I’m writing regarding the Kalivianakis letter on the removal of the accommodating press table from the town council chambers and some council members' reasoning for this act of pettiness.

Our household has subscribed to the Times since we've moved to this town and I surely don't agree with everything I see in it. But through changing councils and mayors, partisan or not, Burns has attended and always reported “just the facts.” A couple council members, and perhaps the mayor, don't like the “facts?” When was council “consistently misquoted,” or where is this reporting on Larabee's job? Watts also should cite those occasions of “partisan reporting,” “sensational headlines” and “obvious bias.”

When does anyone not want the press around? When they want to get away with something or don't want folks to know what they’re doing. 

So much for all this “transparency” talk that has been bandied about with this current council. Press coverage of local politics is a cornerstone of our system and must always be supported and welcomed.

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