Transparency News 11/30/17

Thursday, November 30, 2017


State and Local Stories

As a tumultuous year in town hall neared an end, Buchanan dealt Wednesday night with the resignation first of its town manager and then its mayor. “It is with sincere regret that I must submit my resignation as Buchanan’s town mayor as of Dec. 1, 2017, due to a serious medical issue with my family,” Mayor Larry Hall said, reading from a recently composed letter to the council. After the meeting, Hall said his decision was at least indirectly related to a series of controversies that have rocked his town of about 1,200, sometimes forcing the council to meet in the Buchanan Theater to accommodate overflow crowds. In August, an independent investigation found no basis for allegations that Hall spoke disrespectfully to female staffers — charges that he said were unfairly raised at an earlier council meeting by Vice Mayor James Manspile.
The Roanoke Times

Another item on Lynchburg City Council’s legislative agenda came at the suggestion of Lynchburg Police Chief Raul Diaz and seeks to clarify how long jurisdictions can keep data collected by automated license plate readers used by police.
The News & Advance

Following Cynthia McAlister's reinstatement as Purcellville's chief of police last week, more alarming details about the situation have emerged. The Times-Mirror has learned through documents received through a Freedom of Information Act request that at least one of the supposed procurement bids for HR services and an investigation – from Margie Hammer at Starfish Consulting – was a phantom bid. Hammer today told the Times-Mirror she did not submit a bid for the investigation into McAlister as police chief. A document provided by the town and signed by Interim Town Manager Alex Vanegas lists Hammer as bidding on the project. A call placed to another supposed bidder, John Anzivino of Springsted Inc., found that Anzivino is no longer with the company.  The town's procurement procedures require at least three bids before a contract can be approved. 
Loudoun Times-Mirror

Winchester City Manager Eden Freeman has been accused of attempting to interfere in the Nov. 7 election for Winchester’s Commissioner of the Revenue, according to a source. A person close to the situation, who spoke to The Winchester Star on condition of anonymity, said Freeman allegedly funneled information to Democrat Addie Lingle regarding incumbent Republican Ann Burkholder’s plans for the office if elected to a third term.
The Winchester Star


National Stories
​

Two Martin County, Florida, commissioners, and one former Martin County commissioner were arrested Tuesday for violating public records law, confirmed a spokeswoman with Martin County Sheriff’s Office. Current commissioners Sarah Heard, Edward Fielding and former commissioner Anne Scott turned themselves in. They were booked under similar circumstances and released according to MCSO. The count filed with the Martin County Clerk of Courts against Heard indicates that on January 15, 2013, “Heard was a public officer and did fail to promptly acknowledge a request to inspect or copy public records in good faith, in violation of Florida Statue 119.10(1)(a) and 119.07(1)” said the paperwork filed by the State Attorney Office.
CBS12

The murder case is now 30 years old and the mother of one of the victims has been on a journey to uncover the truth ever since. Now a judge is set to privately review documents from three federal agencies connected to investigations into the deaths of Kevin Ives and Don Henry. Ives and Henry were found dead on train tracks in Alexander, Arkansas, back on August 23, 1987. A state medical examiner initially concluded the two were struck by the train while in a deep sleep induced by marijuana, but another pathologist years later claimed the two boys were killed elsewhere before being placed on the tracks. Kevin Ives' mother Linda, and her attorney David Lewis believe the teens deaths were the result of them witnessing a drug drop and a cover-up by the CIA.  In 2016, Lewis filed a lawsuit against nearly a dozen state and federal agencies claiming violations of the Freedom of Information Act. The case was finally heard by Judge Brian Miller who ended up dismissing most of the defendants from the lawsuit, but has since ordered the Department of Homeland Security, Drug Enforcement Administration and the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys to turn over unredacted documents that they believe are exempt from FOIA law.
KATV

A woman charged with leaking U.S. secrets has lost an appeal of a federal magistrate's order that she remain jailed until trial. U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall ruled Monday the lower court correctly decided in October that releasing 25-year-old Reality Winner on bail would risk "harm to national security." Winner is a former Air Force linguist who worked as a National Security Agency contractor in Augusta, Georgia, when she was charged in June with leaking a classified U.S. report to an unidentified news organization.
Stars and Stripes


Editorials/Columns


It is hard to fathom anything more devastating than the grief of a parent who has lost a young child to a senseless act of violence. It is not something that a person ever truly gets over. The best hope is to get a handle on the trauma and the pain, and to learn to live with the unimaginable. A new state law, in theory designed to protect grieving families, shields the names of juvenile homicide victims from the public and the media. Despite its compassionate intentions, this law withholds information that could be important to both the police and the community.
Daily Press

At long last, there appears to be light at the end of the runway. The Peninsula Airport Commission and TowneBank have given themselves a specific timetable to settle a dispute over $4.5 million in taxpayers’ money.  It will be good to put this bad deal behind us, but its lessons cannot be forgotten. They must be remembered not only by the current airport commission, but by every public official and every civic body that handles your tax dollars in any way. The public’s business needs to be done in the public eye. Financial records need to be meticulous. When errors are made, they need to be acknowledged and corrected, not covered up and complicated. Fiscal malpractice and other unethical behavior will not be tolerated. Transparency and accountability are paramount. Public officials need to remember this. So do the citizens whom they serve.
Daily Press

A few weeks ago, Collins Dictionary announced its annual “word of the year.” This year, it’s actually two words: “fake news.” The dictionary defined “fake news” as “false, often sensational, information disseminated under the guise of news reporting,” and a phrase whose usage has soared by 365 percent in the past year. On the 131st anniversary of this newspaper’s founding in 1886, this date seems a good day to contemplate that phrase and put it in some historical context. Much of what passes for “news” on the internet or cable television simply isn’t news at all. It’s commentary and opinion, voiced by paid propagandists for one side or another to advance a particular political point of view. There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as everyone understands what it is — and isn’t. It may not be “fake news” but it isn’t real news, either. Let’s talk about what news is.
The Roanoke Times

Incompetence. Toxic. A mess. These are a few of the fit-to-publish terms thrown around to describe the ongoing charade in Purcellville. We'll concede we don't know all the details in this case – largely because the mayor and members of Town Council are either staying mum or leading the misdirection campaign – but we insist we know enough to declare Purcellville's citizens deserve better. Calling an emergency council meeting on a Friday night for Saturday morning, as council did – and not accurately listing the participants of closed session – is not good government. Failing to notify the public at the conclusion of the closed session is not good government. And throwing away thousands of taxpayer dollars is, unquestionably, not good government.
Loudoun Times-Mirror