When you stop to think about it, is there a possibility there is a real conspiracy afoot by elected and appointed government and school officials in the Bayshore towns to prevent the people from their right to know what’s going on?

Look at the many examples in recent days and weeks where the public has not been given every right to know what’s going on:

The Highlands council meetings are held in a meeting place that does not meet all the ADA requirements, so people with some disabilities cannot even attend in person.

Highlands doesn’t do any of its council meetings virtually. We know they know how to do it, because they did it just fine during the Murphy mandate, but quit them as soon as the Governor lifted the Covid order. Bet they’ll be able to have virtual meetings again if the Governor orders another Covid lock-down.

What’s worse, at the next meeting of the Atlantic Highlands Planning Board, it appears they are actually going to TAKE A VOTE on whether the public will be able to virtually attend planning board meetings. Think about that for a second…

One member actually asked publicly: “Why do people on one side of town have any say on what somebody is doing with his own property in another part of town?”

Neither the planning board attorney nor the councilman present made a peep … not even to remind him, assuming they know of course, that the public does have the right to know what’s going on at planning board meetings and all changes someone is making to his property that he has to come to the planning board for approval first.

That councilman went so far, not only failing to rebuke the other member for even suggesting it’s not everyone’s business, but also suggesting the board ‘keep track’ of the number of people who attend meetings virtually. Is that inferring that if maybe only five or ten, or gee whiz, only one, actually attends the meeting virtually, than that person’s right should be taken away?

Would it follow through if no one attended a planning board meeting, live or virtually, then no meeting would take place?

The right-to-know is spelled out in numerous laws from the time Thomas Jefferson and James Madison both defended and fought for it. Shouldn’t the Mayor call for that planning board member’s resignation, or in the alternative, boot him off this official decision-making body?

Can someone who TRULY believes that the public should have ‘no say” in decisions, and ‘no access remotely’ through the exact system that was partially customized specifically for the use of the planning board be making the best decision on behalf of those same residents?

Then there are the Atlantic Highlands Council meetings. It has been more than a full year since I filed a complaint with the state Civil Rights division explaining because of a physical disability, I cannot attend night meetings. I did fine during the Murphy mandate, I explained, when my affliction first appeared, and meetings were held virtually. But ZOOM was taken away, I and everyone else had no access to participate in meetings. And I have filed a similar complaint in Highlands.

To date one year later, persons with a variety of life-threatening and life-altering disabilities still do not have the same rights as their able-bodied neighbors to fully participate in a governmental meeting. And neither do the conscientious moms and dads who can’t leave the kids alone to attend meetings. Highlands has simply ignored the issue.

Atlantic Highlands has made a public show of all they have done to change it. They’ve spent several meetings reporting they have visited other towns, looked at several companies, reviewed all kinds of options for offering virtual meetings. Why, one wonders, is all this necessary? Didn’t they provide virtual access during the Murphy Mandate? We want to make it better, they said. Commendable. And more expensive. But it still isn’t being used.

The latest reports are the equipment is all in. Big television screens and lots of mikes are visible in the council chamber. There have been demonstrations on how the camera can turn, all nice, fancy, hopefully effective and we already know, expensive stuff.

So it’s installed. But not yet in use. “Why not, you may ask? Well, there is a ‘training program’ that comes with the new equipment, no extra cost. But that training has not yet been done.

One rather astute resident, on who listens well and asks a lot of questions, could not even get an answer to his question about whether the equipment will be ready for the next meeting, that being the last meeting in May. He reminded the governing body “Zoom has worked just fine, and the engineer even knows how to run it just fine without training sessions, and the new-and-improved system, we were told, is even easier to operate, so what’s the holdup?”

But he got no real answer and we still don’t know whether the expensive stuff will be up and running May 26.

And now we’re told of the regionalization meeting on Wednesday, May 25 at 7 p.m. at Henry Hudson Regional School to introduce the second of two feasibility study proposals for the education from K through 12. This second study, was commissioned by the Tri-District Boards of Education. The first study introduced months ago, was commissioned by the three boroughs, Atlantic Highlands, Highlands and Sea Bright.

Highlands and Sea Bright have already had Town Hall meetings, Highlands is planning yet another on the now-famous Porzio report on June 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the Highlands Community Center. Mayor Gluckstein, hopefully, is going to announce soon that Atlantic Highlands will have its first Town Hall meeting to discuss the Porzio report, in addition to the recently completed BOE feasibility study. That Town Hall was purposely delayed until that tri-district second report was ready.

So this second study is apparently all set to go, yet no one has been able to see it. The word is, even the elected officials, the folks on the body that governs the town, are not going to see the BOE feasibility study report before that meeting at Henry Hudson…the meeting at night…and in another town.

And without ZOOM or any other means for people who cannot get to Henry Hudson to hear the workshop and ask questions, they will not know any details. be able to have their say or ask their questions.

Take a giant step backward. Consider all that has been described to you, does all this sound like your town’s elected and appointed leaders have any interest in the peoples’ right-to-know? Does it appear they are even aware of, let alone following, the mandate of the Sunshine Law?

Is there a conspiracy afoot to keep that candle shining light on information under a very dark table rather than letting the people know what’s going on? Mr. Jefferson and Mr. Madison must be shuddering in their graves and wiping tears of frustration from their solemn faces.