Transparency News 12/9/15

State and Local Stories

SB 13 (Sen. Tom Garrett)
Prohibits a member of the General Assembly from using his public position to retaliate or threaten retaliation against any person for expressing views on matters of public concern or for exercising any right that is protected by law.

SB 14 (Sen. Tom Garrett)
Authorizes the chairman or at least one-third of the total membership of a committee or subcommittee to request any person addressing the committee or subcommittee to take an oath to testify truthfully. The bill provides that any person who takes the oath and then knowingly makes a false statement to the committee or subcommittee is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

The Confederate monument again came up for discussion Tuesday. The City Council talked about the monument at Court and High streets during a closed session. Before the meeting, Councilman Bill Moody asked that it be held in public because it was already a public issue, but Councilman Mark Whitaker said members had not discussed the legal strategy publicly. The council voted 5-2 to hold the discussion in closed session. Moody and Elizabeth Psimas voted against the closed session. Moody told The Pilot earlier Tuesday that City Attorney Solomon Ashby Jr. told council members he would be speaking about how the war monument “pertains” to developments in Danville.
Virginian-Pilot

In August of this year, the Waynesboro school district's website was hacked, deleting athletic schedules, as well as data on the Waynesboro High website. During their meeting Tuesday night, school board members heard about how the district had addressed the issue, as well as what the technology department is doing to deal with problems involving internet access. Jody Lohr, Director of Technology for Waynesboro Public Schools, explained that the district had switched management of the website. Before, outside access had to be allowed, for people to work on updating the site. Now, the district is changing how the website is managed and updated, eliminating the need for outside access. That will help prevent future hacking attempts.
The News Virginian

Shenandoah County Supervisor David Ferguson’s last meeting as a board member Tuesday drew praise for the chairman and attracted some drama. Ferguson lost his bid for re-election to the District 3 seat Nov. 3 to newcomer Richard Walker. Ferguson served three terms on the board and the last two years as chairman. Toward the end of the meeting, Ferguson allowed members of the audience to comment on topics not on the agenda. Seth Coffman, chairman of the board of directors of the Shenandoah Forum, thanked Ferguson for his time as a supervisor. “You’ll be missed but I hope you’ve set a good legacy for others to live up to,” Coffman said. Then Ferguson’s wife, Janet, asked a reporter from another local newspaper known for its critical positions on the chairman if she got Coffman’s comments. Janet Ferguson then walked over and leaned in close to the reporter. “You forgot to take notes,” Janet Ferguson said, then grabbed the reporter’s notebook. “Take notes. What did he say? What did he say about my husband? … You are being used.” The reporter didn’t respond as Janet Ferguson talked to her. Chairman Ferguson called out to his wife a couple of times. She then stopped and walked away. Someone in the audience said “that was inappropriate.”
Northern Virginia Daily


National Stories
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A judge has ordered Tennessee authorities to publicly release the details of their investigation into the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old black man by a white police officer. Chancellor James R. Newsom III ruled Tuesday that the investigative report on Darrius Stewart's death can be released. Tennessee Bureau of Investigation files are confidential under state law, unless their release is ordered by a court.
Herald Courier

A reporter whose Freedom of Information Act litigation forced the State Department to release all copies of Hillary Clinton's private emails at the end of each month is now turning his focus to the Justice Department, which is leading an investigation into Clinton's private server. Jason Leopold, a reporter with Vice News, sued the Department of Justice Tuesday over an unanswered FOIA request for copies of Clinton's emails that were recovered off her private server. The FBI took Clinton's server into custody in August after a pair of inspectors general warned that the former secretary of state may have transmitted material classified as high as "top secret" on her private email network.
Washington Examiner

There are 29 paintings hanging on the walls of the CIA’s headquarters in Langley, Virginia. But as Portland artist Johanna Barron discovered first-hand, if you want to learn more about them than what's given in the pithy descriptions provided on the Agency’s website, you'll likely be out of luck. Barron filed several Freedom of Information Act requests to attain information about the paintings but got nowhere. Instead of giving up, however, Barron turned frustration into inspiration. In a new exhibition in San Francisco, the artist tries to recreate the mysterious paintings from the tiny snippets of description she has pieced together from reams of research and denied requests. “I felt this increasing need to try to uncover details that seemed to be kept secret for no logical reason,” she tells Jessica Zack for SFGate.
Smithsonian Magazine

Veterans across the country are demanding answers after being exposed to toxic water for nearly three decades. On Monday, three veterans groups filed a Freedom Of Information Act requesting records that the Department of Veterans Affairs has long withheld in regards to the Camp Lejeune Subject Matter Expert Program. “Between 1953 and 1987 about one million Marines, Sailors and civilians stationed or working at Camp Lejeune were exposed to drinking water contaminated with a toxic cocktail of multiple highly carcinogenic compounds,” said Sarahi Uribe with the Veteran’s Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School.
WNCT


Editorials/Columns

A decade and a half ago, Lynchburg City Council announced who would be succeeding Charles Church as city manager. On Tuesday, Kimball Payne announced his time as Lynchburg’s “CEO” would be coming to an end June 30 when he enters the world of the retired. Though oriented to a checklist of items and tasks to accomplish, he’s also an official who has lofty aspirations for what local government in the United States of America should be. It should be open ... it should be transparent ... it should be responsive to residents’ needs ... it should foster involvement with residents. Goals that sound rather simple, but which are often easier said than done.
News & Advance

The debate over “net neutrality” is back in court. At issue is whether Internet service providers can charge higher prices for some content than for other content. But higher prices, as passed along to consumers, may mean that some users can no longer afford full access to the Internet. Both sides make reasonable arguments.
Daily Progress