Transparency News, 3/6/20

Friday
March 6, 2020

Register today for VCOG's annual conference
March 20, Harrisonburg

Details & tickets

state & local news stories

FOLLOW THE BILLS WE FOLLOW WITH VCOG'S
BILL TRACKING CHART

A Rappahannock County circuit judge ruled the board of supervisors there improperly closed a meeting to talk about an advertisement seeking a replacement for an outgoing county attorney as well as alternatives to the county attorney set-up. The topic was not "legal advice," nor did it fall under the personnel exemption for "prospective candidates for employment." The exemption is for "specific candidates," the judge wrote, not candidates in general. Further, even though the board did not vote on these criteria, "a tacit grant of permission to allow the criteria of the job to be established by the staff" was taken in closed session. The judge, however, did not find the plaintiff was "ejected," from the meeting, nor did the court impose civil penalties, finding "no ulterior motives, no monetary harm, belief that taxpayer money could be saved . . . no evidence of repeat violations."
Read the opinion, Bragg v. Board of Supervisors, on VCOG's website

Court proceedings in the case of a Fauquier teen charged with the first-degree murders of his mother and little brother will remain closed — at least for the time being, the judge ruled Thursday morning. Fauquier County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Judge Melissa N. Cupp denied The Washington Post’s motion to open all future proceedings in the case of 17-year-old defendant Levi H. Norwood. In her order Thursday, Judge Cupp cited the historical and statutory protection of juvenile defendants and noted that Mr. Ruzic got appointed to defend Mr. Norwood “approximately ten minutes before the detention hearing.” But, the judge’s order acknowledges potential arguments for opening future proceedings and requires the creation of transcripts as the case moves forward. No court reporter attended the Feb. 24 hearing, meaning no transcript exists.
FauquierNow.com (opinion is posted at the end of the article)

A lawsuit accusing Del. Dawn Adams, D-Richmond, of hacking into a former aide’s online accounts was settled in court Wednesday under a confidential agreement. A former legislative aide sued Adams in July, accusing her of hacking into her email and social media accounts. The aide, Maureen Hains, claimed Adams deleted files related to unpaid work she performed for Adams’ private business. Hains was seeking $550,000 in damages. In a ruling issued Wednesday morning, U.S. District Judge David J. Novak closed the case, citing the settlement. Adams and Hains will cover their own court costs and attorneys fees, according to the ruling. In September, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that emails in one of Adams’ state-issued email accounts confirmed that Hains worked for Adams’ health care consulting firm while serving as her legislative aide. The Times-Dispatch obtained the emails through a public records request under the Freedom of Information Act.
Richmond Times-Dispatch

The former executive director of Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport took the witness stand in his own defense at a federal trial Thursday — asserting that a $5 million loan guarantee to a startup airline six years ago wasn’t his idea. The idea, he said, came from former Newport News City Manager Jim Bourey, whom Spirito contended worked the deal with People Express and others behind the scenes. “I was following my boss," Spirito testified. “For People Express, I had to conduct everything through Jim Bourey. You had to go along with him. That was his style. And I had to stay in that style.” The loan guarantee was discussed in closed sessions of the airport’s board in the spring of 2014.
Daily Press

An immigrant advocacy group is seeking a court order to force Rockingham County Sheriff Bryan Hutcheson to release information about detainers on inmates booked into the jail. Sophia Gregg, an attorney for the Legal Aid Justice Center, a state immigrant advocacy organization, and the University of Virginia School of Law’s Immigration Clinic, filed a writ of mandamus in Rockingham County General District Court on Feb. 28 claiming Hutcheson violated the state’s Freedom of Information Act. The filing was made on behalf of Boris Ozuna of local group FUEGO, or Friends United for Equity and Grassroots Organizing. “We would like to know if the sheriff is depriving local residents of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County of their basic right to be free and not be detained without probable cause,” Ozuna said in a statement. “Also, the public has the right to know the extent of the sheriff’s collaboration with ICE and how much family separation this is creating in our community.” Ozuna said he filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the sheriff on July 31 asking for information regarding his collaboration with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He said Hutcheson replied on Aug. 6 but didn’t answer some questions and referred him to ICE for information. Ozuna said Hutcheson failed to cite any exemption under state or federal law.
Daily News Record

In a scathing email this week, Charlottesville City Manager Tarron Richardson attacked the leader of the city’s firefighters union for his “limited scope of knowledge” on budgetary issues after the union leader called Richardson “willfully ignorant” of the department’s needs. Firefighter Greg Wright emailed the general City Council email address on Tuesday “imploring” the council to hold 2-2-1 meetings between Richardson and Fire Chief Andrew Baxter to address the issues, according to a copy of the email provided to The Daily Progress. Such meetings include one or two elected officials to avoid public meeting requirements. Nothing prohibits employees or the public from requesting such meetings. Emails to the general council email address are seen by several other officials, including Richardson.
The Daily Progress

The Albemarle County Police Department is partnering with Ring, the doorbell-camera company, to get video from county residents who have the surveillance cameras. In a meeting with local media Thursday morning, Police Chief Ron Lantz said the department started thinking about partnership opportunities when the victim of a burglary brought a photo from their Ring app to police. Users can voluntarily submit videos after a specific request from ACPD through Ring and the company’s Neighbors app. Ring, which sells alarm systems, floodlight cameras and motion-detecting doorbell cameras, is owned by Amazon. In 2019, The Washington Post reported that more than 400 police departments across the country had partnered with Ring since the spring of 2018, fueling broader questions about privacy, surveillance and the expanding reach of tech giants and local police.
The Daily Progress

editorials & columns

"Facebook has never been to a School Board meeting."

The coming move of The Virginian-Pilot’s newsroom from South Hampton Roads to the Peninsula is a culmination of events that reflect not only technological change but how journalism is devalued in our divisive digital culture. What matters most is that we are in the process of losing our best local newsroom. This is the tipping point. The institution of The Pilot is important not because of the newspaper itself but because of the journalists it represents and the local journalism we will lose if, ultimately, we lose The Pilot. More often than not, local stories of note about Virginia Beach come from a team of Pilot reporters who are dedicated to our city. Fox News and CNN are not going to cover Virginia Beach City Council. Facebook has never been to a School Board meeting.
The Princess Anne Independent News