Hearing on manager's firing was short on sunshine

A Daily Press editorial faults Newport News City Council for its handling of hearing on city manager's fate. The meeting was open (at the manager's request), but it was held at a time inconvenient to most citizens (10 a.m. on a Tuesday). Then, after the manager's lengthy defense of his job and performance, the council immediately took a vote to fire him. No comment. No discussion.

The paper's right when it says that the council's stated reason for keeping mum -- that it was a personnel matter -- isn't convincing since the manager chose to have a public hearing and was fulling airing his personnel history.