PLATTSBURGH CITY, NY -- 9/15/18
A warm summer night didn't stop workers from affixing a large sign for a new restaurant at 82 Margaret Street, the location of the closed Blue Collar Bistro. The owners hope to open Twisted Carrot by the end of this month.
PLATTSBURGH CITY, NY -- 8/24/18
© 2018 Luke T. Bush
"You can't take my picture. I didn't give you permission."
Another gathering of Pokemon players, this time near the public library. I had photographed two other such groups with no problems until this woman challenged me.
I told her I had the right to photograph people in public view. I wasn't that close to her so she couldn't contend I was harassing her.
A guy spoke up. "You need permission."
No, I don't.
A second man sitting in a car repeated the same misinformation.
I told them that if they had a problem with me taking their photographs then please call the police and we can get all this hashed out.
The situation is explained by LegalZoom :
"This doesn't necessarily make it illegal for someone to snap your photo without your permission though. For instance, if you're just walking down the street and someone takes a picture, they're well within their rights no matter how violated you might feel."
And the same point is made in The Photographer's Right guide:
"The general rule in the United States is that anyone may take photographs of whatever they want when they are in a public place or places where they have permission to take photographs. Absent a specific legal prohibition such as a statute or ordinance, you are legally entitled to take photographs. Examples of places that are traditionally considered public are streets, sidewalks, and public parks."
Maybe next time you're being photographed you could politely ask not to have your picture taken. Works better than angrily declaring misinformation about the law, violating someone's right.
And if you're so concerned about your image being recorded then demand all street and store security cameras be shut down.
(To enlarge click on image.)
Susan Young (on ladder) and Michael Provost work on the last section of tubing for the nature mural at the Plattsburgh Public Library. When finished blue plastic balls as substitutes for raindrops will move through the tubing, symbolizing the water cycle. There's a snag with the completion of the solar powered feature: the heat is warping the plastic corkscrew shaft that moves the "raindrops." So it's back to the 3D printer to manufacture a heat-resistant corkscrew.
International artist Sophia Temujin Buchi continues working on her mural entitled As One. Located behind the small building next to 30 City Hall Place the new mural is another one created under the auspices of Outside Art: Plattsburgh Public Art Project.
By Luke T. Bush
PLATTSBURGH CITY, NY - August 14, 2018
There's a problem when I get some of my news through podcasts and Facebook.
Case in point: local WPTZ-TV news anchor Stephanie Gorin and the state trooper incident.
I heard about this through a podcast entitled "Stephanie Gorin Is Above The Law," Trashcast episode #11. Provocateur Matt Hall and his cohort discuss local news stories with a usually irreverent tone. This time they touched upon an incident they had heard about when Stephanie Gorin confronted a state trooper regarding the arrest of her husband.
Stephanie's husband is retired Plattsburgh City police chief Desmond Racicot. The Press Republican had reported on its front page above the fold that Desmond had been arrest for an expired inspection sticker and DWI (online copy here.)
I haven't discovered the date when Stephanie confronted the trooper. So far no mainstream local media have said anything about the incident except for News Director Dave Andrews at WIRY radio. He talked about the situation in a commentary; a copy of it can be found here.
Dave Andrews explained Stephanie showed up at a the scene of an investigation by New York State Police into suspected meth lab materials. The news anchor asked for the trooper's name and allegedly became distraught when she recognized the trooper's name as the officer who had arrested her husband for DWI. As the story goes she threatened the trooper for just doing his job, keeping dangerous drunk drivers off the road. Apparently the trooper had to call the TV station to have Stephanie removed from the scene. Later the trooper received an inquiry from the Raybrook main station inquiring how the trooper had treated Stephanie.
Besides WIRY no other mainstream local media have covered this story. So what did happen? What are the facts? The only discussion can be found on Facebook and Reddit.
The purpose of a news organization is to publish news, not sit on it. If any details of this incident are incorrect then they should be evaluated by journalists and shared with the public.
In the meantime I'll have to get my news from Trashcast and Facebook.
