First up, video from the other night when Tom Osborn asked Darrell Best about the $80,000 investment that GREDC/4b did for Land of the Dinosaurs LLC that has no contract, but for which the 4b received 8 $10,000 *interests* from LOD.

I did an open records request some months back (September) asking for some information about this investment of public tax dollars.  I did not agree with the reply that I got from Best which, in two instances, basically said that  LOD could tell the public what they wanted them to hear. Here's what I asked for.

2.    Report on how much money the Land of the Dinosaurs production brought in, total, how many days the production ran, how many people in the production itself,  how many shows, what was the total count of attendance, what were the expenses, including monies owed to what entities, and what was the net profit or loss.

If Mr Best didn't think he had to comply with open records requests, what he should have done was contest it to the Texas Attorney General's office to tell THEM why he didn't have to cough up the records. He did not.

I complained to the AG's record enforcement division after that, and the AG's office sent a letter to Darrell Best on November 30. They said (PDF link here)

The Public Information Act (the "Act") chapter 552 of the Government code, requires a government body to release requested information that it owns, controls, or has a right of access to, or to request a ruling from this office as to the applicability of exceptions to the Act. Our records do not indicate that the GREDC has requested an OAG decision seeking to withhold the requested information in accordance with section 552.301 of the Act.

The AG's office further goes on to tell Mr Best that he needed to contact them withiin 5 business days. Today is the 15th-I called the AG's office and Mr Best has not contacted the AG's office. Does he think he doesn't have to?

UPDATE: No, he does not. Here's a loophole scam. SINCE Best and the 4b board have never asked for this information themselves (or had a push from any citizens that would like to know how that 80 thousand dollar *investment* is doing, the record doesn't exist to be asked for, thus is not available. In other words, if an entity decides that they will not even find out how their money is being spent in some kind of media form, a citizen CANNOT SEE IT. It's a loophole and a scam.