Transparency News 11/22/16
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
State and Local Stories
Businessman Ronnie Boone Sr. told federal investigators he bribed longtime Sheriff Bob McCabe in addition to Treasurer Anthony Burfoot, according to two sources familiar with the interview. The sources did not disclose the nature of what was described as a “corrupt quid pro quo relationship” in court documents. The revelation comes two months after Boone pleaded guilty to bribing Burfoot and to bank fraud. In court documents related to the plea agreement, federal prosecutors said Boone also bribed two other Norfolk officials – but didn’t name them. No charges have been filed against McCabe.
Virginian-Pilot
He didn’t want to give the mother of two of Norfolk Treasurer Anthony Burfoot’s children $25,000 so she could qualify to buy one of the developer’s condos. Businessman Tommy Arney testified Monday he had sold the other 26 units at Widgeon Point without striking such a deal, so he rebuffed requests from a banker and Burfoot to help the woman out. “I said you need to give her $25,000,” Arney told the jury. But then, according to Arney, Burfoot offered his support in securing five votes to open a strip club downtown.Arney said they agreed on the spot.
Virginian-Pilot
While U.Va. is something of a trailblazer when it comes to re-packaging, growing and spending this money, other universities in the state system have similar, if smaller, levels of "unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and investments not with the Treasurer of Virginia," as state auditors have dubbed these funds. They're not a secret, they just don't get much attention. When legislators asked the auditor's office to calculate campus-by-campus totals, the office didn't have to ask universities for information, it looked at data already in house because the universities share it routinely. The total: about $4.9 billion.
Daily Press
Despite her September resignation, the former chair of the Mount Jackson Planning Commission contested the objectivity of one of the planning commissioners due to a conflict of interest at its meeting Monday. Speaking during the public comment session, former Planning Commission Chairwoman Bonnie Good said Commissioner Robert Whitehurst has a conflict of interest due to his ownership of a large parcel of land the town is planning to use for its upcoming business and industrial megasite. She specified that although Shenandoah County Commonwealth’s Attorney, Amanda Wiseley, issued an advisory opinion in September that cleared Whitehurst to serve on the commission, he still has interest in land the Planning Commission discusses and should abstain from that discourse. While the Commonwealth’s Attorney effectively cleared Whitehurst for service via her advisory opinion, some ambiguity lingers with the interim commission chair, Anita Miller. Miller said because the Virginia Municipal League advised Good to start her meetings by requesting that anyone with a perceived conflict of interest identify his or herself in order to protect the commission, she would err on the side of caution.
Northern Virginia Daily
National Stories
Faced with a rising death toll from opioid abuse, Texas public health officials in May decided to apply for a $1 million federal grant to purchase Naloxone, a drug that, if administered during an overdose, can save the life of a person addicted to heroin or pain pills. The Texas Department of State Health Services hired an outside grant writer to begin drafting a proposal, which was due at the end of the month. As the deadline drew closer, outside researchers and public health workers were brought in to help. But state officials never submitted the application. Researchers and advocates who contributed to the grant process said they were surprised to learn their work was for naught. They said state officials never offered them an explanation for why the grant was not pursued. Now, the public health agency is going to unusual lengths to keep the public from seeing government records related to the grant. In response to a public information request filed by The Texas Tribune, the Texas Attorney General’s office told the health agency in September that records about the aborted grant application are public under Texas law. The agency responded by filing a lawsuit last month against the attorney general's office in an effort to keep the records secret.
Governing
The University of Notre Dame's campus police department is not a "public agency" under Indiana law and does not have to provide information about investigations requested by sports media company ESPN, the Indiana Supreme Court has ruled in a widely watched case. The decision, released Wednesday afternoon, means Notre Dame and other private colleges in Indiana with police forces have no obligation to provide details of campus police reports and investigations. City, county and other professional police forces must make such information available to the public under Indiana's Access to Public Records Act.
South Bend Tribune
Editorials/Columns
It was interesting to learn that many of the protesters who blocked a portion of Interstates 64/95 in Richmond recently did not, in fact, actually vote in the election they found so disturbing. Political analyst Robert Holsworth had it right when he pointed out that the right to protest against the government doesn’t depend on whether one actually voted in the election to select that government. However, it does affect our opinion about the credibility of such a protest. Further, as Mr. Holsworth noted, the right to protest doesn’t trump (pun intended) others’ right to safety.
Daily Progress
Virginian-Pilot
He didn’t want to give the mother of two of Norfolk Treasurer Anthony Burfoot’s children $25,000 so she could qualify to buy one of the developer’s condos. Businessman Tommy Arney testified Monday he had sold the other 26 units at Widgeon Point without striking such a deal, so he rebuffed requests from a banker and Burfoot to help the woman out. “I said you need to give her $25,000,” Arney told the jury. But then, according to Arney, Burfoot offered his support in securing five votes to open a strip club downtown.Arney said they agreed on the spot.
Virginian-Pilot
While U.Va. is something of a trailblazer when it comes to re-packaging, growing and spending this money, other universities in the state system have similar, if smaller, levels of "unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and investments not with the Treasurer of Virginia," as state auditors have dubbed these funds. They're not a secret, they just don't get much attention. When legislators asked the auditor's office to calculate campus-by-campus totals, the office didn't have to ask universities for information, it looked at data already in house because the universities share it routinely. The total: about $4.9 billion.
Daily Press
Despite her September resignation, the former chair of the Mount Jackson Planning Commission contested the objectivity of one of the planning commissioners due to a conflict of interest at its meeting Monday. Speaking during the public comment session, former Planning Commission Chairwoman Bonnie Good said Commissioner Robert Whitehurst has a conflict of interest due to his ownership of a large parcel of land the town is planning to use for its upcoming business and industrial megasite. She specified that although Shenandoah County Commonwealth’s Attorney, Amanda Wiseley, issued an advisory opinion in September that cleared Whitehurst to serve on the commission, he still has interest in land the Planning Commission discusses and should abstain from that discourse. While the Commonwealth’s Attorney effectively cleared Whitehurst for service via her advisory opinion, some ambiguity lingers with the interim commission chair, Anita Miller. Miller said because the Virginia Municipal League advised Good to start her meetings by requesting that anyone with a perceived conflict of interest identify his or herself in order to protect the commission, she would err on the side of caution.
Northern Virginia Daily
National Stories
Faced with a rising death toll from opioid abuse, Texas public health officials in May decided to apply for a $1 million federal grant to purchase Naloxone, a drug that, if administered during an overdose, can save the life of a person addicted to heroin or pain pills. The Texas Department of State Health Services hired an outside grant writer to begin drafting a proposal, which was due at the end of the month. As the deadline drew closer, outside researchers and public health workers were brought in to help. But state officials never submitted the application. Researchers and advocates who contributed to the grant process said they were surprised to learn their work was for naught. They said state officials never offered them an explanation for why the grant was not pursued. Now, the public health agency is going to unusual lengths to keep the public from seeing government records related to the grant. In response to a public information request filed by The Texas Tribune, the Texas Attorney General’s office told the health agency in September that records about the aborted grant application are public under Texas law. The agency responded by filing a lawsuit last month against the attorney general's office in an effort to keep the records secret.
Governing
The University of Notre Dame's campus police department is not a "public agency" under Indiana law and does not have to provide information about investigations requested by sports media company ESPN, the Indiana Supreme Court has ruled in a widely watched case. The decision, released Wednesday afternoon, means Notre Dame and other private colleges in Indiana with police forces have no obligation to provide details of campus police reports and investigations. City, county and other professional police forces must make such information available to the public under Indiana's Access to Public Records Act.
South Bend Tribune
Editorials/Columns
It was interesting to learn that many of the protesters who blocked a portion of Interstates 64/95 in Richmond recently did not, in fact, actually vote in the election they found so disturbing. Political analyst Robert Holsworth had it right when he pointed out that the right to protest against the government doesn’t depend on whether one actually voted in the election to select that government. However, it does affect our opinion about the credibility of such a protest. Further, as Mr. Holsworth noted, the right to protest doesn’t trump (pun intended) others’ right to safety.
Daily Progress
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