{"id":10913,"date":"2014-10-17T08:41:09","date_gmt":"2014-10-17T12:41:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/?p=10913"},"modified":"2014-10-17T08:44:58","modified_gmt":"2014-10-17T12:44:58","slug":"vdt-open-government-symposium-in-macon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2014\/10\/vdt-open-government-symposium-in-macon.html","title":{"rendered":"VDT Open Government Symposium: in Macon?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\r\nYay open government symposium!\r\nBut why in Macon, why not in Valdosta,\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nif it’s organized by the new VDT editor?\r\nSure, Macon is the geographic center of the state, but it’s only\r\nabout an hour from Atlanta, and one thing most people in Atlanta don’t\r\nunderstand is how big Georgia is, so asking them to drive four hours\r\nto Valdosta would be educational for them.\r\nAnd if the VDT is so interested in government transparency,\r\nwhy doesn’t it investigate the county’s lawsuit against local business Deep South Sanitation\r\nat the expense of the local taxpayers that benefits nobody but\r\n“exclusive franchise” ADS and its investors in New York City?\r\nWhy is the VDT’s front page story that gave a platform for\r\nSpectra’s Andrea Grover no longer online, especially now that\r\nthe Sabal Trail deadline she announced has been busted?\r\nLet’s see the VDT lead the way.\r\nHere’s a first test:\r\nGretchen is going to Macon with the LAKE video camera.\r\nWill the VDT let her video?\r\n

\r\nUnsigned article, VDT, 11 October 2014,\r\n\r\nVDT leading way in open government<\/a>,\r\n

\r\n

\r\nThe state’s first Open Government Symposium will be held in Macon\r\nFriday.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nThe free event kicks off a series of symposiums to be held around\r\nthe state of Georgia in an effort to incubate a culture of\r\ngovernment transparency, according to organizers.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\r\n<\/a>\r\nValdosta Daily Times Editor Jim Zachary, who is director of the\r\n\r\nTransparency Project of Georgia<\/a>, and colleague Holly Manheimer, who\r\nis the director of the\r\n\r\nGeorgia First Amendment Foundation<\/a>, have\r\norganized the symposium and will provide the training while sharing\r\ntheir experiences in open government advocacy.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nValdosta State University Professor Dr. Patricia Miller, journalism\r\nadvisor, will join Zachary and Manheimer, along with investigative\r\nreporter Oby Brown, of the Telegraph in Macon, for an open forum and\r\nroundtable discussion at the symposium.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nThe event, being held at the Center for Collaborative Journalism at\r\nMercer University, is free and open to the public.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nOrganizers are encouraging elected officials, government attorneys,\r\nrecords custodians, journalists, community activists, students and\r\nanyone who has an interest in transparency and more accountable\r\ngovernment to attend.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nGood luck to them on that last.\r\n

\r\nA couple of quotes from the new VDT editor:\r\n

\r\n

\r\n“We are creating a culture at the Valdosta Daily Times where\r\nwe simply have the expectation that government is always open and\r\ntransparent and each of our reporters will be well-versed in the\r\nstate’s Open Meeting Act and Open Records Act,” the editor\r\nsaid.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nOK, good. So:\r\n

    \r\n
  1. Where’s that former front-page pipeline article?\r\n
  2. Why did the VDT refuse to do a similar story\r\non pipeline opponents\r\nafter spending all that space on the pipeline company?\r\n<\/ol>\r\n

    \r\nBack to the recent VDT story:\r\n

    \r\n

    \r\n“Discussions will go beyond mere compliance with the letter of\r\nthe law. These presentations will focus on both what the law\r\nrequires and the intent of the legal requirements,” Zachary\r\nsaid. “When you think about it, nearly all issues that\r\ntaxpayers, voters, ordinary citizens have with their government end\r\nup being about government transparency. While a lot of public\r\nservants talk about open government and being accessible, it is\r\nimportant they take the opportunity to step back and look at these\r\nissues through the eyes of the people they are elected to represent.\r\nWe believe the symposium will give them the opportunity to do\r\nexactly that.”\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

    \r\nSounds great!\r\nHow about asking the Lowndes County government why they stick\r\nto only the letter of the open records law when they return board packets\r\n\r\nonly on paper in black and white<\/a> when we know they have\r\nthem in electronic format?\r\nHow about asking the county why they don’t put the board packets\r\nonline so citizens can know whether to show up for an item,\r\nand can see what their elected officials are talking\r\nabout in their meetings?\r\nHow about asking the same question about the Valdosta City Council,\r\nHahira, Lake Park, Remerton, and Dasher,\r\nand all the local boards and authorities?\r\nHow about ask why the county\r\n\r\ndoesn’t even publish agendas for the Planning Commission<\/a>?\r\n

    \r\nOnce upon a time, the VDT used to ask some such questions,\r\nat least when the VDT itself directly had difficulty getting\r\ninformation from local government bodies, such as\r\n