Transparency News, 7/5/2022
Tuesday
July 5, 2022
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state & local news stories
"Once provided by the city and made accessible by the library, the public will be able to watch body-worn footage, hear police radio traffic and read narratives."
The city is required to hand over to the Library of Virginia a trove of documents and videos related to Richmond police’s tear-gassing of demonstrators at the former monument to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee on June 1, 2020, as part of a settlement agreement in a federal suit. Haskell C. Brown III, the interim city attorney, said Friday that the city hadn’t provided the repository yet, nor did it have a timeline for doing so. Once provided by the city and made accessible by the library, the public will be able to watch body-worn footage, hear police radio traffic and read narratives of the officers who were in and around the Lee and J.E.B. Stuart monuments that evening when, unprovoked and without warning, they unleashed chemical irritants on thousands of demonstrators kneeling at the base of Lee with their hands up 20 minutes ahead of an 8 p.m. curfew. As part of the settlement, the city retracted a tweet as false.
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Incoming Portsmouth City Manager Tonya Chapman’s contract mostly mirrors agreements reached with the city’s most recent managers, according to a Virginian-Pilot review. Chapman, who took the reins last week, was appointed last month by a council majority that ousted her predecessor, Angel Jones. That same majority saw to it that Chapman’s contract include a $400,000 severance payment, or two years’ salary, if she’s fired within the first year without cause. Jones’ 2021 contract and Pettis Patton’s 2015 contract gave each manager six months’ severance if they were fired without cause. And John Rowe’s 2012 contract, which was originally for him to serve as an interim manager, had no severance — even if he were fired without cause.
The Virginian-Pilot
Portsmouth comedian Nicholas Gordon has spent the past 20 years making a name for himself as Cletus Kassady. He’s performed stand-up, written for others and acted in films across the country — with one set to premiere this fall. He’s opened for comedic stars like D. L. Hughley and Mike Epps. But since May, Kassady’s been growing his local following by turning Portsmouth City Council meetings into comedy bits that poke fun at council members while offering the news of the day. And the dysfunctional council is the gift that keeps on giving. After each meeting, Kassady can be found on Facebook Live providing a rundown, peppering his analysis with jokes, barbs — and even nicknames for the council members — to the delight of his audience. “The jokes write themselves,” he said. “You gotta laugh to keep from crying.”
The Virginian-Pilot
Spotsylvania County Public Schools paid just under $2,000 for security at a School Board meeting in April and is regularly paying more for meeting security than in previous years. The division also paid more for general legal representation the first quarter of this year than in the first quarter of the preceding three years. One deputy from the Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office is scheduled to be present at each meeting, according to Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Troy Skebo, yet the board has requested additional security to be present at seven out of the 15 meetings held through June 13. The division is also paying more in legal fees this year. Sands Anderson, the Richmond law firm providing legal representation to the School Board, charged a total of $41,240 for services provided in January, February and March. The invoices, which the Free Lance–Star obtained in redacted form through a Freedom of Information Act request, contain at least 30 references to emails and phone calls with School Board Chair Kirk Twigg and other board members.
The Free Lance-Star
Now-former Richlands Town Council Member Mike Street resigned from his seat on Wednesday, citing a “toxic work environment” among other complaints. On Friday, Street spoke on a disagreement with other council members over residents’ water bills -- and whether or not to increase said bills as one instance leading to his decision to resign. Regardless, he added his own concern for the town’s government moving forward. “I do believe wholeheartedly that there are some dark, dark days ahead for the town of Richlands, given what we have for the town leadership,” said Street.
WVVA
Despite the long-running debate nationwide and in Virginia over what books are appropriate for school libraries, only a few formal complaints have been issued in Hampton Roads. The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press filed Freedom of Information Act requests with the school systems of Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Hampton and Newport News for complaints or requests for reconsideration of instructional materials between March and June. Six requests were submitted to two school divisions.
The Virginian-Pilot
stories of national interest
"When a parent submitted an open records request for the video, the assistant superintendent replied that the part of the video that was removed was 'unrelated to the official business of the meeting.'"
Parents are pushing back after a committee whose members sit on a Wisconsin school board did not move forward with approving a book about Japanese American incarceration during World War II for a sophomore English literature class. Muskego-Norway School Board members said including the book would require “balance” with perspective from the U.S. government, according to two parents in the district. They also said that minutes of a heated meeting with board members about the topic were not posted and that a video of another board meeting was reportedly edited. Records of the June meetings that featured discussions and arguments around the book are not available. Minutes of an educational services meeting, which took place June 13, have not been shared to the school board website, where the records are generally posted. When a copy was requested, Boyer replied in an email that the minutes have not been approved. A board meeting took place later the same day. When parent Ann Zielke submitted an open records request for the video, Assistant Superintendent Jeff Petersen replied in an email, seen by NBC News, that the part of the video that was removed was “unrelated to the official business of the meeting.”
NBC News
editorials & columns
"Over the years, FOIA has been burdened with expanding exemptions that limit its effectiveness."
The Freedom of Information Act is a reminder of the obligation of federal officials, including the president, to enforce the laws and the Constitution, even to their detriment or defeat. The continuing hearings of the Jan. 6 Committee are a message to Americans that we all have a responsibility to uphold the Constitution and laws of our nation. The Freedom of Information Act was in part given to citizens of the US as repayment for the loyalty demanded of our people and officials. FOIA, signed into law in 1966 by President Lyndon Johnson, is celebrating its 56th birthday on July 4 this year. The law, used by millions of American citizens since its enactment, emphasizes the commitment of our government to every citizen to provide for the free flow of all public documents to Americans. Over the years, FOIA has been burdened with expanding exemptions that limit its effectiveness. Though the exemptions have been created allegedly to protect national security, internal agency decisional memoranda and business trade secrets, among other issues, they often have blocked or delayed access to important data that citizens and businesses were intended to have under the Act.
Michael R. Lemov, The Hill
