When 'open' gets a new definition
By Amy Doolittle
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
July 12, 2006


D.C. Council Chairman Linda W. Cropp yesterday abruptly ended the council's monthly breakfast meeting because a reporter for The Washington Times was recording the proceedings.
"You're not recording this, are you?" Mrs. Cropp, an at-large Democrat who is running for mayor, said to the reporter. "Stop."
When the reporter cited the council's rules allowing the breakfast to be public record, Mrs. Cropp said, "OK, meeting over."
The Times reporter was the only journalist at the 60-minute meeting.
Later during its legislative session, the council voted 7-6 to hold hearings on a revision of its open-meeting rules before voting them into law.
Mrs. Cropp, who opened the breakfast meetings this year, and other council members have long tried to limit coverage of the meetings, saying they are closed-door, informal sessions. Some members have said the sometimes raucous discussions during the breakfasts could make them look foolish if reported............

http://tinyurl.com/r47tm

What have they got to hide? Is is the fact that they are using taxpayer money to have a catered breakfast to sit around and chat and gossip?