Transparency News 11/11/16
Friday, November 11, 2016
State and Local Stories
A prison inmate’s lawsuit has been settled in exchange for the state making a donation of an as-yet-undetermined amount to charities and “addressing” his medical needs stemming from a 2013 assault by another inmate. The unusual settlement with James H. Raynor, a prisoner at the Sussex II State Prison in Waverly, includes clarifying the Virginia Department of Corrections’ policy on saving video monitor recordings, said a spokesman for the Virginia attorney general’s office. Raynor had requested that video surveillance recordings of the assault be saved to support his claims against the officer and complained they were lost or destroyed in violation of state law. Prison officials said copies of the recordings were inadvertently erased from a computer or otherwise lost over the years. In the course of the suit, officials said they were unaware of the Library of Virginia requirements that recordings of certain events be kept for a period of five years.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Dwight Etheridge testified that he hoped Councilman Paul Riddick would tell Mayor Paul Fraim, who could rein in then-Vice Mayor Burfoot. When that didn't happen, Etheridge kept bribing Burfoot, the developer said. "Nothing was done in Broad Creek without Mr. Burfoot's approval," said Etheridge, former president of Tivest.
Virginian-Pilot
Arlington County Board members on Nov. 9 voted to move their start-of-the-year organizational meeting from its traditional slot. Board members will hold their meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 3 at 6 p.m. At the meeting, a new chairman and vice chairman will be formally elected, and board members will lay out their priorities for the coming year. For at least six decades, the organizational meeting has been held on New Year’s Day (or, when that day falls on a Sunday as it will in 2017, on the following day) in the morning. It became a civic tradition, and the proposal to move it raised the ire of some veteran civic activists. But their anger was not enough to sway board members, who voted to move the meeting to a weekday evening in what they termed a tryout for the future.
Inside NOVA
Amherst County residents overwhelmingly voted “yes” in Tuesday’s election for the ability to elect their school board representatives instead of the current method of appointment by the Amherst County Board of Supervisors. According to unofficial results 11,042 or 87.36 percent of the votes were in favor of the measure while 1,597 or 12.64 percent of votes were in opposition to the option.
New Era-Progress
National Stories
Represented by the Amercian Civil Liberties Union, a blogger has asked a judge to find that the University of Louisville violated Kentucky’s open records law and rule that documents related to its self-imposed postseason basketball ban should be made public. In a court filing on Friday, attorneys for Dr. Peter Hasselbacher also asked Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Barry Willett to order U of L to pay attorney’s fees and cost of litigation. Last month, U of L filed a lawsuit asking a judge to rule the Attorney General was wrong in finding the school violated Kentucky's open records law when it allegedly conducted an "inadequate" search for records related to its self-imposed postseason basketball ban.
WDRB
In a deeply fractured political environment, the work of the Congressional Research Service may be even more valuable than ever. Non-partisan to a fault, CRS provides the same policy analysis to Republicans and Democrats, to problem-solvers and to nihilists. CRS reports can therefore help to establish a common framework for debate, and a shared vocabulary for discussion. They are at least a place to start a conversation.
Secrecy News
