Council Ends Comment Trial After Disruption

After nearly three years away due to flooding, the city council reconvened—but chaos erupted again when persistent critic Steven Whitaker refused to leave after being ruled out of order four times. His defiance, echoing a similar standoff four years prior, came during a debate over a transit center lease, where he accused the council of a “conspiracy of silence.” Meanwhile, the council voted to scrap a six-month experiment that capped public comments to only the meeting’s start and end—rules that failed to boost participation and instead stifled real-time dialogue. Many saw the rollback as a sensible return to openness, calling the trial an overreaction like canceling a picnic over ants. The mayor vowed to enforce existing rules more effectively, signaling a shift back to a more inclusive, though still managed, public forum. Support the show:Get a discount at https://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/181465f740984e3a