Friday's Emerald City Lowdown

How "low" can the Standard-Examiner go?

By Curmudgeon

Quite an issue of the Standard-Examiner this morning. Remarkable stuff therein. Let's begin with a piece by Mr. Schwebke, reporting that a new gang-crimes unit will hit "the mean streets of Central Ogden" this weekend. And he also reports that "The unit was supposed to begin operating in January, but instead will start next month to get a jump on crime. "

Ahem. Can it possibly be so that a daily newspaper reporter, in this cynical day and age, is so naive the he failed to so much as notice that the jumped up starting date for the gang crimes unit is two days before an election in which gang violence in Ogden has become an issue? That he believes the sole motive for suddenly jumping deployment of the unit ahead to two days before the election was purely to "get a jump on crime," and not to "get a jump on the election?" And I note Mr. Schwebke reported that conclusion about why the deployment date was advanced --- to "get a jump on crime" --- as his own, not Chief Greiner's. If Mr. Schwebke is in fact that credulous, I suggest the Std-Ex News Editor dispatch him to cover the arrival of the Easter Bunny on Ogden lawns next Spring. Maybe he can get an interview.

Then there's the Std-Ex's editorial endorsement of Blain Johnson for a seat on the Council. [I notice the editorial manages not to so much as mention the name of his opponent, Aardema.] What's interesting about the endorsement is that it highlights the way Mr. Johnson is running by claiming to oppose some of Mayor Godfrey's key initiatives over the past four years. Johnson says he's opposed to a city built downtown gondola. He is not, the Std-Ex editorial board concludes from that, a "yes man." Or, he's a Godfrey clone seeking election by pretending not to be. The editorial does note Mr. Johnson made his living as a lawyer for land developers for the most part. That of course does not make him necessarily a poor choice for sitting on the Council, but I would think it might have raised an eyebrow or two when the Mayor Mr. Johnson is supporting for a third term has spent the last four years truckling to large developers, trying to sell the city's parklands to one of them, and using developers' lawyers to draft legislation for the Council's consideration. [Recall the "Ellison Ordinance" from Mr. Peterson's attorney, just by way of example?]

Hmmmmm. Maybe my comments above were unfair to Mr. Schwebke. Maybe he is merely reflecting the credulity of his editors. We shall see.

Then there is the Std-Ex's reporting that Golf course, park to remain free from development --- the same golf course, mind you, that Mr. Blain Johnson's plans for development so impressed the Std-Ex editorial board. The story, by Mr. Schwebke, says that Mayor Matthew Godfrey signed a declaration Thursday to ensure Mount Ogden Golf Course and an adjoining city-owned park remain as open space. The declaration places legally binding covenants and restrictions on the property to prevent it from being developed, Godfrey said.

On this one at least, the fact that there is an election underway seems to have popped up on Mr. Schwebke's reportorial radar, for he adds that Mayor Godfrey is seeking a third term in next month’s general election.

A declaration? I'm more than a little confused about how a mayoral declaration can be legally binding on anything or anyone. Executive proclamations are normally used to declare National Brown Mustard Week or CrossWalk Safety Awareness Week In Ogden. But the story insists the Mayor insists that the declaration involves placing legally binding restrictions on sale or development of the park and surrounding park lands. What are these legally binding restrictions? The story doesn't say. Are they in fact legally binding? The reporter doesn't ask. Come Wednesday morning, the day after the election, will they have any force whatever? Readers aren't told.

This is, sadly, another exercise in press release journalism by the Standard-Examiner... just days before an election. From Ogden's home town paper, during the endgame of an election, we ought to expect better.