Transparency News 6/10/15
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Virginia Coalition for Open Government View this email in your browser
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
State and Local Stories
The FOIA Council Meetings and Records Subcommittees and the Proprietary Records Work Group will meet June 17 and 18.
For a quick shot of all statewide (and some local) primary races, check out the VPAP website.
In light of the “number of requests for various documents that may or may not exist regarding [Sweet Briar College],” Virginia’s Attorney General has agreed to post responsive documents on its website. However, no timeline has been given.
VCOG website
For bankers and capital markets, Paul Volcker, chairman of the Federal Reserve Board from 1979 to 1987, is about as close to a god as there is in the world of money – so, when he leveled a blast at state budgets this week that featured a look at Virginia, Shad Plank got curious. Volcker blasted state governments generally for “budgeting and accounting practices that obscure their true financial position, shift current costs onto future generations, and push off the need to make hard choices on spending priorities and revenue practices.”
Daily Press
National Stories
Body cameras are rapidly becoming a familiar sight in police departments nationwide. Thanks in part to continued controversy over police actions in Baltimore; North Charleston, S.C.; Ferguson, Mo., and elsewhere, local law enforcement agencies across the country have pledged to outfit officers with body cameras. Most of the nation's largest police departments have either already adopted the cameras or are considering plans to implement them. Now some communities have begun expanding the use of cameras beyond police, equipping other public employees with video devices. Soon, Miami Beach will become the first larger city in the country to extend cameras to multiple departments outside of law enforcement. City commissioners passed a $2.7-million plan last year funding cameras for employees in parking, code enforcement and building and fire inspection, in addition to police. The police department started rolling out body cameras in May, and other departments are expected to follow suit this summer.
Governing Editorials/Columns
As a candidate for the presidency, Barack Obama promised that his would be the most transparent administration in history. It's a mantra he repeats from time to time, as if he hopes that saying it often enough will make it true. It's laughably false, of course. This is one of the most secretive White Houses in modern history, one that goes to great lengths to conceal information, duck the Freedom of Information Act, snoop on journalists and prosecute whistleblowers. Credit where it's due: President Obama has taken steps to make information more accessible. He has utilized the Internet as a means for disseminating documents and ordered the creation of a national declassification center to review what is kept from public view and what should be released. But those initiatives cannot mask a pattern of open hostility to transparency.
Daily Press
Walt Zaremba thinks that spending money that belongs to the residents and taxpayers of York should be spent on his pet project, the Historic Triangle Cooperative. York County Supervisors, for some reason, passed an appropriation to the HTC of around $6000, given to the HTC with no public accountability. The York County Supervisor easily won his primary challenge Tuesday against Rebekah Sandridge, who had challenged Zaremba’s opinion leading up to Tuesday’s Republican primary. Zaremba claimed that since the minutes are posted each month, the controversy is not actually a controversy. The minutes of the most recent meeting reflect that an item was passed that questions the validity of tourism visitor centers.
The Only Other Shoe
Virginia Coalition for Open Government View this email in your browser
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
State and Local Stories
The FOIA Council Meetings and Records Subcommittees and the Proprietary Records Work Group will meet June 17 and 18.
- The Meetings Subcommittee will meet at 1:00 PM on Wednesday, June 17, 2015.
- The Records Subcommittee will meet at 10:00 AM on Thursday, June 18, 2015.
- The Proprietary Records Work Group will meet at Thursday, 1:30 PM on June 18, 2015.
For a quick shot of all statewide (and some local) primary races, check out the VPAP website.
In light of the “number of requests for various documents that may or may not exist regarding [Sweet Briar College],” Virginia’s Attorney General has agreed to post responsive documents on its website. However, no timeline has been given.
VCOG website
For bankers and capital markets, Paul Volcker, chairman of the Federal Reserve Board from 1979 to 1987, is about as close to a god as there is in the world of money – so, when he leveled a blast at state budgets this week that featured a look at Virginia, Shad Plank got curious. Volcker blasted state governments generally for “budgeting and accounting practices that obscure their true financial position, shift current costs onto future generations, and push off the need to make hard choices on spending priorities and revenue practices.”
Daily Press
National Stories
Body cameras are rapidly becoming a familiar sight in police departments nationwide. Thanks in part to continued controversy over police actions in Baltimore; North Charleston, S.C.; Ferguson, Mo., and elsewhere, local law enforcement agencies across the country have pledged to outfit officers with body cameras. Most of the nation's largest police departments have either already adopted the cameras or are considering plans to implement them. Now some communities have begun expanding the use of cameras beyond police, equipping other public employees with video devices. Soon, Miami Beach will become the first larger city in the country to extend cameras to multiple departments outside of law enforcement. City commissioners passed a $2.7-million plan last year funding cameras for employees in parking, code enforcement and building and fire inspection, in addition to police. The police department started rolling out body cameras in May, and other departments are expected to follow suit this summer.
Governing Editorials/Columns
As a candidate for the presidency, Barack Obama promised that his would be the most transparent administration in history. It's a mantra he repeats from time to time, as if he hopes that saying it often enough will make it true. It's laughably false, of course. This is one of the most secretive White Houses in modern history, one that goes to great lengths to conceal information, duck the Freedom of Information Act, snoop on journalists and prosecute whistleblowers. Credit where it's due: President Obama has taken steps to make information more accessible. He has utilized the Internet as a means for disseminating documents and ordered the creation of a national declassification center to review what is kept from public view and what should be released. But those initiatives cannot mask a pattern of open hostility to transparency.
Daily Press
Walt Zaremba thinks that spending money that belongs to the residents and taxpayers of York should be spent on his pet project, the Historic Triangle Cooperative. York County Supervisors, for some reason, passed an appropriation to the HTC of around $6000, given to the HTC with no public accountability. The York County Supervisor easily won his primary challenge Tuesday against Rebekah Sandridge, who had challenged Zaremba’s opinion leading up to Tuesday’s Republican primary. Zaremba claimed that since the minutes are posted each month, the controversy is not actually a controversy. The minutes of the most recent meeting reflect that an item was passed that questions the validity of tourism visitor centers.
The Only Other Shoe
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