Transparency News 12/12/18

Wednesday
December 12, 2018

You didn't miss it. There was no newsletter yesterday (Dec. 11). Maybe we were all too busy digging out from the snow and going without power that there wasn't much in the way of state and local access and transparency news.

state & local news stories

"At the supervisors’ Nov 20 meeting, he spoke for about 20 minutes during public presentations, the third time he has spoken on the subject this year."

Citizens addressing elected officials may have to follow new guidelines as the Warren County Board of Supervisors Tuesday unanimously approved the advertisement of amendments to its public presentation rules. County Attorney Dan Whiten explained that the Board of Supervisors follows the Virginia Meeting Policy and Procedures guidelines, which state that speakers “shall limit their remarks to three minutes and may not yield any unused portion of their speaking time to others.” The policy also states that each citizen is limited to speaking on the same subject no more than three times per year. He said the county code, meanwhile, addressees public presentations in a way different from those procedures. The county code states that “any orderly person present at a meeting of the Board of Supervisors may, upon recognition by the presiding officer, request permission to address the board; and the presiding officer may grant such request if he considers it to be in the public interest to do so, and he shall grant such request upon demand of any two Supervisors.” The advertisement comes three weeks after Mark Egger accused Jennifer McDonald, Front Royal-Warren County Economic Development Authority Director, of staging a break-in at the EDA’s office and an incident at her house in which a landscaping rock was thrown through her front door. At the supervisors’ Nov 20 meeting, he spoke for about 20 minutes during public presentations, the third time he has spoken on the subject this year.
Northern Virginia Daily

The planned pediatric trauma center at Bristol Regional Medical Center would enhance emergency child care in Northeast Tennessee and allow care providers to meet the physical needs of patients and potentially their cognitive and emotional needs as well, Ballad Health officials told Bristol leaders Tuesday night. During a called work session of Bristol Tennessee City Council, attended by some members of the Bristol Virginia City Council, Ballad gave a presentation about how changes announced by Ballad in November would affect Bristol Regional Medical Center and overall health care in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.  Though the changes raised controversy when they were announced, only one or two people attended who were not government officials, Ballad employees or otherwise tied to regional health care. Because the meeting was a work session, rather than a business meeting, there were no public comments or questions asked. However, Bristol Tennessee City Councilwoman Lea Powers said not allowing direct engagement with the public was a disservice to properly informing them.
Bristol Herald Courier

stories of national interest

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner’s corrections agency has refused to release public records about a prison altercation that led to the homicide of a 65-year-old inmate and forced the paid suspension of at least four correctional officers. The state’s public access counselor in the Democratic attorney general’s office ruled last month that Illinois Department of Corrections officials should release most of the documents regarding the May 17 incident at Western Illinois Correctional Center. The FBI is investigating. Neither FBI nor IDOC officials will comment. IDOC denied a July Freedom of Information Act request from The Associated Press for records related to the “altercation with prison staff” that proved fatal to Larry Earvin, arguing they are exempt under FOIA exceptions to disclosure that would jeopardize an ongoing criminal investigation. But Assistant Attorney General Edie Steinberg ruled Corrections did not show how transparency would interfere.
The Washington Times

November 30, when it was announced to the press that the Nevada BLM had terminated a proposed industrial wind turbine project that would have sprawled 22 miles on 32,351 acres of mostly virgin public lands, the decision sparked a mystery. Earlier Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) documents suggested the BLM was working with Crescent Peak Renewables, LLC (a subsidiary of Eolus Vind of Sweden), in an attempt to expedite the approval of the project, which meant that the announcement by a Nevada BLM spokesperson came as a surprise when it stated the BLM had previously determined that the gigantic wind energy scheme, which could have consisted of up to 248 wind turbines 600 feet tall, did not conform to the Las Vegas Regional Management Plan (RMP). In correspondence obtained from the government, offers were made by Nevada BLM to give the wind energy developers access to three water wells while a fourth source of water was being sought for the project. Speculation concerning the origin of the actual memorandum of termination against the project were rumored to have come down from the highest levels of the Department of Interior (DOI).
Nevada Capital News

In December 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza acted out on his predilection for violence, anger and isolation by walking into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., with an assault rifle and killing 26 people, including 20 first graders, in an attack that horrified the nation. Details about the gunman in the years leading up to the massacre emerged in a trove of documents, which were obtained by The Hartford Courant after a five-year court battle with the state. The documents served as the basis of stories they published this week about Mr. Lanza, who shot and killed himself in the attack.
The New York Times

An apparently simple email about a holiday potluck at a state office in Utah went off the rails Friday when it was accidentally sent to approximately 25,000 state employees. One early respondent seemed to anticipate the coming storm of emails by replying to all, “braces self for receiving thousands of emails from people hitting ‘reply all’ to say they got added by mistake.” Then the ‘reply-all’ responses began.Neither the offending sender, nor the department they work for were identified.
KUTV

Good morning from Augusta, where it just got easier to post comments on the governor's Facebook page. The American Civil Liberties Union of Maine has settled its First Amendment lawsuit against Gov. Paul LePage, whom the group said unconstitutionally censored comments on his Facebook page. The dispute dates back more than a year, and the settlement continues to allow LePage to claim distance between the Facebook page and his role as governor. The ACLU sued LePage in August 2017 after administrators of the page blocked Karin Leuthy and Kelli Whitlock Burton, co-leaders of the progressive group Suit Up Maine, from accessing or posting on the page. The pair posted criticisms about the Republican governor, which were later deleted and their status to post future comments was revoked. This action was reversed under the eight-page settlement reached Dec. 7. Leuthy and Burton are no longer blocked and administrators of the page are prohibited from blocking or censoring other constituents during LePage's remaining weeks in office. No monetary damages were awarded.
Governing
 

"Administrators of the governor's Facebook page are prohibited from blocking or censoring other constituents during LePage's remaining weeks in office."

editorials & columns

"Government has an obligation to provide ongoing access to public records that is distinct from its responsibility to prevent illegal access to private information."

With governments focused on tighter security measures surrounding sensitive data, now is an opportune time to adopt reforms that also remove obstacles to open public records and improve access. Updating open government laws, reforming policies and practices can yield numerous benefits — economic and political — and free resources to focus on malicious cyberattacks and ongoing data security. However, government has an obligation to provide ongoing access to public records that is distinct from its responsibility to prevent illegal access to private information.
Dan Bevarly, State Scoop

OVER the past three years, Spotsylvania School Superintendent Scott Baker has been slowly and quietly implementing what he calls “the specialty learning center concept” – which basically involves turning the county’s high schools into magnet schools offering specialized curricula in areas such as STEM, the visual and performing arts, teacher preparation, environmental studies and cybersecurity. However, Baker put the cart before the horse. There have been no public hearings on whether his concept is a good fit for Spotsylvania, never mind how many–or which–high schools should be converted to magnet schools. Parents and taxpayers have not had a chance to comment on these major changes, and the School Board has not voted for them. The superintendent apparently wants to make his specialty learning center concept a fait accompli before the public even gets to weigh in. That’s not how this process is supposed to work.
The Free Lance-Star