Transparency News 10/5/15

State and Local Stories

Late last month, Botetourt County residents were told the county administrator was resigning and a new one had been hired — all in one breath. The swift pace with which the board of supervisors accepted the resignation of Kathleen Guzi and offered her job to Gary Larrowe — in a single meeting that lasted less than an hour — left no time for the public to learn that a vacancy existed. In surrounding counties, the usual practice in recent years has been to advertise for the position and conduct a formal search after an announcement that the top administrator was stepping down. Botetourt County supervisors have said that in anticipation of Guzi’s resignation, they communicated individually and informally with Larrowe and several other candidates whom they had approached about replacing her. Such sessions are not considered public meetings under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
Roanoke Times

The publisher of a monthly journal and other printed materials advocating for the rights of prisoners has filed a lawsuit in federal court accusing the Northwestern Regional Adult Detention Center in Winchester of illegal censorship. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Harrisonburg by Prison Legal News, states that NRADC officials prohibited delivery of 170 copies of its monthly journal to the facility from October 2014 through July. The suit describes Prison Legal News as a project of then nonprofit Human Rights Defense Center. The publication’s main offices are in Florida. The jail administration also banned 16 copies of a book published by Prison Legal News, “The Habeas Citebook: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel,” the suit states.
Northern Virginia Daily

A trio of Republican candidates campaigning for three seats on the James City County board of supervisors have taken a unique stance against speaking to Virginia Gazette reporters over the phone and in person. Instead, Heather Cordasco, Sue Sadler and Mary Jones have declined numerous interview requests and have chosen to communicate to journalists via email and text message. "You know better than that if you want answers email them," texted Cordasco on Tuesday to a Gazette reporter seeking comment for a story. Through a series of emails, text messages and letters, those candidates have periodically unveiled their reason for shunning phone and personal interviews. "As has been the case throughout this campaign, I will be restricting my answers to Gazette questions in writing," wrote Sadler on Oct. 2 in an email in response to a reporter's questions. "I do so because, as I have learned over the last several years, the Gazette has been less than fair to Republicans when publishing quotes that weren't in writing. Receiving answers in writing minimizes misunderstandings related to selective editing."
Virginia Gazette


National Stories
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A federal judge has ordered federal officials to go back and search their files after he ruled that the U.S. Forest Service violated the Freedom of Information Act by failing to conduct an adequate search and limiting what was disclosed about a proposed development in southwestern Colorado. Environmental groups had requested information on the Village at Wolf Creek proposal, which they said would threaten wildlife and cause other environmental damage in the area. The proposal would offer 177 acres of private land in the Rio Grande National Forest in exchange for 205 acres of federal land.
CBSDenver

The Ohio Police and Fire Pension Fund volunteered to put its spending records online as part of a partnership with State Treasurer Josh Mandel's online checkbook program. The announcement comes exactly a week after Mandel criticized the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System for not joining his initiative, which can be accessed at OhioCheckbook.com.  Mandel accused OPERS of trying to hide information from the public, which OPERS officials quickly denied. "The executive director of OPERS feels that taxpayers do not have a right to see this information and she's just flat out wrong," Mandel said today during a press call. "It's dumfounding that they still refuse to volunteer to put their finances online."  OPERS officials have continued to say they support transparency, as evidenced by "extensive financial information" provided on their own website.
Governing

Editorials/Columns

Rather than stay home last November to lead a rightly upset and fractured community, U.Va. President Terry Sullivan climbed on a plane for a European conference hours after the Rolling Stone story came out. On this issue and many others, instead of facing facts and being candid, Sullivan has used a FOIA exemption to hide her working papers. I’m still in the dark about how double-digit tuition increases came to be an OK thing.
Del. David Ramadan, Richmond Times-Dispatch

Next year, the federal Freedom of Information Act will celebrate its 50th anniversary as one of the finest laws our Congress has ever passed. It is a vital investigative tool for exposing government and corporate wrongdoing. The FOIA was championed by Congressman John E. Moss (D-CA), who strove to “guarantee the right of every citizen to know the facts of his Government.” Moss, with whom I worked closely as an outside citizen advocate, said that “without the fullest possible access to Government information, it is impossible to gain the knowledge necessary to discharge the responsibilities of citizenship.” All fifty states have adopted FOIA statutes. As the FOIA approaches its 50th year, it faces a disturbing backlash from scientists tied to the agrichemical company Monsanto and its allies. Here are some examples.
Ralph Nader, New Haven Register

Among the most basic of the reasons for We the People to have a right to know is so we can review how our government is spending our money. The Texas Public Information Act protects this right, with careful exceptions meant to protect commerce without infringing on this basic right. An example is the right of a private company that contracts with the state to protect trade secrets that make its products or services unique. Recently, the Texas Supreme Court extended private companies' right to keep secrets from the public way too far. In a 7-1 ruling leaving dissenting Justice Jeff Boyd as the lone defender of the public's best interests, the court has decided that Boeing, the Seattle aerospace giant, could withhold financial details of a lease of public property — the former Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio. Private companies should know and accept that there are risks and responsibilities involved when they contract with the government. If the risks weren't well worth it, there would be no government contractors.
Corpus Christi Caller Times