Jan. 6, 2005
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Giving
credit
by JUDY HODGSON
When I read the editorial in Sunday's Times-Standard, I was a little mystified. For some reason the
opinion writer or writers for our local daily newspaper felt
it necessary to chide the L.A. Times rather than congratulate
the distinguished newspaper for a job well done. "[F]rankly,
the L.A. Times knows as much about what makes this area
tick as we know about the cracks in the Hollywood Walk of Stars,"
sniffed the T-S.
Really? Let's review.
On Jan. 25, the L.A. Times
reported that Maxxam-owned Pacific Lumber Co. told the Schwarzenegger
administration that "unless it is allowed to cut more trees,
the firm may file for bankruptcy, which it says would likely
terminate environmental safeguards promised as part of
a $480-million Headwaters deal struck more than five years ago."
[Emphasis added.]
The L.A. Times
had obtained a copy of the presentation made to Schwarzenegger
Cabinet secretary Terry Tamminen and Cal EPA general counsel
Maureen Gorsen. In attendance were Maxaam CEO Charles Hurwitz
from Houston headquarters, Palco President Robert Manne and two
other Palco representatives, according to the article. It quotes
Jeff Barrett, Pacific Lumber's director of science programs,
as saying, "For now this life-and-death struggle comes down
to this limited number of permits" the company wants to
see approved ASAP.
While dire financial warnings
have been coming from company officials for some time, this clearly
was a specific heavy-handed attempt to pressure the state water
board into approving more permits. Some may even go so far as
to call it blackmail.
The T-S must have thought
it was good reporting too, since the paper ran its own version
the next day referencing the L.A. Times report.
The L.A. Times also ran
an excellent editorial noting Palco's history of "hardball
tactics" and urging the state to "hang tough"
and "to take a magnifying glass to that [Palco] study"
which claims that it could log even closer to streams without
environmental damage.
Here is the kicker of the editorial
that bears repeating:
"Something to watch: The
undersecretary of the state Environmental Protection Agency,
James Branham, is a former Pacific Lumber executive who, in a
previous post in state government, helped broker the Headwaters
deal. Californians may get to see up close how well or ill the
revolving door of public service-private industry serves the
public's purposes."
The Times-Standard called
the editorial a "Lecture from La-La Land." We call
it good journalism coupled with good leadership from its editorial
writers.
[Access the complete
editorial from L.A. Times]
Speaking of Palco and hardball
tactics: Last week company officials came before the Humboldt
County Board of Supervisors requesting an immediate letter of
support to put additional pressure on the water board to act,
an item not on the published agenda but added due to its "emergency"
nature.
We'll give Supervisor Jill Geist
only a half a gold star for voting against the letter itself
after unwittingly falling for the "emergency" bluff.
Supervisor Bonnie Neely voted for it twice, as did John Woolley
and Jimmy Smith, calling it "innocuous." (The three
get no star for their lack of adherence to the democratic process.)
We don't know what to give Supervisor
Roger Rodoni. Probably a black mark for bringing this "emergency"
item to the board's attention. (Rodoni's landlord is Pacific
Lumber Co. and he is still the subject of an ongoing investigation
by the Fair Political Practices Commission.) On the other hand
-- for the first time ever -- Rodoni recused himself from voting
on a matter involving his landlord, something this newspaper
has been urging for about two years.
Maybe we'll erase his black
mark for doing the right thing.
SEE
the story in NEWS
A footnote from the publisher:
The North Coast Journal
received news Monday that it has received a 2005 James Madison
Award in the Community Media category from the Society
of Professional Journalists, Northern California Chapter,
Freedom of Information Committee.
According to the Feb. 1 press
release:
"The Journal is
recognized for its efforts to unseal grand jury transcripts from
a high profile investigation of a Fortuna City Council member
who was accused of covering up a conflict of interest regarding
a real estate deal she personally represented. ["The
Debi August files," Sept. 9, 2004.] Its investigation
exposed a local political scandal. The Journal devoted
considerable amounts of time, effort and money to open up records
they knew were legally open to inspection -- no small burden
for a community paper."
Such an award is always the
result of a team effort, but I would like to personally congratulate
Staff Writer Hank Sims and Editor Emily Gurnon for their efforts.
The award will be presented
at a ceremony March 16 in San Francisco.
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