A reader sends us this article. It was so apropos that we decided to front page it.
City Council Ordered to Pay Attention
Los Angeles City Politicians Haven't Said If They Will Appeal
LOS ANGELES (Dec. 31) - During public hearings, members of the City Council talk on cell phones, chat among themselves, read mail or wander around the room. A state appeals court says they should be doing something else: paying attention.
Ruling on a suit brought by the owners of a strip club, the 2nd District Court of Appeal said the 15-member council acts as a quasi-judicial body when it holds hearings and has a legal duty to listen to testimony - or risk violating citizens' due process.
In a hearing involving a strip club owner who was seeking to extend his hours, both sides "had the right to be equally heard, not equally ignored," the court wrote in a decision Thursday, ordering a new hearing.
The city has not said whether it will appeal.
Roger Jon Diamond, a lawyer for the Blue Zebra strip club, videotaped the June 13, 2003, public hearing because he believed he would get little attention from the council.
At the hearing - which also was Hawaiian Shirt Day for the council - one council member paced, deep in a cell phone conversation; three huddled in conversation; another strolled about the room.
Afterward, the council voted unanimously against extending the Blue Zebra's hours.
Dennis Zine, a councilman who appeared to be paying attention in the videotape, said he thought the city should appeal.
"It's impractical for us to sit there like students in a classroom paying attention to the professor," he said.
And just what would be practical for PAID city council people to do when they are hearing a meeting? Maybe they could just vacate the room until a person is finished pleading his case and then come back in and vote NO.