Transparency News 12/21/16
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
State and Local Stories
The Daily Press and other media groups are jointly asking a Suffolk juvenile court judge to order the immediate release of the transcript of the closed hearing in a state lawmaker's criminal case last week. The motion — filed Tuesday by the Daily Press, Virginian-Pilot and Smithfield Times — states that now that Del. Rick Morris, R-Suffolk, has put out a news release about what happened during the seven hours behind closed doors, it's even more urgent to get the transcript to verify his assertions. "By selectively quoting from the transcript of the closed hearing, summarizing certain alleged testimony allegedly given at the closed hearing, and attempting to influence the media coverage of his case by leaking only those portions of the closed hearing that he deems most advantageous to him, the Defendant ... is illustrating the serious public access issues raised by closing the hearing in the first place," stated the motion, written by Daily Press attorney Johan Conrod, with Norfolk firm of Kaufman & Canoles. The motion points out that Morris sits on the General Assembly's Courts of Justice Committee in Richmond. Among other things, that legislative panel plays a key role in selecting Virginia's judges and reappointing them to new terms.
Daily Press
Danville City Council members had questions about Danville Utilities’ idea to waive credit and debit card fees charged to customers who pay their bills online. At least one member expressed disbelief during council’s work session that customers paying their bills in person with debit or credit cards was still not an option in 2016. City Councilman James Buckner said it was “insane” that customers could not pay their utility bills with credit or debit cards in person at the Charles H. Harris Financial Service Center. Finance Director Michael Adkins said if the city were to accept cards at the counter, they would have to take on measures to protect consumer information, which triggers audits. “It boils down to the security of the credit and debit card information” and the liabilities it would open the city up to, Adkins said.
Register & Bee
Former Williamsburg Mayor Clyde Haulman was found not guilty of assault and battery in Williamsburg-James City County General District Court earlier this month. Haulman, who was mayor at the time until his term expired on June 30, was charged on March 13 after Gary Shelly, a Williamsburg landlord and long-time, persistent critic of the mayor, filed a criminal complaint for Class 1 misdemeanor assault and battery. The charge stemmed from a March 10 incident that took place following City Council's first meeting in the new Stryker Center. In a written criminal complaint, Shelly said that Haulman assaulted him.
Virginia Gazette
National Stories
The F.B.I. told a federal magistrate judge in Manhattan in a sealed affidavit shortly before Election Day that there was probable cause to believe that emails belonging to Huma Abedin, a top aide to Hillary Clinton, contained classified information, according to a redacted copy of the affidavit. The affidavit, which was unsealed on Tuesday along with related materials in Federal District Court, was filed on Oct. 30 in support of the F.B.I.’s request for a warrant to search a laptop containing the emails. The government appears to have based its warrant request on the theory that because Mrs. Clinton and Ms. Abedin had exchanged many classified emails using Mrs. Clinton’s personal server, there was likely to be classified material in the additional emails discovered on the laptop, as well.
New York Times
ProPublica has sued the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, claiming the agency failed to promptly process a request for correspondence with a consultant about Agent Orange, a toxic defoliant used during the Vietnam War. The lawsuit, filed late Friday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., alleges that the delays violated the Freedom of Information Act, a 50-year-old law whose mission is to provide the public with information about government operations. ProPublica submitted a FOIA request in May, requesting correspondence between various VA officials and scientist Alvin Young, who has guided the stance of the military and VA on Agent Orange and whether it has harmed service members. The request also sought internal correspondence about any contracts awarded to Young or his consulting firm. To date, the VA has not provided any of the requested documents.
ProPublica
The Department of Veterans Affairs has quietly released quality-of-care ratings for its medical centers across the country, despite years of refusing to share them with the public. The move follows a USA TODAY investigation that revealed ratings for 146 VA medical centers for the first time earlier this month. VA Secretary Bob McDonald complained at the time that their publication across the USA TODAY Network caused “unwarranted distress” to veterans and could dissuade them from getting care. But last week, according to an internal memo obtained by USA TODAY, the agency posted updated ratings on its website and also included indicators of whether hospitals were improving or declining, allowing members of the public to see for the first time how their local VA medical centers have been faring over time.
USA TODAY
The Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act, or NAHASDA, took effect in 1998 to ease housing shortages in Indian country. The Navajo Nation, the country’s largest tribe and whose reservation is one of the poorest places in America, gets the biggest share — $1.66 billion since it was enacted. Despite that, an Arizona Republic investigation found the Navajo Housing Authority, the agency responsible for that money, has failed in ways almost too numerous to count. The Republic reviewed housing records from the NHA to calculate how many homes have actually been built since 1998. In the final accounting, it was clear why the numbers weren’t getting better.
Arizona Republic
Daily Press
Danville City Council members had questions about Danville Utilities’ idea to waive credit and debit card fees charged to customers who pay their bills online. At least one member expressed disbelief during council’s work session that customers paying their bills in person with debit or credit cards was still not an option in 2016. City Councilman James Buckner said it was “insane” that customers could not pay their utility bills with credit or debit cards in person at the Charles H. Harris Financial Service Center. Finance Director Michael Adkins said if the city were to accept cards at the counter, they would have to take on measures to protect consumer information, which triggers audits. “It boils down to the security of the credit and debit card information” and the liabilities it would open the city up to, Adkins said.
Register & Bee
Former Williamsburg Mayor Clyde Haulman was found not guilty of assault and battery in Williamsburg-James City County General District Court earlier this month. Haulman, who was mayor at the time until his term expired on June 30, was charged on March 13 after Gary Shelly, a Williamsburg landlord and long-time, persistent critic of the mayor, filed a criminal complaint for Class 1 misdemeanor assault and battery. The charge stemmed from a March 10 incident that took place following City Council's first meeting in the new Stryker Center. In a written criminal complaint, Shelly said that Haulman assaulted him.
Virginia Gazette
National Stories
The F.B.I. told a federal magistrate judge in Manhattan in a sealed affidavit shortly before Election Day that there was probable cause to believe that emails belonging to Huma Abedin, a top aide to Hillary Clinton, contained classified information, according to a redacted copy of the affidavit. The affidavit, which was unsealed on Tuesday along with related materials in Federal District Court, was filed on Oct. 30 in support of the F.B.I.’s request for a warrant to search a laptop containing the emails. The government appears to have based its warrant request on the theory that because Mrs. Clinton and Ms. Abedin had exchanged many classified emails using Mrs. Clinton’s personal server, there was likely to be classified material in the additional emails discovered on the laptop, as well.
New York Times
ProPublica has sued the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, claiming the agency failed to promptly process a request for correspondence with a consultant about Agent Orange, a toxic defoliant used during the Vietnam War. The lawsuit, filed late Friday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., alleges that the delays violated the Freedom of Information Act, a 50-year-old law whose mission is to provide the public with information about government operations. ProPublica submitted a FOIA request in May, requesting correspondence between various VA officials and scientist Alvin Young, who has guided the stance of the military and VA on Agent Orange and whether it has harmed service members. The request also sought internal correspondence about any contracts awarded to Young or his consulting firm. To date, the VA has not provided any of the requested documents.
ProPublica
The Department of Veterans Affairs has quietly released quality-of-care ratings for its medical centers across the country, despite years of refusing to share them with the public. The move follows a USA TODAY investigation that revealed ratings for 146 VA medical centers for the first time earlier this month. VA Secretary Bob McDonald complained at the time that their publication across the USA TODAY Network caused “unwarranted distress” to veterans and could dissuade them from getting care. But last week, according to an internal memo obtained by USA TODAY, the agency posted updated ratings on its website and also included indicators of whether hospitals were improving or declining, allowing members of the public to see for the first time how their local VA medical centers have been faring over time.
USA TODAY
The Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act, or NAHASDA, took effect in 1998 to ease housing shortages in Indian country. The Navajo Nation, the country’s largest tribe and whose reservation is one of the poorest places in America, gets the biggest share — $1.66 billion since it was enacted. Despite that, an Arizona Republic investigation found the Navajo Housing Authority, the agency responsible for that money, has failed in ways almost too numerous to count. The Republic reviewed housing records from the NHA to calculate how many homes have actually been built since 1998. In the final accounting, it was clear why the numbers weren’t getting better.
Arizona Republic
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