Transparency News 6/15/16

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

State and Local Stories

Supporters of former Roanoke County School Board member Tom McCracken said Tuesday they would like an apology from the rest of the board for “strong-arming” McCracken into resigning, with one calling for the entire board to step down. More than a dozen backers showed up at a specially called board meeting held days after McCracken’s sudden resignation, which he tendered last week in an effort to secure enough board votes to approve a staff recommendation promoting his wife to an assistant principal position. The board’s conflict of interest policy, which is modeled after the Virginia state code, says the board cannot approve the hiring or promotion of spouses or immediate family members, except under certain circumstances, such as when the family member was employed before the board member took office. Other local districts have similar policies. After McCracken’s resignation, several board members explained that they saw an issue with the promotion even though it was not prohibited by policy. Vice Chairman Tim Greenway said he would like the board to revise its policy to forbid hirings or promotions in such situations.
The Roanoke Times

Charles Rowe, former publisher of The Free Lance–Star, will be among the four latest additions to Fredericksburg’s Wall of Honor. The Wall of Honor was created in 2000 to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to the Fredericksburg community and have beendeceased for at least a year.
Free Lance-Star

Harrisonburg Mayor Christopher Jones improperly filled out at least two Statement of Economic Interests forms, according to a political analyst. Harrisonburg City Council members are required to file the statements every six months with the clerk of council. On two of three forms Jones filled out, he checked that he or an immediate family member owed at least one creditor $5,000 or more. The form states that if the elected official checks yes, he must fill out a separate section listing the debts. Jones didn’t fill out that section on two forms. Government debts, including back taxes, are exempt from disclosure. “He has not completed the form,” said Bob Roberts, a James Madison University political science professor. On Monday, the Daily News-Record reported that Jones owes $58,391 in back taxes, according to court documents.
Daily News Record


National Stories
​

More than half of the states have disclosed just how much higher their health care premiums could be next year under the Affordable Care Act, and some of the potential increases are jaw-dropping. But Illinois residents won't get their first look at proposed 2017 premiums until Aug. 1, and that has consumer advocates frustrated. Insurance companies had to submit rate plans for Illinois in April, but the state doesn't require the proposals to be made public upon filing, according to the Department of Insurance. In addition, the director of the department considers health plan filings confidential and exempt from Freedom of Information requests.
Governing

The Federal Communications Commission's net neutrality rules remain in effect with backing in federal courts — for now, at least. Opponents of the FCC's rules for the Open Internet, or net neutrality, plan to take their challenge to the Supreme Court.  "We have always expected this issue to be decided by the Supreme Court, and we look forward to participating in that appeal," said AT&T General Counsel David McAtee in a statement after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled 2-1 Tuesday in favor of the FCC's rules. AT&T was among many companies and groups that filed a suit in 2015 challenging the rules. It was among several cases consolidated into originating cases filled by USTelecom, a trade association that counts among its members AT&T and Verizon, and Alamo Broadband, a fixed wireless broadband service in the San Antonio, Tex. area.
USA Today

Any mechanic knows that simple systems are harder to break. Digital thinkers apply that ethos to everything they do. It's a core value of every successful technology company: If the user is not happy, or is in any way slowed down or frustrated by the technology, then the whole business crumbles. So they try to design simple and intuitive experiences. A new breed of digital innovators is hell-bent on bringing this ethos into the public sector. "Our government is addicted to complexity in a way that isn't serving us well," says Jen Pahlka, the CEO of Code for America, "and the complexity itself is actually the problem." Pahlka is a rock star in the world of digital government. Code for America, the nonprofit she founded, has helped dozens of governments build better technology solutions by embedding mid-career software developers in city and state agencies. "Coding a Better Government," a TED Talk she gave in 2012, has received more than three-quarters of a million page views. Through Code for America and her work in the White House, Pahlka has seen up close how governmental complexity can get in the way of serving citizens, and she is determined to show public officials a better way. 
Governing


Editorials/Columns

A number of mental health advocates have joined the chorus calling for an investigation into the awful and still-unexplained death of Jamycheal Mitchell, the 24-year-old man who died in his cell at the Hampton Roads Regional Jail in August. Three investigations of varying scope and purpose have looked into how Mitchell, who was arrested in April 2015 for stealing $5 worth of snacks from a convenience store, spent months in a jail cell before his death, losing as many as 50 pounds during his incarceration, despite claims that he was under constant surveillance. Two of those investigations — by the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and the Office of the State Inspector General — have been made public and point to a flawed system, poor procedures and individual mistakes for why Mitchell was kept in jail after a judge ordered a psychological evaluation. A third was conducted by the jail itself, but officials there have cited an exemption to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act in refusing to release it. It’s important, again, to note that the law only affords officials that option, but doesn’t require it. The jail could release it but chooses not to. Jail officials, including the governing board, insist their staff did nothing wrong. But not only have they ignored calls to make this report public, they cannot produce security footage from outside Mitchell’s cell — because the video was taped over and not preserved.
Virginian-Pilot