COMMUNITY COMMENTARY:One step forward, two steps back

On Sept. 19, Burbank City Councilman David Gordon suggested an agenda item come back for discussion regarding citywide WiFi access, which met with strong support from Mayor Todd Campbell and Councilman Jef Vander Borght. This is a great idea.

The Downtown hotspot has been a tremendous success and to be able to expand these WiFi hotspots citywide to encompass the Empire Center and Magnolia Park would be a win-win for both residents and businesses.

This comes on the footsteps of a presentation last month from our Public Information Office that revealed plans to make available downloadable archived Web video from council meetings by agenda item, so that the many busy Burbank residents, parents and media professionals who don't have time to watch four- to five-hour meetings can review items of interest in their spare time. This is already being done in other cities like Glendale, and is fitting for a city that calls itself "the media capital of the world."

However it appears we're about to take a huge step backward into the dark ages with a proposed video ban during oral communications on this Tuesday night's agenda ("Burbank City Council Preview," Saturday).

This whole idea was the brainchild of Councilwoman Marsha Ramos with support from Councilman David Golonski and our venerable mayor. It started out as a proposed ban on video campaigning in a knee-jerk reaction to Gordon's election win over Bill Wiggins. The item has now been extended to prohibit all "roll-the-tapes." Why? The reasons given in City Atty. Dennis Barlow's staff report are very weak, almost laughable — "serious legal issues involving, among other things, slander, invasion of privacy and copyright infringement." Are you kidding me? I don't remember Barlow objecting to Golonski's infamous "roll-the-tape" in which he launched a (pre-emptive) personal attack on Dink O'Neal, a well-known and outspoken member of this community, for purely political reasons.

It just seems to me that some of our council members don't like seeing themselves on video for some reason. Perhaps some don't like being reminded or held accountable for their past actions. What about the people who have used video to demonstrate problem areas such as Tujunga Avenue or the Olive and Alameda avenues intersection at NBC? The "media capital of the world" is becoming more like Cuba or the People's Republic of China with respect to information and damage control.

Thank God for websites like BetterBurbank.com that provide folks with the opportunity to review our Council in action. Let's hope there's a change of heart in City Hall.