Transparency News, 12/8/20

Bedford County officials cited by the health department last week for violating the state’s pandemic restrictions said Monday they believe they are exempt from the rules. Bedford County administration and supervisors received a notice of violation of current state pandemic guidelines from the Bedford County Health Department — part of the Central Virginia Health District — in response to conduct at the Bedford County Board of Supervisors meeting Nov. 23. It is the first such notice of violation CVHD has sent to a local government body. The notice came after more than 100 people flocked to the county administration building on East Main Street in Bedford — most not wearing masks or social distancing — in response to a proposed resolution opposing Gov. Ralph Northam’s latest restrictions aimed at mitigating an increase in COVID-19 cases by capping most gatherings at 25 individuals, and expanding the mask mandate to include ages 5 and older. The resolution proposed by the public said Northam’s crowd size restrictions violate the First Amendment right to peaceful assembly, and called for Bedford County to actively oppose the restrictions in the name of being a “First Amendment sanctuary county.”
The News & Advance

Virginia Beach wants to better compete for tourism dollars and some at City Hall think privatizing its tourism department would put Virginia Beach in the best position to do so. But the city wants the public to weigh in on it. Earlier this year, a consultant urged the council to turn the organization into a 501c3 or a 501c6 organization so it could recruit a qualified CEO and other staff with higher salaries than a city salary usually allows, and eliminate public bidding on contracts [and FOIA] so marketing projects can get off the ground quicker. Without barriers of city government protocols, many in the hospitality industry think a private or tourism authority organization would market the city better so more tourists would visit and spend money. With less oversight, Councilman John Moss said he worried privatizing the organization could lead to “buddy, buddy contracting.” He said the city needs to spend more time questioning if a new organizational structure is really needed.
The Virginian-Pilot

A Bridgewater police officer has been temporarily reassigned after being charged by the Virginia State Police last month. Christopher Earman, 46, is charged with misdemeanor invasion of privacy using a computer. According to a criminal complaint, the investigation began when Trooper Benjamin Jamerson received a report from Chief Joe Simmons. The complaint stated that a woman contacted Simmons stating that she and her husband had been separated. The woman told Simmons that her husband stopped by her home and noticed a Jeep parked in her driveway. “He texted a photo of the Jeep and license plate to his friend [Christopher Earman], who is a Bridgewater town police officer and asked him to run the plate,” the report read. The report said that Earman ran the plate through his Virginia Criminal Information Network terminal inside his police vehicle and did a driver check on the owner. “The offline search reflects that Earman was able to examine the name, birth date, social security number, driver’s license number and other identifiers for the vehicle,” the complaint states. “He would have no authority under VCIN regulations to run this tag for personal reasons.”
The Daily News Record

Sixteen people, including recent Republican council candidate Harry Clark and school board member Scott Albrecht, have applied to fill the Manassas City Council seat that will be vacated by Michelle Davis-Younger when she takes the mayor’s office in January.  In a closed meeting Monday night, the current council met to hear from the 16 applicants, though Davis-Younger told InsideNoVa that they only narrowed down the field before potentially voting on a new member at their next meeting. Whomever is selected will have to run for the seat next November if they wish to continue on the council.
InsideNoVa
 

Maine State House leaders face enormous logistical challenges as they attempt to allow participation in next year’s legislative proceedings in ways that both protect public health and avoid inadvertently disenfranchising those on the wrong side of Maine’s technological divide. Last week’s opening day of the 130th Maine Legislature, held at the Augusta Civic Center, was a dry run for how all 186 senators and representatives as well as staff can gather while reducing risk of COVID-19 through masks and physical distancing. But with the State House closed to the public for the foreseeable future, lawmakers are still debating how best to provide public access to the legislative committees that conduct much of the day-to-day work.
Governing