Meat Will Kill You…Just More Good News
Letters To SPB
You write in your Feb/Mar ’97 newsletter that "once upon a time the City Record could be purchased at Coulson’s News and other places, now it is subscription only." For the record, the Albany City Record is still sold at Coulson’s and, therefore, not available only by subscription.
You should also know that Carol Wallace and Shawn Morris, among other members of the Common Council very concerned about the adequacy of public notification of city business, are working diligently to improve the distribution of city notices. They and others in City Hall are exploring ways to collaborate with the County of Albany in the production and dissemination of government notices- a partnership that will save city taxpayers money.
Hon. Keith C. St. John, Alderman, Ward 2, City of Albany
Thanks, Keith, for setting the record straight. Right now we have to assign a volunteer to call the Albany planning board before each meeting to find out what’s on the agenda. Is this really necessary? Surely Mike Morrelli and his staff have better things to do than play phone tag and look things up for us.
Our information about the shutting down of the City Record came from the Hearst-owned Times Union, which, as usual, failed to report the whole story and carefully misquoted several members of the Council. We’re delighted to hear that you folks at the Common Council are looking for new and better ways to disseminate vital information to the community. We hope you follow through on your plans to consolidate, and do so as quickly as possible.
May we make some suggestions? Along with the Common Council agenda, the public has a right to know what the Planning Board and the Zoning Board of Appeals are doing. So far no one has offered an intelligent explanation of why you folks cut the proceedings of the Zoning Board of Appeals from the City Record. It sure looks to us like you don’t want us to know what the ZBA is up to.
And yes, what’s left of the City Record still hangs on a clip at the counter at Coulson’s on Broadway. We stand corrected.
-Dan Van Riper
Printed April/May 1997
