Transparency News, 2/27/20

Thursday
February 27, 2020

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state & local news stories

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The last high-profile attempt to learn the source of Virginia’s execution drugs ended in a black bar. In 2016, the Associated Press filed a Freedom of Information Act request to learn which pharmacy had provided the state’s Department of Corrections with materials for its next two executions. The department provided the receipts for the drugs, but redacted the name of the pharmacy. It was legal under a law passed the same year, which enabled the state to purchase drugs from compounding pharmacies instead of relying on pharmaceutical companies. The legislation, proposed by then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe, also allowed the Department of Corrections to hide the names of vendors. “Frankly, I’ve been concerned about this issue since the code was changed,” said Sen. John Bell, D-Loudoun. His bill narrowly passed the Senate in a 21-19 party line vote on Feb. 4 and was reported from a House committee earlier this week. But some lawmakers have expressed similar concerns to McAuliffe’s in 2016, arguing that compounding pharmacies would refuse to supply the drugs if their identities were subject to FOIAs.
Virginia Mercury

The former chairwoman of the board that oversees the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport testified at a federal fraud trial this week that she didn’t know how the airport had come up with the money to back a $5 million loan to a startup airline in 2014. LaDonna Finch was the first of dozens of prosecution witnesses expected to testify in the federal fraud trial underway against Spirito in U.S. District Court in Norfolk. The charges stem largely from his actions surrounding the People Express loan guarantee. A key date at trial is June 9, 2014, when the Peninsula Airport Commission held a special closed session to discuss backing a $5 million line of credit to the fledgling airline. Members then came out of closed session and voted on a vaguely worded resolution empowering Finch “to do and commit any act ... which the Chair deems necessary to provide for the adequate, economical and efficient provision of air service and general business at Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport."
Daily Press

Winchester municipal employees who have a grievance with a department head can ask the city manager to investigate their complaints. But what if a department head wants to challenge the actions of the city manager? Under the city’s current personnel policies, the only recourse for them is to file a lawsuit and let the courts decide the matter. Two weeks ago, City Council members indicated they were OK with that because council has no established procedure for investigating allegations against the city manager or city attorney, the only two positions that council hires and fires. At Tuesday’s council work session, there was a shift in some members’ opinions. Councilor Kim Herbstritt suggested establishing a human rights commission that could investigate grievances against the city manager and city attorney without the complaining department head having to spend money on an attorney and court costs.
The Winchester Star

Two weeks after Front Royal Town Councilman Chris Holloway said that council members have received threats via social media “to have our houses burned down” and “our vehicles vandalized,” Commonwealth’s Attorney John Bell on Monday outlined laws regarding online speech. Bell said he was asked to speak at the meeting regarding issues surrounding “online speech and harassment.” He noted that “some folks in law enforcement and some folks in the political community” have approached his office with questions of “where the line is.” “My office takes a very robust view of the First Amendment in that a lot of what has been complained about comes under the heading of protected speech. But there are limits,” Bell said. Although he said the online world is viewed “as the Wild West” with no rules, he said the Code of Virginia does place some limits on online speech.
The Northern Virginia Daily

stories of national interest

Delaware officials approved plans Monday to aid Amazon’s largest-ever “fulfillment center” on the site of a demolished General Motors plant west of Wilmington. The state Council on Development Finance unanimously approved $4.5 million in taxpayer subsidies for the 5½-story warehouse over objections from a few state legislators, plus union workers and neighbors. State Rep. John Kowalko (D., Newark) objected to the way state officials released details of the plan only after it was approved. Bottom line: “The American people are funding Amazon’s pursuit of an e-commerce monopoly.”
Governing

A York County, Pennsylvania, judge has called out county solicitors' practice of withholding material from the state Office of Open Records during Right-to-Know Law disputes, calling it a "disturbing trend." Common Pleas Judge Richard K. Renn last month denied a portion of York County's request to overturn an OOR ruling that ordered the county to provide documents to an attorney representing the family of an inmate who died at York County Prison in 2018. After the OOR granted attorney John Coyle's appeal of the county's denial, York County Prison Board solicitor Donald Reihart appealed to the Court of Common Pleas and introduced an additional affidavit from prison Warden Clair Doll to be included for Renn's review. Renn stated he'd recently noticed a "disturbing trend" of the county introducing new materials after the OOR has issued its ruling. The judge quoted a Commonwealth Court opinion that addressed this practice, which stated that accepting additional records at the judicial review stage of an appeal undermines the presumption of openness in the state's Right-to-Know Law. "Indeed, one might conclude that the County was 'sandbagging' the OOR appeal process since no explanation was given for the recent submission of the Warden's affidavit," Renn then wrote in his own words.
York Dispatch

"Indeed, one might conclude that the County was 'sandbagging' the [Office of Open Records] appeal process."

editorials & columns

"[Florida lawmakers are] on the verge of passing legislation that will give corporate headhunters the secrecy they’ve long craved."

Being the president of a public university is like being the mayor of a good-sized city. You oversee a budget that can top $6 billion a year in public money, run a police force, and supervise housing and healthcare services for thousands of people. But while we’d never accept a mayor secretly hired by a handful of influential business executives, Florida is on the verge of deciding to do just that for state university presidencies. The state’s tradition of bringing presidential finalists to campus to meet with alumni, faculty and students would be traded for interviews in airport hotels, in which trustees and corporate headhunters will choose someone who may never have set foot on the campus. For more than a decade, lobbyists for executive headhunting firms -- who make their money placing candidates in presidencies -- have been telling Florida lawmakers that the state’s famously progressive open-government laws are hurting presidential recruitment. (Never mind that the reputations of the University of Florida and Florida State University have stratospherically soared in recent years under presidents hired in transparent, inclusive searches.) This year, Florida lawmakers seem to have put aside their skepticism. They’re on the verge of passing legislation that will give corporate headhunters the secrecy they’ve long craved.
Frank LoMonte, The Palm Beach Post