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“Frankly, I don’t think it speaks very well of our relationship with the EDA that they don’t trust us to abide by our own closed session.”
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Metro was willing to work with the organizer of a white supremacist rally in Washington this summer to provide special accommodations for his group, according to emails obtained from the transit agency through a public records request. Metro released the emails following an expedited public records request submitted Aug. 6 seeking correspondence between Kessler, other rally organizers and Metro officials. Metro responded Aug. 17, denying the request, arguing the records' release "would jeopardize the security of [Metro] operations and the safety of [Metro] customers and employees because it would reveal [Metro's] operational considerations and security plans that are undertaken for such events. Such records would disclose [Metro's] deliberative process and reveal law enforcement techniques and procedures, increasing the likelihood of circumvention of the law." The Post partially appealed the denial the same month, arguing emails between Metro and rally organizers would not necessarily reveal the agency's plans - which were moot, in any case - because the rally had already taken place. "The public has a right to see what, if any, accommodations were pledged to organizers of the Unite the Right group," the Post's appeal said. "It also has a right to see the full extent of the accommodations the group was requesting from the agency." On Nov. 8, an appeal panel reversed Metro's original decision and pledged to review the records for release "in an effort to promote transparency." The emails were released Thursday.
The Washington Post
Terry Kelley resigned from the Augusta County Board of Supervisors on Nov. 21, according to his resignation letter obtained by the News Leader through a Freedom of Information Act request. When the board announced Kelley's resignation Monday evening via press release, it offered no explanation for his departure. Instead, the board wished Kelley success in his future endeavors. Here's what we know now. Kelley sent the resignation email to county administrator Timothy Fitzgerald. It also offered no explanation for his departure from the board. The News Leader is in the process of reviewing public records, including 374 emails that Kelley sent and received during his last month as supervisor.
News Leader
Two members of the Front Royal Town Council walked out of a closed session last week after they refused a request to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Councilman John Connolly and Jacob Meza both left a Nov. 9 closed session during which a potential incoming business was discussed with Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority officials. EDA representatives in the closed session were Executive Director Jennifer McDonald, Chairman Gray Blanton and board member Ron Llewellyn. Connolly said over the phone Wednesday that “the very first thing that they did” was tell councilmen to sign non-disclosure forms. “Frankly, I don’t think it speaks very well of our relationship with the EDA that they don’t trust us to abide by our own closed session,” he said. McDonald said over the phone that the business requested that the EDA get the forms signed. She said it says nothing about the town-EDA relationship because it was not the EDA making the request. She added that non-disclosure agreements are “nothing out of the ordinary” and she signs one with every potential incoming business.
The Northern Virginia Daily
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