Transparency News 6/9/16

Thursday, June 9, 2016


State and Local Stories

WVTF's first broadcast happened in August of 1973, when the station was still operated by Virginia Western Community College. It was originally located on the second floor of Fishburn Hall on the VWCC campus.  In 1975, that transmitter was moved from Fishburn Hall to the top of Poor Mountain. WVTF has been affiliated with NPR since its inception. Its announcer "Frosty" Landon, now retired and still living in Roanoke has worked in radio and television for WDBJ and as the executive editor of the Roanoke Times as well as assisted in establishing the Virginia Coalition for Open Government. On its first live broadcast Landon stated "It's a great day to be alive in the commonwealth." As the first and only public radio station in Roanoke WVTF would provide listeners with a radio experience outside of the commercial sector, what was stated by NPR representative Part Blanton as the "true feeling of Roanoke". In 1980 WVWR was sold by VWCC to the Virginia Tech Foundation and the call letters were officially changed to WVTF.
WVTF

The value of Conference USA’s television contracts has eroded even more than earlier reports indicated. The league will receive about $2.8 million in TV revenue in 2016-2017 from four broadcast networks, according to documents The Virginian-Pilot obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. That’s about $200,000 for each school, according to notes Old Dominion officials received during C-USA’s spring meetings last month. It represents a steep decline from the $15.4 million, or about $1.1 million per school, to be distributed this year.
Virginian-Pilot

More than 70 people appointed to state boards and commissions under Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s administration have donated to former McAuliffe aide Levar Stoney’s campaign for Richmond mayor, records show. Stoney received $96,440, nearly a third of his record-breaking $303,641 fundraising haul, from people who received appointments or reappointments to state boards and commissions since early 2014. Stoney had a hand in those appointments as McAuliffe’s secretary of the commonwealth, a Cabinet position responsible for filling boards and commissions at the governor’s direction. In an interview, Stoney said all his fundraising occurred after he officially resigned his state post on April 15 to run for mayor. He stressed that 350 of his 700-plus donors are from the Greater Richmond area.
Richmond Times-Dispatch

A former Hampton police lieutenant choked up several times on the witness stand Wednesday, recalling how he feared he might be arrested after the department's undercover cigarette sting was shut down four years ago. James R. Crotts, 55, of Isle of Wight — the plaintiff in a defamation trial against another former Hampton police officer — said he didn't do anything wrong in the so-called Blue Water Tobacco operation. But after being placed on paid leave in February 2012 on embezzlement allegations, Crotts said he received calls from a trusted officer in the operation, who relayed to him that the strong word within the police force was that he was "going to jail." Circuit Court Judge John Doyle ruled that Crotts is a "public official" for purposes of the case. That meant that Forbes must prove "actual malice," a far higher level of proof than if a regular citizen had been defamed.
Daily Press


National Stories

In analyzing criminal cases in Baltimore last year, Maryland lawyer and software programmer Matthew Stubenberg found 23,386 instances in which people convicted of crimes could have had their records expunged. He also found that people had petitioned to clear their records in less than a third of the cases — leaving thousands at risk of carrying a criminal rap sheet that could stand in the way of employment, housing, student loans or a professional license. That’s not out of the ordinary, many legal analysts and specialists in expungement say. Many Americans are not taking advantage of a growing number of state laws that allow people to clear or seal their records of arrests and convictions for an expanding list of misdemeanor crimes, and even some low-level felonies, after they’ve served their sentences.
Governing

Normally, when you submit a FOIA request to a government agency, one of three things happens: You get the records you want, the agency says no such records exist, or the agency says the records are exempt from disclosure. But there’s another possible outcome: You might be told that the agency can “neither confirm nor deny the existence or nonexistence” of the records. That’s been permissible under federal law since 1976. And now, thanks to a case raising concerns in media circles, it’s permissible under state law in New York—where, for the first time, an appellate court has affirmed the use of such a response under the state Freedom of Information Law (FOIL).
Columbia Journalism Review


Editorials/Columns

Richmonders who bemoan the state of their city can always console themselves with the thought that at least they don’t live in Portsmouth. Last year the Portsmouth City Council adopted a “closed-meeting” rule that slaps members with a fine of at least $1,500 for talking in public about matters discussed during closed sessions. By contrast, the council imposes no fine for violating the Freedom of Information Act. Now Councilman Danny Meeks is both a plaintiff and a defendant in legal disputes over the rule. He voted to fine another council member, Bill Moody, for a post on Facebook. Moody sued. Then Meeks was fined for talking to the Virginian-Pilot. So he sued. Thus Meeks has one lawyer arguing against the closed-meeting rule and another lawyer arguing for it. The whole thing reminds us of a scene in the Cohen Brothers movie, “O Brother Where Art Thou?” Three escaped convicts disagree over who should be in charge. The first two each vote for themselves. “OK,” says the third convict. “I’m with you fellas.” And you could add that no matter who prevails in Portsmouth, the Meeks shall inherit the Earth.
Richmond Times-Dispatch

Every political observer knows that we’re living in a time of historically low trust in government and high partisan polarization. But a growing federal commitment to accountability and transparency could begin to change that. Two years ago, the President signed into law the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act (the DATA Act), which could have far-reaching benefits for our democracy. The DATA Act, which ensures a new level of government fiscal transparency, was developed with strong bipartisan support: It passed both the House and Senate almost unanimously. Now it’s on the verge of implementation, and a strong alliance of supporters is determined to see it succeed.
Joel Gurin and Katherine Garcia, Huffington Post