Thesis of The Carmel Pine Cone (October 12, 2007) editorial ‘Bizarre:’ The Flanders Foundation should not have sued the City Council of Carmel-by-the-Sea et al. because the lawsuit thwarted the “clearly expressed desire” of Carmelites “to use the money invested in the house for some other civic purpose.”
First, Judge Robert A. O’Farrell ruled that the Carmel-by-the-Sea Council violated the California Environmental Quality Act, California Government Code and the City’s Municipal Code in voting to sell the Flanders Mansion property. Question: Is it the editorial writer’s stance that the City should be able to violate California state law and City Municipal law in order to sell a building belonging to the public since 1972?
Secondly, the editorial writer claims that Carmelites have clearly expressed their desire to sell Flanders Mansion. Question: If that claim is true, then why did the City Council hire Special Counsel William B. Conners to argue that the Flanders Mansion property was not “parkland,” therefore the City was not obligated to conduct an election to give Carmelites the opportunity to vote for or against the sale of a publicly owned National Register of Historic Places resource?
Thirdly, the editorial writer claims Carmelites want to use the proceeds from the sale of the Flanders Mansion property for some other civic purpose. Question: If Carmelites want to use the proceeds from the sale of the Flanders Mansion property for “some other civic purpose,” then why have Carmelites, with nearly $10 million in reserve funds and millions and millions of dollars of deferred maintenance, not clamored for the expenditure of some reserve funds for our dilapidated and/or closed cultural assets and decayed and decrepit infrastructure?
Lastly, in the name of Carmelites and their so-called “clearly expressed desire” to sell the Flanders Mansion property, the editorial writer uses Carmelites as a ruse to promote city propaganda; namely, a “principle issue” in recent elections was the sale of Flanders Mansion, when in reality the sale of Flanders Mansion was never a defining issue in any recent election.
8 comments:
It seems clear that what money the City Council is willing to budget does not necessarily get budgeted for uses that would best serve the city, its residents or its businesses.
In the last 6-7 years the City Council has clearly not let federal, state or city laws stand in the way of what it wants to accomplish or fail to accomplish. The only way to turn this around has been costly law suites. The Mayor and City Council have not been deterred however and keep on flouting the law whenever it suits them . Everytime the City Council loses a suit it loses a battle but it continues to be winning the war to destroy Carmel.
It seems more likely that those people who want to see the Flanders Mansion sold think of it as a white elephant rather than a potential source of city income for at least two reasons.Increasingly residents and people who do business in Carmel are becoming aware that A) The City Council doesn't spend the city's revenues wisely and B) The City Council doesn't spend the money that it already has, so the proceeds of the sale of the mansion are likely to simply go into Carmel's already bloated reserves. Unfortunately, the Pine Cone's editorial policy, which does not always stay in the editorial section, often reflects neither what residents and business people want (not always the same) nor what is in the best interests of the city.
Paul Miller - Sue's shill.
A reputable newspaper has an editor, a publisher and an owner. Three persons doing three distinct jobs. The Pine Cone, on the other hand, has one person as owner, publisher and editor. No wonder it regularly commits the cardinal sin of journalism, mixing commentary with news in news articles. Or simply, presenting opinions as facts. Not to mention opinions in editorials without facts to back the opinions expressed. That is bad enough, but even worse is the editor, publisher, owner and writers cozy relationship with the city. So readers get served distorted and biased “news.”
As we've discovered with the US federal government, a compliant media is an essential tool for the CIA to use when taking over a government.
The Pine Cone is propaganda - Carmel's own version of Pravda.
Pravda indeed - how clever.
Paul Miller is no journalist. His aim is not to inform and educate Carmelites, rather his goal is to push a pro-establishment, pro-Sue agenda 24/7. His failure to put his ego aside and understand his allegiance at the Pine Cone should be to Carmelites, not Mayor Sue, is disturbing.
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