Transparency News 8/22/17

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

 

State and Local Stories

TowneBank got more than its money back because of the Peninsula Airport Commission’s secret decision to guarantee People Express Airline’s debts — the bank also made a modest profit on the deal. TowneBank received interest and fees totaling $115,625 on top of full repayment from taxpayer funds of $5 million borrowed by the defunct People Express Airlines, according to auditor records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. Some $53,606 of those interest and fee payments were made by the Peninsula Airport Commission after People Express said it had run out of money.
Daily Press

A special prosecutor has been named to look into whether a Virginia Beach Development Authority member had a conflict of interest when he voted on a public-private project financed by TowneBank. On Friday, a judge appointed the York County commonwealth’s attorney to investigate the vote by Michael Levinson, according to a spokeswoman for Virginia Beach’s top prosecutor. Virginia Beach Commonwealth’s Attorney Colin Stolle recused himself from the investigation because his wife works for TowneBank.
Virginian-Pilot

Waverly’s mayor is breathing a sigh of relief this week after being cleared of election fraud charges against him. In a telephone interview on Monday, Mayor Walter J. Mason gave thanks to God, his wife and his defense attorney after he was cleared of a dozen felony charges against him on Friday.
Richmond Times-Dispatch

The ousted director of the Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority is suing his former employer and one of its former attorneys over his firing last year. The lawsuit claims the PRHA wrongfully terminated Executive Director Hal Short last August during the first year of his three-year contract, costing him more than $500,000 in unpaid salary and benefits. It also alleges that attorney Verbena Askew defamed him while discussing his termination with The Virginian-Pilot and WAVY-TV.
Virginian-Pilot

Within 30 minutes of starting its meeting, the entire Charlottesville City Council, the city attorney, the city manager and council clerk all retreated into a backroom. Two women stood on top of the dais with a banner: “Blood on your hands.” 
Daily Progress



National Stories
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The mystery surrounding the roster for Michigan's 2017 football team is over. Head coach Jim Harbaugh said Sunday afternoon on Twitter the program plans to release the list of every player on the team next Wednesday, Aug. 30, three days before Michigan opens the season against Florida. The news comes days after NJ Advance Media, a sister publication of MLive Media Group, published a story saying it had submitted a public-records request for the roster earlier this month. The University of Michigan responded by saying it needed an extension to fulfill the request, allowed under the state's Freedom of Information Act law, and would reply within 10 business days.
MLive