Transparency News 4/24/14

Thursday, April 24, 2014

State and Local Stories

 

The State Board of Elections on Wednesday formally approved thechange of the filing deadline for periodic campaign finance reports from 5 p.m. the day they are due to 11:59 p.m. The change was made under protest from the Virginia Press Association, the Virginia Capitol Correspondents Association and the Virginia Public Access Project, a nonpartisan tracker of money in state politics. “While the change makes it easier for those who file, it makes it more difficult for reporters who cover campaigns in a timely way,” VCCA President Craig Carper told the board.
Times-Dispatch

The General Assembly failed to override any of Gov. Terry McAuliffe's vetoes but rejected more than a dozen of his amendments Wednesday in a session that put the partisan gulf between the GOP-dominated House and the Democratic governor on vivid display. The House had the muscle to overcome one of the governor’s vetoes, on a bill related to red-light cameras and sponsored by the lone General Assembly Democrat who has bucked McAuliffe on his top priority — expanding Medicaid. But the Senate did not, so the veto stands.
Washington Post

At a joint work session Wednesday, members of Danville City Council received yet another version of Danville Public Schools’ proposed 2014-15 budget with one fairly obvious verbal addition: “general operating fund.” In recent months — and for years before — budget versions given to both city council and the public did not specify that the roughly $58 million budget draft only included money from the general fund. But Wednesday’s document change came after published reports that for decades, Danville Public Schools had omitted anywhere between $12 and $15 millionin special grants and cafeteria funds it received from the state and federal governments. Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services Kathy Osborne began the meeting by immediately addressing the issue.
Register & Bee

The Pulaski County Board of Supervisors is leveraging the power of the Internet to radically improve the governance process while saving time, taxpayer dollars and the environment. According to Gena Hanks, the county’s executive secretary, this new eGovernance initiative will replace the old and costly method of compiling, printing, binding and distributing paper agenda packets by hand. It will also enable the organization to maximize the effectiveness of their board meetings with increased transparency. Hanks also said it will provide a basis for better and more open communication with the public, while dramatically increasing productivity and saving thousands of dollars annually.
Southwest Times

A crosscheck of voter rolls in Virginia and Maryland turned up 44,000 people registered in both states, a vote-integrity group reported Wednesday. And that’s just the beginning. “The Virginia Voters Alliance is investigating how to identify voters who are registered and vote in Virginia but live in the states that surround us,” Alliance President Reagan George told the State Board of Elections.
Watchdog.org Virginia Bureau

National Stories

The Freedom of Information Act is widely viewed as a successful piece of legislation that helps increase government transparency. But if Missouri State Rep. Jay Houghton (R) has his way,residents of his state will soon have significantly less access to the financial and health records of Missouri’s meat and agriculture businesses. Houghton is the author of Missouri House Bill 2094. Under Houghton’s bill, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests seeking information about animal and environmental health records from food providers in the state would legally be denied. Specifically, HB 2094 would block access to data collected under the Animal Traceability Program (ATP). The ATP was enacted for the specific purpose of tracking down the spread and origins of diseases in livestock and agriculture crops.
Opposing Views

 Students at Central Michigan University are sharing on Twitter their plans to destroy copies of the student newspaper, and in one case, someone posted a photograph of a paper being set on fire. Approximately several hundred copies of the Central Michigan Life disappeared from the campus between Monday morning and Tuesday night, said David Clark, the paper’s adviser. Judging from the posts online, an article published Monday about a suspended fraternity provoked the thefts. Monday, the newspaper published a controversial story about the suspended fraternity Delta Chi, which was ousted by the university for four years last October. In one incident, a Delta Chi member took photos of his genitalia on a woman’s cellphone and emailed the pictures to her parents, the newspaper reported.
Student Press Law Center

The following guidance went out on the AP wire Wednesday: “Effective May 1, the AP will spell out state names in the body of stories.” You will still use abbreviations in datelines, photo captions, lists, etc. “The change is being made to be consistent in our style for domestic and international stories. International stories have long spelled out state names in the body of stories,” the directive stated.
Poynter

The Federal Communications Commission is set to propose new open Internet rules that wouldallow content companies to pay for faster delivery over the so-called “last mile” connection to people’s homes, but enhance scrutiny of such deals so they don’t harm competition or limit free speech. That’s according to a senior FCC official familiar with the matter who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler is to present the proposed rules to the other commissioners on Thursday.
Politico

The Oklahoma Supreme Court lifted a stay of execution on Wednesday for two murderers, put in place due to concerns over secrecy surrounding lethal injection drugs, clearing the way for them to be put to death next week. The court said their records indicate that the inmates have been provided with the identity and dosages of the drugs for the lethal injections and there were no pending secrecy concerns that would merit a further stay.
Reuters
 

Editorials/Columns

The hullabaloo over RCCLEAR is distressing and potentially a serious threat to Roanoke County's economic development efforts. But it doesn't have to be. If all of those freaking out would take a deep breath - yes, the air is still safe, for now - they would realize that they are standing on common ground, and that ground is green. Which brings us to Supervisor Al Bedrosian, who berated citizen volunteers at this week's meeting and treats colleagues on the board with similar disrespect. Bedrosianseems to think he has been elected to Congress, where he can show up for an occasional meeting, give speeches, hurtle insults and call it a day. But local government leaders are responsible for decisions that allow their communities to prosper.
Roanoke Times

From a college system that abuses the First Amendment (“Schooled on free speech restrictions,” The Daily Progress, April 23) we move to a college group that defends the First Amendment. Guided by their professors and a university librarian, a group of law students at the University of Virginia sued the federal government for release of documents in a sealed “nonprosecution” case — and won. Now they’re pursuing a similar effort in 30 other cases. At issue are secret settlement deals negotiated by the federal government with big banks and other corporations. The corporations make cash payments and provide other concessions in order not to be indicted.
Daily Progress