Columns

One night I logged into my e-mail account to find 923 messages; 922 of them were junk.

My mom said she never wanted to be that popular. But, I am thanks to a little faux pas I committed a few weeks ago.

There I was, minding my own business, checking my 14 e-mails when something in the subject–line caught my eye. It said, “Free coupons and baby gear.”

I couldn’t resist, so I clicked on it. The message showed a cute little smiling baby, along with the brand names Huggies, Johnson & Johnson and Gerber.

The early leaders of our country held widely divergent views on many topics, but their writings reflect a common appreciation of the importance of the right to know.

These leaders recognized that in order for the new democracy to survive, public access was essential. As James Madison wrote: "[A] people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives."

Sunshine Week celebrates the people's right to access the records and proceedings of their government and continue a centuries-old tradition of public access in America.

Public records and open meetings laws in North Carolina exist for one reason—to ensure that government is conducted in the open.

Public business, according to state law, must be done in public.

The public’s access to the government process, whether it’s access to meetings or to information or documents, is a right, not a privilege.

While there are nine specific, and likely overused, provisions that allow public bodies to convene in closed session, action must be taken in open session.

You know that feeling. Almost everyone has experienced it.

It happened to me recently in a Wilmington mall. I was walking along shopping, minding my own business, when my bladder sent a message to my brain saying, “Hey, you shouldn’t have slurped up that big ol’ Sprite.”

I tried to ignore my bladder, but it was eventually screaming, “The tsunami is coming.” I knew I had to take action. I was in a nice department store and headed for the nearest ladies room.