Joshua Solomon reports in the Times Union that since the COVID-19 pandemic, the public has had less access to its state capitol and the lawmakers that represent them in Albany. The state Constitution says, "The doors of each house shall be kept open, except when the public welfare shall require secrecy." But, these days, the doors of the state capitol are often locked. Georgina Parsons, a spokesperson for the state Office of General Services, which oversees operations of the Capitol, admitted that the State Street and Washington Avenue entrances that were once open to the public now often are not. Parsons said, "OGS will be working with the State Police to develop a plan to inform the public about how to access the Capitol when some entrances are locked out of necessity." Parson did not explain when, exactly, that necessity to lock the public out of the capitol began. Both Gov. Kathy Hochul, and her predecessor, Andrew Cuomo, promised their administrations would be the most transparent in state history. Former Assemblymember Jack McEneny, a longtime historian of the Capitol, said, "It's so sad that this extremely valuable resource we have isn't found in some way to be readily available to the public." Read more about this story in the Times Union.