Transparency News, 11/18/2022
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November 18, 2022
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state & local news stories
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The Norfolk School Board is set to adjust its public comment practices again to allow citizens to speak on non-agenda items on-camera. This came after community members and some board members spoke out against a previous decision to have non-agenda item-related comments after the board’s adjournment. “We’ve gotten feedback from a lot of individuals,” Board Chair Carlos Clanton said during Wednesday’s meeting, adding that the board’s policy still has not been formally changed on public comment. He also said that the adjustments to the board’s practice is to help “bring civility back to the board room.” In October, the board voted to adopt “special rules” that split public comment into two sections. Under this rule, public comment related to agenda items would be held during the meeting and on camera. Public comment on matters not related to the agenda for the evening was to be held after the meeting adjourned and with the cameras off. Critics following the decision said it silenced those who wished to address the board. Clanton said it was a way to “streamline” meetings.
The Virginian-Pilot
Two Middletown Town Council members announced their resignations this week, both of whom were reelected on Nov. 8. Scott Fink said he will not be able to serve his new, four-year term because he is moving his business, 5-Star Executive Chauffeuring LLC, outside of town to have more space. Carole Snyder Jones submitted her resignation letter on Election Day, citing personal reasons, according to Harbaugh. Her resignation was effective immediately. Middletown must now appoint someone to fill the two vacancies on an interim basis until a special election can be held next November. Those elected will serve the remainder of Fink's and Snyder Jones's terms.
The Northern Virginia Daily
About 60 town and county residents spoke Tuesday evening at a Town of Warrenton Planning Commission public hearing on whether Amazon Web Services should be granted a permit to put a data center at Blackwell Road and U.S. 29. Residents had been standing in the rain outside town hall before 6 p.m., waiting for the doors to open for the 7 p.m. meeting. Although Planning Commissioner James Lawrence asked the crowd to refrain from applauding the speakers so they could keep the meeting moving along, there were frequent outbursts of applause or cheers from the standing-room-only crowd in the main room. The same could be heard from an overflow room down the hall. Planning commissioners prioritized speakers who were town residents; the first 20 or so who stepped to the mic live within town limits.
Fauquier Times
As votes for Orange Town Council were tallied Tuesday night, three winners were declared: incumbent Donna Waugh-Robinson, and newcomers Jeremiah Pent and Jason Cashell. However, Pent and Cashell’s victories have drawn skepticism due to questions about their legal residency. While both men are property managers in the town of Orange whose assets include high-value wedding venue estates, one must reside within town limits to be eligible for the council. According to candidacy applications filed through the Orange County Registrar’s office and obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request submitted in the month prior to the election, the addresses that Pent and Cashell listed are small upstairs apartments on Main Street in Orange.
Orange County Review
editorials & columns
We hope Gov. Glenn Youngkin can forgive us — in all the recent election hubbub, we missed the viewing and funeral for his “tip line,” the e-mail set up so that educators suspected of teaching “divisive concepts” in K-12 classrooms could be ratted out to the ministry of secret police — um, we mean the Virginia Department of Education. Announced in January by Youngkin, the tip line doesn’t appear to have produced any usable information during its brief “life,” though it did inspire two lawsuits. Well, to be clear, Youngkin’s refusal to release copies of tip line e-mails in response to Virginia Freedom of Information Act requests prompted the lawsuits. Youngkin claimed that the feedback sent in through the tip line constituted “working papers” that were exempt from FOIA law. Rather than test out that argument in court, he ultimately settled the case with the media outlets by sharing about 350 e-mails that had also been copied to the Virginia Department of Education.
The Roanoke Times
