Transparency News, 4/8/20

 

The Virginia Department of Health — citing patient privacy concerns — is withholding the locality of persons who have died from COVID-19. But VPAP has pieced together a map from press releases from VDH district offices and news reports. Meanwhile, VPAP is using VDH numbers to update a timeline of confirmed cases and a map showing the number of cases by locality. Updated each morning shortly after 9:00 a.m.
VPAP
Nearly half of people confirmed COVID-19 are under the age of 50, but nearly every fatal Virginia case among patients whose age could be determined has been 60 or older. Nearly half of people who have died are 80 or older. These statistics were compiled by the Virginia Public Access Project from Virginia Department of Health press releases and newspaper articles.
VPAP

Henrico County public schools will postpone a final decision on redistricting because of meeting restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic. The School Board had planned to vote May 28 to adopt a final redistricting plan for the start of the 2021-2022 school year. A new date for the vote has not been scheduled. “The final stages of the process — including presentations, public hearings and the vote … will occur at an undetermined time when the public can once again be engaged,” the School Board said in a joint statement.
Richmond Times-Dispatch

In response to the coronavirus outbreak, the Washington County Board of Supervisors passed an emergency ordinance on Tuesday that could allow public meetings to be held without a quorum. This 60-day ordinance declares an emergency that would adopt rules important for the continuity of government, said County Attorney Lucy Phillips. As passed, this ordinance could apply to meetings of the Board of Supervisors as well as other boards, commissions and authorities in Washington County, Phillips said.
Bristol Herald Courier

Some Strasburg Town Council members objected to the idea that COVID-19 has brought “disaster” to the town and voted against an ordinance that allows members to meet virtually rather than in person. Although most council members and Mayor Richard Orndorff Jr. said they were unhappy with the official language, Orndorff said it reflected the language in the state code and the governor’s state of emergency declaration. Council members approved the ordinance with five members, Emily Reyonlds, John Massoud, Barbara Plitt, Jocelyn Vena and Scott Terndrup voting yes, two members, Kim Bishop and Ken Cherrixvoting no, and one member – Taralyn Nicholson – who was present but could not vote because her audio was not working at the time. The town will continue to hold all meetings online until June 5. Pearson said he is looking into a way to allow residents to comment in real-time during the public comment section of meetings but for now comments must be submitted via email beforehand.
The Northern Virginia Daily

 

 

With social distancing being one of the keys to slowing down the COVID-19 outbreak, local governments face the fundamental question of what to do about public meetings. Some states, such as Tennessee and Nebraska, had to issue executive orders to allow virtual public meetings to occur. Assuming a government body is authorized to hold a virtual public meeting, how should it be done? “There’s no one right answer to this, and the best solution for your municipality or governing body is something that you’re already familiar with, if possible,” said Brian Platt, business administrator for Jersey City, N.J. “Don’t try to copy a city that you think did it right.” Louisville, Kentucky, IT Director Chris Said said making sure people stay muted might be the single most important tip to keep in mind, which means that walking everyone through functionalities or sending tips and tricks beforehand is a must.  Seidt also suggests starting virtual public meetings a few minutes late. Meetings tend to be scheduled right on the hour, so allowing about five minutes to pass is a good way to avoid technical issues that may result from numerous organizations using a digital platform at the same time. Keeping the public connected is another challenge. 
Governing

States and cities across the country are cutting off access to open records and canceling in-person meetings, starving the public — not to mention lobbyists and other influence-brokers — of information as the coronavirus outbreak reaches into all corners of civic life. The public access shutdown comes just as local officials make unprecedented decisions about health care and how to disburse billions of dollars in federal aid. And it could undermine years of hard-won victories on access to information, some transparency advocates say, with now-temporary restrictions enduring even after this crisis has receded.
Politico

A Saginaw County attorney is suing Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, arguing she violated her authority in issuing an executive order regarding Freedom of Information Act requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whitmer on the night of Sunday, April 5, signed executive order 2020-38, relaxing requirements for government workers responding in person to FOIA requests during the coronavirus outbreak. The order applies to records requests submitted by mail, fax, or in person. Public bodies are now allowed to defer parts of the responses that would require workers to report to government offices in-person, the order states. The next day, Hemlock-based attorney Philip L. Ellison sent a lawsuit naming Whitmer and the state of Michigan as defendants to the Michigan Court of Claims in Lansing via FedEx. The suit was officially filed Tuesday, April 7. Ellison is representing two clients in the suit, Eric Ostergren of Midland County and Jason Gillman Jr. of Ingham County, both of whom had planned to file FOIA requests and have filed some in the past.
MLive
 

 

With the House likely meeting out of doors and the Senate potentially convening in the museum’s glass-sided Dewey Gottwald Center, the General Assembly is adding a whole new meaning to the term “government transparency.” We give credit where credit is due for the legislature’s ability to be flexible in meeting this challenge — as long as that flexibility includes good options for public access.
The Daily Progress

The early data suggest that the covid-19 pandemic is hitting black communities particularly hard. As of Monday, African Americans made up 27 percent of the population in Milwaukee County, Wis., but 70 percent of its covid-19 deaths. In Chicago: 30 percent of the population but 69 percent of deaths. And in Louisiana, the disparity is 32 percent and 70 percent. A similar divide can be seen in Michigan, where African Americans make up 14 percent of the population and, as of last Friday, accounted for 40 percent of covid-19 deaths. The handful of examples above raises an urgent question: Does the effect hold true for African Americans throughout the country? Unfortunately, there’s no way for the public to know. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is not providing nationwide data about covid-19’s impact on African Americans, Latinos or other racial and ethnic groups. The CDC customarily reports such data, but it has not done so with covid-19. Many states and counties are also not publishing the information. As of Tuesday, the CDC had not responded to inquiries about whether it has the demographic data and isn’t releasing it, or simply isn’t tracking the information. In this critical moment, the federal government must collect and disclose racial data on covid-19 testing, cases and deaths. States and local governments should do the same. This demographic data could help save lives. 
Spencer Overton, The Washington Post