A View on the News

The topic I have chosen for my final news feature is the Central Corridor light rail transit project for the Twin Cities area. To obtain an agenda packet that has information about this topic, I contacted the Metropolitan Council, "the regional planning agency serving the Twin Cities seven-county metropolitan area and providing essential services to the region," according to its website www.metrocouncil.org. Originally, I contacted David Vessel, the transportation specialist for the council. He referred me to Robin Caufman, the manager of public involvement for the Central Corridor project.

I found it extremely easy to find an agenda packet for a public meeting. Robin got back to me very quickly after I had contacted the council and seemed eager to help. She directed me straight to their website where I can find agenda, minutes and powerpoint presentations made to the Corridor Management Committee, Community Advisory Committee and the Business Advisory Councils. All of it was available on the internet, in PDF form. The information offered is very straight forward. The process as well as the information itself is comprehensible for an average citizen. Many people refer to the internet first to find immediate information. Metropolitan Council offers a lot of information like these agenda packets online, which serve these people who have access to the internet. However, for those who do not have access to online sources, it may be a little bit more difficult to access it as quickly.

I also gathered a source from this! Robin agreed to an interview for my news feature. I plan on asking her to refer me to other individuals that could possibly serve as helpful sources, as well.