Monday, June 22, 2015
State and Local Stories
With an estimated cost of more than $165 million, the Richmond region’s push to replace and upgrade the radio system used by police and firefighters likely will be the most costly equipment purchase in the area’s history. But as the procurement progresses, a major radio-system provider says it is dropping out over concerns that it’s not getting a fair chance to compete for public dollars. Harris Corp., a company that had expressed interest in the radio project, has told local officials it will not submit a proposal because the project specifications are “heavily weighted” toward Motorola Solutions Inc., the dominant player that supplied the region’s current two-way radio system. After reviewing the technical specifications, Harris claims to have found 160 requirements that are specific or favorable to Motorola. The Times-Dispatch requested the Harris letter from Henrico through a Freedom of Information Act request. Henrico officials denied the request, saying the letter was part of protected proposal records and that its release would harm the local governments’ bargaining position or negotiating strategy. The Times-Dispatch subsequently obtained the letter and other correspondence from a local government source.
Times-Dispatch
Former state Sen. Henry L. Marsh III, D-Richmond, is learning that being a commissioner on Virginia’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board is not the same as being a legislator. For 21 years while he was a senator, until his retirement in 2014, Marsh held an annual golf tournament as a political fundraiser. He did the same thing this year; he took out an ad using $1,141 from his campaign account to advertise the event June 1 at The Crossings Golf Club in Henrico County. But as a governor-appointed commissioner on the ABC board, Marsh is expected to adhere to a different set of rules. As spelled out in Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s Executive Order 2, executive branch employees or appointees and board members are forbidden from accepting gifts in excess of $100 from any one source.
Times-Dispatch
The College of William and Mary's law school has released a new video featuring several Virginia Supreme Court justices in a wide-ranging discussion. The video — available for viewing at the school's website at appellate.law.wm.edu — has the justices speaking candidly about their work, according to a media release on the school's website. "The justices offer thoughtful, frank, and occasionally humorous observations on brief writing, oral advocacy, issue identification, and the role of the court," Jeffrey A. Breit, an adjunct law professor at W&M who spearheaded the video project, said in a written statement. "They also provide candid answers on many other topics, including their decision-making processes, the personal journeys that led them to the bench, and the pressures and rewards of serving on the commonwealth's highest court," he said.
Daily Press
Out of the eight companies under Tobacco Region Opportunity Fund agreements with Danville and the Virginia Tobacco Commission, six have failed to fulfill obligations, according to a Register & Bee review of Tobacco Commission records [including email chains]. Out of the remaining two, North American Mold Technology has at least partially satisfied progress requirements while River District Development has until the end of June 2016 to awaken from its dormancy.
Register & Bee
National Stories
A federal judge has found “egregious” violations of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) by the Department of Homeland Security for failing to respond to a request for information about the telephone costs for immigrant detainees. U.S. District Chief Judge Marsha Pechman, in an order issued Thursday, chastised the department and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for ignoring Prison Legal News’ FOIA request for information about how the agency determines telephone-call rates for detainees. The FOIA was part of a larger, mostly successful effort by the advocacy group to control the costs that prison systems and telephone-service contractors charge inmates to make phone calls.
Seattle Times
The Freeport Journal (Ill.) published an online article concerning [elected official] decision to again seek election to the Stephenson County Board. Online readers could post comments after completing a basic registration. “Fuboy” posted: “Hadley is a Sandusky waiting to be exposed. Check out the view he has [an elementary school] from his front door” and “Anybody know the tale of Hadley’s suicide attempt? ….” Hadley filed a defamation lawsuit against the Journal and its parent company. The company provided Hadley the IP address acquired from Fuboy’s internet service provider, Comcast. The court found that the comment imputed the commission of a crime to Hadley; was not capable of innocent construction; and could not be considered an opinion. The court directed Comcast to provide identification. The appellate court and Illinois Supreme Court affirmed.
Justia
The Mormon Church will lead efforts to index records of about 4 million former slaves and their families in the hope of connecting African Americans with their Civil War-era ancestors, the Utah-based faith said on Friday. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) has sponsored a non-profit organization called FamilySearch, which made the announcement alongside senior LDS officials in Los Angeles on the 150th anniversary of "Juneteenth," the day when word reached the last group of slaves that the Civil War was over and they were free. In partnership with institutions including the National Archives and Records Administration and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), FamilySearch is coordinating the work of volunteers "indexing" more than one million handwritten records, making them searchable online.
Reuters
Spelling counts — and sometimes it costs money. A suburban Philadelphia county was victim to an embarrassing misspelling on signage posted around the local community: the word "commissioners" with only one "m'' on 26 signs. Montgomery County officials say it will take about 10 days and $4,000 to correct the error with adhesive labels. The 6-foot-tall signs bear the county's website and the names of the three county commissioners. They were posted in parks, along the county trail system and in front of the courthouse several months ago.
US News