“For all its talk of equity on a grand philosophical scale, council had failed to practice equity with its constituents — failed to treat them fairly as partners in the process of governance.”
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First things first: State Sen. Richard Stuart, R-Montross, should resign his position as vice-chair of our commonwealth’s Freedom of Information Act Council. Actually, he should resign his seat on the council altogether. We could have made this call much earlier than this, considering the senator’s lack of attention to a council that is supposed to be a defender of government transparency and accountability. But the larger reason that the senator needs to step down is not his indifference for the council, but rather, his apparent lack of regard for the Freedom of Information Act itself. This is reflected in legislation Sen. Stuart filed last week that would shield Virginia’s judiciary system from the state law that guarantees the public right to see the records of government and attend the meetings of its decision-making bodies.
Daily Press
A little more than half the states in America prohibit members of the legislature from holding other public employment. Whether Virginia does so depends on whom you ask. Dawn Adams, a freshman delegate who beat Manoli Loupassi in November, asked state human-resources officials and the attorney general’s office, and they decided she could keep her job with the Department of Behavioral Health and Development Services.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
If you’re trying to find the best way to invest money – and avoid pitfalls – you’d go ask folks on Wall Street. Maybe your farm isn’t yielding the amount of crops that it could. A trip to your cooperative extension service might do the trick. Or perhaps your child is struggling in the classroom; wouldn’t parents find a tutor to help? You get the point. So it makes me skeptical of federal officials about their approach to collecting comments on drilling for gas and oil off Virginia and North Carolina. As The Pilot’s Dave Mayfield reported, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management scheduled public meetings for both states far away from the people most affected if big rigs are erected. The first was scheduled for Wednesday in Richmond, before the meeting was postponed because of the expected snow. North Carolina’s will be in Raleigh late next month. Now, I wouldn’t go to communities on Virginia’s Eastern Shore to find out about life in a heavily populous, inner city. (No offense to Accomack and Northampton counties.) Why, then, are the feds hosting discussions in Richmond – about two hours from the ocean?
Roger Chesley, The Virginian-Pilot
We like the way City Council’s thinking. Charlottesville’s governing body is considering adding ways to help residents share their opinions with their leaders. That kind of listening mode has been sorely lacking during the past couple of years. Two years ago, council imposed stringent rules on public input at council meetings, including time limits on speakers and efforts to direct more comments into behind-the-scenes emails. As a practical matter, restrictions limited the amount of feedback councilors received, when that feedback might have revealed the depth and direction of residents’ feelings. But perhaps more importantly, the restrictions made many residents believe that their input was unwanted. They felt ignored, patronized, marginalized. In sum: For all its talk of equity on a grand philosophical scale, council had failed to practice equity with its constituents — failed to treat them fairly as partners in the process of governance.
The Daily Progress
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“’Courts cannot review the president’s compliance with the Presidential Records Act,’ he said.”