Newspaper public notices shine light on government activity

Editorial cartoonist Ben Sargent once penned a masterful sketch of a newspaperman — a skinny, bug-eyed fellow in a baggy suit with a press card in the band of his porkpie hat.

The unnamed journalist was depicted in the simple act of entering a dark room at city hall and switching on a light. The cartoon had no caption. It didn’t need one. In your mind’s eye you could see cockroaches scurrying for c…