Ooops! 3 Vacant Ogden Buildings NOT Ready

Let us hope that at least the news editors of the SE understand now just how easily they were played by the administration last month

By Curmudgeon

Have to hand it to the Standard-Examiner for putting on public display today the extent to which it got royally played by the Godfrey administration last month. You'd think the editors would be embarrassed:

• 3 vacant Ogden buildings not ready

If you recall, a couple of weeks before the Council election [in which Mayor Godfrey was strongly backing two candidates for open seats], the SE reported that the Mayor had announced that in a month or so [after the election] he hoped to announce that three new manufacturers' outlet stores would open on Washington Blvd. just across from The Junction. Or maybe only one. In any case, the city said it would not name the companies. This the SE inexplicably treated as a major news story, not as the Administration's attempt to run up support for its candidates in the approaching election. There really was no actual news in the story at all [Mayor announcing that he hoped to announce later three stores, or maybe one, none of which he would name, were coming to Ogden.]

Almost a month has now passed. The election is over. And do we see this morning that the mayor has announced what the SE dutifully reported three weeks ago that he announced that he hoped to announce?

Ah.... no. Today Mr. Schwebke reports there will be no announcement about three companies ---or maybe one --- opening outlet stores on Washington this year. Because the buildings the city is rehabbing for them won't be ready. We're told by administration sporkesmen that the Mayor's office had hoped the stores would be open for the Christmas shopping season, but, sadly, the buildings won't be ready in time.

So, we're supposed to believe that four weeks ago, the Administration expected the stores to be leased, stocked and open for the Christmas selling season [which begins in two weeks], but that now, only four weeks later, the administration has suddenly realized that not only will the stores not be leased and open for the Christmas selling season, they won't be ready for occupancy until sometime next year. Oooops! Sorry 'bout that.

Well, is the Godfrey administration at least willing tell us what stores have not signed the leases we were told the Mayor hoped to announce had been signed by now? Ah... no. In fact, now we're told there's no rush to sign leases or to announce the companies [allegedly] involved since the stores won't be ready for occupancy until sometime next year anyway. Maybe.

Let us hope that at least the news editors of the SE understand now just how easily they were played by the administration last month, and that they will be reluctant to run "Mayor announces he expects to announce" stories in the future.