One of my many quirks is that no matter how wired to the internet I am, I often find quiet comfort in the good old hardcopy. There is something about having a thing in your hands that you can feel and look at and mull over at your leisure. A downside to this is that this proclivity, along with my basic packrat nature can cause my home office to get quite, uh, cluttered.
I have stacks of papers, studies, news articles, notes, maps, pictures, magazines, and various other things I just cannot throw away. You never know, I might just need them again. This past weekend I decided to bite the bullet by tackling the old and bringing in the new.
I found two News Journal articles that I had printed out. When I saw they were dated in January, I assumed they were current. I looked again, and realized they were from last January.
The first article, dated January 13, 2007 by then reporter Patrick Jackson is titled:
Legislative FOIA bill promised a hearing
Not this month, Adams says, but ‘at some point’
Ah, how hopeful we all were. At least those of us who still allow ourselves to be hopeful.
“ I think it will get a hearing at some point, " Adams said. “But when you talk about the immediate future, I think of January, and we probably won’t get to it then.”
“John Flaherty, a lobbyist for Common Cause, says he considers Adams’ announcement that the bill eventually get a hearing to be a step forward. ‘The president pro tem’s statement is very encouraging and I’m inclined to take him at his word that there will be hearings, ‘ Flaherty said.
In another article dated January 11, 2007, the title is:
Open government to be discussed in private
“House Republicans say they now plan to address the FOIA issue as it applies to the General Assembly, but they want to do so out of the public spotlight.”
House Majority Leader Wayne Smith planned to form an internal working group to discuss the FOIA issue. The group’s deliberations would not be open to the public.
I wonder what happened to the working group. I wonder what happened to John Flaherty’s optimism.
And I wonder what will happen this year.
A short sound effect to enhance your reading experience:
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
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1 comments:
If we could rid ourselves of the clutter of 'good ole boys' in the state Senate, perhaps Delaware might finally have an open and democratic government like so many other of the 50 states.
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