Transparency News, 2/3/21

Two recently created cabinet-level positions in Gov. Ralph Northam’s office would gain a broad exemption from Virginia’s public-records laws under a bill advanced Tuesday by a House of Delegates committee. The legislation would extend the Virginia Freedom of Information Act’s working papers and correspondence exemption, often criticized by open-government advocates as creating a vaguely defined shield of secrecy around the actions of top officials, to the positions of chief workforce development adviser and director of diversity, equity and inclusion.
Virginia Mercury

After initially declining to provide the Mercury with data on COVID-19 vaccine wastage, the Virginia Department of Health responded to the inquiry on Tuesday morning. Spokeswoman Melissa Gordon wrote that the department did not establish a systematic way to collect reports on wastage until Jan. 29, when VDH posted a provider reporting form on its website. “At the time of [the] question, VDH had not yet established a systematic way to receive such reports,” Gordon wrote, “and therefore relied upon provider phone calls/emails to report such information.” The Mercury last requested the data on Monday. At the time, Gordon said the information was not available.
Virginia Mercury

New guidance from the Virginia Department of Education to help local school districts better protect their transgender and nonbinary students was set to go into effect Thursday, but the department says that likely won’t happen until later this month. The document is currently subject to public input and has received over 5,000 comments in the last month. VDOE says it will need to delay the document’s effective date until it has had a chance to review all the comments. The public comment period closes at 11:59 p.m. Wednesday.
VPM

Isle of Wight’s School Board has agreed to a legal consent order that ends two civil lawsuits alleging violations of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. The lawsuits, filed in late 2020 by Virginia Beach-based attorney Kevin Martingayle with the firm Bischoff Martingayle on behalf of county resident Katheryn Carter Lemon, accused the board of providing vague or insufficient details to the public regarding decisions to enter closed sessions and communicating the incorrect start time for board meetings. In a four-point final order filed Jan. 5 with Isle of Wight Circuit Court and approved by Circuit Court Judge Matthew A. Glassman on Jan. 21, the school board acknowledged that its motions to enter closed meetings in October 2020 “were not specific enough for purposes of compliance with the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.” Going forward, the board’s personnel reports will also be available to the public before the elected body enters closed session “unless doing so would interfere with the hiring of potential, prospective candidates for employment.”
The Smithfield Times

Staunton Councilwoman Brenda Mead wants to be part of the city process to choose new people for boards and committees, at least to observe. But by all accounts, the elected Staunton official has been blocked for months from setting that up. The nominations committee said the slow response is because it hasn’t been able to meet yet, but Mead thinks there’s another reason why the committee has pushed the request back. She thinks the new conservative majority on City Council wants to prevent her from going to a set of interviews Tuesday. The closed meeting Tuesday involves interviews with potential applicants for various Board and Commission vacancies including the Economic Development Authority and cannot be attended by the public. But as a Council member, Mead wants to attend virtually. She cannot do it in-person because of COVID precautions. Vice Mayor Mark Robertson said he would be more than willing to accommodate a call-in, if the person had a doctor’s note or medical reason. 
News Leader

 

 

 

No criminal charges have been filed after a hidden surveillance camera was discovered in the wall of a safety building office in Miami County north of Dayton, Ohio, but the county prosecutor called the case a “despicable display of corruption and misuse of power.” Miami County Sheriff’s detective Lt. Jason Moore launched an investigation Dec. 9 after he determined a covert camera likely was installed in 2015 by then-county IT Director Matt Watkins. Watkins told investigators he installed the camera at the direction of former Miami County Commissioner John “Bud” O’Brien, according to county documents and recorded sheriff’s interviews obtained by the Journal-News. The investigation has led to two resignations. Watkins said in his interview with the investigator that O’Brien told him information was being “leaked” or removed from storage in the HR director’s office and he wanted to figure out who was coming and going from the storage area. The county’s servers showed the camera was online and connected until August 2019, according to sheriff’s documents.
Governing

 

The public should hear officials explain the relocation of thousands of people, including how their treatment will be fair and equitable. And the city should be forthcoming and specific about the future of land on which the city has staked its future. Instead, Norfolk officials have chosen silence. Leave all these details to us, the city is essentially saying. Don’t worry about what we’re doing. Trust us to get it right. Everything will work out fine. Sorry, but that’s not good enough for the people of Norfolk because the St. Paul’s redevelopment needs considerable scrutiny as it unfolds. For the city to go silent now, at so critical moment, casts the project into further doubt and will only serve to erode trust and confidence in this effort and those in charge of it. Norfolk officials should admit this was a mistake, reverse course and resume the type of open communication needed for the St. Paul’s redevelopment to be the success we all hope it will be.
The Virginian-Pilot

Richmond Public Schools Superintendent Jason Kamras was given a three-year contract for $250,000 a year, the highest salary ever paid to a superintendent. He hired some trusted staff and they all set about cleaning up the mess they inherited. Three years and several controversies later, his contract is set to expire June 30. The School Board is undecided on whether to offer a two-, three- or four-year contract renewal. Judging from the sheer volume of irate telephone calls, emails, social media posts and even an online petition, it is clear that parents and teachers are fed up with all the secrecy surrounding Karmas’ fate. Regardless of where they stand on how long his contract should be extended, parents are not buying the excuse that board members can’t discuss his contract negotiations simply because the current contract explicitly states that Kamras and the School Board must keep the negotiations confidential.
Carol A.O. Wolf, Style Weekly