Transparency News 7/26/17

Wednesday, July 26, 2017



State and Local Stories

A former Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office detective today filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Loudoun Sheriff Michael L. Chapman (R) and the county’s Board of Supervisors after the ex-detective said he was fired in 2015 for supporting the sheriff’s political primary opponent. 
Loudoun Times-Mirror

Some Richmond School Board members balked at a perceived lack of transparency in plans laid out Tuesday for how the committee tasked with steering the search for a new public schools chief will operate. The first official meeting of that group began with an admonition for its more than two dozen members from Thomas F. Farrell II, Dominion’s CEO and chairman of the committee.
Richmond Times-Dispatch

Virginia warned Tuesday that its computer network could shut down in a disaster unless a Richmond court grants emergency relief to force Northrop Grumman to allow access to a data center in far Southwest Virginia. The state claims it needs that access to replace disaster recovery equipment the state says is inoperable from the company’s neglect. A Northrop Grumman spokesman declined to comment Tuesday. The motion — along with a separate request to the court to force Northrop Grumman to allow the transition of email services to a new provider — represents a new low point in an already ugly divorce between the state and the company over the impending expiration of their operating agreement in mid-2019.
The Roanoke Times

A public hearing for the proposed University of Virginia indoor golf practice facility was postponed Tuesday night after Albemarle County staff discovered issues with the legal notice for the hearing. The hearing, which was rescheduled for Aug. 8, was originally slated for the Albemarle County Planning Commission meeting Tuesday night.
Daily Progress



National Stories
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The Wisconsin Department of Health Services is wrong to keep secret the names of people who publicly commented about Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to drug-test Medicaid applicants, open records advocates and a former head attorney for the agency said. The department insisted it is doing what is required to protect health information under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, as well as under state laws protecting the identity of Medicaid applicants. The department routinely solicits public comment on a variety of issues, from requests for federal waivers to rule changes. How it handled comments in this case could mean that the public won’t be able to find out who weighs in — either pro or con — on other issues in the future.
Wisconsin State Journal

The National Security Agency and Federal Bureau of Investigation violated specific civil liberty protections during the Obama years by improperly searching and disseminating raw intelligence on Americans or failing to promptly delete unauthorized intercepts, according to newly declassified memos that provide some of the richest detail to date on the spy agencies’ ability to obey their own rules. The memos reviewed by The Hill were publicly released on July 11 through Freedom of Information Act litigation by the American Civil Liberties Union.
The Hill

New Mexico campaign finance regulators are making some adjustments as they move forward with a proposal for more detailed financial disclosures from nonprofit advocacy groups that attempt to influence elections. 
McClatchy


Editorials/Columns


Can you hear the grumbling? It’s the rising cacophony of Virginia Beach residents, wondering if they’ve gotten the full story about the public money to be spent on parking spaces near the convention center. Trust me, I don’t immediately align myself with the pitchfork-and-torch crowd. Some folks see nearly every taxpayer expenditure as theft – maybe even extortion. That view is usually irrational. Residents, though, don’t want to be taken for fools. They deserve to get real estimates up front if public dollars will be spent. That brings me to the proposed 18,000-seat arena near the convention center, and Sunday’s front-page story by The Pilot’s Alissa Skelton. Several council members have criticized City Manager Dave Hansen’s parking plan. The absence of candor creates a lack of faith in municipal leadership. I’m more concerned about this: Why didn’t officials say back in December 2015, when the City Council approved the proposal by private developer United States Management, that an additional $35 million parking garage would almost certainly be added to the mix?
Roger Chesley, Virginian-Pilot

Also attracting attention is Albemarle’s inability to keep up to date on the minutes of its Board of Supervisors meetings. Written minutes are the official records of the meetings. Video or audio recordings provide raw data for minutes, but do not have equal legal standing. Let’s see if the county can get back up to date and maintain the current system with rapidity and efficiency. Verbatim minutes that are approved and quickly made ready for public view would be the best of both worlds.
Daily Progress

We’re not sure what significance there is to the emails between Sam Hoyt and Steve Pigeon. The exchanges – so far, at least – show only that Hoyt, who works for New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, forwarded publicly available job postings to Pigeon, a political operative charged in a corruption case. It seems innocuous enough – nothing more than an effort to woo local party leaders who might like to put favored individuals into state jobs. It may be cheesy, but its patronage 101. But if that’s the case, why did it take Empire State Development a year to comply with a Freedom of Information Law request for the documents? And why, when it finally did respond, did ESD send only a portion of the requested information? That looks like the opposite of innocuous – more like someone with something to hide.
Buffalo News