The StarNews has been granted access to day two of the Wilmington Housing Authority’s training session.The WHA started an eight-and-a-half hour, two-day training session Tuesday by telling the only news media representative in the room that the session wasn't a public meeting and to leave.
After a brief discussion between the seven commissioners present and WHA Chief Executive Officer Michael Krause, the group decided its training session need not be open to the public because the commissioners said no public business was going to be decided.
The training session wouldn’t be worthwhile, Krause said, if commissioners didn’t feel free to express their ideas openly.
“This is not a meeting,” Board Chairman Deb Hayes said. “It’s a training.”
But a lawyer with the North Carolina Press Association said that isn’t a reason to shut the door.
“It doesn’t matter what they call it,” said Amanda Martin, general counsel to the press association. “If they have a majority there, and they’re doing something other than talking about football, that’s an official meeting and should be open to the public.”