The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority paid more than $2.2 million to influencers to promote the city, but experts say results are hard to track.
What Are They Hiding?
Justice Court says it’s trying to protect people. Experts say the redactions go too far.
Nye County District Attorney Brian Kunzi said he does not believe some law enforcement records should be released before a criminal investigation concludes.
Experts say redacting the records violates state law and damages government transparency.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board has an exemption that most other law enforcement does not. That, experts say, prevents transparency and accountability in overseeing the state’s top industry.
The Henderson City Council will decide whether to impose additional record fees on April 16, but experts say the fees can be a barrier to disclosure.
The Metropolitan Police Department has paid outside counsel more than $75,000 to represent it in a case over investigative reporter Jeff German’s devices.
Bob Conrad with This Is Reno has been embroiled in public records lawsuits, including one seeking answers on how a former Washoe County sheriff’s sergeant was able to alter documents to hide that he was married to two people.
For this story, board President Evelyn Garcia Morales once again did not respond to requests for an interview. The district’s communications office again did not grant an interview.
Government employees’ salaries are routinely requested public records, but the Lyon County School District denied access to that information earlier this year.
Since 2017, government agencies have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to a law firm to help them hide information from taxpayers.
A highly paid Henderson police public information officer wrote in an email that he would make sure any officers interviewed are part of a favorable story.
Taxpayers fund the salaries, benefits and pensions of Metropolitan Police Department staff, but the fees make transparency unaffordable for average residents, according to critics.
The Metropolitan Police Department needs to be more transparent, according to Benjamin Lipman, the Review-Journal’s chief legal officer.
Agencies often use fees to deter the public from gaining access to public records, experts say.