Although jail might be a bit harsh (and I'm sure some kind of sovereign immunity law prevents them from being personally liable), violations of the OMA ought to carry some kind of sanction, like Commission being liable for a fine of $X per violation.

Without a real sanction, the OMA stops being a law and becomes merely a suggestion.

--Socialist With A Gold Card

The KNS would better serve the public if they would publish the Commission agenda each month and really cover the serious matters which Commission decides every month instead of a Tuesday story consisting of 'hey, here's the 3 things Commission did yesterday'.

Heh.

I disagree with you about the lawsuit, but I'm absolutely in agreement with this. And ditto coverage of City govt., although Hayes Hickman's reporting earns the KNS a much higher grade for city coverage than county coverage.

However - tomorrow night Council will pass the form-based code for the south waterfront. This is a BIG DEAL. It not only will provide the basic building block for 3 miles of the south waterfront, it's a brand new kind of zoning code for Knoxville (actually, it's fairly new everywhere - I look for our implementation to get some national coverage in planning and local govt publications).

You'd think the KNS could at least do a feature on it. A map would be nice. But nope.

The KNS would better serve the public if they would publish the Commission agenda each month and really cover the serious matters which Commission decides every month instead of a Tuesday story consisting of 'hey, here's the 3 things Commission did yesterday'. Better coverage and investigation on the front end will get more benefit than any Open Meetings lawsuit.

When I watched the January 31st meeting I was upset. But now that I see how flawed and unenforceable the Sunshine Law is I agree it is time to move on. Save your powder. You want to take back the government, get to work. February 2008 will be here very soon.

This idea that two Commissioners cannot talk about government over lunch doesn't make sense to me. It is a completely different matter if there is a quorum in the back room of the 19th Hole at Cherokee County Club. I don't know the answer. There is so little debate in Committee and Commission you have to wonder if there is any debate at all.

The thing that bothers me the most is that any reporter can walk behind to the coat room during these recesses. So why don't they?

I wish the News Sentinel would assign a reporter for the whole meeting and print who voted for what and like Chad said print the agenda before the meetings. So much is made about being the paper of record there are little things that could be done better. Mr. McElroy, I hope you will consider these suggestions.

As I wrote before I would like to see some kind of Coverage Review Board (hat tip to Ultron) or Ethics Review Board at the News Sentinel. With all of the strong talk I would hope the News Sentinel would lead by example.

Chad: "The KNS would better serve the public if they would publish the Commission agenda each month..."

FYI, the County Commission *does* maintain an e-mail list of parties to receive it's agenda monthly. It goes out three days in advance of the meeting, primarily to various county department heads, but a smattering of individuals representing organizations outside local government receive it, as well.

I did so for two or three years, in my capacity as a PTA legislative chair for my kids' school, until I had to go without my computer for a couple of months at one point.

If any are interested, just phone the CC office at 215-2534 to be added to the list.