Transparency News 6/9/17
Friday, June 9, 2017
State and Local Stories
The Prince William County School Board has narrowly rebuffed a request from Superintendent Steven Walts to set limits on how board members can request information from school staff, a move that comes as Walts is embroiled in a legal battle with At-Large Chairman Ryan Sawyers over his demand to see his predecessors’ emails. Walts had presented the board with a policy change that would have limited members from making any request of the superintendent or his staff that required more than 30 minutes of time to complete or that incurred a cost of at least $50 — however, the full board would have been able to vote to approve any request to exceed those standards.
Inside NoVa
The prime movers of the Peninsula Airport Commission's plan to use taxpayer funds to guarantee People Express' debt to politically connected TowneBank relied on the startup's rosy financial projections — projections called into question by other information those officials used to hammer out the deal that ultimately cost taxpayers $4.5 million. "Prior to the loan guarantee, People Express provided a detailed prospectus that showed a relatively quick path to profitability," former Newport News City Manager Jim Bourey wrote this week in an emailed response to questions from the Daily Press. It is the first time he has commented on the People Express deal since resigning as city manager and airport commissioner in May. The airline, with a negative net worth at the time, said it would kick off its first year carrying the same number of passengers it claimed had stopped flying altogether when AirTran left Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport in 2012, according to the business plan, which state auditors provided in response to a Daily Press Freedom of Information Act request. People Express also claimed its operating costs would be about one-fifth less than most airlines.
Daily Press
Federal authorities have charged a former James Madison University student with fraud for submitting false voter-registration applications. Andrew Spieles waived his right to indictment and plans to plead guilty to one misdemeanor charge on June 20 in U.S. District Court in Harrisonburg, according multiple documents filed Thursday.
Daily News Record
Pulaski Town Council awkwardly tip-toed around what the mayor referred to as “the elephant in the room” during its Tuesday night meeting after a controversial motion was made without any prior discussion. In an apparent struggle over who manages the town, council voted 4-2 to eliminate the human resources and finance committees.
Southwest Times
Editorials/Columns
For something designed to foster collaboration on behalf of the beleaguered Richmond Public Schools, the Education Compact sure is polarizing. On Wednesday afternoon, a group of school advocates stood on the steps of Richmond City Hall to voice concerns about the compact and argue that its adoption should be delayed until a new school superintendent is hired. Scott Price, policy director for the Alliance for a Progressive Virginia, said the organization is troubled by “the lack of transparency that produced this current document” and “the emphasis on the adoption of the education (compact) over the much more urgent need to find a new superintendent for RPS. We worry that the adoption of such language in advance may in fact hamper our city’s efforts to find a superior candidate.” Despite the dozen public meetings that have been held on the compact, Price said “closed-door meetings and undisclosed correspondencesbetween a small number of officials ... have not allowed for the kind of public input such an important decision requires.”
Michael Paul Williams, Richmond Times-Dispatch
Pundits of all political persuasions are dissecting the testimony of former FBI Director James Comey before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday. Depending on their political persuasion, analysts will no doubt arrive at vastly different conclusions about whether Comey helped or hurt President Donald Trump. Yet one aspect of this drama isn’t getting enough scrutiny. Comey’s memos. The notes Comey created after his private meetings with Trump, reportedly full of quotes from the president. But are the memos accurate? What was left out of them? Is the public required to accept them as if they were word-for-word recordings of the encounters? Look, if there’s one thing journalists should understand, it’s note-taking. Yet unquestioning members of the press corps seem to be treating the Comey memos as if they were court transcripts.
Kerry Dougherty, Virginian-Pilot
