By Gentle Reader CurmudgeonThe Sub-Standard Examiner Strikes Again!
In this morning's SE edition, at the head of the Top of Utah section there is a story headlined "Developer: Gondola Good for WSU" by a "reporter" [politely so called] named Blair Dee Hodges. Here is the lede:
"OGDEN --- A private developer who offered Ogden $500 million to buy Mount Ogden Golf Course as part of a plan to bring a gondola to the city said unused property at Weber State University is critical to his plan."
Mr. Peterson, of course, has not offered Ogden $500 million to buy Mt. Ogden golf course. Hell, if he did offer the city that much, flat out, for just the course, as the story claims, even I'd say sell it and get him to sign the purchase agreement NOW before he sobers up. The $500 million is the amount Peterson says will be invested in Ogden on the entire project he proposes [construction of the Malan's basin resort, purchase of WSU land, construction of the gondolas, construction of the 400 up-scale private homes in a gated community, etc. etc.]
I have already e-mailed the managing editor of the SE asking that a correction be printed, swiftly. It might we wise for others to email or call Mr. Howell [his email and phone number are printed at the end of his weekly column on paper operations which appears on the same page today as Ms. Hodge's story] to suggest... politely, please --- that a rapid correction of Ms. Hodge's story is necessary.
Editorial Note: We at Weber County Forum differ with gentle reader Curmudgeon's conclusion and assume the oft-mentioned $500 million figure doesn't represent any investment on Mr. Peterson's part at all, but instead represents the calculated final price tag that 400 (count 'em) $1 million dollar+ homes will command, once construction is completed and escrows are closed, plus $100 million, more or less (to "round out" the figure,) which would represent the final value of the gondolas, when constructed. Chris Peterson has never asserted or demonstrated, so far as we know, that he can pull $.5 billion, or even a small fraction of that, out of his own back pocket. Even though Mr. Peterson married the multi-billionaire's daughter, we at Weber County Forum do not believe Chris Peterson has his own "pot to piss in," to invoke a "tried and true" old pejorative "Traditonal Irish" phrase.
Mr. Peterson's whole "plan" depends on leveraging the value of the Mt. Ogden and WSU properties, so far as we can determine; and Ogden citizens need to be craftily persuaded to join in.
Weber County Forum believes that the Standard-Examiner should quickly publish a retraction and/or correction, as gentle reader curmudgeon suggests, and send cub reporter Hodges back to journalism school. After that, Ms. Hodges should enroll in a class in economics or accounting, before she ever starts reporting on complicated business issues again.
Update 4/17/06 9:47 a.m. MT: We are informed that the Std-Ex has made some kind of a correction or retraction somewhere in the backpages of yesterday's edition, for what that's worth.
38 comments:
OK. You are correct. And I stand corrected.
Like I said before, if Peterson had $500 million to throw into this project, the housing development would be unnecessary, because the plan is that the housing development will help pay for the resort, to my understanding.
In looking over my notes from the presentation at the council work session, I see that the mayor said, "This is a huge part of the master plan."
Now we all know of The Vision, but from my admittedly slight comparison of the two, The Vision differs significantly from Involve Ogden, which is Ogden's general plan. In fact, the latter will have to be amended to enable the proposed development, evidently a part of The Vision, to go through.
Which makes me wonder about The Vision, and exactly what process was undergone to formulate it. None that I know of. Who was involved in it--anybody know?
I think this interesting viewed from the standpoint of how city planning is supposed to work. I mean, why even have it if it's not going to be followed? If every mayor who takes office is allowed to follow through on his/her own special Vision For Ogden, what is the value of any kind of long range planning?
I am really surprised, (to get back on topic,) that the Standard let that stand. And it is totally possible for the online editions to be corrected, have updates, and be changed. The major news bureaus do that all the time, and the Trib will put a "Breaking" headline in the online edition if breaking news is happening.
Maybe they don't think it's that important.
I can assume you have been reading newspapers as long as I have. If you have ever been close enough to an event that warranted coverage and you viewed that coverage whether TV or print, you will know that the media take is usually unitentionally riddled with mistakes and outlandish misinterpretations. Reporters these days are hardly out for any scoops. Mostly it's regurge press releases and they can't even spell when copying those.
Mutch:
Doesn't say much for the 4th estate, Mutch. But, even granted the parlous condition of reporting in the Ogden mullet wrapper, most papers, when they comit a howler of an error like this one, hasten to correct the mistake, que no?
How does a gondola TO Malan's Basin which will "feature an Alpine Village replete with hotel, restaurant(s) and shops" do ANYthing for Ogden? Ogden doesn't own the Basin...so who gets the revenue? Wait, wait...don't tell me...let me guess....um...oh, Mr. Peterson?
So far as I can tell by trying to unravel one convoluted plan/scheme/vision after another, Mr. Peterson isn't making any 'investment' in Ogden. He is attempting to get some nice land from Godfrey that doesn't belong to Matt.
I understand the "first of its kind in the United States being used as public mass transit" gondola will go from "the hub" to WSU. NO stops in between.
Now, who thought up that plan?
Matt told us the gospel truth (well, gee, I believed him)) LAST year when he said we needed the bowling alley/gym so that all those businesses that were drooling to INVEST in Ogden would build as soon as we had those two 'anchors'. Anyone seen Larry? So, if underwriting Fat Cats and Gold's was going to bring us prosperity, why is he routing this world class gondola ferrying hundreds of thousands of tourists OVER the mall?
Perhaps riders can be dumped onto the climbing wall as the gondola could pass through Gold's Gym instead of the 2nd story of the yet to be built, but dreamt of, hotel! Could be a liitle tricky for a woman with child, in utero or strapped to her back.
I was in Utah County today and several people asked me about (big guffaws here) the gondola!
Matt, and by association, Ogden, are laughing stocks.
Instead of going in hock making a wealthy man even wealthier, why aren't we holding Godfrey's feet to the fire to finish the project he has us bonded for over the next 20 years?
That 500 Million bucks is what PETERSON hopes to make. He'll be laughing all the way to several banks. Ogden will be bankRUPT.
I hope the Council will ask the same questions of Peterson that were asked of Brockette over the Ernest Hosp. deal. Since Godfrey refused to give any info to the council they had no choice BUT ask him what needs to be asked of Peterson: Show us YOUR money! How solvent are you? Independent of your father-in-law?
In fact, we don't need any of that info. IF there's going to be a gondola, it only needs to go from the mouth of the canyon to Peterson's Basin, constructed with his own money...which if I can remember back that far, was the original 'plan.'
In the meantime, Godfrey and his fellow legacy seekers need to get THE JUNCTION built so those thousands coming here for the "country's first high adventure rec center/bowling alley/gym" will have a place to flow ride, climb a wall, (aren't we all?), bowl...wow! what a unique idea. A bowling alley right in the middle of a mall! How DOES that Matt keep thinking 'em up? Now that he's thunk it...get it built.
First things first. Which should suit Matt...he always wants Ogden to be the first, have the first, build the first, of whatever, in the country.
I agree, Curm, I neglected to add that this is a glaring mistake and is hugely misleading. It deserves quick clarification.
We deserve the most accurate reporting. Rarely delivered.
Sharon, The gondola is NOT intended as "Public Mass Transit"
It is designed as a direct link between the two major centers, Downtown and WSU.
By chance, Our downtown sits adjacent to the train depot(soon served by UTA rail)
By chance, WSU sits at the base of the mountain.
By chance, Chris Petersons land rests above said WSU land.
By chance CP's land is quite suitable for a 4 season mountain resort since it is...in the mountains.
It doesn't take a genius to put together the puzzle.
We want to link the primary centers of business, healthcare, education...oh yes and recreation. Hmmmm...
Maybe a gondola would serve this purpose. It is not MASS TRANSIT because it is not designed to serve all corners of the city, although once this infrastructure is installed it is quite a bit easier to add feeder legs but busses will do fine for now as N-S feeders.
In fact the inclusion of golf in the deal just makes it that much better. So the gondola will serve students, business folk, golfers, bicyclists, skiers, snowboarders, hikers, healthcare workers and patients. Did I leave anyone out???
Your Utah county friends must be so jealous, I wouldn't live in that god-forsaken traffic jam of a suburbopolis.(non-city)
From the Ogden Sierra Club website:
Mayor Godfrey on Developing Ogden's Foothills
When he was running for re-election in October 2003, the Ogden Sierra Club sent Mayor Godfrey a candidate questionnaire. The following questions and responses may be relevant to projects that the mayor is currently promoting.
Sierra Club: Would you support additional development of private property along Ogden's east bench? If so, to what extent?
Godfrey: I'm not exactly sure what you are referring to here. Most of the east bench is completely built out. I don't support changing slope requirements to allow for additional building if that is what is meant.
Sierra Club: Do you support the concept of building a tram, gondola, or other developed recreation facility on the Wasatch Mountains above Ogden? Why or why not?
Godfrey: Only under the following four conditions: 1) It is positive for the environment 2) It is desired by the people of Ogden 3) It is a significant economic engine for downtown 4) It does not have a significant negative impact on neighborhoods.
Interview: Sierra Club/Godfrey
Sounds like he has our best interests at heart, doesn't it?
Looks to me he is following those statements to the letter. That is not bad considering the marching of time presents many new variables.
Considering Chris Peterson did not even own the Malan acreage at that time it appears that things are in a natural evolution.
I can tell you all the principals are quite sensitive to impacting established neighborhoods. My sense has been CP is willing to go to great lengths to make this project integrated into our community instead of detached. The downtown gondola contributes to that end. When the time comes this week you will have the opportunity to meet CP and I am sure you will find him to be a good listener and quite receptive to feedback.
The Standard Examiner has printed a correction of the report that Mr. Peterson had offered to pay the city $500 million for the golf course. It ran today, Sunday, on page 2, in the normal place the SE runs all corrections.
'Link business, HEALTHCARE, and education....(and recreation...hmmmmm)...."healthcare workers and patients"
You and your pals are visionaries, I declare!
It gets better with each telling and DEfense of the absurd.
Straight from the 'hub' to WSU and your going to serve businesses along the way? NO STOPS!
Healthcare workers and patients?
Please get real....or dream on, brother, but when you want to implement this foolhardy scheme make sure Peterson bankrolls it...as first 'leaked' to the rabble. Thanx, Dian...I see his visions now include 'the citizens of Ogden do DESIRE'his legacy.
Oh, Happy Easter, y'all.
From the Mayor about whether he would support building a gondola:
Godfrey said: "Only under the following four conditions: 1) It is positive for the environment 2) It is desired by the people of Ogden 3) It is a significant economic engine for downtown 4) It does not have a significant negative impact on neighborhoods."
Just suspend belief here for a minute and let's pretend that the mayor actually told the truth here. I know that is asking a lot considering he apparently is psychologicaly unable to do so. But....
1. How could building a tram up the side of the mountain be "positive for the environment" by any stretch of the imagination?
2. Will "the people of Ogden's desire" be determined in any legitimate way? Will there be a referendum so that the true desire of the people of Ogden is determined? or will the Lord Mayor simply proclaim that the people of Ogden desire this tram because they elected him and after all this is a "Republic"?
3. What possible shred of legitimate evidence is there that indicates this goof ball scheme of a gondola would in any way "be a significant economic engine for down town"? And by "legitimate evidence" I do not mean another bush leaque ginned up "study" by Fat Cats and the Fat Gym guy.
4. And how can any one not believe that this contraption running through town at 40 feet in the air "would not have a significant negative impact on neighborhoods"? I noticed that the proposed route of this idiocy does not go down Taylor Ave with a gondola tower planted in the Mayo's front yard. If it is good for the people of Harrison, why isn't it good for the people on Tayor Ave?
And last, what ever did happen to that dumb assed "High Tech Rec Center" that the citizens of Ogden got indebted for the next twenty five years over?
I thought that was supposed to be Ogden's salvation?
Jennifer:
Something else. I know when I was considering moving here, I talked to someone at WSU and they told me "a trail starts on campus and runs right up into the mountains, and connects with the Wasatch trail system." Wow, I thought [yes, I really did say wow]. Nothing I knew of like that except at St. Johns College in Santa Fe. The trail, btw, begins near the maintenance buildings on the upper campus... exactly the parcel Mr. Peterson wants to buy from the U.
Was looking today at some WSU PR material, and pictures of the campus with the wild mountains coming right down to the campus figure prominently in the photos. Same pic with two or three rows of houses between the campus and the undeveloped mountain side would not, I suspect, have the same visual appeal at all. I might write the President about this. Just another thing to think about when pondering the sale.
The counter argument I'm sure advocates of the gondola would offer is that the campus would have even more appeal for outdoorsy students because they could ride to the high trails, and ski, right from campus. I will concede the appeal for skiers. But that's a three month season. The appeal for hikers et al may be considerably less since you'd have to pay to ride up.
Arguments could go both ways. Just wanted to drop in at least the notion that something will be lost by way of appeal to out of state [or even out of N. Utah] students if the campus is cut off from direct access to the mountain trail system by rows of homes lining the slope east of the U.
Curmudgeon,
My snowboarding season started Thanksgiving and ends next weekend. Theere's a foot of powder expected tonight through tommorow up there. I'll be there. That's over 4 month season. Add the mountain biking and hiking I think that makes for year round attraction.
I went to college in Flagstaff and in the early 70's nearly everyone I knew came from the midwest for the little 600 acre ski area they call AZ snowbowl. Doesn't get nearly the reliable snowfall we get here. I never did ski. Then along came the snowboard a decade later...
I am sure there will be annual or seasonal passes to get to malan village. Whatever your pleasure I am sure they can tailor the pass for you. These are just the things they need to know about. Instead of condemning the whole project it is important that the community get what it wants from this project.
Since the Standard did a retraction/correction is it necessary to maintain the headline to this blogpost. In all fairness...
Leave the headline, Rudi, for as long as it takes the common folk to find the 'correction.' That little block won't be seen by many...unless looking for it. Or, just looking for something of interest to read in the SE at all!
Those who attended the 'private to public' meeting of LO, will recall Peterson waving his arms and exhorting the crowd to envision thousands of students from other countries coming to WSU because of the gondola! A young man close to the back said, "There are already students from 70 countries attending WSU now!"...."Oh, I didn't mean to insult anyone, I'm just saying there will be MORE,"
exclaimed CP. Recall that?
70 countries represented at WSU sounds pretty impressive to me. Hopefully, most students who attend school here are serious about their university experience. Most work, study and do homework. Some will want to ski or snowboard, but those are expensive hobbies. I don't think enough students will be able to afford to fill those tram cars and make a gondola to WSU and TO Malan's economically feasible.
And, as Lovely Jen pointed out, the trails have been here for a lonnng time serving the school and entire community without 'passes'...unless a coed met a handsome student on the trail.
The 4 criteria of the Sierra Club and Matt's answers do not square with the "DESIRES" of the citizens of Ogden...nor does the Peterson land grab bode well for the university and community.
Ms. Milner and the Trustees need to hear from us.
Two points:
1. On the SE correction being hard to find. Chatted with managing editor Howell about this some time ago [another issue], wondering if a better policy might be to publish corrections on the same page on which the error occured. He told me this is a matter of continual debate in the news trade: put corrections on the same page/section where the error was printed, or do all corrections, all the time, in the same place. Some papers do it one way, some another. SE likes the one site for all corrections because steady readers will know where ALL corrections appear. Arguments on both sides on this have merit, seems to me.
2. Folks on both sides of the gondola issue claim they represent what the people of Ogden want. Permit me to suggest that no one knows what the people of Ogden want on this matter because no one has asked them.
Exactly, Curm, what I have been encouraging since we were being bamboozled with the gym/bowling alley 'anchor sites' as the path to prosperity in Ogden. I and others called for a referendum then, via petitions. Most of us know the sordid story on that endeavor. The mayor's family was knee deep in that arm-twisting of business owners who DO add to the tax base of Ogden.
Now, we need to be able to put this gondola/land grab to a vote of the people. With the huge number of interested and vocal residents who attened the SmartGrowth meeting last week, we know this trip to the polls will be made by thousands.
Of course, we can write and call Ann Milner and others at WSU who will decide the fate of the WSU property coveted by Godfrey for his bud, CP. When WSU stands firm against their attempt to wrest this property from the university and thus the community....we won't need that referendum.
What a tragedy to capitulate to an ill-conceived, ill-advised, badly packaged,unneeded, and greedy scheme.
Petition Circulators..a word of caution: Don't let those petitions out of your personal possession...don't let them near any Godfrey, Allen, or 'loyal' employee of the city! You'll never see them again.
Wow,
It has been a while since I have visited this blog site. All it takes is one review of all these postings to realize why I stopped visiting here. I appreciate rudi's
zeal to let the public in on his opinions. But I am disappointed by his one-sided anti-Godfrey views. Between Your posts Dian, and your last post Ms. Beech, I am absolutely blown away. You think you are representing so many people Ms. Beech, don't you? Is that why all your petitioning efforts to stop progress with the Rec. center succeeded? Listen, I was there at the last "private" meeting (the lift Ogden meeting) where Chris unveiled again many of his plans. I Love Ogden, I stick up for Ogden with every chance I get. I am a Business owner here in Ogden and want the very best for Ogden, and you know what? I was truly impressed with the way that Chris handled himself. You have tried to portray this greedy Business man that is out to make all the money he can and leave Ogden high and dry. That isn't what I saw at all. I Saw someone who has an unbeleivable amount of vision and experience, that wants to help make Ogden Very Very Unique. Sure he will make money. Why does that bother any of you so much? That is what developers do they develope for a profit. As I sat in the "private meeting" That really wasnt that private, I could envision a wonderful opportunity for Ogden. The kind of opportunity that come up once every several decades.
Open your eyes. take a step out of your little anti-Godfey boxes and see what is infront of your faces. If not for yourselves, than for Ogden!
[Like all Godfreyites of course, I am incapable of making a rational argument. It's necessary, therefore, that I frame everything in a pro-Godfrey/anti-Godfrey cheerleading context. Remember, you're either for Godfrey, or for the terrorists.]
What experience does Chris Peterson have with residential development? I hope its a lot- I wouldn't want the City and WSU to sell off public land to someone who's never even developed a subdivision before.
Do you think Godfrey will be able to get enough Council members on board with this project in order for it to happen?
Centerville:
My sources tell me the mayor is telling people that "I have four votes now." Meaning a majority of the council has already committed to him to vote "yes" on the plan. I don't know if this is in fact so, but the Mayor is telling people he already has the minimum number of votes he needs on the Council.
Nate:
Three points: if you only read on-line opinion that agrees with your own, you are severely limiting the range of opinions that might inform you and provide useful information about public policy matters. Limiting your information is not a wise move, I think, when discussing any matter of public policy. This thoroughly un-reconstructed Yellow Dog New Deal Democrat for example regularly reads conservative bloggers, columnists and news sources. [I know, I know, it's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it.] After all, sometimes even Republicans have good ideas. Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. Where ever you stand on the gondola matter, you'd be well advised to monitor opinion and to look for ideas and information as broadly across the spectrum as you can.
Second: it is not the Mayor's motives I question with respect to Mr. Peterson's proposals. It's his judgement. I can concede the point about his motives if you like, that he is doing what he thinks is best for Ogden, and still conclude that his judgment on this is not good and the plan is a bad idea for the city. Your implication that those who oppose the mayor and you and Mr. Peterson on this, somehow, do not have the city's best interests in mind is nonsense. When you suggest things like that, you are doing what you accuse the Mayor's opponents of doing, just in reverse.
Finally, your enthusiasm for the plan seems to me to be based [at this point] on the promoters pitches. I haven't seen yet a feasibility study by an independent company with regard to the Malan's Basin ski development. And I haven't seen any outside evaluation of the financials of the whole project overall. All the rosy predictions about ridership, profits, the viability of a west-slope ski resort, etc are coming from folks who have a dog in this fight. A feasibility study and some serious accounting of the financials would be ground zero requirements for any bank thinking of putting money on the table for this venture. My suspicion is, Mr. Peterson has not had a feasibility study done, and such meager financial information he has provided so far are based on his own estimates, not an outside source review. Which is why, I suspect, he wants to finance the whole thing by developing the bench area for homes to raise the cash for the project. Absent the feasibility study and sound financials, I suspect no bank will touch it. But we shall see.
Curmy,
Have you ever met Chris Peterson?
Have you ever looked into his personal Finances? Have you ever even heard him talk?
You are making a lot of assumptions that you know nothing about.
And you Rudi, Shame on you for contorting the last paragraph of my blog early this morning.
Im done with this silly blog site.
"Im done with this silly blog site."
Don't let the screen door hit you in the backside.
This blog is intended for grownups.
Nate:
You wrote
"Have you ever met Chris Peterson?
Have you ever looked into his personal Finances? Have you ever even heard him talk?
Met him, no. Looked into his personal finances. Good lord, no. It would be presumptuous of me to do that. His personal finances are none of my business. Heard him talk: yes. Nothing he's said has any bearing on the questions I've raised about the lack of a feasibility study for the Malan's Basin project or the lack of an outside source review of the projects financial projections and estimates.
Curmy,
Do you really think that a developer like Chris Peterson, who has as a mentor the man that made the Salt Lake Olympics possible in Utah (Earl Holding), Do you reall think that he would jump into a project without feasibility studies, Come on man open your eyes.
Anon:
I don't know anything about Chris Peterson's experience as a developer. Nor is it necessarily relevent with respect to this project. If he has had a feasibility study done by one of the companies that prepare such studies, I have a hard time understanding why he has not make it public. There have been many questioning whether a west-slope ski development with a base at 6K feet is viable. And absent a successful Malan's Basin development, the City would be left with a gondola it is responsible for that is designed primarily to serve ski and mountain resort customers. [I notice Mr. Peterson and the Geigers have dropped the earlier claim that the gondola would be a mass-transit project for Ogden residents].
What you are asking, then, is that we all take it on faith that Mr. Peterson is a prudent business man and that, without having actually seen a feasibility study or an outside vetting of the project's projections and financials, we take it on faith that all will go as he claims. Sorry, but when the public's money is involved and public investment in a very long term project is being asked, I want... and I would think any prudent invesment banker and any prudent citizen would want... more than the promoter's say-so that all is doable and will go well.
If you are truly in the habit of investing purely on the basis of a promoter's pitch, then I have this bridge in Brooklyn I have just acquired title to that I can let you have for a very reasonable price...
curmudgeon,
forgive me, but which page 2? I have Sundays exagerator in hand and cannot find the retraction?
Anonymous wrote: "Do you really think that a developer like Chris Peterson, who has as a mentor the man that made the Salt Lake Olympics possible in Utah (Earl Holding)"
Two things wrong with that.
One - while Holding did play a part in the SL olympics, he by no stretch of the imagination made it possible. I'm sure Mitt, Frazier, Welch, Eccles, et al would agree!
Two - who, beside Peterson, has represented that Holding was his mentor? If you check around, you will find that Peterson plays absolutely no role in the Holding empire, and never did other than a small time manager position, with very little authority, at Snow Basin for a little while. Not exactly a high powered executive position, especially considering he was married to the bosses daughter!
Can any one tell us of even one successfull project that Criss Peterson has ever done in his life? except of course marry a rich dude's daughter!
Dutchess:
Page 2 of Section One [the main news section.] Down near the bottom on the left of the page.
There you go again Thomas Luke, Blabblering on about something that you know nothing about. Chris Peterson Worked at snow basin for Several Years. He was in charge of the conversion in to a world class resort. You are going to need to go and double check your facts man.
Go ahead, Look into it.
A whole lot of miss informed people. Rudi, you haven't been doing your job.
Since you seem to know it all, anonymous, please spill out the facts some of us are accused of missing.
Simply accusing people of being 'uniniformed' doesn't cut it with smart people.
If there are missing facts, please fill them in.
That's the purpose of this blog, btw.
Don't let the cat get your tongue.
If Chriss Peterson was in any way competent and capable of big things, he would be a major executive in the Holding empire. He wouldn't be running around trying to scam the tax payers into financing some off the wall scheme like this gondola.
Anonymous ought to check this Snow Basin "big shot deal" out themselves. Holding was still playing with a full deck when Snow Basin was developed for the olympics. He, true to his style, ran everything and made every decision, big and small. Peterson, at best, was only a spear carrier for the big man. He didn't even do that very competently. That is why he is still nothing in the Holding/Sinclair empire.
Beside being a minor hanger on'er at Snow Basin, thanks to his wife, he was also very much despised by the vast majority of employee's and contractors that were involved in the project. Earl himself didn't seem to like him!
I was there and saw a lot of what went on with that group. I never saw the real executive's from Sinclair entrust Peterson with anything important. He was kind of the secret joke around the place.
In regard to the sale of WSU land:
I could be wrong BUT, it seems to me that the decision to sell this land rests with the STATE...NOT WSU itself. Is this correct??
Sarge:
It rests, finally, with the Board of Regents, the members of which have been appointed by the governor.
I would just like to pipe in (my name is Blair Dee Hodges).
First: I am a male, not a 'ms.'
Second: My last name is Hodges, not 'Hodge' (clearly, if listed on the article as 'Hodges,' it wouldn't be listed in a plural sense, leaving one to conclude the true name is 'Hodge'.)
Third: I reported exactly what was presented at the meeting. If they presented false information you should take it up with them, not attack the reporter. I realize it's common (and very easy) to do that now, especially when you keep your small little blog here with the ability to discuss, edit, make changes, etc.
Fourth: but, ms. hodge,' you might exclaim, 'you should have checked your facts!'
Indeed, presenting a factual story is of the utmost importance to me as a reporter. Unfortunately, deadlines and editors son't always allow for as much fact-checking and analysis as I would like it to. The article was written the night of the meeting, about 2 hours before the paper went to print. You can mock the SE all you want and call it unreliable, but unfortunately it, like so many other newspapers (and I would add your little blog here) can and will make mistakes.
Lastly: do i support the gondolla? I couldn't really care less about it. I'm just a guy trying to do his job to the best of his ability. I was not directed, encouraged, or in any way expected to present a "PRO-GONDOLLA" article, nor a "CON-GONDALLA" article.
Thank you.
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