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All Access
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There will not be a newsletter on Monday or Tuesday of next week. See you again on the 19th.
The Town of Madison adopted new rules for public comments Wednesday after a pointed debate over free speech, meeting decorum, and who controls the flow of council business. The change followed complaints from council members about recent meetings they said had become hostile. Councilor Charles Carter said bluntly, “This council got abused and our staff got abused aggressively. And I do not want to see that happen again.” The new policy keeps a three-minute limit for speakers and says comments should focus on town matters, not personal attacks. It also formalizes how public remarks may be handled after they are made, including possible discussion during new business or referral to the town administrator. The debate exposed a deeper split on the council. Mayor Jennifer Campbell argued that residents should still be able to “speak freely at their will,” even while the town cleans up its procedures. Town Attorney Maynard Sipe defended the revision as a reasonable effort to maintain order.
Local
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Local
A new policy is changing how Amherst County handles Freedom of Information Act requests for public records. It comes as the county faces questions about a possible data center. “There is no data center coming. I can’t say that enough,” said Lori Saunders, director of the Amherst Economic Development Authority. … County leaders say there is no data center coming — but some people aren’t buying it. … That concern led neighbors to file FOIA requests for information about the cleared land on Dillard Road. … “We’re getting a lot of FOIA requests concerning the property we’ve purchased on Dillard. But prior to that, we didn’t have as many. So we sort of tucked under the county. The more we get, the more now I’ve become a FOIA officer. And I just want to be consistent. I want everyone to get the same treatment,” Saunders said. … “If they were being transparent, no one would be doing all these FOIAs. It’s a catch-22. People just want to know what they’re doing and what their plans are because it impacts all of us,” said Amherst County resident Teresa Almond.
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Local
The Arlington County Board approved a new contract for the county’s independent policing auditor following almost three hours of closed-door conversation this week. Little public discussion came before or after the vote on the employment agreement with Mummi Ibrahim, who has served in the post since 2022. However, the outcome of the meeting — which appeared to focus on criminal justice issues — is that Ibrahim will now serve at the pleasure of the County Board, rather than County Manager Mark Schwartz, Board spokesperson David Barrera told ARLnow. … The details of Ibrahim’s current agreement with the County Board still remain somewhat unclear. Barrera directed ARLnow to submit a Freedom of Information Act request to view her contract.
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Local
City Council member Aaron Rawls and Sands Anderson, the law firm that represented Martinsville during recent turmoil at City Hall, asked a federal judge Tuesday to dismiss Mayor L.C. Jones’ lawsuit against them. The separate motions, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Roanoke, argue that Jones’ amended complaint does not support valid legal claims. … According to the filings, Jones accuses Rawls and Sands Anderson of working together to discredit him and drive him from office, in part because of race. … Jones also alleges that the firm selectively released portions of its investigative report to removal organizers and the news media. He says the report’s reference to a hot tub received by “Jones and his girlfriend,” when read in context, implied that he accepted a corrupt benefit. The firm says the complaint does not identify who released the report, when, what was disclosed or to whom. It also says the hot tub reference did not accuse Jones of bribery, corruption or another crime.
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In other states-South Carolina
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster is criticizing a state agency for telling a citizen it would cost $2.4 million to fulfill an open records request for public documents about pollution at an elementary school. McMaster labeled the Department of Environmental Services estimated cost “ridiculous’’ and unwarranted. … After a torrent of criticism, the environmental agency said it would provide the records to Hill for free. Some of that information was being released this week.
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