Transparency News 9/13/16
Tuesday, September 13, 2016
State and Local Stories
Around two dozen people gathered on the steps of the Washington County Courthouse Monday morning to call for more open local government. Members of the citizens groups Friends of Abingdon and Washington County Independent Neighbors organized the protest in light of recent Freedom of Information Act requests that they say indicate local governments have been making decisions behind closed doors. During the peaceful protest, Ernie Braganza, chairman of WIN, read a letter to Abingdon Town Council and the Washington County Board of Supervisors that calls for the end of private meetings and more public involvement.Herald Courier
The state's move away from a single massive IT contractor to a bunch of smaller deals is shaping up like a messy divorce, with lots of lawyers and arguments over money. Virginia's IT arm, the Virginia Information Technologies Agency, has accused lead contractor Northrop Grumman five times this year of breach of contract. There's a nearly $10 million gap, and counting, between payments Northrop Grumman feels it's owed and what the state has been willing to pay. VITA sent Northrop Grumman a breach of contract notice in May, accusing the company of failing to save emails tied to an ongoing court case. Last month it sent four more breach letters for separate problems.
Daily Press
The Hampton Roads Regional Jail’s personnel committee voted to install new leadership Friday, a week after the state attorney general called for a federal investigation into the jail. Norfolk Sheriff Bob McCabe will be the jail’s interim superintendent starting Monday. McCabe said he and Newport News Sheriff Gabe Morgan, both members of the jail’s board, requested the meeting last week following The Virginian Pilot’s report on the death of inmate Henry Stewart and the attorney general’s request.“The concerns I had were the attorney general asking the justice department to come in and the (Pilot) article,” McCabe said. “We all agreed that the sheriffs need to get together and try to be proactive and get our arms around this thing. Obviously the transparency issue is not good.” The jail needs to be more transparent with inmates and the public, he said. McCabe said he felt that the jail staff did a good job of keeping the board informed of what was going on, but did a bad job of being responsive to requests for information from journalists and the public.
Virginian-Pilot
Both parties this election season are targeting unlikely voters, but one organization appears to have gone a step too far in Harrisonburg, submitting registration applications in the names of the least likely voters of all: the dead. The FBI and Harrisonburg Police Department are investigating whether to charge the group with voter registration fraud, Rockingham County Commonwealth’s Attorney Marsha Garst confirmed Monday.
Daily News Record
National Stories
State and local governments in Washington spent more than $60 million in a recent 12-month period complying with public-records requests, according to a new report. That cost, along with an increase in requests and the explosion of digital data, is making it more difficult for state and local governments to provide records, according to the report by the Washington state Auditor’s Office. Technological advances, along with the explosion of information and costs to store, secure and organize data, have increased the burden on agencies, according to the report, which was released Monday. “Such challenges, if not addressed, may undermine the original intent of public records laws and the provision of essential government services,” according to the report’s executive summary. But Toby Nixon, president of the Washington Coalition for Open Government, said he worries that the report could be used to weaken the state’s records laws.
Seattle Times
An attorney for the Medical University of South Carolina says it could cost $275,000 to search email servers in connection with an open records inquiry into allegations that two students cheated on exams. In a letter to The Post and Courier, the university’s attorney also warned a reporter not to contact members of MUSC’s Honor Council, students or employees about university disciplinary proceedings. And a spokeswoman on Friday added that the university will now require information requests from The Post and Courier to be submitted in writing.
The Post and Courier
Incitement to commit an imminent act of violence is not protected by the First Amendment, and may be restricted by the government. But advocacy of terrorism that stops short of inciting "imminent" violence probably falls within the ambit of freedom of speech. A new report from the Congressional Research Service examines the legal framework for evaluating this issue.
Secrecy News
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