Article unfairly blames council regarding roads | Letters | May 6

Published 2:33 pm Friday, May 6, 2011

Regarding the story “City may be forced to go to voters” in the April 29 Review. The reporting in this news piece is editorially slanted, and statements in the article are without basis or logic.

The story cites “…roads that have deteriorated beyond repair.” This must mean that some significant number of roads must be replaced in their entirety, the obvious conclusion from being “beyond repair.” I doubt this is accurate. Further, you state that the City Council must be “bailed out” by the voters. Bailed out from what?

The Review cites that the council is in a “mess that years of poor maintenance has created,” as if the council has willfully ignored road maintenance out of malice. I doubt this is accurate. Times have been tough all over.

The fallout from the Bush economic disaster has created a lot of messes. The council has worked within its means where possible, all the while dealing with obstructionists and malcontents who have done nothing but cost the taxpayers money.

I note that the innuendo is mostly confined to your lead paragraph, which is the only thing many people read, which sets the tone for the balance of the article. At best, this is only poor journalism. More realistically, innuendo-based slurs directed at the council belong on the editorial page and labeled as opinion. As a part of a “news” article, this is dishonest “reporting.”

Stefan Paskell

Island Center