Transparency News 10/11/16

Tuesday, October 11, 2016


State and Local Stories

The National Freedom of Information Coalition concluded its 2016 FOI Summit in Washington D.C. This year’s summit featured an enlightened discussion, “FOIA at 50,” on the past, present and future of the Freedom of Information Act that included author, activist and government watchdog Ralph Nader. Nader presented a number of controversial government actions that were only exposed by using FOIA to obtain information. The annual two-day event featured presentations from FOI experts --many who direct their state’s FOI organizations and are affiliate members of NFOIC. Among the presentations which included policing transparency, open data, proactive disclosure, attorney fees, FOI litigation and advocacy campaigns, was the continually growing challenge for government to manage, and for open records petitioners to obtain public information in an increasing digital age.
NFOIC
(NOTE: VCOG’s Megan Rhyne serves as the NFOIC board secretary)

Attorneys for Rolling Stone magazine are accusing University of Virginia administrator Nicole Eramo of leaking confidential deposition videos to a television network for an upcoming news broadcast. On Monday, the magazine filed an emergency motion in its legal battle with Eramo, asking a federal judge to prevent Eramo and her attorneys from “further violating” a protective order. The motion states that Eramo has leaked confidential deposition videos from her current multimillion-dollar defamation lawsuit against the magazine to the American Broadcasting Company for use in an episode of the television news program “20/20,” set to premiere this Friday night.
Daily Progress

At their regular October session, Rappahannock County’s supervisors took four hours Monday afternoon to deal with the county’s business. This included adopting several measures meant to defend the board, its elected members and county staff in court. This also included hearing an impromptu outpouring of support for the supervisors from a dozen citizens among an initially packed courtroom crowd. The crowd, which reached about 40 at its peak — and dwindled steadily to fewer than 10 as the board’s business took it away from the lately controversial subject of its own transparency — did not include either plaintiff Marian Bragg of Sperryville or her attorney, David Konick, who filed a suit last Thursday on Bragg’s behalf alleging repeated Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) violations by the board itself and four of its members.
Rappahannock News



National Stories

Hillary Clinton’s campaign team once considering trying to recruit an ally on Capitol Hill to introduce a bill that would end the Freedom of Information Act exemption that applies to members of Congress. n Jesse Ferguson suggested in a March 2015 email conversation released by Wikileaks on Monday, would be a person in the House of Representatives who is “either an HRC advocate OR someone who wants to make a name for themselves on good government/transparency (and doesn’t mind pissing some people off).”
Huffington Post


Editorials/Columns

“For here,” said Thomas Jefferson about his beloved University of Virginia, “we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it." Well, no. Not entirely. Error will not be tolerated if it is unduly offensive. Let’s make one thing clear: UVa lecturer Douglas Muir’s Facebook comments about the Black Lives Matter movement were offensive. Erroneous. Extremely ill-considered. In fact, we’ll just come right out and say it: They were stupid. Comparing the movement to the Ku Klux Klan was bound to cause trouble; anyone should have anticipated that. Trouble for Mr. Muir came when — among other forms of backlash from other sources — the university announced that he had “agreed to take leave” from his post as adjunct lecturer at the engineering school and the Darden School of Business. UVa said the leave of absence does not infringe upon free speech or academic freedom. Sorry, but — in context of the "leave of absence" — what this says is that free speech is tolerated only when it is “appropriate.” Instead of being “fundamental,” it is subservient to other values.
Daily Progress