61 posts tagged “journalism”

Mother may I break the rules – just a little - just this once – please?

People seem to have a difficult time figuring out my politics when, in my mind at least, it is very simple and clear.

There are Rules. Live by those Rules.

That’s it. Call it playground logic if you will.

Armed with that little insight you can see why this little piece of propaganda from the Savannah Morning News had me boiling:

“SAVANNAH CITY Council should either approve a rezoning at White Bluff and Hampstead, or buy the land from the developer.”

Partly I am mad cause they are wrong – partly because the editorial staff presented a whole page of wrong under a bigas animated banner ad for Enmark- the owner of the land.

This goes back to that whole Enmark thing from last week’s city council meeting.

Enmark is asking for permission to break the zoning law on a piece of land in a neighborhood. The paper would have you believe that is not only okay but their GAWD given right.

City leaders can't preclude property owners from the rightful use of their land indefinitely.

Rightful use? So, according to the paper, City Council has lost the power to enforce zoning laws? When did this happen?

Does this mean I can pursue my lifelong dream of operating a deer processing/taxidermy shop in the heart of Ardsley Park. I can put in the Helicopter landing pad I’ve always wanted?

Oh but no… Enmark is going to enhance the neighborhood by breaking the zoning laws.

“That Enmark is moving to get the rezoning anyway is a testament to its corporate stewardship.

The company has also pledged to build a store with a more residential-looking design, muted colors, and a single low sign on the White Bluff side of the property.”

Okay… see Enmark knew the zoning when they bought the land.

Everyone involved including Enmark says they can build the station they want without breaking the zoning laws but we are supposed to applaud because they want to break the zoning laws?

The paper tries to do a little MPC dance pointing out the “transitional” nature of the area as an excuse to allow further commercial encroachment into the neighborhood.

Doesn’t that just push the transitional part into the residential part?

Where do we stop the transitioning part?

Will there be any houses left?

Savannah’s self-appointed GAY spokesperson Kevin Clark is at it again – This time he’s right – for the most part.

Clark is beeatching about how a group of gay “leafletters” were treated at the recent innovation awards. The police acted “stupidly”, to borrow a phrase from the president, when they rudely and unconstitutionally sent The GAYS away from the public streets and sidewalks where the awards were handed out.

However he makes a key mistake in is tirade that the paper should have cleared up or excised from this SAVANNAH MORNING NEWS piece.

Moreover, why did prominent politicians, including Alderman Tony Thomas and County Commission Chairman Pete Liakakis, who were in attendance, stand by and watch as their police committed this embarrassment?

Mr. Thomas and Mr. LIakakis could not, by law, say boo to the cops in this or any other situation.

The SAVANNAH MORNING NEWS knows this, they have lauded this particular part of the Manager Form of Government and they have berated the City Council for Micro Managing when they dared to ask a difficult question of the police chief because they simply wanted to know how many cops we have and where they were assigned.

The paper should NEVER have printed this unfounded accusation.

They know full well that repeating Clark’s criticism makes two electeds look as though they don’t care when the truth is they were as powerless as The GAYS.

In the city’s case Aldermen are strictly forbidden to interfere with the day to day operations of any city department. On a bigger scale anyone – ANYONE – interfering with a police officer duties in just about any situation could be charged with obstruction.

Don’t like the idea that the police can break the law and trample your rights and no one can stop them on the spot?

Tough!

This is the price you pay to live in the false belief that you and your family are safe.

One from the VOX:

"The news told of a young lady being gang raped as a crowd of chicken livered onlookers watched. How revolting and cowardly. That would not have happened back in my day."

When exactly was your “day” - 1964 perhaps? That is the year Kitty Genovese was stabbed and suffocated on her own blood within site and earshot of more than a dozen people who did little or nothing to help her.

Or perhaps your “day” was the 1920’s or 1930’s or perhaps 1940’s or 1950’s when groups of people banded together to hang individuals from trees until their necks broke or they choked to death. No one lifted a hand to stop them and instead cheered them on back in those days.

We are a violent group of animals. We have always been a violent group of animals and we have always run away from our fellow animal’s problems when we have the opportunity.

That is why we survived so long and so well among faster and deadlier groups of animals.

Don’t play dumb!  The exact same levels of violence and cowardice exist in each and every one of us yesterday, today and tomorrow.

It takes a serious act of will to be this stupid or does it just come naturally?

“He sounds like a nice, unsuspecting guy who doesn't always read the fine print, believes what people tell him and suffers from lousy timing. Then bad things happen, like the condo market going off a cliff.”

An editorial in the Savannah Morning News goes on and on about this moronic guy that bought one of the condos that are inside the old newspaper building on Bay.

Okay – maybe Bartoon could say the guy was a victim of bad timing if he…say… bought at the end of 2007. The real estate bubble was slowly deflating here in Savannah and it looked like we might be recession proof or at least go shallow and recover quickly but that is not the case for this particular “victim”.

“Williams, an interior designer from New York, paid $670,000 for a fifth-floor condominium last December at News Place West at 165 West Bay Street.”

Last December? LAST December? Really?

What “fine print” did he not see? Could it have been this headline in the Savannah Morning News in September: Bailout unlikely to counter slump or perhaps this tiny little headline in December: Forecasters: Georgia's economic outlook 'dreadful' .

Truthfully though, in condo boy’s defense, it is hard to get an accurate picture of the local economy from reading Mr. Bartoon’s newspaper.

Here are a group of SMN headlines arranged by date. Can you tell how the economy is doing?

 Ga. economist: State could be facing recession 

Housing may rebound by year's end; economy to grow slowly

New reports give bleak outlook on housing, economy

Growth weaker than hoped; economy shrinks in Q4

Consumer spending gain provides hope for rebound

City Talk: Data suggest ongoing economic weakness

Report: Worst of recession likely over for Coastal Empire

Manufacturing data boosts hopes of recession end

Georgia hits record unemployment

Schizophrenic much?

OH THE INACCURACY!

I couldn’t believe this crappy Associated Press article about the city I love actually made it into print, in the Atlanta Journal of all places.

Really… y'all don’t read the article unless you want to get annoyed or have a completely distorted view of history.

“Savannah was founded in 1733 and was one of America's first planned cities, with a series of squares and parks that can still be enjoyed today.

But the reason for those public spaces might surprise modern visitors: British General James Oglethorpe designed them as part of a military grid so his troops could set up camp and have shaded meeting spots.”

Yeah….uh….no.

First most of the military men were at the forts along the perimeter of the colony. The colonists themselves were expected to protect the town if attacked so I expect the militia did drill in the squares but they were not designed specifically for that purpose. To suggest that was the primary reason belittles the urban design accomplishment that is our amazing city plan.

But this author shows her willful ignorance of our history throughout the piece.

“Originally the city had 24 squares. It's a remarkable feat of preservation that 22 are still in existence and one more is being restored.”

Yeah….uh…no.

Originally Oglethorpe’s Savannah had four squares his plan called for six but they had four ORIGINALLY. Four is the correct answer to how many squares Savannah had ORIGINALLY. We did get up to 24 in 1851 more than 118 years after “originally”.

“Today the area is one of the largest National Historic Landmark districts in the country.”

Yeah…uh…no.

I know people here like to say this but there really is no actual designation for “largest NHLD”. If you go by size there is an 825,000 acre ranch in Texas that will kick Savannah’s ample buttocks.  Butte Montana’s NHLD is now over 9000 acres. If you go by number of contributing structures Savannah may rank 2nd but that would not be largest that would be thickest or densest NHLD. Bragging is fine but this has no place as a statement of fact in a news story.

I find it Sad and Pathetic that people know so little but say so much about Savannah and we don’t ever seem to correct them.

Pretty soon…

What am I saying? Pretty soon? How bout right now?  Nobody knows or cares about our true history anymore.

We have become the Eloi .

I like to think of myself as patient. I mean… I waited three whole days and a half before I pointed out this latest example of how piss poor the coverage of our local city government has become.

While I applauded the Savannah Morning News for their “just the facts” approach to last week’s City Council meeting I was unaware at the time that they actually missed the biggest and most important story of the day. Every media outlet in town apparently missed it. I would have missed it too if I hadn’t bothered to watch the budget briefing on the City Channel.

85 City of Savannah Jobs may be Going BUH BYE!

I should have known it couldn’t last. The city did so well balancing the budget for 2009. Like the little engine that could they climbed that mounting deficit till they reached the peak at $5 million and coasted down the other side without any layoffs, furloughs, firings or other shortcuts to Balanced Budget Land.

Unfortunately the picture for 2010 is even less rose tinted than I previously reported.

Here is what the big brains in the Chief Penny Pincher’s office are predicting:

They see $3 million less in revenue coming in next year.

That is a fresh $3 million revenue deficit added to the $5 million revenue deficit we saw this year…. That still too mathy?… um… How bout this?

Revenue is back down to 2004 levels but spending is still up at 2007-2008 levels.  

Think about what you were spending in 2008 – your expenses were probably just above what you could afford on your salary – now imagine your paycheck came in but the Accounting Department made a mistake and paid you your 2004 salary. You still have all the same bills but much less to pay them - that is what is happening to the city.

There was a smidge of good news – City Budgeteers see a small recovery on the horizon with more spending (a 1% increase in Sales Tax and Hotel/Motel Tax revenues), more building (a 5% increase in revenue from inspections fees). Of course those increases are above our already rock bottom levels so not really a cash banquet but still good to see even a slight reversal of fortunes.

Back to the not so happy news – The city has been trying to find a way to squeeze and stretch what they have in order to continue providing the same level of services and keep all their employees and keep from going into ridiculous amounts of debt.

The fact is they can’t do it.

No one could.

Something’s gotta give.

In this case they plan to eliminate some services, we don’t know which ones yet, and some 85 jobs could be erased along with those eliminated services.

Officially: 85 positions will be held vacant, reallocated or eliminated the city's goal is still to avoid layoffs.

Chris Morrill says they think they can do it without firing anyone “What we will try to do is to reassign those employees to areas where, through this economic crisis, we could use some more work there on a temporary basis.”

So those workers who find themselves surplus to requirements will be given the opportunity to do a different job.

City Manager Michael Brown puts it this way “We will give every employee the chance to make a reasonable transition.”  But he stated clearly that there may still be layoffs because some jobs are definitely going away and if the employee isn’t willing to make the transition and do the new job to the best of their ability they will not be kept on.

No matter what you think of the city’s plan I want you to ask yourself if perhaps this story should have been reported by the people actually paid to report on Savannah instead of your faithful unpaid blogger pal ESTÚPIDO.

We all pay for city services, most of us expect them to be there when we need them even if we never need them. How can an important story about an organization that WE ALL OWN not make the paper or television news?

Where is Savannah’s fourth estate?

Why are you wasting so much ink on this?

There are maybe 200 cabs in Savannah. Why does such a minor industry warrant soooooo much press coverage?

Today we get Three, count them three, full on pieces on the taxi industry. They are from students so I guess the SMN, as a cost cutting measure, has figured out how to get even younger and cheaper labor through the door.

    1.       Toma: Cab owners seek City Council-abled cartel

    2.       Toma: College does taxi study

    3.       Toma: Some cabbies want to stiff riders

Here is the deal - the city is trying to decide if they should limit the number of taxi licenses or not.

They are leaning toward doing it and regulating the industry in a method similar to but not exactly like the medallion system found in New York and Atlanta.

Who Cares?

The only time anyone who might care interfaces with a cab is when they come out of the airport or perhaps the Amtrak station but those people’s standards are already low so don’t mind them.

The other people who use cabs regularly are the responsible drunks trying to get home from downtown or the poor and elderly who do not drive.

The former don’t notice or won’t remember, the latter usually use the same person every time and are accustomed to the current situation.

Nobody cares except the cab drivers and they are a microminority and don’t deserve all this attention from the media or academia or the city bureaucracy.

On a different topic: It seems Mr. Atkins filled in for Ms. Conn at yesterday’s city council meeting. He filed a report on the Bar Card issue which was by far the most important and far reaching issue on the agenda yesterday.

The article is a quite thorough recounting of the facts and I suggest you read it if you are interesting in council’s attempts to regulate the bar industry.

 

Let’s all embrace the inaccuracy!

This will be brief.

Hopefully I won’t have to drill this one home too much.

It’s obvious that this is wrong and any respectable journalist should recognize that this is wrong and reject it on its face and refuse to play along.

From the Savannahriverismostpollutedandwe’reallgonnadie story in Thursday’s SMN:

“Environment Georgia's methodology is admittedly crude, Gayer said. It doesn't account for companies that fail to report or for other sources of pollution such as agricultural runoff or discharge from municipal sewerage systems. Nor does it take into account the size of the waterway or the varying toxicity of the chemicals listed.

"The report is open about the fact that it has holes," Gayer said. "We report on this in a way that grabs people's attention and makes them think….”

So in other words it is just a bunch of overhyped BS and funny math under a scary headline?

Yeah cause grabbing people’s attention is far more important than an accurate report that would, oh I don’t know, lead to a substantive and meaningful discussion of just how much stuff we pump into our waterways.

Making stuff up and making things seem worse than they really are might grab people’s attention but you discredit yourself and eventually lose people once they figure out that you are exaggerating.

Pathetic.

I seem to have gotten my groove back but only in short bursts.

Nature Loves a Vacuum but not stupid Astronomers

“Astronomer Stephane Udry of the University of Geneva said the results support the theory that planet formation is common, especially around the most common types of stars.

"I'm pretty confident that there are Earth-like planets everywhere," Udry said in a Web-based news briefing from a conference in Portugal. "Nature doesn't like a vacuum. If there is space to put a planet there, there will be a planet there."

Uh nooooooo.

99.9999999...% of our universe is a vacuum.

So nature loves a vacuum.

Nature is a vacuum.

If what this “Astronomer” says were true we would have nothing but wall to wall planets and the universe would be just a big old mess.

Why do they go for the most exotic diagnosis first?

First a prayer for Bishop Boland…

He had a period of dizziness and was hospitalized complaining of memory loss. Being 74 it is likely that he had a mini-stroke or some other common brain burp but Barbara King over to the diocese has been on the Google Box again and came up with something far more exciting.

 “King described Boland's condition as "transient global amnesia," which she said was a temporary form of amnesia.

King said Boland's memory has returned, but she had no further information pending test results.”

Yeah… tests… cause, you see, TGA has a very specific pathology… It is kinda rare too.

Talk about your memory loss…

This is simply not true:

“MORE THAN a decade ago, members of Chatham County's library board called for a new library on the city's southside. Elected officials overruled them, pushing for renovations to the Bull Street library instead.”

The Library thang was a big old mess back in the late 90’s and to say that the electeds “overruled them” is criminal.

This is from a brief article in the Library Journal at the time:

“The board in 1998 adopted a strategic plan to vault the library out of poverty, but the county commission has been reluctant to raise sufficient funds, given taxpayer resistance. Meanwhile, the commission appointed new conservative members who support a more deliberate growth rate for the library.”

Have we expunged all this from the record cause we ain’t supposed to remember all that nonsense with Mary Ellen Sprague and the director and the back and forth over “who shoulda got fired?” and “who was told to resign?” and “who was incompetent?”

Here you can refresh your memory about the how the money was spent and what type of money decisions were made with this article.

Ah! Hello old friend! I would like to say I missed you but….

The recycling fantasists are back in the news. This time they are attempting to shame Russ Abolt and Chatham County into curbside pickup.

Their new plan would cut yard waste pick-up back to once every two weeks and slip a bi-weekly recycling pick-up in between.

Fine. Whatever. I don’t care.

No really I don’t give a rip about what you people in the county do with your stuff but what stirred me from my recent writer’s funk was the way in which the Utopian Recycling Squad tries to gloss over the reality of the situation.

The County would need to buy carts for folks to store the recyclables for pick up – Mr. Curl says that is more than a million bucks to which Recycle Chick responds “Creative financing could be worked out. I don't think taxpayers should have to foot any of the bill."

Yeah, you see even if the county finds “creative financing” the taxpayers are still footing the bill. Governments only make money by taking it from other people. Taxes, fees, interest on loans, investments all take money from taxpayers in exchange for services.  Taxpayers always foot the bill.

Then there is the outright lie that there is some grand petition drive going on.

“If the group's proposal is a non-starter, the county may be left to come up with its own plan for curbside recycling. Grainey and Kronquest say that at the rate they are going, they may have enough signatures by April next year to force a referendum on the issue.

"This is the people's will," Kronquest said. "Not just five or six people."

They claim to have 12000 signatures.

Yeah right show us.

The paper would be happy to host the files on its website.  Just scan them and show us your petitions in a PDF format. That way we can all take a look and see just how far you’ve come.

It will never happen. It didn’t happen on the Savannah petition because they didn’t get what they claimed to have and they don’t have them this time either.

Their online petition has right at 1800 signers right now. That is up by about 250 since I last reported on it in June.

Mr. Curl reports they will have enough signers to force a referendum by April of next year I would say we’ll see a man walk on Mars before they actually meet that burden.

ADDENDUM: Tuesday, October 13, 2009 11:57:54 PM

Leave it to WSAV, Savannah's perennial number two, to attempt to bolster the fantasists cause with a minute worth of one sided drivel on the TV. There was no balance presented in the story as posted online. The only person interviewed was the primary agitator in favor of the program.

A couple of interesting things in the story. NOWHERE does the reporter actually show us how many signatures they have on their petitions.

We do, however, get to see eight stacks of petition pages arranged on a table. On the secondary audio track (the right speaker in my headphones) you can hear someone say "make it look like a nice big stack." (also listen after the picture goes black there is some hidden audio and a little video that I don't think was intended to go on)

The petition page that is shown with any detail includes 15 signatures. If each of the pages had 15 names then each stack would need to be 100 pages deep to reach the number they claim to have. You would need to watch for yourself to decide if it looks like that many to you.

You would think that with their great success they would be eager to scan those in somewhere so we can all see it for ourselves close up and personal like. I'll bet WSAV would host the PDF files on their servers if given the opportunity.

Now y’all hold on a durn minute here!

I am now getting conflicting information from the same source. Somebody needs to splain this to me.

I saw this last weekend:

“If those tasked with enforcing the city's building codes had done their jobs correctly from the start, then the 19 people living at the Park Avenue house would not have been forced from their home this week.”

That little piece of pious “shoulda woulda coulda” comes from an editorial slamming the city for stuff that happened more than a decade ago.

I didn’t think much of it at the time because It is just more of the unfounded government bashing we’ve come to expect from the newspaper – they suggest from this that the only way to deal with illegal rooming houses is to somehow travel back in time and rewrite history in order to avoid the unpleasantness of shutting down dangerous establishments now.

But then today we get this complete contradiction:

Paperwork never mentioned use as rooming house

Regarding the certificate of occupancy issued for the Park Avenue rooming house:

I signed a certificate of occupancy for a one- and two-family dwelling which is identified on the CO as (R3) - which is the zoning for a one and two family dwelling - and not for a rooming house occupancy of 19 people.

If the occupant load and occupancy would have been mentioned on the application, I would have alerted proper inspectors to investigate to make sure code requirements for that type of occupancy met current adopted code requirements.

So…wait.

The guy who owns the property lied on the application? Then how in the world can we blame “those tasked with enforcing the city's building codes” way back then?

If they were given false information and acted in good faith on that false information would that not be the fault of the person providing the false information?

Which version of events is true? Shouldn’t the paper be in the business of reporting the truth?

Their entire premise of finger wagging 20 years after the fact is stupid but if they gonna do it anyway they should at least get the stories straight before hurling blame.