The Charlottesville Police Civilian Oversight Board has lost half of its members in recent months which has limited some of its current capabilities, and the outgoing chair pleaded with City Council to fix the board’s structural flaws. Al Pola, who led the board from January through June, resigned last month. In a letter obtained by Charlottesville Tomorrow through a public records request, he told the City Council that flawed ordinance and other challenges have made it nearly impossible for the board to fulfill its mission. He asked the City Council for urgent intervention. Pola is one of four members who have resigned in the last two months, bringing the board down to just four members, one of whom is non-voting. This means that the PCOB no longer has a quorum — the minimum number of members required for the board to vote, as per the city ordinance guiding the PCOB.

The next Falls Church City Council will be the one to decide whether some City advisory panels need to be merged or disbanded. “This would be a big effort. Even getting rid of one is going to have all kinds of psychological weight associated with it,” City Manager Wyatt Shields acknowledged when the proposal to consider changes to advisory boards and commissions came up at meeting last week. Council member Debora Schantz-Hiscott mentioned the possibility in her role as chair of the Council’s government operations committee. At several points in the meeting, the city manager asked whether elected leaders really had the desire to tackle the subject. “Does the Council really want to see this through?” Shields asked. He predicted “a lot of, sort of, pushback” from those who might see their commissions imperiled.

The county court now has a solution to what people should do with their cell phones in court. Just park it yonder. The Rockingham County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office has partnered with Yondr to become the first circuit court in the Commonwealth of Virginia to use a phone-lock pouch system. Chaz W. Haywood, clerk of the court, said the Yondr pouch keeps the court orderly while protecting privacy and allowing visitors to retain their phones — locked and inactive — during proceedings. This also applies to smartwatches, which are also banned from courtrooms.

Two local officials were arraigned on felony charges Monday morning in a Loudoun County Circuit Courtroom. Purcellville Vice Mayor Carl “Ben” Nett and Town Manager Kwasi Fraser appeared before Chief Judge Douglas L. Fleming, Jr., who set the next hearing to review both cases for 9 a.m. Sept. 4. During Monday’s hearing, Fraser’s attorney, Charlie King, said he would like to ask the Loudoun County Circuit Court judges to recuse themselves and to have an outside judge brought in to hear the cases. Nett’s attorney, Ryan Campbell, said during Nett’s hearing that he will file a motion to unseal the transcripts from the grand jury hearing.

Halifax County’s interim finance director Tomeka Morgan submitted a letter of resignation, effective July 31, according to emails obtained by The Gazette. Morgan was a contracted employee with Halifax County. According to a financial consulting proposal, Morgan began providing services to the county on March 4, following the departure of the county’s former finance director Stephanie Jackson. Morgan, who is not a resident of Halifax County, conducted most of her work for the county remotely. According to a letter dated April 22 obtained by The Gazette through the Freedom of Information Act, the county requested an extension of Morgan’s original consulting agreement — which was due to end on June 30 — through Dec. 31. Morgan signed the letter of agreement, which was also signed by Halifax County Administrator Scott Simpson.