Transparency News 3/25/16

State and Local Stories

The Hampton City Council's attempt at a compromise over the naming of a bridge in Phoebus has led some citizens to double down on complaints that the city council isn't interested in hearing from them. The Hampton City Council passed a resolution amending the name of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge on Wednesday at a crowded and contentious meeting. The new name will be the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Bridge in Honor of Frank Baker, Shepard Mallory and James Townsend." The council moved to take a vote on the resolution amending the name to include both King and the trio of escaped slaves ahead of the citizen's comments portion of the meeting. The move was met with cries from the crowd — mostly those who were pushing to reconsider the name — that the council wasn't interested in hearing the people speak. The resolution and discussion of the issue was not listed on the city council's agenda, however dozens of people interested in the bridge issue were assembled, with two dozen signed up to speak directly to the council during the public comment period. The discussion leading up to the vote, and the vote itself, underscored divisions within the council. Councilman Donnie Tuck registered a protest vote against the process after Mayor George Wallace sought to take a vote on the resolution to amend the name immediately after it was seconded.
Daily Press

Six months after three officers shot and killed a man in Harrisonburg’s Park View neighborhood, the internal investigation remains ongoing, according to the Harrisonburg Police Department. Rockingham County Commonwealth’s Attorney Marsha Garst cleared the officers in October, one month after the Sept. 20 shooting. But questions still surround the shooting of 23-year-old Michael Thomas Pierce Jr. The Daily News-Record and other media outlets have filed requests through the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, requesting the names of the officers involved and body camera footage of the incident. Police, through City Attorney Chris Brown, have declined to release the information, citing several of what they say are exemptions to FOIA, including that body camera footage is classified as personnel record. But Ginger Stanley, executive director for the Virginia Press Association, said the city’s interpretation of the law is incorrect. “We don’t believe that’s the case at all,” Stanley said. She said some footage might be subject to redactions, but police departments can’t withhold the entire footage from public disclosure.
Daily News Record


National Stories
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Pennsylvania’s judicial ethics court fined Michael Eakin, a former state Supreme Court justice, $50,000 on Thursday, one week after he resigned in a scandal over lewd and objectionable emails exchanged within state law enforcement circles. The court said that Mr. Eakin jeopardized the judiciary’s reputation by trading emails containing “imagery of sexism, racism and bigotry.” It said punishment would have been more severe if he had not resigned and accepted responsibility.
New York Times

The Oneida Indian Nation has won a Freedom of Information lawsuit it filed in September against the New York Gaming Commission. The Oneidas sued after the state rejected their FOIL request for documents relating to how the commission made decisions on new casino licenses in Upstate New York.
Syracuse.com