We continue to shake our head in disbelief at the lengths some public officials will go to conceal information from the public they supposedly serve. On Monday night, Mebane mayor Ed Hooks took the unprecedented step during a public meeting (while conducting a public hearing, no less) to halt a long procession of public speakers on a proposed rezoning and annexation of 84 acres along Buckhorn Road – while the public comment period was in progress – so that he and other city officials could meet with the attorneys for the developer and seller, ostensibly to work out a possible solution to delay the eviction of vendors at the Buckhorn flea market. (There were two public hearings on side-by-side projects, totaling 134 acres.)