Transparency News, 8/26/2022

Friday
August 26, 2022

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state & local news stories

After switching to encrypted transmission this month, the Virginia Beach Police Department scanners are quiet, leaving thousands of scanner hobbyists without their beloved entertainment.  The switch to encrypted transmissions was first approved by city council in 2018. For nearly $5 million, all officers and vehicles were issued new radios, with frequencies that can’t be accessed by existing scanner machinery and phone applications. Lt. Bradley Wesseler of the Virginia Beach Police Department says that officers too often share personal information about individuals over the airwaves. Social security numbers, addresses, information about minors, could end up in the wrong hands. “That’s what we’re concerned about. We can’t have citizens having access to that,” he says. And, some are listening to scanners with a more nefarious intent than the hobbyist community. Wesseler says that during vehicle pursuits, traffic stops, and during protests amid civil unrest, officers find that criminals are using scanners to track police movement. Scanner transmission is critical to covering breaking news. It was over the airwaves that 10 On Your Side first got wind of the 2019 mass shooting at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center.
WAVY

The Spotsylvania County School Board on Thursday evening voted to send a letter to the Virginia Board of Education indicating that it intends to hire Mark Taylor to the position of division superintendent, and asking that his name be added to a list of candidates eligible for a superintendent license. The motion to recommend Taylor was approved by a 4–3 vote, with board members Dawn Shelley, Nicole Cole and Lorita Daniels voting against it. Until Thursday night, the Spotsylvania School Board had not voted in public to forward Taylor’s name to the Board of Education with the indication that it planned to hire him, which is one of the requirements for receiving a license under Option IV of Virginia Code’s licensure regulations. Option IV lays out the requirements for obtaining a superintendent’s license without a background in education. Candidates must have a master’s degree or equivalent and three years of successful senior leadership experience. Twigg told the Board of Education at its meeting earlier this month that it had received a “confidential” letter about Taylor. At Thursday’s meeting, Shelley told Twigg that “by bringing this to a motion tonight, you are admitting that you wrote a fraudulent letter last month.” “Therefore, you have caused the candidate to submit a fraudulent application,” she said. “That’s not on him, that’s on you.” Cole and Daniels asked Twigg if he planned to recuse himself from the vote to recommend Taylor in consideration of their personal relationship.
The Free Lance-Star
 

stories of national interest

A federal magistrate judge has ordered the unsealing of a redacted affidavit laying out the Justice Department’s evidence for the Aug. 8 search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate as part of an investigation into mishandling of classified information, theft of government records and obstruction of justice. Judge Bruce Reinhart instructed prosecutors to make the partially-obscured document public on the court’s docket by noon Friday. The Justice Department resisted making even a redacted version of the affidavit public, warning that any acceptable redactions would be so extensive as to render the document meaningless. It’s unclear whether the department will seek to appeal the order.
Politico

In Howard County, the student member of the Board of Education plays more than just a symbolic role. The young person, who is elected by the county’s middle and high school students after a convention, decides on many of the matters before the board — including grading and attendance policies — just like their adult colleagues. It was a position that did not necessarily draw that much attention until late 2020, when the student board member voted against reopening schools, leaving the board deadlocked at 4-4 and unable to move forward. Two parents, frustrated by the lack of action, sued the board, arguing that it was against the state’s constitution to allow a minor — selected by other minors — to serve on a school board. This week, Maryland’s highest court ruled in favor of student school board members, saying the position did not violate the state’s constitution, which bars minors from voting or from serving in public office.
The Washington Post

 

editorials & columns

If there’s one thing that both conservatives and progressives can agree on, it’s the importance of transparency. Both the left-leaning Democracy Web and the right-leaning American Legislative Exchange Council tout the importance of transparency for making good government work. But transparency has become an increasingly rare animal in our public sphere. The problem is troubling enough at the federal level, but it’s arguably more detrimental at the state and local levels, where individual citizens have their best opportunity to affect the policies and decisions that shape their lives. Miscommunication and lack of transparency often travel hand-in-hand and are often the source of people’s frustration. Leaders have a responsibility to provide effective, honest communication, and to freely share materials with citizens. In fact, communication is the cornerstone of transparency.
The Free Lance-Star