Thanks, Shreveport City Council, for the notice

Just wanted to give props to your City Council for doing the right thing last week.

Office worker Eric Whitt (who sits at the council office front desk and often answers phone calls) is quitting to move on to another job in the Dallas area, I'm told. So the council and staff decided to take him to lunch on Friday.

And since there was a chance that could mean a quorum at the noon gathering, clerk Arthur Thompson sent public notice. I didn't crash the party, but I could have since council staff fulfilled the law. I don't hear too often of local government boards meeting without giving notice, but I do hear when they gather two-by-two, which technically means they don't have to inform us. (And that us means you and me, not just journalists.)

Now, the next question is how much did lunch cost us taxpayers?

Good luck in The Metroplex, Eric.

Read more here about Louisiana open meetings law.

Nude Badu video raises filming questions for Shreveport

Actor Josh Brolin, right, filming "W" in 2008.

Singer Erykah Badu stripped down to her birthday suit in March for a music video filmed in Dallas. Apparently the city didn’t find out until after she got naked.

Dallas has a permitting process that it may beef up to punish folks who don’t follow city regulations for filming. Of course that made me wonder about Shreveport’s permitting process.

Our city does permit videos and movies. The intent, however, does not appear to be regulating the industry. It’s more for tracking and logistical purposes. Keeping tabs means crews working at the same time won’t book the same venues. And knowing budget sizes and the reach of some media can help Shreveport-Bossier City sell itself as a place to do business.

At the moment, according to the city film office, there are four productions in town:

• “Drive Angry”
• “L.A. Art Show”
• “The Gates”
• “Butter”

Expect to learn more about those next month in a few articles from me and fellow Times reporter Christine Bradley. Got anything in particular you're wondering about? Let us know.