News of the Weird
Submitted by Oliver Queen on Wed, 05/30/2007 - 10:27pm
I received an email from my friend Bill Jackson today:
Publisher Arrested for Refusing to Exit Closed-Door Meeting
Published: May 30, 2007 1:20 PM ET
BURLINGTON, N.C. A newspaper publisher has been charged with misdemeanor
trespassing after refusing to leave an airport authority meeting that
officials went on to conduct behind closed doors.Thomas E. Boney Jr., 52, of Graham, was arrested Tuesday at the meeting of
the Burlington-Alamance Airport Authority, said Alamance County Sheriff
Terry Johnson. Boney owns and edits The Alamance News, a weekly newspaper
published in Graham.Johnson he was forced to arrest the publisher, whom he didn't handcuff and
allowed to ride in the front seat of his patrol car. Boney has a court
appearance scheduled for June 25."He's got a valid point about having access to public meetings," Johnson
said.
Does anyone know what the Burlington City Council and Alamance County have against open meetings and free speech? More info on the incident. And even more interesting:
Boney has long campaigned for open government meetings. The Burlington City Council sued him in a pre-emptive attempt to stop him from challenging a closed meeting in 2002. The North Carolina Supreme Court ordered the city to pay him $33,000 in attorneys' fees, saying the city had no reason to sue.
Can anyone from Alamance clear this up for me? Even the cop said Boney had a valid reason for being there, even though he arrested the publisher. And after wasting over $33,000 of taxpayer dollars in 2002, why are the municipal leaders in Alamance playing chicken with the press yet again?
I Saw that
I forwarded it. Real journalism! How refreshing.
And, if anyone ever said we're too partisan
Boney is a registered Republican.
I always wanted to be the avenging cowboy hero—that lone voice in the wilderness, fighting corruption and evil wherever I found it, and standing for freedom, truth and justice. - Bill Hicks
Hmmm.... I think I like that
Maybe the other side is waking up and we can get some work done.
The only reason for having a closed meeting
is if they were going into a personnel matter. There are parliamentary procedures to follow for that. I would expect a reporter to respect that as well.
_____________
The Den
It's your democracy; use it.
North Carolina Law
requires meetings be open except in cases of personnel matters (like you mentioned); but also for legal matters and to handle sensitive transactions (pricing for land deals, etc.); but the Open Meetings Law keeps stuff out the in open
Yup.
I wonder what they're up to.
_____________
The Den
It's your democracy; use it.
Shades of Buncombe County Commissioners
and their sweet deal with Duke Energy
Do good. Be nice. Have fun.
Sneaky Petersons
Keep an eye on 'em, Sam, and see if you can't talk to the editor. He probably has some interesting theories...
Scrutiny Hooligans - http://www.scrutinyhooligans.us
Excuse me?
One man with courage makes a majority.
- Andrew Jackson
Jesus Swept ticked me off. Too short. I loved the characters and then POOF it was over.
-me
I heard a local
talk radio (yes, this is in my neighborhood) guy complaining about Burlington giving the airport $232,000 this year, when the previous years have been around $35,000.
It probably went under the radar
but last year a lawsuit was brought in Chatham County over secret public meetings (talk about an oxymoron)
Well, they won the lawsuit but they also had a big legal debt to pay off since the judge didn't award enough to cover the cost of the suit.
Progressives are the true conservatives.
BOE
You want to see a take down on a BOE - see Ohio.
Their new Secretary of State called for the resignation of ALL of them. Would not back down.
Over gross 'irregularities.'
Doesn't this seem pretty gross and irregular to you?
I remember it vaguely but I don't head west unless I'm headed out of Dodge.