Thursday, June 18, 2015
State and Local Stories
A Daily Press push to open local government discussions about the performance of leaders was rejected Wednesday by a state panel studying Virginia's open meetings laws. The proposal would have required the annual reviews of city managers, county administrators and school superintendents — as well as conversations about discipline, firings or raises for these local government CEOs — to be held in public. Current law allows public bodies to hold those conversations in closed session, then vote in open session with little to no public explanation. A state subcommittee reviewing Virginia's open meetings law, exemption by exemption, showed no interest in the change, with several members calling it a bad idea. Subcommittee members said the councils and boards that hire these CEOs are accountable, and that's enough. Members worried about a loss of candor in personnel discussions, and about the potential for defamation lawsuits, should those discussions be held in public.
Daily Press
Pipeline opponent Rick Shingles described the outcome, linked to bungled legal notice, as a small victory. Shingles and seven other Giles County property owners filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Mountain Valley Pipeline, and the company responded by temporarily suspending surveying of Giles County properties to which it had been denied access by owners. Mountain Valley wants to survey the properties as it works to define a route for its proposed 42-inch-diameter buried natural gas transmission pipeline. But the company acknowledged Wednesday it had failed to follow notification requirements outlined in a controversial state law that allows natural gas companies to enter properties for surveying without an owner’s permission. In a nutshell, the company mailed the second of two mandated certified letters but neglected to send the first.
Roanoke Times
The offer is in and it's Augusta County's turn to answer. A letter from Staunton Mayor Carolyn Dull to Board of Supervisors Chairman Michael Shull has been the topic of speculation and closed deliberations at Government Center since early June. "We're waiting for all the information to weigh our options," Shull said as the supervisors emerged from a closed session last week. City manager Steve Owen weighed his words, not wanting to jeopardize the negotiations. "I will say that they have our offer," Owen said. The 'information' Shull and his fellow supervisors are waiting for is a design and estimated cost prepared by Mosley Architects for a new courthouse complex in Verona. The complex, which would house three courts, could cost four times the estimated $10 million of the downtown Staunton renovation.
News Leader
National Stories
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used her personal email account to handle high level negotiations in 2011 for a no-fly zone to help topple Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi, according to a series of emails obtained by Fox News, challenging her claim the private server did not hold classified information. The emails, linked here, conflict with Clinton's statement that she did not put national security at risk by using a personal account. "I did not email any classified material to anyone on my email. There is no classified material," Clinton, now a candidate for president, told reporters in March. "I'm certainly well-aware of the classification requirements and did not send classified material." That claim was hard to test because emails released by the State Department are heavily blacked out. But an email chain from March 23, 2011 — with virtually no redactions — shows a message for senior administration staff including then Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough, then-Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Michele Flournoy among others. It goes point by point, explaining what Turkey, France and Britain will likely accept in the deal.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/interactive/2015/06/17/proposed-quad-deal/
Fox News
"Congressional Research Belongs to the Public," declared a New York Times editorial today, and it is "absurd" that Congress would place any obstacles in the way of public access to Congressional Research Service reports, which provide impartial analyses of current policy issues. Yet such obstacles continue to exist, and most CRS reports are not publicly disclosed by Congress. A measure to require the online publication of non-confidential CRS products (H.Res. 34) was introduced in the House of Representatives last January by Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ) and Rep. Martin Quigley (D-IL). But like several prior initiatives along the same lines, there is no sign thus far that their pending measure will advance into law or policy. For the time being, at least, it is easier to circumvent congressional restrictions on distribution of CRS reports than it is to modify those restrictions.
Secrecy News
The Federal Communications Commission's new Net neutrality rules have been in effect for less than a week, and the agency is about to receive its first formal complaint from a company alleging harm. Commercial Network Services, a San Diego-based company that operates webcams and streams live video feeds, said it will soon file a formal complaint against cable giant Time Warner Cable for charging it to deliver its streaming videos to its broadband customers, according to Barry Bahrami, CEO of the company. The Washington Post first reported the news of the complaint.
CNET News
Editorials/Columns
The Virginia Supreme Court heard arguments recently about whether state officials may withhold from disclosure certain materials and processes used for executions. The public has a right to know how the state carries out its most significant—and permanent—decision: government-ordered killing. The case is an appeal by the Virginia Department of Corrections, which was ordered by a Fairfax County judge to release information on execution procedures under Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act. It may seem to be a disagreement about the technical aspects of state law, which in some ways it is. The clash over the records came on the heels of a debate of a bill filed earlier this year in the General Assembly that would close nearly all information about executions, including data about the lethal injection drugs used, the vendor who was providing the drugs and even details about the execution room and the electric chair.
Free Lance-Star
In Washington, the reports have become commodities traded and sold by policy wonks. Every day, the Congressional Research Service, a little-known government agency attached to the Library of Congress, churns out papers on issues as varied as the defense budget, the farm bill and nuclear weapons. They’re not classified. They’re nonpartisan. And unlike many government reports, they’re fairly easy to understand. Yet it’s hard for most people to get copies of reports produced by the Congressional Research Service, which operates as an in-house think-tank for lawmakers. That is absurd.
New York Times