Transparency News 5/21/19

Tuesday
May 21, 2019

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state & local news stories

Several UVA foundations argue in a court brief that subjecting foundation records to public scrutiny would undermine the General Assembly's directive to look for other sources of higher ed financing.

Last week, several foundations of the University of Virginia submitted a friend of the court brief in the case of Transparent GMU v. George Mason University on the side of ensuring that foundation records stay separate from the university and not subject to FOIA. Read the brief and view other filings in the case on VCOG's case clearinghouse page.
VCOG website

The former head of Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport was arrested Monday, charged with a series of federal financial crimes involving the airport's secret $4.5 million loan to a defunct airline. Federal prosecutors charged Ken Spirito with 18 counts of of violating federal law, all involving a complicated series of financial transactions. An indictment unsealed Monday says the maneuvers were meant to hide the use of public funds to finance People Express Airlines during its brief time operating at the Newport News airport in 2014. The charges include 11 counts of taking other entities' money — specifically, state grants to the airport, federal money meant to promote air service and sums from a regional airport development program — and using them for purposes those bodies had not approved.
Daily Press

Circuit Court Judge Jeffery W. Parker has scheduled a two-day bench trial for February 20 and 21, 2020 in the matter of Marian Bragg v Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors, a case known as Bragg 1. Filed in 2016, the suit will finally be heard on the merits after having generated hundreds of pages of documents and clocked hours and hours of court and attorney time. Parker also ruled that Bragg must supply to the defendants information regarding any lawyer fees that have been accrued, as well as the fee agreement with her attorney, David Konick. A federal government employee and llama farmer, Bragg charges the county’s Board of Supervisors violated Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by going into closed sessions on several occasions — without public notice — to discuss the hiring of a county attorney in 2016. The case is separate from a second petition Bragg filed in October 2018. In Bragg 2, she again charged the BOS with violating FOIA during selection of the county administrator.
Rappahannock News

Franklin attorney P. Daniel Crumpler III, during his presentation to City Council on Monday, alleged that Southampton County and Franklin had misled the public as to the consequences of voting “yes” or “no” in the 2017 courthouse referendum question, which asked, “Shall the courthouse be removed to 30100 Camp Parkway, Courtland, VA, and shall the Board of Supervisors be permitted to spend $26.5 million therefor?” and gave only two choices: “yes” or “no.” Crumpler obtained emails, along with other county and city records concerning the courthouse, via a Freedom of Information Act request, and provided copies to The Tidewater News following his presentation to the Council.
The Tidewater News

stories of national interest

Navy leaders failed to address sailors' safety concerns after a sexually explicit list targeting female crewmembers surfaced aboard the service's second submarine to integrate women, resulting in the firing of a commanding officer and several other punishments.A "rape list" was shared by members of the guided-missile submarine Florida's Gold crew, where investigators found "lewd and sexist comments and jokes were tolerated, and trust up and down the chain of command was nonexistent." That's according to a 74-page investigation into the misconduct, obtained exclusively by Military.com through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Military.com

A conference of local government officials from across California erupted into violence over the weekend when several attendees began throwing punches, with at least one person apparently knocked unconscious, according to five witnesses to the incident. It was not immediately clear who started the fight, but it involved members of the Commerce City Council and other public officials, according to a written statement from Mayor John Soria and several witnesses who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the incident.
Governing
 

"Navy leaders failed to address sailors' safety concerns after a sexually explicit list targeting female crewmembers surfaced."

editorials & columns

"When citizens who will have to live with the consequences of governmental decisions are involved in making them, discussions are more well-rounded."

One of America's great traditions is citizen participation in public decision-making. From New England-style town meetings to inviting public comment on proposed regulations, when citizens who will have to live with the consequences of governmental decisions are involved in making them, discussions are more well-rounded and, ultimately, solutions are more considerate of their needs. But somehow, the boards that govern public colleges and universities -- even those that oversee billions of dollars in public assets -- have largely been exempt from hearing from diverse voices. In 39 states, there is no requirement that boards of trustees or regents consult the public prior to making major decisions that significantly impact students and families. This is despite the fact that more than 70 percent of American postsecondary students are enrolled in public colleges and universities. Something needs to change, and in some places it has. This year, for example, our organizations joined forces in Virginia - where, despite five years of increased state spending, tuition and fees have climbed to sixth-highest in the nation -- to change state law and require that trustees listen to students and others who are affected before setting tuition and fees.
James Toscano, Governing

The Virginia State Police are supposed to be protecting us — but they’re not all that great at protecting themselves from potential fraud or other financial missteps. Ditto the Department of Emergency Management and the Department of Fire Programs. That's the conclusion suggested by findings from Virginia’s auditor of public accounts during a review of the agencies’ internal systems for preventing financial mismanagement and potential fraud. It’s through state audits such as these — and through lawmakers’ oversight in ensuring that agencies fix their problems — that Virginia tries to make sure our tax dollars are being spent wisely. The commonwealth has a robust system for reviewing agency finances. The system doesn’t work perfectly, but it usually works well.
The Daily Progress