Transparency News 8/23/17

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

State and Local Stories

Nominations are still open for FOI heroes. We’re seeking citizens, media and government who’ve done good things for open government over the past year. Fill out a nomination form here: 
http://www.opengovva.org/Open-government-awards-nomination-form

Despite concerns raised by civic leaders over both costs and transparency, Arlington School Board members on Aug. 17 approved purchase of a home adjacent to Glebe Elementary School for use by emergency vehicles. The presidents of both the John M. Langston Citizens Association and the Waycroft Woodlawn Civic Association, neighbors to the school, decried a lack of public involvement prior to the purchase. “We certainly don’t want community members feeling like they’re not being heard,” School Board Chairman Barbara Kanninen said. But, she said, “we need to be realistic about how much proactive communicating we can do.”
InsideNoVa


National Stories
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On Monday, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed a lawsuit against the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation after the agency failed to act on a Freedom of Information request for records about the FBI’s impersonation of documentary filmmakers. The complaint stems from a request under the Freedom of Information Act filed in April for records of the FBI’s policies and practices concerning the impersonation of documentary filmmakers and/or documentary film crews, including records of any changes to those policies and practices, and of particular instances of FBI impersonation of documentary filmmakers. 
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press

Public interest groups opposed to the repeal of net neutrality rules are asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to release a trove of documents in an effort to keep the rules in place. Sixteen groups signed a letter urging the FCC to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request for tens of thousands of  complaints that have been filed since the net neutrality rules were implemented in 2015.
The Hill



Editorials/Columns


The racist goons in Charlottesville have inspired a fresh debate over whether the government should allow speech by racists, goons, and assorted other troglodytes. For some, the answer is clearly no. “The ACLU Needs to Rethink Free Speech,” argues a fellow with the UCLA School of Law. “Censor White Supremacy,” advocates a writer in The Week. “Speech in America is Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control,” bemoans campaign-finance scourge Richard Hasen in the Los Angeles Times.
A. Barton Hinkle, Richmond Times-Dispatch