TheNewspaper.com Roundup: August 14, 2017

In this week’s TheNewspaper.com Roundup!

–ALPRs in Virginia–

–Texas Toll Road Failures–

–Maryland RLC Yellow Lights a Problem–

Friday, August 11, 2017
Civil Rights Groups Press Virginia Supremes On Plate Readers
Civil rights groups made their case to the Virginia Supreme Court, urging the justices last week to find that the police use of automated license plate readers (ALPR, also known as ANPR) violates state privacy laws. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF) and Rutherford Institute each filed petitions in their case against the Fairfax County Police Department that claimed the use of cameras to gather intelligence on motorists not suspected of any crime violated Virginia’s Government Data Collection and Dissemination Practices Act.

Thursday, August 10, 2017
Subcontractors Shafted In Texas Toll Road Failure
Nearly every major US toll road project has gone bankrupt or required a government bailout. When this happens, little attention is given to the construction crews who worked on the project that go unpaid. This is what happened to Dig Tech, a small Texas firm that had a deal to dig trenches and install the electrical conduit for the ill-fated SH130 toll project segments 5 and 6 that went bankrupt last year.

Wednesday, August 9, 2017
Maryland: Longer Yellow Times Slashed Red-Light Violations
Montgomery County, Maryland’s inspector general in June confirmed that local officials increased the amount of revenue generated by the county red-light camera program by using illegally short yellow times. The Maryland Drivers Alliance revealed last week that the number of violations at Georgia Avenue and Seminary Road dropped in half as soon as the yellow was increased from 2.9 seconds to 3.5 seconds to meet the state’s minimum requirement for a 35 MPH road.

Tuesday, August 8, 2017
DC Cops Pad Salary With Photo Radar Cash
Police officers in the nation’s capital have been adding as much as $80,000 to their annual salaries with money generated from photo radar. The extra cash helps build good will among the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) members who are paid out of the $100 million in tickets that Washington, DC’s cameras issued last year.

Monday, August 7, 2017
France, Latvia: Speed Camera Blacked Out, Burned Out
On Saturday, vigilantes in Berles-Monchel, France disabled the speed camera on the RD939 by spraying its lenses with fluorescent green paint La Voix du Nord reported. Just two days after the automated ticketing machine on the RN2 was set up, vigilantes took it out of service. According to L’Union, red spraypaint was used on Thursday. A second camera on the RD1044 in Juvincourt was also spraypainted. In Crest, the speed camera on the D538 had its lenses painted black last week Sunday, Le Dauphine reported.

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