scrima said in the committee's deliberations they discussed whether Paulson was dismissed because she pointed out the library board violated the FOIA. "We didn't feel her complaint was due to the Whistle Blower Act," he said. Yates had contended that at an April 17 meeting Paulson had thrown copies of FOIA booklets at board members, hitting one of them. Paulson contended she had not done that, alleging the board had not provided proper public notice before dismissing her.Baxter Bulletin
Massachusetts is failing to properly staff and track hundreds of state boards, committees, and commissions, a Senate panel concluded in a report released Wednesday, resulting in what some call“zombie boards” that never meet. The Senate Committee on Post Audit and Oversight discovered dozens of state panels that have not met or produced reports in years, alongside new committees that have not been able to start because of empty seats, while still other panels appear to be redundant. The review found that 48 boards are probably no longer needed either because they have completed their work or outlived their missions, such as one that issued its final report on the future of Boston Harbor beaches in the 1990s.
Governing
Editorials/Columns
Sit down and shut up. Better yet, go hide in the closet. Crudely put, but that’s the equivalent of the University of Virginia Board of Visitors’ proposed policy aimed at muzzling dissent and limiting contact with the public, the press and even elected officials. The prohibition is comprehensive: “Visitors shall not, without the prior consent of the Rector or President, initiate communication with anyone, including elected or appointed public officials at the local, state, or federal level, on matters related to business of the Board of Visitors,” reads an updated version of the policy. It is also comprehensively appalling....Disagreement can be healthy. And, yes, sometimes minority views are so morally compelling that they should be aired outside the controlling environment of official policy. The manner in which President Sullivan’s ouster was engineered failed to meet that moral standard, but the proposal threatens to muzzle any disagreement, no matter how valid.Daily Progress
The public deserves to know exactly why emergency medical crews had such a slow response to the shooting massacre at the Aurora theater two years ago so it doesn't happen again. The city of Aurora smartly sought a comprehensive outside analysis of how its emergency crews responded to the July 20, 2012, shooting that left 12 people dead and at least 58 people injured. The $250,000 report by TriData was delivered to the city in April but has sat under wraps from the public because of an all-encompassing gag order over almost anything tangentially connected to the criminal proceedings against accused shooter James Holmes. It is one thing not to unduly influence the case against Holmes, but it is another thing to deny a public airing of what went wrong during the response. This is not for prurient interest.
Denver Post
