Have fun and learn the law, too

Don’t look now, but isn’t that Crusty the Reporter and Trusty the City Clerk truckin’ down Sherman Avenue?

Together?

Crusty and Trusty will be joined by a cast of characters, perhaps including you, on May 30 at 1 p.m. in Bay 4 of The Coeur d’Alene Resort. This special presentation is brought to Kootenai County by The Press, Bill Reagan and the Coeur d’Alene Resort, Idahoans for Openness in Government and the Idaho Attorney General’s office.

Crusty and Trusty will be played by locals in a skit that demonstrates Idaho public record and open meeting laws. The skits are fun and memorable, not just because they effectively show how the laws should be applied, but because the roles are generally reversed. Crusty the Reporter might be an elected official and Trusty the City Clerk could be a reporter. Talk about paradigm shifts!

This public service was last presented in Coeur d’Alene in December 2014. The laws have changed somewhat since then, and as any journalist and any public official could tell you, only good can come from an increased understanding of these important statutes.

One of the real-life stars is Lawrence Wasden, Idaho’s attorney general. Wasden and Betsy Russell, president of Idahoans for Openness in Government and the finest political writer in the Gem State, have been taking this show on the road for years now. Citizens from Bonners Ferry to Buhl are the better for Russell’s and Wasden’s extraordinary efforts.

Here in Kootenai County, the public’s right to know is an ongoing campaign that has more champions than foes. But of course there’s room for improvement.

A big step in that direction will take place May 30. If you’d like to attend, please contact Holly at The Press. Email hollyp@cdapress.com or call her at 208-664-8176 ext. 2016. We humbly ask that Kootenai County government send its employees who deal with public record requests. It will be a small but wise investment of taxpayer dollars.

What records or documents do you have a right to review? What are the legal and ethical responsibilities of elected and appointed officials to conduct their business in public view? And what, exactly, is Earnest the Rookie Reporter doing with Undertrained the Overly Cautious Clerk?

Join us May 30 and find out.