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May 06, 2018

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Ever since then-CEO Sarah Bentley was called onto the carpet at Gannett HQ in the 1990s, and chewed out for the S/J's endorsement of Mike Swaim for mayor, the S/J has been utterly servile to the slightest wishes of wealthy developers and of the real estate business in general.

What followed was a reign of error, as the S/J attacked liveability activists unmercifully and untruthfully for years.

It's a Gannett paper; ethics are unheard of there. For a long, detailed look behind the veil of mendacity, get a copy of publisher Richard McCord's book "The Chain Gang," and see what S/J executives really think of their readers, and of the city they supposedly serve.

Brian, I don't think there will be another Streets and Bridges bond measure anytime soon. Salem taxpayers are going to experience severe sticker shock after the school bond measure passes and that big ticket is added to the cost of the new police station and library retrofit. How do you proposed to pay for this without a Streets and Bridges bond measure?

Jim, it is City officials who keep talking about paying for the bridge over Jory Creek through a Streets and Bridges bond, not me. Public Works Director Peter Fernandez has said several times that there wouldn't be enough money in a Lone Oak Road Reimbursement District to pay for the bridge, so money for it would have to come from a future Streets and Bridges bond.

I recall that Fernandez also said that the bond would repay the Lone Oak Road Reimbursement District fund for whatever money the fund was able to contribute to the Lone Oak Road improvements. So it seems to make a lot more sense to ditch the whole idea of the Reimbursement District, since it won't be able to pay for the most expensive part of the Lone Oak Road improvements, the bridge over Jory Creek.

Of course, it would be even better if the City Council required Tokarski to pay for the Lone Oak Road improvements, the northern portion at least. This would require more councilors to vote No on the District that just Sally Cook and Cara Kaser. Hopefully the other progressives on the Council will join them as No votes a week from today,

Hmmm still no reporting on this issue from the Statesman Journal?

I know they are aware of it but I guess their reporters only have time to make snotty meta-comments about other's coverage of this issue to their buddies on twitter: http://hinessight.blogs.com/salempoliticalsnark/2018/03/statesman-journal-reporter-criticizes-salem-weekly-for-story-his-paper-didnt-cover.html

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