{"id":876,"date":"2012-04-27T11:07:22","date_gmt":"2012-04-27T15:07:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2012\/04\/someplace-worse-than-here.html"},"modified":"2012-04-27T11:07:22","modified_gmt":"2012-04-27T15:07:22","slug":"someplace-worse-than-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2012\/04\/someplace-worse-than-here.html","title":{"rendered":"Someplace worse than here"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eric Stirgus wrote for the AJC 25 April 2012, PolitiFact: For the record, it’s OK to record council meetings<\/a>,<\/p>\n

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Meetings of the Cumming City Council rarely make the evening news,\n <\/a>\nbut that changed last week with video of a woman being tossed out of the public gathering.<\/p>\n

The woman, Nydia Tisdale, was attempting to film the council’s meeting April 17, but she was told that was not going to happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don’t allow filming inside of the City Hall here,\u201d Mayor H. Ford Gravitt said, \u201cunless there is a specific reason.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Hm, what does state law say?<\/p>\n

<\/a> Title 50, Section 14 of the Georgia Open Meetings Act:\n

\u201c[v]isual, sound, and visual and sound recording during open meetings shall be permitted\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Stirgus notes some irony:<\/p>\n

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In a strange bit of timing, Tisdale was tossed from the council meeting on the same day Gov. Nathan Deal signed House Bill 397,<\/a> a revised state law on open meetings and records aimed at providing greater access to documents and public meetings.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The Georgia Attorney General’s Office is investigating,<\/a> as well it should. The investigation shouldn’t take long, since the entire incident is on video. Meanwhile, the mayor keeps digging:<\/p>\n

<\/a>\n

Gravitt also explained that he had concerns that allowing one camera and tripod in would embolden multiple people to bring in cameras and tripods into a meeting.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Then people might know what’s going on!<\/p>\n

Here’s the video:<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n