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"...in a move the agency said was intended to keep better track of newspaper and video stories about E.P.A. operations nationwide."
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One day in May 2014, Tom McDermott said, he visited Ken Spirito, the executive director of Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport, in his office. McDermott, president of New Dominion Clubs, which provided food and beverage services to the airport, wanted to know when People Express Airlines would begin flying. A restaurant construction issue, he said, was contingent on the answer. A few weeks later, in June 2014, the Peninsula Airport Commission quietly approved the $5 million loan guarantee, and People Express soon launched its new service. In October 2016, the airport commission voted to rescind New Dominion Clubs’ long-term lease. A judge ruled that the airport was within its rights to do so, but the second lawsuit was recently filed over how much the airport must reimburse New Dominion for its capital investments over the years. During the litigation, New Dominion Clubs filed a Freedom of Information Act request for documents about the loan guarantee. That prompted the Daily Press to begin asking its own questions about the case earlier this year.
Daily Press
One Environmental Protection Agency employee spoke up at a private lunch held near the agency headquarters, saying she feared the nation might be headed toward an “environmental catastrophe.” Another staff member, from Seattle, sent a letter to Scott Pruitt, the E.P.A. administrator, raising similar concerns about the direction of the agency. A third, from Philadelphia, went to a rally where he protested against agency budget cuts. Three different agency employees, in different jobs, from three different cities, but each encountered a similar outcome: Federal records show that within a matter of days, requests were submitted for copies of emails written by them that mentioned either Mr. Pruitt or President Trump, or any communication with Democrats in Congress that might have been critical of the agency. The requests came from a Virginia-based lawyer working with America Rising, a Republican campaign research group that specializes in helping party candidates and conservative groups find damaging information on political rivals, and which, in this case, was looking for information that could undermine employees who had criticized the E.P.A. Now a company affiliated with America Rising, named Definers Public Affairs, has been hired by the E.P.A. to provide “media monitoring,” in a move the agency said was intended to keep better track of newspaper and video stories about E.P.A. operations nationwide.
The New York Times
Pittsylvania County is launching a new branding initiative and first-ever social media presence. Today, the county debuts a Facebook and a Twitter account. Over the next few weeks, a YouTube account will be set up for recordings of meetings and work sessions, as well as a blog for twice-weekly updates from Pittsylvania County Administrator David Smitherman.
Danville Register & Bee
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