Transparency News 2/20/17
Monday, February 20, 2017
State and Local Stories
State and Local Stories
A bill meant to prevent a defendant from gaining access to the personal information of jurors has been twice resurrected by its sponsor, 29th District Del. Chris Collins, R-Frederick County. Collins introduced House Bill 1546 after a local convicted murderer, Christopher Lee Baker, obtained a list of jurors from his murder trial and sent some of them letters threatening to harm them if money was not deposited into his inmate account at the Northwestern Regional Adult Detention Center. The bill was initially opposed by the Virginia Coalition for Open Government and the Virginia Press Association, which felt the existing law allowing a judge to seal the information on a case-by-case basis was sufficient.
Winchester Star
Former Petersburg City Attorney Brian K. Telfair has been charged with lying to police about a supposed threat that forced the cancellation of a city council meeting last February. The charge — a Class 1 misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500 — followed an interview Telfair gave state police investigators about his three-year stint in Petersburg’s embattled City Hall, his lawyer said Friday. This investigation concerns a council meeting initially slated for Feb. 16, which was canceled at the last minute. The city released a cryptic notice citing safety concerns. Five of seven council members and dozens of city residents showed up. Those who did said they were unaware of the nature of the threat. The city at the time would not provide further details. Then-spokeswoman Jay Ell Alexander and now-former police spokeswoman Esther Hyatt initially referred calls to Telfair. Telfair said the next day that racial slurs and threats of physical violence against some members of the City Council and administration staff had led to the cancellation.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
A judge has ordered Norfolk Treasurer Anthony Burfoot suspended from office effective Monday, saying a man who committed “crimes of dishonesty” should no longer hold public office. The ruling Friday came on a court petition filed by Norfolk lawyer Ron Batliner. In an 11-page order, Norfolk Circuit Judge Everett Martin said Burfoot is suspended without pay from 5 p.m. Monday through April 21, unless a court orders otherwise. “If Burfoot is not suspended from office the public will continue to pay a substantial salary to one convicted … of crimes of dishonesty,” the judge wrote. “More importantly, as Batliner urges, there will be further erosion of the trust the residents of the City of Norfolk ought to have that honest men and women administer their government. The Court finds this the most compelling consideration.” Burfoot’s attorney, Andrew Sacks, filed a motion late Friday asking Martin to stay the suspension order while Sacks seeks review by the Virginia Supreme Court.
Virginian-Pilot
Speaker of the House William J. Howell, R-Stafford, will not run for re-election this year but instead will retire after 29 years in the House of Delegates, the last 14 as speaker. Howell, who will turn 74 in May, is expected to announce his decision Monday, but sources close to the speaker confirmed his intention to retire after the end of his two-year term in January. His aide, Chris West, said Sunday that the speaker declined to comment about the pending announcement. His decision to step down is likely to open the door for House Majority Leader M. Kirkland Cox, R-Colonial Heights, to become speaker next year.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
A Shenandoah County supervisor says he expects a legal challenge to his loss of the board chairmanship in a surprise vote. The Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 on Thursday to elect Richard Walker as chairman and Conrad Helsley as vice chairman. Supervisors acted during a joint meeting with the School Board on the fiscal 2018 budget. The vote came after the School Board adjourned its portion of the meeting. Reached by phone Friday, Helsley said he expects the county attorney to ask a judge if the board’s vote could hold up.
Northern Virginia Daily
National Stories
The Federal Bureau of Investigation must explain fees it charged a reporter for a 2011 Freedom of Information Act Request, after a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Feb. 14.The reporter, Jeff Stein, last month filed a complaint concerning a separate FOIA request he made to determine how Mike Flynn—who recently resigned as national security adviser—and other Donald Trump administration officials received security clearances. The outcome here could make federal agencies “more responsive and more conscientious” in how they assess FOIA fees, Stein’s attorney Kel McClanahan of National Security Counselors, Rockville, Md., told Bloomberg BNA by telephone Feb. 14.
Bloomberg BNA
Most businesses face numerous privacy concerns. Businesses that provide confidential information to regulatory agencies face a unique challenge: How can they keep this information private? Recently, several hundred power plants faced this challenge when environmental groups sued EPA to compel disclosure of confidential information the plants had provided to EPA. The case highlights the different tactics groups may take to obtain information, and reminds businesses to be aware of the laws governing confidentiality of information.
National Law Review
A judge is hearing oral arguments in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit pitting former Delaware Gov. Jack Markell against former state treasurer Chip Flowers. Friday's hearing involves a request by Flowers in 2015 for emails sent or received by Markell administration officials that referred to Flowers and his office. After Flowers challenged Markell's denial of records, the attorney general's office issued a split decision, in which it was unable to determine whether Markell's office violated FOIA by withholding emails simply because they were sent by a lawmaker or legislative staffer, without regard to their content or context.
News & Observer
On the campaign trail, long before he called the news media “the enemy of the American people,” President Trump pledged to curtail press freedom. “We’re going to open up those libel laws,” he said. Read generously, though, Mr. Trump’s statement may have meant that he intended to appoint Supreme Court justices who would vote to overturn precedents that make it hard to sue for libel. On this score, at least, Judge Neil M. Gorsuch, Mr. Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, seems destined to disappoint his patron. Judge Gorsuch’s decisions in libel and related cases show no inclination to cut back on protections for the press.
New York Times
Winchester Star
Former Petersburg City Attorney Brian K. Telfair has been charged with lying to police about a supposed threat that forced the cancellation of a city council meeting last February. The charge — a Class 1 misdemeanor that carries a maximum penalty of 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500 — followed an interview Telfair gave state police investigators about his three-year stint in Petersburg’s embattled City Hall, his lawyer said Friday. This investigation concerns a council meeting initially slated for Feb. 16, which was canceled at the last minute. The city released a cryptic notice citing safety concerns. Five of seven council members and dozens of city residents showed up. Those who did said they were unaware of the nature of the threat. The city at the time would not provide further details. Then-spokeswoman Jay Ell Alexander and now-former police spokeswoman Esther Hyatt initially referred calls to Telfair. Telfair said the next day that racial slurs and threats of physical violence against some members of the City Council and administration staff had led to the cancellation.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
A judge has ordered Norfolk Treasurer Anthony Burfoot suspended from office effective Monday, saying a man who committed “crimes of dishonesty” should no longer hold public office. The ruling Friday came on a court petition filed by Norfolk lawyer Ron Batliner. In an 11-page order, Norfolk Circuit Judge Everett Martin said Burfoot is suspended without pay from 5 p.m. Monday through April 21, unless a court orders otherwise. “If Burfoot is not suspended from office the public will continue to pay a substantial salary to one convicted … of crimes of dishonesty,” the judge wrote. “More importantly, as Batliner urges, there will be further erosion of the trust the residents of the City of Norfolk ought to have that honest men and women administer their government. The Court finds this the most compelling consideration.” Burfoot’s attorney, Andrew Sacks, filed a motion late Friday asking Martin to stay the suspension order while Sacks seeks review by the Virginia Supreme Court.
Virginian-Pilot
Speaker of the House William J. Howell, R-Stafford, will not run for re-election this year but instead will retire after 29 years in the House of Delegates, the last 14 as speaker. Howell, who will turn 74 in May, is expected to announce his decision Monday, but sources close to the speaker confirmed his intention to retire after the end of his two-year term in January. His aide, Chris West, said Sunday that the speaker declined to comment about the pending announcement. His decision to step down is likely to open the door for House Majority Leader M. Kirkland Cox, R-Colonial Heights, to become speaker next year.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
A Shenandoah County supervisor says he expects a legal challenge to his loss of the board chairmanship in a surprise vote. The Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 on Thursday to elect Richard Walker as chairman and Conrad Helsley as vice chairman. Supervisors acted during a joint meeting with the School Board on the fiscal 2018 budget. The vote came after the School Board adjourned its portion of the meeting. Reached by phone Friday, Helsley said he expects the county attorney to ask a judge if the board’s vote could hold up.
Northern Virginia Daily
National Stories
The Federal Bureau of Investigation must explain fees it charged a reporter for a 2011 Freedom of Information Act Request, after a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit Feb. 14.The reporter, Jeff Stein, last month filed a complaint concerning a separate FOIA request he made to determine how Mike Flynn—who recently resigned as national security adviser—and other Donald Trump administration officials received security clearances. The outcome here could make federal agencies “more responsive and more conscientious” in how they assess FOIA fees, Stein’s attorney Kel McClanahan of National Security Counselors, Rockville, Md., told Bloomberg BNA by telephone Feb. 14.
Bloomberg BNA
Most businesses face numerous privacy concerns. Businesses that provide confidential information to regulatory agencies face a unique challenge: How can they keep this information private? Recently, several hundred power plants faced this challenge when environmental groups sued EPA to compel disclosure of confidential information the plants had provided to EPA. The case highlights the different tactics groups may take to obtain information, and reminds businesses to be aware of the laws governing confidentiality of information.
National Law Review
A judge is hearing oral arguments in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit pitting former Delaware Gov. Jack Markell against former state treasurer Chip Flowers. Friday's hearing involves a request by Flowers in 2015 for emails sent or received by Markell administration officials that referred to Flowers and his office. After Flowers challenged Markell's denial of records, the attorney general's office issued a split decision, in which it was unable to determine whether Markell's office violated FOIA by withholding emails simply because they were sent by a lawmaker or legislative staffer, without regard to their content or context.
News & Observer
On the campaign trail, long before he called the news media “the enemy of the American people,” President Trump pledged to curtail press freedom. “We’re going to open up those libel laws,” he said. Read generously, though, Mr. Trump’s statement may have meant that he intended to appoint Supreme Court justices who would vote to overturn precedents that make it hard to sue for libel. On this score, at least, Judge Neil M. Gorsuch, Mr. Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, seems destined to disappoint his patron. Judge Gorsuch’s decisions in libel and related cases show no inclination to cut back on protections for the press.
New York Times
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