Witness It for Yourself

If you have an hour and a half to spare, Dan Udell's videotape of Tuesday's Common Council meeting, at which the aldermen complete the Full Environmental Assessment Form for the proposed zoning amendment that would create an R-S-C-2 district in which hotels are a conditional use, can now be viewed online.

A notable moment is captured early on in the video. It will be remembered that Alderman John Friedman (Third Ward) has in the past chosen on occasion not to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of a meeting--an action (or lack thereof) that back in November 2012 ultimately brought about the firing of a Register-Star reporter and the resignation in protest of two other reporters and the city editor. (If you missed that brouhaha, this post from SamPratt.com will catch you up: "Firing roils the Register.") Since she took office in January, Council president Claudia DeStefano has made a point of waiting, after the "moment of prayer and silent reflection," for Friedman to stand before beginning the Pledge. As you see her doing this in the video, a voice calls out, "Start without him." That voice belongs to former mayor and now Fifth Ward supervisor Rick Scalera.
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