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Of late, more and more folks have wanted their say during the three-minute time for speakers from the floor at the beginning of Greensboro City Council meetings.

Should the speaking time be split? Join the disucssion at the Debatables blog.


So many people asking for help with neighborhood problems, promoting events or playing the occasional practical joke have shown up that Councilman Zack Matheny has floated a plan to limit the 30 minutes of up-front public comment to city-related issues only. Folks who want to talk about anything else can wait for the public comment period at the end of the council meeting, he said.

"We need to set policy for the city of Greensboro. Let's focus on city business," Matheny said.

Of course, council members were worried that such a change could have a few ramifications, such as violating First Amendment rights to free speech.

So instead of voting on Matheny's proposal, the council asked for the city legal staff to do a little research first.

Enter First Amendment Center scholar David L. Hudson Jr.

Free speech should be protected in these public forums, according to Hudson, who adds that council members should shy away from barring speakers simply because they don't want to hear what they have to say.

But requiring speakers to address issues that are germane to city business may not be out of order, Hudson said.

"They do have to get city business done," he said "That's the purpose of these meetings."

Plus, anyone with off-topic comments can still be heard — they would just have to wait until the end of the meeting. And if they can last until the wee hours when council wraps up, they'll have earned their podium time.

Springsteen's platform

Bruce Springsteen was only 30 minutes into his April 28 show at the Greensboro Coliseum when he got political.

First, Scoop heard him yammer about "eight years of bad, bad magic'' when he introduced his tune, "Magic.'' But a few songs later, he got all Steve Earle. That's Texas singer-songwriter Steve Earle.

You may remember from this column a few weeks ago that Scoop heard Earle go all CNN political at his recent show at the Carolina Theatre. Earle talked about how politicians avoid him like TV cameras after a steamy scandal.

Well, Springsteen, New Jersey's favorite son, went a different route as he introduced "Livin' In The Future.''

He went off on the eight-year theme again.

"This past eight years, we've had illegal wiretapping and rolling back civil liberties and that's fundamentally un-American,'' Springsteen told the more than 15,000 fans inside the arena. "You may not think it's important to our own lives, but it's an attack on who we are.

"So, the mighty E Street Band is here to do something about it. We're going to sing about it. And if that don't scare them, we'll sing about it again.''

An award for Harrison

The State Energy Office gave Rep. Pricey Harrison, a Greensboro Democrat, an award for her leadership on sustainable energy. Harrison was one of four legislators honored at the N.C. Sustainable Energy Conference.

Staff writers Amanda Lehmert, Mark Binker and Jeri Rowe contributed to this report.