By Don Porter
The Standard-Examiner
In reading a response to your blog today, I was reminded of something Walcott Gibbs once wrote about someone else: "He wasn't exactly hostile to facts, but he was apathetic about them." I strive to be neither, but I do enjoy a good story.
I'm guessing that love of delicious irony has colored some of the discussion about the Standard-Examiner's editorial stance regarding Ogden's Wal-Mart RDA. The first I heard it was a month or so ago, in a letter from a reader who made the accusation that the newspaper favored the RDA because, she said, the S-E had benefited from an RDA when it relocated to Business Depot Ogden.
A fun story, but completely untrue.
While I was not involved in the negotiations, I do know a few things that might be of interest to those who love to believe the worst about my newspaper.
When then-Publisher Scott Trundle and our owners decided to buy a new printing press and expand our operations, they spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to do it in place at the 23rd and Adams. We loved being downtown. But no matter how we tried to configure the necessary 100,000-square-foot-plus Top of Utah PrintWorks building, an office structure which needed to be two or three times our current footprint, expanded parking and the need for a rail spur to more efficiently deliver our newsprint, etc., it was obvious we needed to either start purchasing more property adjacent to our existing facility -- that option proved too expensive, since most who were willing to sell wanted more than their property was worth, and not everyone wanted to sell -- or move off-site. (I’m pretty fuzzy on this, but I think there was also some concern that the geology of the downtown site, involving water underground, precluded building the necessary foundation for our extremely heavy presses.)
That decision made, Scott looked at every piece of commercial land in Ogden and Weber County, I think, and we finally decided to exchange -- straight across -- our downtown location for the BDO parcel where we are now. The upshot: Ogden got a chunk of downtown real estate it's been redeveloping, and we got everything we needed. We have title to the land and structures at our BDO site, and Scott told me he never would have considered an RDA (in fact, I doubt one was ever offered); we knew we would be continually writing about various redevelopment projects all over the Top of Utah in the decades to come, and didn't want to taint our news coverage or our editorial positions by having benefited in an RDA ourselves.
I hope this finally puts to rest the rumor that the Standard-Examiner was involved in an RDA. But don't take my word for it; the public record will confirm what I've written here.
Sincerely,
Don Porter
editorial page editor
Standard-Examiner
dporter@standard.net
© 2005 - 2014 Weber County Forum™ -- All Rights Reserved
11 comments:
I'm glad to see Don Porter clear up this missinformation about the Standard Examiner's
new digs.
Seems like the Standard could clear up a lot of stuff around Emerald City if they wanted to. If they really wanted to be ballsy they could be the ones to pull the drapes back and expose the Wizard for what he really is!!!
Like this RDA editorial they did the other day. It was fine as far as it went. Why don't they take the same writer and continue the subject. Show the citizens of Oz just exactly what all these RDA's are truly about, what the true effects have been for the public, what the real costs are throughout the different local governments. Show us the true long sorry story of the Ogden Mall site and how it was screwed up from day one thirty years ago with all this RDA bull crap! Show us how the good people of Oz have benifitted in any tangible way over this mall story and all the other RDA's as well.
THE ONLY PEOPLE THAT BENIFIT FROM THIS IMMORAL RDA BUSINESS ARE LAWYERS, DEVELOPERS, BOND DEALERS, BANKS AND MOST OF ALL EMPIRE BUILDING CITY BUREAUCRATS !
Nobody can show in any real or tangible way that the citizens benifit from this RDA madness.
I still have a question on the new Standard digs. so the SE traded land in the middle of town that wasn't suitable for their future use - for a piece in the new Business Park that was a gift from uncle sam and an RDA project of the city. If the RDA was involved on any end of this transaction - directly by the Standard or not - doesn't that still make the Standard a benificiary of the public RDA largess?
If there really isn't an RDA angle, how do they explain the obvious bias that the Standard repeatedly shows in favour of the big guy on nine and his assinine business aspirations? Aspriations incidently that he pursues while the rest of the city goes to hell in a hand basket!
Scott the big boss says he would never have considered an RDA yet the paper slavishly backs virtually all of this RDA madness the city has been involved with. What's up with that?
The Standard knew they would be continually writing about RDA projects and didn't want to taint their news coverage or editorial positions? What a crock a crap that is. Their editorial coverage is just about as tainted as you can get! The news coverage - while sometime lame since the McKitrik reporter baled out - has been a little more balanced although they have tended to give that goober Moyes way more press than he is worth. Of all the credible opposition, why do they chose to focus on him? What's with that??
When they stay away from this whole Re-Development issue, the Standard is capable of some very fine reporting and editorializing. They just need to get out of the giant shadow of the big guy on nine and bask in their own considerable glory.
Th only way you can convince the public that the Standard did not cause RDA tax increment to go to the Ogden RDA is to have M. Narsisian at the Weber County Assesor's office issue a statement that the Standard's property received no tax increment that went to the Ogden BDO RDA. She is the person in the Assessor's offfice who controls all the tax increment figures. Let's settle this once and for all.
In that particular neck of the woods, Adams Avenue was formerly known as Spring Street. Why? Because there was considerable water flowing not far below the surface. This fact does support Porter's comment about foundation & slab as per a super heavy press. The rest, I'm afraid, leaves room for more, in depth exploration. As Ozboy said, if the RDA had anything to do with the BDO (don't you just love these initials and achronyms), then the fact that the newspaper settled there DOES make them a receipient of RDA benefits, no matter how the newspaper spins it. Too bad the Standard doesn't have the balls to report upon itself the way it does on others. Ad money is what it's all about.
As for this Moyes guy, he's in the process of self destruct. A look at his track record will verify that. That should be considered by those who surround him.
Just for the record, Ozboy might rethink his name to "OGboy." Then, instead of Hoff, Germany being our sister city, "OZ," as in Dorothy (and I don't mean Littell) could be our new sister city, because there, like here, nothing is as it seems. Maybe that's Wonderland, though, but a common thread binds the 3 cities to states (of mind) together.
I have to agree with those things said here. If there is an RDA helping the developer at BDO, then it would be hard to see how the Standard didn't benefit from it if even only general infrastructure improvements.
And is the Standards property excluded somehow from the other government subsidies that BDO has recieved? Like the fact that Ogden didn't have to pay for the land there? Even if the Standard has not benefited directly or indirectly from an RDA, they surely have benefited from government subsidies.
Altough I'm normally inclined to avoid taking sides on issues such as this, I feel ethically-compelled to offer my comment here, because I don't think the Std-Ex has received fair treatment on this topic.
The gist of the original inuendo about the Standard-Examiner's decision to locate in the BDO property revolved around the vague accusation that the Std-Ex somehow benefitted through either a "sweetheart deal," or through some other relationship that gave the Std-Ex some kind of RDA subsidy.
I think it's pretty clear from Don Porter's article that none of that happened; and that the property trade that occurred, which relocated the Std-Ex property to Ogdens' BDO development, was completely "arms length"
Whether you like the Std-Ex or not, I think everybody needs to give them a fair shake on this issue.
One thing's clear from Don Porter's letter: The Std-Ex didn't receive undue benefit when they moved to their new site, it seems to me.
I consider any argument that the Std-Ex is somehow "tainted," because of their location at their presnt HQ as logically invalid.
To the extent that they may benefit from their situation there, they are no different than any other business similarly situated who's located on the BDO site.
They pay the same property tax as everyone else. It's not up to them whether a portion of their taxes are "diverted" to the local RDA.
Rudizink, your last posting is right on the mark....who are we to assume and then point fingers without being in on ALL of the facts. Sometimes it's helpful to be real and to speak and or write from that, instead of wanting to hear yourself or read your words, which in cases like this are totally bogus.
Don Porter has cleared things up as usual...by making them muddier.
The Standard Examiner traded their old building "even Stephen" according to him for the new building. It just happens that the new Taj Mahal is valued at $5M so let's see their appraisal on the old building in Ogden.
And, Mr. Porter, do the property taxes go into the public trough or do they go to the BDO RDA project as "tax increment"?
So Dorothy, what do you think the old standard building is worth? If it were significantly less than their new building and it was a straight accross trade then that means the standard got a gift in the middle of the trade. That difference would appear to be a direct gift to the standard from the BDO RDA. Is this correct? Are these assumptions correct? Is Don Porter Bull Shiting us and manipulating the story to give a false impression? These are not retorical questions, I really would like to know.
Response to Thomas Luke:
Your assumptions are correct.
Concerning the little interchange between Dorothy and Thomas I would like to say - So what's new?
Every deal these geniuses have done has somebody putting a pile of money in their pocket. Shit-O-Dear didn't the RDA board unilateraly and very irregularly put $2.5 million in some dudes pocket out at the airport recently? So what would be different about the Standard cutting a fat hog in the ass in the middle of their deal with Ogden Inc.? The rich are getting richer, the middle class are taking it in the shorts and the poor are being run out of town.
Situation normal of late in the land of Oz.
There's this guy....
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