Transparency News 7/28/17

Friday, July 28, 2017



State and Local Stories

A legal standoff between the Virginia Information Technologies Agency and Northrop Grumman over access to a data center in Southwest Virginia has ended in a settlement instead of court. The state agency confirmed Thursday evening that it had reached an agreement with the technology giant to allow a repair team access to the Southwestern Enterprise Solutions Center in Russell County to replace a disaster recovery system that is crucial to operations at a dozen state agencies.
Richmond Times-Dispatch

Controversial words part of a centuries-old courtroom in Nelson County soon could be covered temporarily in an attempt to find a solution that would satisfy supervisors, the judge and residents and avoid litigation. According to a memo emailed to the Nelson County Board of Supervisors, the words “Virtus — Keep God’s Commandments — Veritas” — which are painted onto the horizontal structure above columns that support the balcony and located directly across from seats for the judge and jury — could be covered with removable panels. The lettering was uncovered in late winter to early spring during ongoing renovations to the courtroom, which are part of a larger renovation project on the courthouse complex. The memo, obtained by the Nelson County Times under the Freedom of Information Act, was sent July 19 by Phil Payne IV, the county attorney, to all five supervisors.
News & Advance



National Stories
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Maine’s Republican governor says misuse of public access law is costing the state “thousands of dollars” and is designed to disrupt his administration. Gov. Paul LePage spoke out against what he calls inappropriate use of Maine’s Freedom of Access Act during an appearance on WGAN-AM Thursday morning. He says he supports the law, but misuse of it by media members has resulted in “a foot thick of papers” related to FOA. LePage’s statements come in the wake of a Portland Press Herald story that relied on the access law to report that LePage, his staff and security spent more than $35,000 on luxury hotels and travel in Washington, D.C. last spring.
Portland Press Herald

Lawyers defending the New York Times say Sarah Palin is overreaching in her defamation lawsuit against the paper, and argue the case should be thrown out. Court papers filed by lawyers for the Times say Palin's legal team is attempting to subpeona "twenty-three non-party current and former Times reporters, editors and other employees — most of whom had nothing to do with the editorial at issue," according to a Wednesday report by the New York Post. The lawsuit filed by Palin relates to an editorial the paper published in June that asserted there was a direct link between one of her political groups and the 2011 shooting of Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. There was no such link ever proven and the Times corrected its editorial after publication.
Washington Examiner


Editorials/Columns


Several days ago we lamented the way in which an impulse toward secrecy dominates much of Richmond city government. Too many officials seem to think the people’s business is too important to share with the people themselves. The search committee trying to find a new superintendent for Richmond’s school system also puts a premium on confidentiality. The chairman, Thomas Farrell — who is CEO of Dominion Energy in his day job — has instructed committee members not to discuss any of the candidates with members of the School Board. He has asked them to sign a confidentiality agreement acknowledging that breaches of confidential information could subject them to legal action.
Richmond Times-Dispatch

We hear a lot of talk about "election fraud" these days, often invoking the specter of widespread illegal voting that somehow manages to escape any kind of documentation. But we did have an actual case of election fraud here on the Peninsula last year — small-scale but malicious just the same — and it was good to see it handled appropriately.
Daily Press