Transparency News 12/3/14
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
State and Local Stories
The Richmond City Council has not rolled out a long-planned upgrade to its legislative software because its staff has not gotten enough help from the city’s Department of Information Technology, City Clerk Jean V. Capel told a council committee on Monday. The new system, which would make use of the Granicus online platform to manage meeting schedules, agendas, minutes and videos, has been in the works for more than a year. On Monday night, Capel told the council’s Organizational Development Committee that the system is not ready for prime time. Some of the issues still being worked through, Capel said, are ensuring that legislative papers show up on multiple agendas and reworking the numbering system for ordinances and resolutions.
Times-Dispatch
As 2015 approaches, the Richmond City Council is again debating whether it should meet once or twice per month, though only a few people in or out of City Hall seem to care much. A recent internal city survey about the council’s schedule drew responses from 27 of the 50 employees invited to offer feedback. Participation among council members was even lower, with only three of nine members completing the eight-question, multiple-choice survey. When asked which council members filled out the survey, Council Public Information Manager Steve Skinner said the survey was done anonymously and did not include individual names.
Times-Dispatch
A new model of body-worn cameras used by the Martinsville Police Department provides a greater level of accountability and transparency, according to Chief Sean Dunn. One of the main reasons Dunn wanted to upgrade the cameras, he said, was that with the previous cameras, the officers had full access to delete or modify the video footage. Dunn did not suggest officers would tamper with the video footage. His concern, he said, was that if a bad situation were to occur, he wanted to be able to honestly say to the community that “this situation was recorded, and I’m here to tell you that this is a true and accurate recording that could not have been modified by my officer.” The video is stored securely on the police department’s server, he said, and no one can access that video from home — Dunn included.
Martinsville Bulletin
Amid the furor over allegations of a gang rape at one of the University of Virginia’s oldest fraternities, questions are arising about the account that fueled the scandal. A headline for a column in the Los Angeles Times reads: “Rolling Stone rape story sends shock waves — and stretches credulity.” A Wall Street Journal columnist describes it as a “media failure.” “Through our extensive reporting and fact-checking, we found Jackie to be entirely credible and courageous and we are proud to have given her disturbing story the attention it deserves,” said Melissa Bruno, publicity director for Wenner Media.
The Daily Progress is awaiting a response from the university to a Freedom of Information Act request for records from the school.
Daily Progress
With technology outpacing privacy laws, Virginia lawmakers are trying to plan for the unexpected. Democratic state Sen. Chap Petersen and Republican state Delegate Richard Anderson are looking to prohibit state agencies and law enforcement from using any technology — think automatic license plate readers, call databases and drones — to passively collect and then keep personal information without a warrant. Anderson said he may even try to push a constitutional amendment, which is harder to get than a law but also virtually impossible to alter.
Watchdog.org Virginia Bureau
The Fairfax County Police Department on Monday sent a six-page letter to Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) responding to the lawmaker’s five detailed questions about the August 2013 police killing of unarmed John Geer in Springfield. Below is the letter. Below that is the police department’s general order on guidelines for the release of public information.
Washington Post
National Stories
The reserve police officers of Oakley, Mich., along with three "John Doe" plaintiffs, have sued the Oakley Board of Trustees in an attempt to keep their names secret. The reservists, represented by Troy law firm Rosenthal and Beams, also seek to keep the reservists' names secret from board members themselves, who make up the governing body that oversees the Oakley Police Department. The lawsuit, filed Oct. 24 in Saginaw County Circuit Court, seeks a temporary restraining order and cites a perceived threat from Islamic terrorists and a promise of confidentiality to reserve officers when they joined the force, among other reasons, to halt the release of information.M Live
Editorials/Columns
Daily Press
