Transparency News 4/18/17

Tuesday, April 18, 2017



State and Local Stories

Fifteen years ago in an upset victory, Anthony Burfoot entered Norfolk’s political scene with a promise to cement positive change on the City Council. On Monday, he stood in a federal courtroom, pleading with a judge to give him a few extra days with his family before starting a six-year prison sentence on public corruption and perjury charges. “I am begging you,” Burfoot, now the city’s elected treasurer, said as he choked back tears. “I am asking you.” U.S. District Judge Henry Morgan Jr. ordered the former vice mayor to turn himself in to federal marshals by 2 p.m. Wednesday, giving him two extra days to get his sick mother’s affairs in order. Morgan also ordered Burfoot, 49, to forfeit $250,000 – proceeds from his crimes – and to do 360 hours of community service once released. Referring to evidence of a bribery scheme stretching from 2005 to 2011, Morgan said, “The defendant was engaging in this conduct for approximately six years, and that’s what I think his sentence should be.”
Virginian-Pilot



National Stories
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President Trump’s promise to enact a sweeping overhaul of the tax code is in serious jeopardy nearly 100 days into his tenure, and his refusal to release his own tax returns is emerging as a central hurdle to another faltering campaign promise. As procrastinators rushed to file their tax returns by Tuesday, the White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, emphasized again on Monday that Mr. Trump had no intention of making his public.
New York Times

In a win for government-transparency advocates, the FBI has agreed to turn over records it created when it spied on two anti-war journalists and pay $299,000 to settle their attorneys’ fees. The deal, which brings to a close a four-year battle for the records under the Freedom of Information Act, is spelled out in two stipulations filed in San Francisco federal court – one on Friday and the other in January.
Courthouse News Service

D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser is traveling for six days and her office will only say that she is on personal travel. It is at least the third time since taking office in 2015 that Bowser (D) has left the District for several days and her public schedule has not reflected her absence. Balancing personal privacy and public responsibility is a fraught topic for elected leaders. But the travel of D.C. leaders has been an especially sensitive topic since former mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) traveled to China and the United Arab Emirates on trips announced as personal travel that city officials later disclosed were paid for by foreign governments. In a statement Monday, Bowser spokesman Kevin Harris said that the mayor was paying her own way, but not where she was. Asked whether a security detail or any other city employee was accompanying Bowser at taxpayer expense, Harris said no.
Washington Post


Editorials/Columns


WHILE CITIZENS, media and activists devote considerable time and energy on what’s happening in Washington and Richmond, many of the most significant decisions affecting the public are made in city halls. Take Virginia Beach, for instance. The city will this evening hold the first of two public hearings on the proposed 2017-18 budget, and is inviting citizens to comment on the nearly $2 billion spending plan. A budget is as much as statement of aspirations and principles as it is a distribution of tax revenue. It sets a vision for a community, of what the public wants to see accomplished in the coming years and what citizens are willing to pay for it. Participating in the local budget process may not have the same cache as casting a ballot, but oftentimes it can prove more important. Don’t miss the opportunity to have your say.
Virginian-Pilot

At last count, our esteemed (Arkansas) legislators in less than solemn assembly have added at least 10 more exemptions to this state's once model Freedom of Information Act, which tends to emerge from every session of the Ledge with still more holes in it. This time it came out of the fray not only tattered and torn but almost beyond recognition. To quote Tom Larimer, a temperate fellow who's executive director of the Arkansas Press Association, some changes in the FOIA "were not bad ideas. Unfortunately, the bills went way too far by closing 'records and other information.' " That phrase, he noted, could cover "just about anything" any agency of the state wanted covered up.
Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette