Transparency News 1/22/14

Former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, were indicted Tuesday for illegally accepting gifts and loans from a political donor. The charges against the couple were outlined in a document filed by the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia that details how McDonnell and his wife accepted more than $135,000 in gifts and loans, trips, designer clothing and other items from Jonnie Williams Sr., former CEO of Star Scientific. McDonnell, once touted as a potential presidential contender and running mate for Mitt Romney, has been out of office for only a few days.
USA Today

Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell says federal prosecutorsstretched the law to bring corruption charges against him and his wife. McDonnell appeared Tuesday night at a hastily called news conference in Richmond to address a 14-count indictment returned against the former first couple. He did not take questions. With his wife, Maureen, at his side, McDonnell denied he gave any special treatment to a political patron who lavished gifts on the governor and his family.
Southwest Times

Former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell reacted Tuesday night to charges that he and his wife had improperly accepted gifts from a Virginia businessman, saying they were “false allegations.” “I repeat again, emphatically, that I did nothing illegal” for Jonnie R. Williams Sr., the now-former chief executive of a Virginia nutritional supplement company, McDonnell said at a news conference in the lobby of his attorney’s office in Richmond. He was accompanied by his wife, Maureen, a daughter and a son-in-law.
Washington Post

The indictment sheds new light on numerous aspects of their relationship with Williams, and on the federal investigation. JW refers to Williams. CM is Cailin, one of the McDonnells’ daughters. MoBo is a real estate partnership for vacation properties the family owned. JE is referred to as counsel and senior policy adviser to McDonnell.
Here are verbatim excerpts from the indictment.
Times-Dispatch

The House of Delegates' version of compromise legislation to tighten Virginia's lax gift laws with a $250-per-item cap would have blocked few of the gifts that legislators and statewide officials took in 2012, according to a new analysis by a left-leaning advocacy group. ProgressVA reached that conclusion after comparing Del. Todd Gilbert's proposed legislation (HB1211) with gift data from 2012. The group's analysis found that elected officials accepted 756 gifts worth $360,895 in 2012, with gifts to legislators accounting for $247,608 of that sum.
Virginian-Pilot
 

National Stories

Delaware asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to review a lower court decision that stopped the state's nationally important business court from overseeing private arbitrations, a process critics compared to secret trials. The U.S. Court of Appeals in Philadelphia upheld in October a ruling that found the five judges on Delaware's Court of Chancery had violated the U.S. Constitution by overseeing private arbitrations in their courtrooms. All court filings and even the existence of the cases was secret.
Reuters

Not knowing where a child is can be harrowing for a parent. Not knowing where a child is in a blizzard can be even more frightening. This was the situation Boston Public Schools (BPS) found themselves in during the winter of 2010 when the East Coast was rocked by a series of snowstorms that cut power to hundreds of thousands and delayed school buses for hours. The series of storms, labeled “Snowmaggedon”, left an indelible impression on the school system that later turned into a call to action. Chris Osgood, co-chair of the Boston Mayor’s Office of New Urban Mechanics, explained to Government Technology that the city's experience during the storms led to the creation of a mobile app for parents called Where’s My School Bus?, that rapidly and securely relays student bus locations to parents. The app came about with the help of Boston's 2011 Code for America (CfA) fellowship, a program designed by the civic tech organization to outfit municipalities with technical support for IT improvement projects.
Governing

Police in one northeastern Pennsylvania town really "liked" this Facebook post. Officers in Freeland arrested 35-year-old Anthony Lescowitch on Monday night, less than two hours after he shared a wanted photo of himself and taunted police for not being able to find him, the (Wilkes-Barre) Times Leader (http://bit.ly/1bg0cOK ) reported Tuesday. Lescowitch shared the wanted bulletin minutes after Freeland police posted it on the department Facebook page Monday night, authorities said. He was being sought on assault-related charges. An officer pretending to be an attractive woman then messaged Lescowitch, according to police. Lescowitch refused the offer of a drink but eventually agreed to meet for a cigarette, and was arrested at the agreed-upon location.
USA Today
 

Editorials/Columns

Times-Dispatch: Yesterday federal prosecutors indicted Bob and Maureen McDonnell on charges related to Giftgate. The couple may prevail in court, but McDonnell’s reputation as governor lies in tatters.

Virginian-Pilot: Virginia's elected officials are responsible for ensuring the integrity of public office. When questions arise about the state's system, federal authorities step in as a last resort. On Tuesday, they did.

News Leader: Fourteen federal indictments and two lives in shambles. Tuesday’s indictments against former Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, come as no surprise. They merely sadden and give pause. McDonnell bought into what has perhaps become myth: “the Virginia way,” whereby the Commonwealth is full of honor with no need for strong ethics laws for its highest-elected officials; whereby state law said he could do something, so he did; whereby he could ask for indictment to be delayed until his term was over; whereby friends of both political parties could call federal prosecutors and vouch for his character. Federal prosecutors were not impressed. They saw a couple parlaying political power into big gifts and brought down the hammer.

Roanoke Times: Public notices offer a daily glimpse at what's going on, or might go on, in our communities. A quick glance through Tuesday's edition of The Roanoke Times revealed a businessman, thinking well ahead, who wants a permit for a snow cone stand in Roanoke County. Roanoke College wishes to move a snow route easement, and a local government is seeking security services for its offices. The information doesn't affect all readers equally, but is valuable to those who live next door to a proposed rezoning, or own a security company or are already dreaming about summer treats. The legal advertisements let residents know ahead of time that their elected representatives will be making decisions on their behalf, and they have a right to show up, ask questions and express their opinions … before it's too late.

Daily Progress: We’ve been talking a lot recently about government surveillance of your personal information — chiefly via cellphone and computer communications as monitored by the National Security Agency. But it cuts even closer than that. or some people, no piece of technology is more personal than their own automobile. For some people, the connection is almost intimate. Automobiles are more than methods of transportation; they are an extension of ourselves. We use them as mobile offices and safe havens of escape. We trick them out, personalize them, make them uniquely our own.And most of us do not know that our personal vehicles — or the gadgets we install in them — are also collecting our data and passing it along to third parties.