"It’s as easy as reading the newspaper" -- or the blog.

That's because keeping informed isn't such a good strategy when it comes to grandstanding.

But in my opinion, the current council members have been out in public quite a lot. I've seen council persons Coffey, Phipps, McLaughlin, Blair and Benedetti at various Live @ Fives; Bob Caesar walked through one of them, glowering, so I'll give him half credit. CMs Baird and Zurschmiede were at Exclusively New Albany.  I haven't seen John Gonder lately, but may well have missed him.

CHEERS AND JEERS — For June 16-17

JEERS

... to the New Albany City Council members that stated recently they were unaware of street closures for the city’s new entertainment venture, Live@5, until either the day of the first event or from phone calls from residents.

On May 2, the News and Tribune printed an article confirming Mayor Jeff Gahan’s administration was considering closing streets for the events. On May 24, the News and Tribune ran a second article confirming the intersection of State and Market streets would be closed for the June 1 event.

Furthermore, the city’s website also provided information on the event, parking and the street closure for several days leading up to the concert. While it may be excusable for some people to have overlooked these multiple announcements, surely elected officials would be more proactive about informing themselves of the city’s happenings. It’s as easy as reading the newspaper.

— News and Tribune