Virginia transparency headlines from 2008
From Sunshine Review
This article is a list of transparency related news from Virginia in 2008. For the most current news, please see Virginia transparency headlines.
Town moves to better comply
December 22, 2008: "When the Town Council Light & Power and Water & Wastewater Committee meets Monday in Town Hall for its regular monthly meeting, it will have four members instead of three.
That’s because Town Council voted earlier this month to change the committee structure in a proactive effort to comply with open government laws.
However, ironically, the change allows the town’s elected officials more leeway to talk shop out of the public eye." Read the full article here.
Gloucester supervisors say 2 post-election meetings legal
December 16, 2008: ""There is nothing unlawful — or, even inappropriate — in the fact that Altemus met once with Ressler, then turned and met with Rilee on the same subject," according to a motion filed in Gloucester County Circuit Court.
FOIA defines a meeting as when as many as three, or a quorum if less than three, members of a governing body come together.
The special grand jury took the position that Crewe and Woodard, although they had yet to be sworn in to office, were acting on behalf of the county and, thus, subject to FOIA." Read the full article here.
The F-O-Irony
December 10, 2008: "The irony is irresistible. In the latest iteration of a case that was all about four Gloucester County supervisors' flagrant disregard of the principles of open government, the chairman of the board, Teresa Altemus, is taking on the state's own disregard for the same law.
To be precise, the action is coming from her attorney. Anthony Troy is seeking $46,000 from the State Police to cover his firm's bill for work it had to do to pry out of the State Police a document that figured in the supervisors' case. On the surface, it seems straightforward: What he wanted was the document that empowered a trooper to assist the special grand jury that indicted the four supervisors for, among other things, conducting county business in secret." Read the full article here.
Cost of Norfolk's light rail project increases 24 percent
December 9, 2008: "Norfolk's light-rail project, now under construction, will cost $55.9 million more than expected.
About $22.8 million of that will be paid by the city, with the balance coming from the state.
A year ago, when the 7.4-mile line received a green light from federal authorities, the budget was $232.1 million. The City Council will learn today that the price has jumped 24 percent to $288 million.
Hampton Roads Transit and city officials attribute the overruns to construction and real estate cost increases, safety and security features required by the state, changes demanded by Norfolk State University, and enhancements such as station upgrades and landscaping added by the city." Read the full article here.
Expert: Norfolk board's secret meeting broke sunshine law
December 5, 2008: "The City Council met for 70 minutes behind closed doors Wednesday night in what one legal expert called an apparent violation of Virginia's Freedom of Information Act.
The council met to discuss a "personnel issue," according to Mayor Paul Fraim. He said the council was briefed on the indictments of three police officers - two active, one recently resigned - this week, including two on felony perjury charges.
A 1998 opinion from the Virginia attorney general's office concluded that city councils may not meet in closed session to discuss personnel over which they have no control." Read the full article here.
Outdated Virginia Laws Lack E-mail Transparency
December 2, 2008: "County supervisors in Loudoun County, VA, recently discussed a proposal to change the state's freedom of information laws in light of a court case that seeks personal e-mails from the county board.
The controversy in Virginia reflects the broader problem of distinguishing between official and personal electronic records that plagues federal and state governments." Read the full column here.
Judge rules Portsmouth to pay in public records case
November 22, 2008: "A Portsmouth judge ruled Friday that the city needs to pay $500 in fees to an attorney for Victory Conference Center LLC for legal action the company filed under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
Circuit Court Judge Dean Sword ruled that attorney Verbena Askew was entitled to legal fees from Portsmouth because she demonstrated that the city had not initially turned over all the documents she sought under her initial FOIA request. Sword said she also was entitled to the filing fee she paid for the court petition." Read the full article here.
Supervisors seek privacy
November 19, 2008: "With a wish list in hand, the county Board of Supervisors outlined its requests Nov. 18 to Loudoun's delegation for the 2009 General Assembly session. Topping the list was protection against requests to disclose their personal e-mails.
Supervisors' priorities included legislation drafted to limit requests made under the Freedom of Information Act for board members' personal e-mails." Read the full article here.
Radford, paper continue their legal wrangling
November 15, 2008: "A legal fight between The Roanoke Times and the city of Radford over a Freedom of Information request that the city wants to keep confidential will continue into December, a judge ruled Friday.
The lawsuit centers around two FOIA requests filed with Radford officials in August and September by Roanoke Times reporter Tim Thornton. Among other things, Thornton asked the city to provide him copies of any other FOIA requests the city received between June 15 and Sept. 18." Read the full article here.
Publication Of School Salary Data Is Targeted
November 6, 2008: "Earlier this year, when the Potomac News (now called the News & Messenger) published an Internet database listing all Prince William County school employees by name and their respective salaries, the school system was forced into an awkward position.
On one hand, school officials were upset at the disclosures of pay for rank-and-file employees, including bus drivers, janitors and teachers. On the other hand, it was the school system that released that information at the request of the local paper, citing the state's Freedom of Information Act." Read the full article here.
Use of government-owned vehicles strikes nerve in Commonwealth
October 8, 2008: "Questions the Westmoreland County Citizens Association raised during the last twelve month about the use of Westmoreland's publicly owned government vehicles struck a nerve that has resonances throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.
This Monday the Richmond Times-Dispatch published figures its staff obtained when as many as twenty localities were asked to provide detailed information about the use of government-owned vehicles." Read the full article here.
Newspaper files suit against Radford over information
September 30, 2008: "The Roanoke Times filed suit Monday against the city of Radford over the city's decision to withhold portions of documents the newspaper sought under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
The lawsuit -- technically called a "writ of mandamus" -- centers around two FOIA requests filed with Radford officials in August and September by Roanoke Times reporter Tim Thornton. Among other things, Thornton asked the city to provide him copies of any other FOIA requests the city received between June 15 and Sept. 18." Read the full article here.
Gmail isn't suitable for public records
September 28, 2008: "Douglas White wanted to exercise his right as a citizen to see some public records. What he found is that some Blacksburg town officials, like many others in the New River Valley, tread a fine line between open government and secrecy.
He recently requested all e-mails about the project sent or received by current and former town council members, staff and a member of the Storm Water Taskforce. Knowing is half the battle, as G.I. Joe used to say." Read the full article here.
Wrongful death settlements are public records
September 12, 2008: "The settlement terms of several wrongful death lawsuits brought in Spotsylvania County against a pharmaceutical company must be disclosed publicly and cannot be sealed in the court records, a Virginia Supreme Court ruled today." Read the full article here.
Lake flow on table at closed meeting
September 4, 2008: "Stakeholders on both sides of a contentious water-flow issue involving Smith Mountain Lake will meet at the table once more -- this time at an invitation-only meeting that's closed to the public and the media.
The meeting, slated for Friday in Charlotte Courthouse, will give upstream and downstream interests another chance to negotiate the terms of a water-release protocol being proposed by Appalachian Power Co. as part of its re-licensing request." Read the full article here.
Spotsy supervisor meeting was legal
September 3, 2008: "Spotsylvania County Attorney Jacob Stroman says supervisors did not violate the open-meeting laws when they met in closed session Aug. 12 to discuss incentives for a business that had already announced its expansion plans in the community.
Creative Dimension Group, a millwork company, had already announced in July its plans to leave the Spotsylvania Industrial Park to expand in the city. The Fredericksburg City Council offered $200,000 in incentives over 10 years.
According to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, a governing body can discuss in a closed meeting the expansion of and incentives for a local business if a prior announcement had not been made in the community." Read the full article here.
Controversy marks Radford University resignation
August 31, 2008: "When the Radford University Board of Visitors meets later this week, Robert Blake won't be there. Blake, who has served on various Radford boards and committees for more than 30 years, has resigned amid controversy about secrecy and money.
"I've severed all my ties with Radford," he said.
Rector R.J. Kirk said Blake gave "sensitive and confidential information" to the university's foundation.
Blake says he was simply being responsible." Read the full article here.
Virginia open records laws hazy on e-mails
August 30, 2008: "Former Appomattox mayor John Wilson and three of six council members exchanged e-mails during the last year discussing upcoming votes related to water issues.
Documents released through a Freedom of Information request from two town residents show that in one instance, Wilson e-mailed three council members advising them to rescind a vote on an issue that passed when now-former council member Steve Lawson was absent." Read the full article here.
Colonial Beach Mayor tramples reporter’s first amendment rights, Tactics are tantamount to prior restraint
August 20, 2008: "Shortly after noon on Aug. 15, Journal reporter Anne Congdon was asked to vacate the premises of the Colonial Beach Town Hall.
While the reporter was researching documents to provide historical background data for several stories for the Journal Press, Mayor Frederick C. (Fred) Rummage invited her into his office. And then he somewhat irreverently invited her to vacate the premises.
The public official that recently won office on a platform focusing on open and transparent government was disturbed that Congdon was reviewing public records." Read the full article here.
Oversight leads to illegal city meeting
August 15, 2008: "Fredericksburg officials say they're going to improve communication among city departments after an oversight led them to call for an illegal closed session at Tuesday's City Council meeting.
Shortly before midnight, at the end of Tuesday's meeting, council members approved a closed session "to discuss two prospective businesses where no previous announcement has been made" about those businesses' plans to expand or locate in the city." Read the full article here.
VA. LAW: Judge hears arguments in privacy advocate’s lawsuit
August 14, 2008: "A federal judge said Thursday that it won’t be easy deciding whether a new Virginia law barring individuals from posting Social Security numbers on the Internet is unconstitutional.
“This case presents some new questions and some hard questions,” District Judge Robert E. Payne said at the conclusion of a nearly three-hour hearing on privacy advocate B.J. Ostergren’s lawsuit. He said he would issue a ruling soon but was not specific." Read the full article here.
Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority
August 10, 2008: "Freedom of information isn't free. The Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority is paying the price, unexpectedly, spending thousands of dollars to meet requests for open records regarding a controversial construction project." Read the full article here.
Coalition challenges fees for online land records
August 10, 2008: "The Virginia Coalition for Open Government is challenging fees some circuit clerks are charging to access real-estate records online." Read the full article here.
Chesapeake Virginia Court rules its Clerk violated law- must release documents
August 6, 2008: "In a state circuit court today, Judge Randall Smith ruled its own Clerk of the Court, Faye Mitchell, violated the Virginia Freedom of Information Act by refusing to turn over public documents requested by George H. Christian regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act policies and procedures of the Chesapeake Circuit Court." Read the full article here.
Va. Tech Strove To Protect Its Image
August 4, 2008: "A week after the Virginia Tech killings, as a still-numb campus braced for classes to resume, university officials lined up a cast of speakers for the media: four students, three faculty members and a counselor.
Each, in his or her own words, described the significance of that day. They spoke about not being defined by the April 16, 2007, tragedy, about the power of tradition and the desire to move toward the future." Read the full article here.
Suffolk bloggers deserve press releases
July 28, 2008: "Sometimes it seems as if Suffolk's City Hall goes out of its way to commit sins against the notion of open government. In the current case, according to a report by Pilot staffer Dave Forster, the city has decided not to e-mail press releases to the people associated with the Inside Suffolk Web log." Read the full article here.
Feds respond with circus safety records - six years later
July 26, 2008: "If anyone is still wondering about the safety of a circus that came through Norfolk more than six years ago, we now have the answer.
A computer file of nearly decade-old federal inspections of a business that no longer exists, addressed to a reporter who no longer works at The Virginian-Pilot, arrived this week." Read the full article here.
Tech officials keep secrets
July 22, 2008: "Leaders at Virginia Tech have reasons not to want people delving too deeply into the events of April 16, 2007. For one thing, the community hardly wants to keep reliving that day's terrible shootings. For another, nagging questions about the administration's response have persisted.
Nevertheless, the school remains a public institution, and the people of Virginia must be able to hold public officials accountable. That requires access to documents that record the events of April 16. Tech has been too coy about releasing them." Read the full editorial here.
Be a watchdog. How to keep government clean: Keep an eye on it
July 20, 2008: "Last week, a special grand jury indicted four members of the Gloucester Board of Supervisors — Teresa Altemus, Michelle Ressler, Bobby Crewe and Gregory Woodard — for, among other things, conducting public business in secret. According to the grand jury's report, they schemed, behind the scenes, to dump the county administrator and replace him with a friend of Altemus, to figure out how much to pay the replacement and when he could start work. And they did it in private homes and small groups, where the public couldn't see what they were up to." Read the full article here.
Couple reflects on quest for truth
June 20, 2008: "They spent about $5,000 and countless hours trying to find out what was wrong at the state’s Department of Game and Inland Fisheries...
The Albrights kept digging, unsure what they were looking for, until they discovered thousands of dollars in charges — an $11,000 African safari trip and almost $50,000 worth of gifts for agency heads, high-end shotguns and stereo systems for agency vehicles. At the same time, an internal investigation was launched after a department employee called the state’s fraud, waste and abuse hotline. A May 2005 agency audit accused department brass of cronyism, inappropriate uses of state property and retaliation against employees." Read the full story here.
ACLU files lawsuit on behalf of Virginia privacy advocate
June 12, 2008: The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Virginia this week filed a federal lawsuit challenging a recently amended state law that prohibits individuals from disseminating public records containing Social Security numbers, even if the records are publicly available to anyone on county government Web sites.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Betty "BJ" Ostergren, a Virginia-based privacy advocate who has been fighting to stop county and state government offices from posting public records containing Social Security numbers and other personal records on their sites. As part of her campaign to publicize the issue, Ostergren has routinely downloaded documents containing Social Security numbers from county Web sites and reposted them on her own site.
