Hell Freezes Over
Posted by Jeff Pruitt - 11/26/08 @ 6:38 pm - Filed Under City Council
I can’t believe it. The News-Sentinel has acknowledged the existence of bloggers and actually (gasp!) linked to their respective blogs. Bob Caylor of the News-Sentinel reports on last night’s tax abatement discussion at city council:
A proposal to update the city’s system for awarding tax abatements to new or expanding businesses won a generally favorable reception Tuesday night from City Council, although council members suggested several areas they would like to revise.
[...]
Three people spoke during a public hearing on the proposal. All are bloggers who follow City Council closely.Steve Parker, who runs www.aroundfortwayne.com, praised Brown and Goldner’s work, but he raised the question of whether the council would endorse the use of a tax abatement to help attract a casino.
John Kalb, who frequently contributes to www.fortwaynepolitics.com, applauded the ordinance. Kalb has frequently criticized the city’s use of tax abatements in the past.
Jeff Pruitt, who runs the www.fortwaynepolitics.com blog, said it was a step in the right direction. However, he said he still opposes tax abatements. Instead of selectively rewarding business expansion or relocation, the city should lower taxes uniformly to stimulate investment, he said.
Actually the News-Sentinel has been better about this than the other local paper so I guess I shouldn’t be completely surprised.
One of my biggest complaints about traditional media has been what I perceive to be an establishment bias. What I mean by that is only one side of the story gets told - typically that of the politician or the developer - and everyone else is ignored or downplayed to a significant degree. Kudos to Caylor and the NS for breaking that mold.
Of course I’m not sure how Caylor got the blog links past his editor - maybe he was on vacation, heh…
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3 Responses to “Hell Freezes Over”
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Yeah, but he didn’t list your addresses and where to buy the bricks…
I thank Jeff and the guys for running this blog. Besides offering their own ideas they allow those of us who agree or disagree to take part. Plus if you look at this sites stats there are 100’s of readers each and every day who form the silent majority.
From my own view point some of my ideas and beliefs have been modified by what these guys and others have posted. Other times I have found I share common ideas but with some other approach to reaching a goal.
With that I wish each and everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. If you are into praying say a little prayer for those who are without, away serving our country, or ill. If you are with family and friends give them a hug as none of us know what will happen in a day or week from now.
God Bless You All….
Oh yeah, absolutely. I hope it was obvious I was joking in the above comment. These guys and other bloggers are doing a service to Fort Wayne for what they do helping bring the inner workings of city council and Fort Wayne happenings closer to us and ultimately hopefully helping make us a more conscious group… and they do it non-anonymously…