Transparency News 8/17/17

Thursday, August 17, 2017



State and Local Stories

After his deputies were filmed on a cellphone video body-slamming and punching a homeowner while her house burned down Aug. 3, Sheriff Lenny Millholland promised a swift and transparent internal investigation, saying it would be completed “as soon as possible.” However, the public may never get to see it. Under Virginia Freedom of Information Act laws, police aren’t required to release internal investigation reports, and it’s uncertain if Millholland will ever release the report, which he said in a Tuesday email hadn’t been completed.
Winchester Star

Since the process started three years ago, thousands of dollars have already been spent on the Academies of Hampton endeavor. More than 50 school and city officials have made or are planning to make study visits to Ford Next Generation Learning's flagship schools in Nashville, Tenn., trips that total up to about $92,000.
Daily Press

Mark Whitaker wants Portsmouth City Council to discuss barring groups like white supremacists and the KKK who roiled Charlottesville with violence. But another council member pointed out the First Amendment obstacles to such a move.
Virginian-Pilot

Nottoway Commonwealth’s Attorney, Terry Royall, has requested a special prosecutor to review sworn testimony by County Administrator Ronnie Roark. Mrs. Royall made the announcement Friday. “Upon consultation with the Attorney General’s Office and in the interest of fairness and transparency, I have decided to request a Special Prosecutor be assigned to review the situation and determine if any independent investigation is warranted.” Roark’s disputed court testimony was given July 21st during a FOIA complaint hearing in Nottoway General District Court. During that hearing, Roark was asked by substitute Judge Thomas Jones if there had been any complaints about new Animal Control Officer Randy Leonard since Leonard had begun working for the County in March. Roark replaced “No,” prompting the judge to remark, “Well, maybe he’s shaped up.”
Courier-Record (subscription required)


National Stories
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Auditors at the University of Florida found former General Counsel Jaime Keith "altered, destroyed or omitted" public records requested of the university which may have reflected poorly upon her, the Chronicle of Higher Education reports.  Most of the records requests came from a local lawyer acting on behalf of a former football player who was accused, and acquitted, of sexual assault.  U of F president W. Kent Fuchs has called for expanded public records training and enacted new guidance to help university officials better deal with such requests.
Education Dive

The head of the Tennessee State Museum's governing board told state lawmakers Tuesday his panel will revisit a controversial "code of conduct" as the new policy repeatedly came under fire during a specially called public hearing. Critics charged it amounted to a crude attempt to "gag" former Knoxville Mayor Victor Ashe, a member of the Douglas Henry State Museum Commission and sometimes its most vociferous public critic. Deborah Fisher, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government, told the legislative panel that "we think this policy chills the free flow of information about government, and we're concerned this commission is limiting what the public can know."
Times Free Press

Connecticut State Police are citing "invasion of privacy" concerns in refusing to release the findings of an internal affairs investigation involving a trooper and two sergeants accused of fabricating charges against a sobriety checkpoint protester during an encounter recorded on video. State police have rejected requests by The Associated Press and other media outlets made under Connecticut's public records laws for copies of the internal affairs investigation report as well as the results of the probe, including whether the officers were disciplined. The AP recently appealed to the state Freedom of Information Commission.
US News & World Report

The FBI has "reopened" its consideration of a request for records on the infamous 2016 tarmac meeting between then-Attorney General Loretta Lynch and former President Bill Clinton, the group behind that request told Fox News.  American Center for Law and Justice President Jay Sekulow called the development a “positive sign,” in an interview Wednesday on “Fox & Friends.” Sekulow said the FBI sent him a letter saying it had reopened his Freedom of Information Act request for documents related to the June 2016 meeting. At first, the FBI and DOJ said they did not have documents detailing the tarmac meet-up, before recently releasing a batch of emails. They are now searching for more records. 
Fox News