Transparency News 1/4/2017
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
State and Local Stories
State and Local Stories
Bill would require all departments, agencies, and institutions of the Commonwealth and staff and employees thereof to respond to a request for information made by a member of the General Assembly. The bill further provides that notwithstanding the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, a response to a request for information made by a member of the General Assembly shall not be subject to redaction.
SB 972
The Portsmouth City Council voted Tuesday to kill a rule that allowed $1,500 fines against members who speak publicly about closed meetings. With three newly elected members taking part in their first meeting, the council voted 5-1 to get rid of the rule, which led to two fines and two lawsuits last year. It was created in 2015 after Bill Moody, who abstained in Tuesday’s vote, and Elizabeth Psimas spoke to The Virginian-Pilot about the council’s closed-door discussion of pursuing a court order to remove the Confederate monument on Court Street. “I want us to have a fresh start,” Vice Mayor Paige Cherry said before voting for the change. “Hopefully this new administration won’t feel the need to disclose confident(ial) information. ... It has been more of a distraction than anything else to have it come up at every meeting.”
Virginian-Pilot
In a change that led to a boisterous discussion amongst members of the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors — who also voted for new leaders Tuesday night — the governing body may move to a longer meeting once a month, instead of the current schedule of two meetings every month.
Register & Bee
Time is running short on an effort by a pair of Prince William County School Board members to hold a special meeting on a controversial proposal to redesign the county’s 13th high school, yet no one can say with any certainty whether that meeting will actually happen. Both acting board member Shawn Brann of the Brentsville District and Alyson Satterwhite of the Gainesville District announced Dec. 30 that they wanted to hold a special meeting immediately after the board’s regular gathering on Jan. 4, citing a board policy they believe gives two members the authority to call a meeting on their own. At-Large Chairman Ryan Sawyers has twice denied their requests to put the matter on the board agenda for a vote. “Simply put, issuing a press release saying that there will be a special session does not magically make it so,” Sawyers wrote in an email.
Inside NOVA
The Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors failed to pick leaders at its first meeting of the year. The board held its organizational meeting Tuesday and, after about 30 minutes of debate, decided to try again next week.
Northern Virginia
National Stories
On the opening day of Congress, President-elect Donald Trump demonstrated the power of his 18.5-million Twitter followers and the clout of his populist credentials. With just a couple of tweets, the president-elect helped achieve what GOP leaders could not the night before, successfully pressuring House Republicans to reverse course on a plan to essentially scuttle an independent congressional ethics board.
News & Advance
BuzzFeed's legal team has helped reporters pry more than 70,000 pages of documents from government agencies with FOIA requests. That number is about to increase in a big way. On Tuesday, BuzzFeed News announced the hiring of investigative journalist Jason Leopold, who has made a living — and eked out tons of scoops — by deluging the federal government with Freedom of Information Act requests. Leopold, who currently works for VICE News, is a self-styled "FOIA terrorist," and has the distinction of triggering a flood of stories after suing for Hillary Clinton's State Department emails. Leopold has brought more FOIA lawsuits by himself than any other news organization except The New York Times.
Poynter
Editorials/Columns
Those dreaming about a bright start in the new year from the 115th Congress were smacked in the face by reality on Monday when word filtered down that the Republican House conference had voted to neuter an independent committee charged with ethical oversight of lawmakers. Though on Tuesday Republicans reversed themselves after a flurry of criticism, the initial decision remains troubling. The trouble comes as much from what was done as from how. By voting behind closed doors, while most of America was still enjoying a holiday, and making the measure a part of the rules package that will govern the House for the next two years, GOP members flouted the wishes of every voter who sought an end to business-as-usual in Washington.
Virginian-Pilot
How disappointing that a move to gut the U.S. House of Representatives' independent ethics office should have come from a Virginian. But the stealth attack on the Office of Congressional Ethics, approved behind closed doors Monday, was the brainchild of Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke County. Luckily, the House GOP caucus reversed itself yesterday. And you may remember that Goodlatte hails, as do all of us, from the state with about the most lax ethics oversight in the nation.
Daily Press
SB 972
The Portsmouth City Council voted Tuesday to kill a rule that allowed $1,500 fines against members who speak publicly about closed meetings. With three newly elected members taking part in their first meeting, the council voted 5-1 to get rid of the rule, which led to two fines and two lawsuits last year. It was created in 2015 after Bill Moody, who abstained in Tuesday’s vote, and Elizabeth Psimas spoke to The Virginian-Pilot about the council’s closed-door discussion of pursuing a court order to remove the Confederate monument on Court Street. “I want us to have a fresh start,” Vice Mayor Paige Cherry said before voting for the change. “Hopefully this new administration won’t feel the need to disclose confident(ial) information. ... It has been more of a distraction than anything else to have it come up at every meeting.”
Virginian-Pilot
In a change that led to a boisterous discussion amongst members of the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors — who also voted for new leaders Tuesday night — the governing body may move to a longer meeting once a month, instead of the current schedule of two meetings every month.
Register & Bee
Time is running short on an effort by a pair of Prince William County School Board members to hold a special meeting on a controversial proposal to redesign the county’s 13th high school, yet no one can say with any certainty whether that meeting will actually happen. Both acting board member Shawn Brann of the Brentsville District and Alyson Satterwhite of the Gainesville District announced Dec. 30 that they wanted to hold a special meeting immediately after the board’s regular gathering on Jan. 4, citing a board policy they believe gives two members the authority to call a meeting on their own. At-Large Chairman Ryan Sawyers has twice denied their requests to put the matter on the board agenda for a vote. “Simply put, issuing a press release saying that there will be a special session does not magically make it so,” Sawyers wrote in an email.
Inside NOVA
The Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors failed to pick leaders at its first meeting of the year. The board held its organizational meeting Tuesday and, after about 30 minutes of debate, decided to try again next week.
Northern Virginia
National Stories
On the opening day of Congress, President-elect Donald Trump demonstrated the power of his 18.5-million Twitter followers and the clout of his populist credentials. With just a couple of tweets, the president-elect helped achieve what GOP leaders could not the night before, successfully pressuring House Republicans to reverse course on a plan to essentially scuttle an independent congressional ethics board.
News & Advance
BuzzFeed's legal team has helped reporters pry more than 70,000 pages of documents from government agencies with FOIA requests. That number is about to increase in a big way. On Tuesday, BuzzFeed News announced the hiring of investigative journalist Jason Leopold, who has made a living — and eked out tons of scoops — by deluging the federal government with Freedom of Information Act requests. Leopold, who currently works for VICE News, is a self-styled "FOIA terrorist," and has the distinction of triggering a flood of stories after suing for Hillary Clinton's State Department emails. Leopold has brought more FOIA lawsuits by himself than any other news organization except The New York Times.
Poynter
Editorials/Columns
Those dreaming about a bright start in the new year from the 115th Congress were smacked in the face by reality on Monday when word filtered down that the Republican House conference had voted to neuter an independent committee charged with ethical oversight of lawmakers. Though on Tuesday Republicans reversed themselves after a flurry of criticism, the initial decision remains troubling. The trouble comes as much from what was done as from how. By voting behind closed doors, while most of America was still enjoying a holiday, and making the measure a part of the rules package that will govern the House for the next two years, GOP members flouted the wishes of every voter who sought an end to business-as-usual in Washington.
Virginian-Pilot
How disappointing that a move to gut the U.S. House of Representatives' independent ethics office should have come from a Virginian. But the stealth attack on the Office of Congressional Ethics, approved behind closed doors Monday, was the brainchild of Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Roanoke County. Luckily, the House GOP caucus reversed itself yesterday. And you may remember that Goodlatte hails, as do all of us, from the state with about the most lax ethics oversight in the nation.
Daily Press
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