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Tuesday, 28 November 2006 14:19 |
EDITORëS NOTE: The following letter to the editor was submitted to the Daily Planet in response to a letter from Jan Davis that appeared in this newspaper on Nov. 15.
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Jan, we have been friends for many years and share too many common values and interests to let this disagreement come between us. I could say the same for several other members of City Council and I hope this does not permanently mar our relationship.
There is a difference, however, between negotiation and extortion. Your negotiators had the Army Reserve over a barrel and that is a fact. My issue here is what was the reason for the decision to charge the Army rent at all? There is no overhead cost to the city. The city does not pay rent to itself for the buildings it owns or the lots they sit on. If you can grant that consideration to yourselves, why not to the organization of local citizen-soldiers who are sworn to defend you with their very lives? Why not just give them the land with the stipulation that if they ever decide to move, the land and buildings revert to the city?
Obviously,
I think it was wrong of the Worley council to start the rent cycle, and
it is an order of magnitude worse for this council and staff to impose
this increase when we are at war. I suspect the anti-war sentiment and
total lack of understanding of what it really means to serve your
country with body, mind and spirit was a factor in the decision. You
can say all the right things about the military, and mean them, but
unless youëve worn the uniform and put your life on the line, you
really canët understand!
I disagree that
it was ridiculous to think the $52,000 in extra rent might not buy body
armor or ammunition. Those things donët grow on trees and local units
do have budgets. The funds will come out of the Department of Defense
budget.
Editorially,
we think this was a wrong-headed decision and it is still on our
platter of things to write about. There will be a follow-up in future
editions. We wrote the only story that raised awareness of the rent
increase and were the only local media to immediately cover the Mayorës
response despite the fact that other reporters were sitting right
there. Our story made front page news in every local newspaper and
prime-time on WLOS-TV. We respect the mayorës feelings and regret that
she has felt threatened in any way. No public official should feel any
such pressure. Nor should they exaggerate the matter.
As for the
Veteranës Day ceremony, I know the individuals who put it together and
they have my highest respect. This isnët personal, but it is a bad
decision to schedule this observance against the one held at the VA.
The hospital is the appropriate venue. Ashevilleës elected officials
could participate at the VA, then return to town for a barbecue
luncheon at City/County Plaza with military free-fall military
parachutists at noon for veterans and their families, or something
similar. Iëm sure local businesses would have contributed to make it
possible. We donët always have to stand around listening to speeches or
sobbing in front of the 18 people likely to attend. It is a day to
honor AND celebrate veterans.
Finally, let me
say a brief word about my role in the media. I am the editor of a
traditional tabloid newspaper. I poke hard at things that need to be
poked, and I run short, snappy headlines that get the point across in
six words or less. Our stories have to be timely and have enough detail
to give them a seven-day shelf life in the bright yellow racks across
town. The Citizen-Times works hard to write well, and does with
top-quality people, but they generally do it in 700 words or less. I
cannot remember the last time I wrote anything that short. The Tribune
has to be a good read.
I co-founded
the Tribune in 1996, quit to run a business and do radio, then came
back in 2003. Since that time, our distribution has quadrupled. Our
Hendersonville paper, which I also edit, has become the alternative
media of choice to the N.Y. Times-owned Hendersonville Times-News. We
intend to achieve that status in Asheville, against formidable
top-quality competition.
Our efforts,
Jan, wonët always make you or anyone else happy. But we are the only
media in town that brings things to light in a traditional tabloid
manner from a conservative perspective. We will continue to do so, not
in a mean spirit, but in the spirit of raising peopleës attention, and
sometimes their hackles.
I really
appreciate, by the way, your service on council. I know it is a
sacrifice of you and Ann, as it is for everyone else. I can no longer
sit through the meetings due to the time requirements of editing the
two papers, but I admire and respect each and every one of you and wish
you well. And tough skins.
BILL FISHBURNE
Editor, Tribune Newspapers
Asheville
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