Brickbat: Show Me

A Missouri judge has ordered officials in the city of Edgar Springs to immediately empty its bank account of all but $10,000 and pay Rebecca Varney $47,886 of a $79,716 judgment against the city. The judge also ordered that city officials must also put a tax increase on the November ballot and set aside all general revenue above $2,500 per month—the amount needed to pay the city attorney and fund the police department—until it has paid the rest of the judgment. The judge found that city officials had tried to intimidate Varney by banning her from city hall after she began asking questions about city finances, and that council members violated state open meeting laws by holding several closed meetings that should have been open to the public.