Transparency News, 12/11/20
Friday
December 11, 2020
December 11, 2020
state & local news stories
The mayor is accused of “creating a hostile environment” at council meetings “where some citizens are now afraid to attend for fear of violence erupting,”
Two Portsmouth sheriff’s deputies were fired and six were suspended following an internal investigation into “possible violations of operational policy and procedures,” a Sheriff’s Office spokesman said Thursday. Col. Marvin Waters did not say which policies and procedures may have been violated or what the deputies did to be disciplined.
The Virginian-Pilot
Charlottesville Police Chief RaShall Brackney refuted claims of racial profiling made by leaders of the Unitarian Universalists of Charlottesville Church following an October incident and called on the church’s leadership to apologize or be terminated during a press conference Thursday. The press conference followed an internal affairs investigation conducted by the police department after the church published a letter addressed to Brackney on Oct. 15 detailing allegations of racial profiling against one of its members. Brackney refuted the claims made in the letter, providing officer-worn body camera footage from the incident, as well as the 911 call, and accused the church of “race baiting.” Police screened footage from the incident, in which an officer can be heard saying that he was being flagged down by the church member.
The Daily Progress
In an email on Tuesday, Rappahannock County Supervisor Ron Frazier notified his colleagues that an action the Board of Supervisors took at its Monday afternoon meeting would have to be nullified because of a technicality. On Monday, the Board voted 3-1-1 in support of the Rappahannock-Rapidan Community Services Board becoming the Region One administrator of the Marcus Alert system. Frazier cast the dissenting vote and Board Chair Christine Smith abstained from the vote altogether. “The ‘Marcus Alert’ item was an addendum item and therefore required unanimous consent from the Board as an action item. I knew this perhaps better than any other member because of being on the Rules Committee when we had to codify what had been a mutual agreement of how addendum items were to [be] handled.” County Administrator Garrey Curry and Chair Smith thanked Frazier for his attention to the code and agreed that the vote would have to be nullified.
Rappahannock Record
One month after creating three new committees, Winchester City Council is thinking about adding a fourth. Mayor and council President David Smith asked the panel this week to launch a new Planning and Economic Development Committee to review proposals related to planning, zoning and commercial and residential development. The panel's recommendations would then be forwarded to the full City Council. In November, council resurrected the committee system it had abandoned eight years earlier, but stopped short of reviving all 13 of the committees that had previously reported to the panel. Instead, just three new committees were formed — Public Safety, Finance, and Boards and Commissions — all of which held their first meetings in November.
The Winchester Star
The Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday held its first meeting since the death of Chairman and longtime District 1 Supervisor Dick Neese and discussed how it would proceed with filling the vacant seat. According to state law, supervisors are required to fill the seat within 45 days of it becoming vacant, giving them until Jan. 12 to name a new board member. They may appoint a qualified voter of District 1 to fill that vacancy. The appointed candidate would be brought on to fill the remainder of Neese’s four-year term, which is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2021. Supervisors determined on Tuesday that County Administrator Evan Vass would field letters of interest from would-be candidates, and supervisors would then meet in closed session as necessary beginning the week after Christmas to discuss candidates and conduct interviews.
The Northern Virginia Daily
Forty-four people, including three Pound town council members, the former mayor and a former councilman, have filed a petition asking the Wise County circuit court to remove Mayor Stacey Carson from office. Among its allegations are that Carson has been: “Violating the confidentiality provisions of the closed session exemptions to FOIA by making repeated public disclosures of matters discussed in closed session.” When asked, Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, confirmed there is no language in Virginia law that mentions “confidentiality provisions” regarding disclosure of closed meeting discussions. Also, “Behaving in a manner consistent with a mental impairment and mental instability" and “Creating a hostile environment” at council meetings “where some citizens are now afraid to attend for fear of violence erupting,” along with causing one employee to threaten to quit because of said fear.
The Coalfield Progress
The Virginian-Pilot
Charlottesville Police Chief RaShall Brackney refuted claims of racial profiling made by leaders of the Unitarian Universalists of Charlottesville Church following an October incident and called on the church’s leadership to apologize or be terminated during a press conference Thursday. The press conference followed an internal affairs investigation conducted by the police department after the church published a letter addressed to Brackney on Oct. 15 detailing allegations of racial profiling against one of its members. Brackney refuted the claims made in the letter, providing officer-worn body camera footage from the incident, as well as the 911 call, and accused the church of “race baiting.” Police screened footage from the incident, in which an officer can be heard saying that he was being flagged down by the church member.
The Daily Progress
In an email on Tuesday, Rappahannock County Supervisor Ron Frazier notified his colleagues that an action the Board of Supervisors took at its Monday afternoon meeting would have to be nullified because of a technicality. On Monday, the Board voted 3-1-1 in support of the Rappahannock-Rapidan Community Services Board becoming the Region One administrator of the Marcus Alert system. Frazier cast the dissenting vote and Board Chair Christine Smith abstained from the vote altogether. “The ‘Marcus Alert’ item was an addendum item and therefore required unanimous consent from the Board as an action item. I knew this perhaps better than any other member because of being on the Rules Committee when we had to codify what had been a mutual agreement of how addendum items were to [be] handled.” County Administrator Garrey Curry and Chair Smith thanked Frazier for his attention to the code and agreed that the vote would have to be nullified.
Rappahannock Record
One month after creating three new committees, Winchester City Council is thinking about adding a fourth. Mayor and council President David Smith asked the panel this week to launch a new Planning and Economic Development Committee to review proposals related to planning, zoning and commercial and residential development. The panel's recommendations would then be forwarded to the full City Council. In November, council resurrected the committee system it had abandoned eight years earlier, but stopped short of reviving all 13 of the committees that had previously reported to the panel. Instead, just three new committees were formed — Public Safety, Finance, and Boards and Commissions — all of which held their first meetings in November.
The Winchester Star
The Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday held its first meeting since the death of Chairman and longtime District 1 Supervisor Dick Neese and discussed how it would proceed with filling the vacant seat. According to state law, supervisors are required to fill the seat within 45 days of it becoming vacant, giving them until Jan. 12 to name a new board member. They may appoint a qualified voter of District 1 to fill that vacancy. The appointed candidate would be brought on to fill the remainder of Neese’s four-year term, which is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2021. Supervisors determined on Tuesday that County Administrator Evan Vass would field letters of interest from would-be candidates, and supervisors would then meet in closed session as necessary beginning the week after Christmas to discuss candidates and conduct interviews.
The Northern Virginia Daily
Forty-four people, including three Pound town council members, the former mayor and a former councilman, have filed a petition asking the Wise County circuit court to remove Mayor Stacey Carson from office. Among its allegations are that Carson has been: “Violating the confidentiality provisions of the closed session exemptions to FOIA by making repeated public disclosures of matters discussed in closed session.” When asked, Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, confirmed there is no language in Virginia law that mentions “confidentiality provisions” regarding disclosure of closed meeting discussions. Also, “Behaving in a manner consistent with a mental impairment and mental instability" and “Creating a hostile environment” at council meetings “where some citizens are now afraid to attend for fear of violence erupting,” along with causing one employee to threaten to quit because of said fear.
The Coalfield Progress
editorials & columns
"Citizens are worth our time to listen to what they have to say."
I have listened to the school board policy committee meeting from Monday, Nov. 30, and one of the policies presented to be changed was regarding time slots allotted for public speaking. I would argue that listening to our stakeholders — the parents, staff and members of the community — is one of the most important pieces of monthly board business. I would also argue that other items that typically fill our agenda should take a backseat to it, not the other way around. The only policy change that is justifiable to me is to eliminate the 30-minute arbitrary time limit on public speaking altogether and continue to allow citizens to speak for their five minutes. Citizens are worth our time to listen to what they have to say.
Sherri Story, Suffolk News Herald
Do the Virginia State Police and local police departments have the right to collect data about where you go, and store it in a database for up to a year if you are not accused or even suspected of breaking any laws? Yes, according to the Virginia Supreme Court, which ruled that the police are allowed to use Automated License Plate Readers, which can photograph over 1,800 license plates per minute, and store the tag numbers, times and locations where the photos were taken in a searchable database that is shared with law enforcement, fusion centers and private companies. Police departments claim they need ALPR to help them locate stolen vehicles and fugitives from the law, but it should be easy enough to program the system to immediately discard any tag numbersthat are not on the stolen vehicle or most-wanted lists.
The Daily Progress
Sherri Story, Suffolk News Herald
Do the Virginia State Police and local police departments have the right to collect data about where you go, and store it in a database for up to a year if you are not accused or even suspected of breaking any laws? Yes, according to the Virginia Supreme Court, which ruled that the police are allowed to use Automated License Plate Readers, which can photograph over 1,800 license plates per minute, and store the tag numbers, times and locations where the photos were taken in a searchable database that is shared with law enforcement, fusion centers and private companies. Police departments claim they need ALPR to help them locate stolen vehicles and fugitives from the law, but it should be easy enough to program the system to immediately discard any tag numbersthat are not on the stolen vehicle or most-wanted lists.
The Daily Progress
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