@staticmethod
def is_state_open(state):
    """Handle default states"""
    open_map = {'TODO': True, 'DELEGATED': True, 'BLOCKED': True, 'DONE': 
        False, 'CANCELLED': False}
    try:
        return open_map[state]
    except KeyError:
        raise Exception('State %s has unknown default open/close state' % state
            )
