Transparency News 10/25/17

Wednesday, October 25, 2017



State and Local Stories

Yesterday, VCOG sent a letter to the governor asking his office to be more forthcoming with information related to the Aug. 11-12 rallies in Charlottesville. Citing precedent from the panel that reviewed the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings, VCOG asked the governor to release what records he could, to make the meetings of the review task force open to the public, and to allow for some sort of public comment.
Read the letter on VCOG’s website

Alleging he was falsely depicted as “a stupid liar who was a sex-crazed maniac,” former Richmond mayoral candidate Joe Morrissey has filed a lawsuit against Richmond CBS affiliate WTVR-Channel 6 and longtime local columnist Mark Holmberg over a report the television station aired in the run-up to last year’s election. The suit accuses Holmberg and the station of slander and seeks $1.35 million in damage. The video column at the center of the allegations ran Sept. 2, 2016, and followed polling in the race that indicated Morrissey was the earlier front-runner in a field of eight candidates.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
(Note: WTVR General Manager Stephen Hayes, quoted in the article, serves as secretary of VCOG’s board of directors.)

The Richmond Police Department spent thousands on overtime, protective equipment and food in the run up to, and during, the pro-Confederate rally held on Monument Avenue in September, a detailed breakdown of the department’s spending provided to the Richmond Times-Dispatch shows. Earlier this month, Mayor Levar Stoney’s administration disclosed that the city spent about $570,000 to prepare for and staff the Sept. 16 rally on Monument Avenue. The event saw about a half-dozen pro-Confederate demonstrators from Tennessee and a few hundred counter protestors coalesce around the Robert E. Lee monument. Police accounted for the vast majority of the city’s spending, with the costs split between overtime for officers to work the event and equipment and operating expenses the department incurred. Police spent $252,328 in overtime to plan for and work the event. In addition to overtime costs, the department reported $250,189.27 in equipment and operating expenses, a full breakdown of which the department provided to The Times–Dispatch in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.
Richmond Times-Dispatch

Senior security personnel at Norfolk Naval Shipyard established an unauthorized armed police force and wasted as much as $21 million in manpower, stockpiled vehicles and other gear, including a high-speed boat, for more than a decade following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, according to a Naval Sea Systems Command investigation. The investigation, obtained by The Virginian-Pilot through a Freedom of Information Act request, began after a 2012 hotline complaint alleging mismanagement, waste and other violations. The 115-page report, with hundreds of pages of exhibits, was completed in October 2014. It describes a culture that allowed the force to subvert Navy and Defense Department regulations and operate unchecked and unbeknownst to the shipyard’s leadership, despite its activities and the visibility it gained through the purchase of armored and hundreds of other surplus vehicles, some of which it outfitted with police equipment.
The Virginian-Pilot

The Strasburg Town Council may require that people who serve on a Strasburg board or commission do not  owe the town any money. Members of the Ordinance Committee moved forward with plans to set the new requirements during a meeting on Monday. Town Manager Wyatt Pearson said that John Settle, Strasburg’s planning and zoning administrator, will draft an amendment to the town’s development ordinance.
The Northern Virginia Daily



National Stories
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The University of Louisville violated the state's open records law by denying part of a Courier-Journal request for emails about what happened to the computer hard drive of the former university president, according to a state attorney general's ruling. The hard drive was the focus of independent auditors scouring for details about alleged misspending by former University of Louisville President James Ramsey, but the computer was wiped clean by the school's information technology department, which employs the nephew of one of Ramsey's closest associates.  The computer was wiped despite an order to preserve the hard drive and other records in case of future litigation. 
Courier-Journal

Eight days after confirming the existence of documents regarding the University of Kansas and its relationship with the Adidas apparel company, the Federal Bureau of Investigation now says its initial response to the Kansan’s Freedom of Information Act request was not meant to be sent. The Kansan received additional correspondence Friday morning from the Bureau saying its Oct. 12 letter was “forwarded to you in error.” On Sept. 27, the Kansan asked for “all documents and communications within this investigation related to the University of Kansas and any of its sponsorship deals with Adidas or any investigation of Kansas basketball coaches.”
The University Daily Kansan