Transparency News 4/18/19

Thursday
April 18, 2019

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state & local news stories

“Intimidation, falsehoods, misguided statements are tearing this community apart. It’s almost like this community is part in parcel to Jimmy Jones and drank the Kool-Aid.”

Never turning away, the Henrico Sheriff's Deputies assigned to a 'mental health watch monitor' watches inmates expressing thoughts of self-harm. The job requires a lot of concentration, and responsibility, and hours. A look at overtime pay in localities all over Central Virginia through a Freedom of Information Act Request determined a Sheriff's Deputy in Henrico County made, hands down, the most in overtime last year. "In my research, I noticed that you had a Sheriff's Deputy First Class Shift making $42,000 in base pay, and then in overtime in one year's time they made $76,000 in overtime. Does that sound like a lot in overtime to you?" CBS 6 investigative reporter Melissa Hipolit asked Henrico Chief Deputy Alisa Gregory. "Based on the number of vacancies that we've had, we've been as high as 57 vacancies, and the number of medical and hospital transports we ran an average of 347 last year, no," Gregory responded.
WTVR

A police oversight board could cost Charlottesville up to $180,000 a year, according to a proposed model of the body. City Council held a joint meeting with the initial Police Civilian Review Board on Wednesday. The CRB presented its vision for an oversight board and a working draft of its bylaws. The CRB presented a board that would be broken into two bodies, one for independent investigations and another for auditing and reviewing CPD data, complaints and policies. The board would meet monthly to review complaints, conduct independent investigations and hold hearings. It also would able to review internal affairs cases and all related files, request additional information and create a public report.
The Daily Progress

Front Royal Board of Supervisors Chairman Dan Murray said during a regular Tuesday meeting that a citizen shoved him in a Front Royal diner over the weekend because he is an elected official. Murray explained on Wednesday that as he exited the restaurant’s bathroom a man approached him, said, “you’re one of them,” and pushed him. If anything similar happens again, Murray said, he will likely call the Sheriff’s Office. He added that “the guy was a nut” and declined to comment any further on the matter. Murray said during the Tuesday meeting that while citizens are upset over the alleged $17 million embezzlement detailed in a lawsuit filed by the Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority, “there’s a lot going on that people are not aware of.” He said that due to the lawsuit, the supervisors “can’t speak” and “that’s just the way it works legally.” He asked for patience as further investigation unfolds. In warning citizens not to succumb rumors, Murray referenced James Jones, a cult leader who in 1978 killed some of his followers and enticed hundreds of others to commit suicide by drinking a poisoned liquid. “Intimidation, falsehoods, misguided statements are tearing this community apart. It’s almost like this community is part in parcel to Jimmy Jones and drank the Kool-Aid,” he said.
The Northern Virginia Daily

stories of national interest

A Florida judge on Wednesday blocked prosecutors from releasing surveillance video from inside the massage parlor where New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and dozens of other men have been accused of soliciting prostitution. Prosecutors said earlier in the day in court filings that they would release the recordings, which were captured by police using hidden cameras, in response to public records requests under Florida’s expansive open government laws. But Circuit Court Judge Joseph Marx, who is overseeing the cases involving the spa’s owner and manager, ruled that the video would remain sealed pending an April 29 hearing, when he will consider whether the evidence should be suppressed, according to court records. Media companies including ABC and ESPN opposed Kraft’s motion, saying the judge would violate Florida’s public records laws by suppressing the video.
Reuters

On Wednesday, the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority heard presentations from the two firms competing for a contract to run the operations and maintenance of the public transit system — France-based Transdev and Dallas-based MV Transportation. The majority of both presentations featured broad and somewhat vague ideas about accountability, public engagement, data measurement, and technology. But the specifics of each plan, such as how much each firm would charge or what initiatives they would launch, were largely absent. d Darryll Simpson, Trandsdev’s new general manager for its contract with the RTA. The details of each firm’s plan are contained in their individual responses to the RTA’s Request for Proposals. But those aren’t being released to the public until after the RTA board makes a final decision, said Deslie Ann Isidore, the Executive Assistant to the Board. “As much as we want the public to come and participate and give us meaningful feedback on these things, we can’t give out the information to get meaningful feedback,” said Jared Munster, the Interim Executive Director of the RTA.
The Lens

For the first time in years, the Department of Defense has denied a request to declassify the current size of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile. "After careful consideration. . . it was determined that the requested information cannot be declassified at this time," wrote Andrew P. Weston-Dawkes of the Department of Energy in a letter conveying the DoD decision not to disclose the number of warheads in the U.S. arsenal at the end of Fiscal Year 2018 or the number that had been dismantled. The Federation of American Scientists had sought declassification of the latest stockpile figures in an October 1, 2018 petition. It is this request that was denied.
Secrecy News

 

“As much as we want the public to come and participate and give us meaningful feedback on these things, we can’t give out the information to get meaningful feedback."

editorials & columns

"Sharing your views with your board of supervisors during the public comment period, testifying before a General Assembly committee, and knowing where and how to obtain records under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act are cornerstones to our democracy."

Whether it’s addressing your city council, doing genealogical research at a courthouse or wanting to know how much your local school superintendent makes a year, the common element is access to public information. Not only do newspaper reporters routinely seek this knowledge, but so do citizens wishing to be better informed. The recent annual meeting of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government serves as a reminder of the importance of transparency and accountability. Sharing your views with your board of supervisors during the public comment period, testifying before a General Assembly committee, and knowing where and how to obtain records under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act are cornerstones to our democracy.
Richmond Times-Dispatch

WHEN VIRGINIA BEACH voters went to the polls in November, they ousted Beach District Councilman John Uhrin from the seat he held for 12 years. Uhrin and David Nygaard were two of four individuals competing to represent the Beach district last year; R.K. Kowalewitch and John Coker were the others, though Coker ended his candidacy after the ballots were printed but prior to Election Day. Nygaard won the race, besting Uhrin by 163 votes of the roughly 146,000 that were cast. But his victory was invalidated in March when a three-judge panel of the Virginia Beach Circuit Court ruled he was not a resident of the district as required by law. Nygaard’s disqualification and subsequent removal from office meant the City Council would appoint his replacement, to ensure that Beach residents have equal representation at City Hall until a special election in November to select a permanent representative. That should be an enviable task for council, given the fact that so many talented and capable individuals live in that district and should be eager to serve. It was therefore surprising to see Uhrin listed among the five finalists to win the council’s appointment. Though voters rejected him at the ballot box, Uhrin could well be returned to office by next week should a majority of members favor him over the other candidates.
The Virginian-Pilot