Transparency News 4/17/17

Monday, April 17, 2017



State and Local Stories

The controversy over the Prince William County School Board’s process for temporarily replacing Navy reservist Gil Trenum has prompted a change to state law, now that Gov. Terry McAuliffe has signed a bill from Del. Bob Marshall, R-13th District. The Democrat put pen to paper on Marshall’s H.B. 1490 late last month, establishing that any school board member called up to active military duty in the middle of a term will have a say in picking an interim replacement. Rather than the board simply picking a temporary fill-in, Marshall’s legislation directs members to consider a list of names from the departing representative before making any decision. “This will hopefully avoid or greatly minimize the public contentiousness we saw with the replacement for Commander Gil Trenum,” Marshall wrote in an email. The Brentsville District member’s departure last year kicked off a lengthy fight pitting Democratic At-Large Chairman Ryan Sawyers against Trenum’s fellow Republicans on the board.
Inside NOVA

Rolling Stone magazine settled a University of Virginia administrator's lawsuit over its discredited story about a rape on campus, but its legal fights over the botched article aren't over. Media organizations, including The Associated Press, also urged the judge to overrule the jury's finding that Rolling Stone "republished" the false claims when it attached an editor's note highlighting problems with the story to an online version. Jurors said the magazine and its publisher didn't act with actual malice when the story was originally published but did when it was "republished." The media groups said punishing Rolling Stone for trying to alert the public to problems with the story could discourage organizations from correcting errors. Rolling Stone and Eramo settled before the judge could rule on the issue, so the jury's verdict stands and won't be examined by an appeals court. "That's the troubling thing about the settlement, is that it doesn't give an appellate court a chance to wipe out that precedent," said George Freeman, executive director of the Media Law Resource Center and a former attorney for The New York Times.
Loudoun Times-Mirror

Can't make it to a Williamsburg City Council meeting? If you have a Facebook page, you can watch the proceedings from your laptop, phone, or tablet. The city of Williamsburg will broadcast meetings via Facebook Live. “By enabling this free technology, we now have the ability to reach an audience that we would otherwise never reach,” said Mark Barham, the city’s information technology director. “While some may simply scroll by, others will spend a few moments watching and, possibly, find something interesting enough to them so that they become more engaged citizens, students, visitors or business owners.”
Virginia Gazette



National Stories
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The Trump administration announced Friday it would not follow President Barack Obama’s policy of voluntarily disclosing the names of most visitors to the White House complex, citing “grave national security risks and privacy concerns.” The announcement, from an administration that has faced pointed questions about its commitment to transparency, marks a significant shift from the Obama White House, which released the names of nearly 6 million visitors, including scores of lobbyists. Instead, President Donald Trump’s administration said it would release information under far more limited circumstances: when Freedom of Information Act requests are filed for those visiting offices of the White House classified under the law as separate agencies, such as the Office of Management and Budget.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A former seasonal employee at the Badlands National Park hijacked the facility's Twitter account on Jan. 24 and published several facts about climate change. As the story began to spread, he confessed to the South Dakota park's superintendent. "Fearing a gag order on climate science I willfully sent out a series of tweets on the subject," he wrote. The employee's name was redacted from agency documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by Bloomberg News.
Bloomberg

Legislation that would prohibit politicians from using their campaign finance funds for personal use was signed into law by Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant Tuesday in his state Capitol office. When the 2017 session began in January, the bill was labeled as a priority by both House Speaker Philip Gunn and Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves, who presides over the Senate. Mississippi was one of a handful of states where politicians could spend their campaign finance funds on personal items.
Governing

The family of Ramarley Graham, an unarmed teen killed by police in the Bronx, said on Wednesday they filed a lawsuit against the NYPD after the department didn’t comply with a Freedom of Information Act request. The filing came on what would have been Graham’s 24th birthday. Graham was 18 when he was killed in February 2012 after former police officer Richard Haste chased him into his Bronx apartment and shot him as he tried to flush marijuana down the toilet. Haste said he believed Graham was armed, but no gun was found. The FOIL, submitted in September, pertained to the conduct of the officers involved in the shooting and its aftermath.
AM New York


Editorials/Columns


Thoughts from Mister Roger’s neighborhood ...Settling a lawsuit filed by parents of a special education student in Chesapeake cost the school division $125,000. We know that despite attempts by the city to keep that amount secret from taxpayers, The Pilot and others hoping to assess the veracity of the family’s allegations. The lawsuit, filed in 2015, had claimed the staff of Southeastern Elementary improperly restrained the child, who has Down syndrome, autism and significant developmental delays. The School Board settled the case in February. A division spokeswoman told me in March no school policies were changed because of the lawsuit. It took the filing by The Pilot of a Freedom of Information Act request to reveal the settlement amount, even though other governmental agencies routinely disclose such figures. You can bet the division’s imperiousness will bring more scrutiny in future lawsuits. It should act openly, especially since tax money supports settlements and verdicts.
Roger Chesley, Virginian-Pilot