A jury on Tuesday found Blacksburg Town Council member Liam Watson guilty of listing a false address on forms he submitted while running for office in 2023, convicting him of two counts of felony election fraud and one felony count of illegally voting….Watson was elected to town council in 2023, and his term does not expire until 2027. It remains unclear whether he will be required to forfeit his seat before then.

Megan Rhyne’s comments to the Richmond City Council on why she supported a FOIA library that covered fewer departments but that would post records as a matter of course instead of in the discretion of city staff.

Richmond City Council member Nicole Jones speaks up about why she would be supporting the mayor’s proposed online FOIA library, which allows staff to pick and choose which requests/responses to publish, instead of Councilwoman Kenya Gibson’s proposal, which would publish the records automatically.

Roanoke is paying a lobbying firm $6,000 a month plus other potential expenses to pursue a casino license for the city — despite opposition that shows no signs of letting up. Two Capitols Consulting’s contract with the city began Sept. 22, about three weeks before city officials announced a plan to remake the Berglund Center into a casino and entertainment district. The contract, obtained by The Roanoke Rambler after an open records request to the city, outlines a seven-step program for the city’s “special economic development project.”

Lynchburg community leaders spoke Monday night at a forum hosted by the 40 Ways Coalition about whether the Hill City will remain politically divided or achieve greater unity in the years to come. The primary focus of the event, held at the Miller Center, was the Lynchburg City Council and its conduct over the past three years since Republicans gained a majority following the 2022 at-large council elections….With its current makeup, NAACP Lynchburg chapter president JoAnn Martin said it is difficult to envision city council working together for the good of the city. “We have the same kind of behavior every second and fourth Tuesday in city council” where citizens can see “how nasty they are to each other,” she said. Martin said she has worked with many members of city council over the years, including Republicans, Democrats and independents. “I’ve never heard the rhetoric so bad and embarrassing,” she said.

The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office has encrypted the radio channels used by deputies at the Adult Detention Center and the Loudoun County Courthouse complex. The change means no one without a police-issued radio can hear the frequencies….The jail has several radio channels, some of which were already encrypted, but the main channel was not previously encrypted. The radio channels used by field operations deputies remain unencrypted. The department has always had some encrypted channels for units like SWAT and for patrol deputies to use during manhunts and other sensitive situations….The jail has several radio channels, some of which were already encrypted, but the main channel was not previously encrypted. The radio channels used by field operations deputies remain unencrypted. The department has always had some encrypted channels for units like SWAT and for patrol deputies to use during manhunts and other sensitive situations….The decision to encrypt came less than two months after Loudoun Now heard radio traffic that led to the discovery that a gang member in the jail had stabbed another inmate. Loudoun Now subsequently asked LCSO for a list of crimes that had happened in the jail over the past few years but was told that crimes in the jail are not tracked.

A judge has sided with The State newspaper in a four-year-long open meeting lawsuit against a Midlands school district. Judge Daniel Coble issued a ruling Friday siding with a request for summary judgment against Lexington-Richland 5 in a case related to a secret payout agreement the school board signed in a closed-door meeting with a former superintendent to get her to resign. The State argued the agreement violated the open meeting requirements of South Carolina’s Freedom of Information Act, and Coble agreed.