Transparency News, 2/5/21
Friday
February 5, 2021
February 5, 2021
state & local news stories
"[Rhyne] questioned in a subcommittee hearing why college board members should be shielded from public contact, when numerous other public bodies across the state list the email addresses of their members."
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam announced a move Thursday to effectively extend this year’s legislative session to its customary 46-day length after Republican lawmakers sought to cut it short. Northam signed a proclamation summoning lawmakers for a special session that would begin Wednesday. Technically, the annual session had been scheduled to end Thursday because Republicans limited the calendar to 30 days. Without the action from Northam, Democrats tackling a hefty list of issues, including marijuana legalization and COVID-19 relief efforts, could have been limited in what work had they time to finish.
Associated Press
Abill to create a higher level of transparency by public college governing boards in Virginia was widely approved by the House of Delegates on Thursday. Lawmakers passed HB 2120, sponsored by Del. Mark Keam, D-Fairfax, by a vote of 98-0. The measure requires universities to list an email address for board members, who are appointed by the governor and have the final say on many university matters. It also instructs universities to work with the State Council for Higher Education to develop real-time electronic access to board meetings. Universities would be required to display one or multiple email addresses to which members of the public may write. But it’s easy for colleges to give board members government-issued email addresses, said Megan Rhyne, head of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government. She questioned in a subcommittee hearing why college board members should be shielded from public contact, when numerous other public bodies across the state list the email addresses of their members.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Disappointed with a recent Virginia Supreme Court ruling about the use of license plate readers, Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax City, is renewing his push to limit how long law enforcement agencies can retain data collected by the devices. The bill he introduced in the General Assembly would limit how long agencies can retain the data the automated readers collect to no more than 30 days, unless the information is actively being used in an investigation. His bill passed the Senate on a vote of 28-11 on Thursday and heads to the House of Delegates. “It’s this whole idea of we’re under a microscope and there’s a record of our movements for months,” Petersen said. “That’s what’s disturbing.” The devices collect plate numbers and the date, time and location where they were spotted. Petersen filed a bill in 2015 to have police purge the data within seven days. Then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe wanted to change it to 60 days. The legislature rejected his amendment, so McAuliffe vetoed the legislation.
The Roanoke Times
The epic Bragg lawsuits are finally over, with the Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors unanimously agreeing today to settle with Marian M. Bragg in Rappahannock County Circuit Court. The settlement will resolve both of the llama farmer’s suits against the Board of Supervisors. The county consented to pay $6,054.00 in taxpayer dollars to settle Bragg I and $11,946.00 — covered by a county insurance policy — to settle Bragg II. The settlement states clearly that “Nothing in this agreement shall be construed as an admission of a violation of the FOIA by the Board or any other defendant, and any such violation is expressly denied by the Board and the other defendants.”
Rappahannock News
Using a building for cover, Winchester Police Department Cpl. Sean C. O’Connor aimed his AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle at Eric Lyn Clark, who was on his porch about 50 yards away holding his own semi-automatic rifle that he had repeatedly fired at police. “Eric, drop the rifle! Drop it now!,” O’Connor screamed before firing a shot at Clark and then, after Clark didn’t surrender, firing a second shot that killed him. O’Connor’s attempt to get Clark to surrender during the Nov. 11 gunfight at Hillcrest Apartments at 2450 Massanutten Terrace are captured in body camera footage released by the Winchester Police Department on Thursday. The footage is part of a department video detailing the incident for the public. This is the first time Winchester police have released video of an officer-involved shooting. Police Chief John R. Piper, hired in 2017, said the release is part of ongoing departmental efforts to increase accountability, transparency and public trust.
The Winchester Star
King William County’s Interim Treasurer Marie Wilson announced Jan. 29 that she was resigning from her position effective that day, citing personal and health reasons, according to a letter of resignation obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. “For personal and health reasons, I am resigning as Interim Treasurer of King William County effective today,” Wilson stated in the letter. Wilson served as the deputy treasurer under former Treasurer Harry Whitt, who faced scrutiny after an internal audit revealed that the office had not collected millions in taxes and shoddy bookkeeping.
Tidewater Review
Chip Boyles, the executive director of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission, grew up with a family involved in local government and has spent his life working in local government. So, as Charlottesville faced government instability, council members turned to him for help with solutions. How that turned into his appointment as city manager happened in a nontraditional way. Council members Lloyd Snook and Heather Hill and Boyles confirmed that Boyles was interviewed during one of the three closed meetings held last month prior. At the time, Mayor Nikuyah Walker and Councilor Michael Payne emphasized that how Boyles was selected was not how the council planned to conduct the process in the future. “We were not elected to make decisions behind closed doors,” Walker explained in the Jan. 14 press conference announcing Boyles. “We understand it is important to make this decision with you. We are only here because of you all.”
Charlottesville Tomorrow
Suffolk City Council has appointed Shelley Butler Barlow to the Chuckatuck Borough seat to fill out the unexpired term of Mike Duman, who vacated the seat after being elected mayor. The names of the other candidates were not made public. Duman said during the Jan. 20 council meeting that he had not seen a better pool of candidates from which to choose. The council had reviewed candidates in closed session at that meeting, and did so again during the Feb. 3 meeting before choosing Barlow. Council, by code, had until the end of February to make the appointment.
Suffolk News-Herald
Associated Press
Abill to create a higher level of transparency by public college governing boards in Virginia was widely approved by the House of Delegates on Thursday. Lawmakers passed HB 2120, sponsored by Del. Mark Keam, D-Fairfax, by a vote of 98-0. The measure requires universities to list an email address for board members, who are appointed by the governor and have the final say on many university matters. It also instructs universities to work with the State Council for Higher Education to develop real-time electronic access to board meetings. Universities would be required to display one or multiple email addresses to which members of the public may write. But it’s easy for colleges to give board members government-issued email addresses, said Megan Rhyne, head of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government. She questioned in a subcommittee hearing why college board members should be shielded from public contact, when numerous other public bodies across the state list the email addresses of their members.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Disappointed with a recent Virginia Supreme Court ruling about the use of license plate readers, Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax City, is renewing his push to limit how long law enforcement agencies can retain data collected by the devices. The bill he introduced in the General Assembly would limit how long agencies can retain the data the automated readers collect to no more than 30 days, unless the information is actively being used in an investigation. His bill passed the Senate on a vote of 28-11 on Thursday and heads to the House of Delegates. “It’s this whole idea of we’re under a microscope and there’s a record of our movements for months,” Petersen said. “That’s what’s disturbing.” The devices collect plate numbers and the date, time and location where they were spotted. Petersen filed a bill in 2015 to have police purge the data within seven days. Then-Gov. Terry McAuliffe wanted to change it to 60 days. The legislature rejected his amendment, so McAuliffe vetoed the legislation.
The Roanoke Times
The epic Bragg lawsuits are finally over, with the Rappahannock County Board of Supervisors unanimously agreeing today to settle with Marian M. Bragg in Rappahannock County Circuit Court. The settlement will resolve both of the llama farmer’s suits against the Board of Supervisors. The county consented to pay $6,054.00 in taxpayer dollars to settle Bragg I and $11,946.00 — covered by a county insurance policy — to settle Bragg II. The settlement states clearly that “Nothing in this agreement shall be construed as an admission of a violation of the FOIA by the Board or any other defendant, and any such violation is expressly denied by the Board and the other defendants.”
Rappahannock News
Using a building for cover, Winchester Police Department Cpl. Sean C. O’Connor aimed his AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle at Eric Lyn Clark, who was on his porch about 50 yards away holding his own semi-automatic rifle that he had repeatedly fired at police. “Eric, drop the rifle! Drop it now!,” O’Connor screamed before firing a shot at Clark and then, after Clark didn’t surrender, firing a second shot that killed him. O’Connor’s attempt to get Clark to surrender during the Nov. 11 gunfight at Hillcrest Apartments at 2450 Massanutten Terrace are captured in body camera footage released by the Winchester Police Department on Thursday. The footage is part of a department video detailing the incident for the public. This is the first time Winchester police have released video of an officer-involved shooting. Police Chief John R. Piper, hired in 2017, said the release is part of ongoing departmental efforts to increase accountability, transparency and public trust.
The Winchester Star
King William County’s Interim Treasurer Marie Wilson announced Jan. 29 that she was resigning from her position effective that day, citing personal and health reasons, according to a letter of resignation obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. “For personal and health reasons, I am resigning as Interim Treasurer of King William County effective today,” Wilson stated in the letter. Wilson served as the deputy treasurer under former Treasurer Harry Whitt, who faced scrutiny after an internal audit revealed that the office had not collected millions in taxes and shoddy bookkeeping.
Tidewater Review
Chip Boyles, the executive director of the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission, grew up with a family involved in local government and has spent his life working in local government. So, as Charlottesville faced government instability, council members turned to him for help with solutions. How that turned into his appointment as city manager happened in a nontraditional way. Council members Lloyd Snook and Heather Hill and Boyles confirmed that Boyles was interviewed during one of the three closed meetings held last month prior. At the time, Mayor Nikuyah Walker and Councilor Michael Payne emphasized that how Boyles was selected was not how the council planned to conduct the process in the future. “We were not elected to make decisions behind closed doors,” Walker explained in the Jan. 14 press conference announcing Boyles. “We understand it is important to make this decision with you. We are only here because of you all.”
Charlottesville Tomorrow
Suffolk City Council has appointed Shelley Butler Barlow to the Chuckatuck Borough seat to fill out the unexpired term of Mike Duman, who vacated the seat after being elected mayor. The names of the other candidates were not made public. Duman said during the Jan. 20 council meeting that he had not seen a better pool of candidates from which to choose. The council had reviewed candidates in closed session at that meeting, and did so again during the Feb. 3 meeting before choosing Barlow. Council, by code, had until the end of February to make the appointment.
Suffolk News-Herald
stories from around the country
President Biden’s White House does not have the ability to access and release the visitor logs belonging to the Trump White House, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Wednesday. “We cannot. That is under the purview of the National Archives, so I’d certainly point you to there,” Psaki told reporters. On Tuesday, Psaki was asked about the potential for Biden’s team to release the visitor logs from the Trump administration. She said that she would look into whether it was technically possible. The National Archives and Records Administration said in a statement to The Hill that it will accept Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for Trump administration records beginning on Jan. 20, 2026 – five years after Trump has left office – in keeping with the Presidential Records Act, a law that mandates the preservation of all presidential records.
The Hill
The Hill
editorials & opinion
If a Delegate or Senator introduces a bill, he or she deserves the courtesy of at least a subcommittee presentation and vote. Chairmen should not be allowed to protect members from having to “go on the board.”
Dick Hall-Sizemore, Bacon's Rebellion
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