Transparency News 7/3/19

Wednesday
July 3, 2019

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state & local news stories

Have a happy and safe Independence Day. The newsletter will return Friday.

The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, a Charlottesville nonprofit long dedicated to promoting the First Amendment, announced Monday that it will close after donating its assets to the University of Virginia School of Law. The gift of more than $1 million will relaunch the school’s First Amendment Clinic, which is one of the oldest in the country but which has been on a brief hiatus. The clinic will be taught by attorneys at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, a national nonprofit that provides free legal services to journalists.
The Daily Progress

After previously hesitating to act, the City Council on Tuesday approved an independent probe, which could start this month. The investigation will focus on creating a timeline of the tragedy, reviewing the gunman’s employment history and analyzing how to prevent workplace violence in the future. The unanimous vote marks a reversal for several council members who had initially wanted to wait for the criminal investigation to wrap up before approving such a review. But after pressure mounted — with the families of three victims saying officials haven’t been transparent — city leaders elected to move forward with the probe.
Richmond Times-Dispatch

A state panel ruled the Norfolk Community Services Board violated human-rights regulations when it failed to prevent a man in a mental health crisis from beating another man into a coma last year. The panel also found that employees of the board — including executive director Sarah Paige Fuller — still didn't know the services board's own policies on how to deal with potentially violent clients six months after the attack. The Virginian-Pilot obtained a copy of the report from a human rights committee convened by the state’s behavioral health department to review a complaint against the Norfolk Community Services Board from victim Erick Davis' family. The report has not been made public.
The Virginian-Pilot

The president of one of the city's two teacher associations has asked for a criminal investigation into whether Norfolk School Board members violated state conflict-of-interest laws when they approved buying a plane ticket for one member's family vacation. Martin said the board's vice chairman told her the district could pay for the plane ticket to her vacation because of the importance of being at the June 19 meeting to vote on an interim superintendent candidate that was anticipated to be tied without Martin's presence.  Martin said the board's vice chairman told her the district could pay for the plane ticket to her vacation because of the importance of being at the June 19 meeting to vote on an interim superintendent candidate that was anticipated to be tied without Martin's presence.  Martin said she was told it "wasn't feasible" to participate remotely, although other members have done so in the past. The Pilot is waiting on public records requested June 19 that are related to board and staff members' discussion of the meeting. The district requested an extension through July 10 to provide the records.  
The Virginian-Pilot

stories of national interest

Sex, lies and bullets flying wildly. Then there are the stolen drugs, illegal chokeholds, planted evidence, falsified reports and a police officer who lied to move up the adoption list for a puppy. Those are among the misadventures uncovered during the first six months of disclosures under California’s new police transparency law, Senate Bill 1421, which took effect Jan. 1. The statute requires police to release long-secret records about officer shootings, use of force, sexual misconduct and dishonesty.  Yet those disturbing examples of police misconduct have come from a only a smattering of law enforcement agencies around the state. Some large agencies, such as the Orange County, Riverside County and San Bernardino County sheriffs’ departments, San Jose Police Department, the California Highway Patrol and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, have yet to turn over a single document. Others have released only paltry records.
The Orange County Register