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Alan Gernhardt, of the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council, said there's nothing "inherently wrong" with an elected official gaining access to another elected official's email through a FOIA request.
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A new allows people to make requests for bulk data to the Office of the Executive Secretary, which has to fulfill the request in 30 days. Names, birthdays and Social Security numbers are not included in the bulk data requests. The law also directs the OES to create an online case information database — essentially allowing someone to search by name to see what offenses that person has across Virginia — by July 1, 2019. Right now, someone would have to search manually through each jurisdiction in the state to get that information. It doesn’t address civil records, something Del. Mike Mullin, D-Newport News, and Sen. Monty Mason, D-Williamsburg, said they want to address in the future. The two were adamant supporters of getting the law for accessing criminal records changed, along with Del. Greg Habeeb, R-Salem, and state Sen. Mark Obenshain, R-Harrisonburg.
Daily Press
The Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport has racked up nearly $900,000 in legal expenses — and counting — over the past year and a half as it’s dealt with a wide range of significant legal issues. The fee clock typically ticks at a rate of $375 an hour now, but it’s been as high as $945 an hour for one attorney. The clock runs for everything from researching issues, writing legal briefs and attending court hearings to 10-minute phone calls and five-minute emails. It’s not uncommon that two airport-paid lawyers talk with each other about the cases — both of them billing the airport separately for the same phone call, records show. All told, the airport dished out $783,361 in legal fees in 2017, according to attorney invoices obtained by the Daily Press under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. That’s 16 times the annual average of $46,885 that the airport spent between 2009 and 2016. The 2017 numbers are more than twice the prior eight years combined.
Daily Press
The Haymarket Town Council voted unanimously this week to strip the title of "vice mayor" from fellow Town Councilman Joe Pasanello two days before his term expired Saturday. The move was prompted by an email critical of Haymarket Mayor David Leake, which Pasanello sent to the writer of this story last month. Pasanello was vacationing and not at the meeting when he was censured. Pasanello said Leake gained access to his email to this writer through Freedom of Information Act requests "on four or five occasions starting in April. I don't think he FOIA'd any other council [members]," Pasanello said. Leake declined to comment on the resolution of censure, calling it a “personnel matter.” Regarding the issue of emails and access to them, Alan Gernhardt, of the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council, said there's nothing "inherently wrong" with an elected official gaining access to another elected official's email through a FOIA request.
Prince William Times
Vacation schedules and other commitments are making it difficult for all five members of the Charlottesville City Council to meet to review several pressing matters. After cancelling two work sessions in June, it now seems unlikely that the entire council will be able to meet for a work session until later this summer — which, in part, could further delay adoption of the city’s Comprehensive Plan update. A calendar the clerk of council provided last week shows the rest of July and the first 17 days of August are “black-out dates,” where at least one councilor will be out of town for business or personal reasons. In a recent discussion about the scheduling of the work sessions, one of the councilors said some of the meetings might not happen until the fall.
The Daily Progress
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