[
Remember the recent outcry in Bell, California, after the city’s residents learned how the mayor and council were abusing their authority and lining their own pockets with taxpayers’ money? According to an article in today’s Los Angeles Times, the citizens of Bell now understand that they can retake control of their city government. Sadly, many of the desirable attributes in Bell, in Los Angeles County, and the State of California are lacking in Coeur d’Alene, in Kootenai County, and the State of Idaho.
[
[
First, the residents in Bell have access to a real newspaper — the Los Angeles Times — that is willing to accurately and diligently investigate and report abuses by local government and dishonest public officials. Coeur d’Alene has no such local or regional newspaper.
Second, Bell’s residents understand their power rests not only in their collective voices but also in their vote. They understand that the power to administer elections needs to be taken away from those officials whose own conduct is suspect. Note this paragraph in the article:
The potential for fraud in Bell is heightened because of of low voter participation in the largely immigrant town of 40,000. Fewer than 400 voters cast ballots in a 2005 special election that cleared the way for council members to significantly increase their salaries, for example. More than half were absentee ballots.
Third, the residents of Bell have learned the value of public records searches. Bell’s residents have demanded that city officials reduce the costs of access to public records so the public can be better informed.
Fourth, Los Angeles County has a prosecuting attorney who has both guts and nuts when it comes to investigating public corruption and voter fraud.
Today’s Times article concludes with comments attributed to Bell resident Nora Saenz, a 31-year old woman who works in accounting and who had never been involved in civic affairs. She said:
Had the community been a little more involved, all of this could’ve been prevented. But now we’re vigilant, we’re fighting, and we want to clean up our city.
Lessons learned in Bell and maybe even Maywood. Coeur d’Alene, not so much.
Gee, This post makes the L.A.Times to be such and unbiased, neutral, well meaning, spot-on newspaper and the L.A.Prosecutors office to be a thorough and effective tool of the people. That’s not my thinking on either of them. The paper is a left wing bastion of dribble,at best, and the prosecutors office couldn’t even get a conviction of O.J.
I do agree with the author’s objective in pointing out the short comings of the local environment but I think he could have surely have chosen rather finer examples.
Comment by Ancientemplar — August 17, 2010 @ 9:06 am
ancientemplar,
Regardless of its motivation and political leanings, The Los Angeles Times ran a series of stories that successfully aroused the citizens of Bell to action. The Los Angeles County Prosecuting Attorney during the OJ debacle was Gil Garcetti, not Steve Cooley.
Comment by Bill — August 17, 2010 @ 11:07 am
I would gladly take a left wing bastion of dribble newspaper if it would seriously look into the corruption of our own city.
Comment by Dan — August 17, 2010 @ 11:35 am
We need to start with a newspaper first. Whenever one shows up in the area it will be refreshing.
Comment by Happy Trails — August 17, 2010 @ 12:23 pm
Happy Trails,
The days of the independent, crusading newspapers are almost a distant memory. When newspapers tore down the wall between news production and revenue production, the quality, timeliness, and integrity of the information they put out was compromised. When the newspaper became the chief instrument for information control in support of owners’ business interests, objectivity ceased. Today’s newspapers in many markets, ours included, are little more than instruments of economic propaganda for the owners and publishers. Newspapers today exist to exert social, political, and economic influence on the readers, not to inform them.
Comment by Bill — August 17, 2010 @ 1:32 pm
Bill, good luck in court today. Whatever happens – I want to thank you for publishing those “anomolies” or we would never have known.
Comment by Stebbijo — August 17, 2010 @ 2:06 pm
again – “anomalies”
Comment by Stebbijo — August 17, 2010 @ 4:10 pm
Sorry Dan, if you would accept that, I think you would settle for nothing, because that is what you would get. I’m disappointed in your response.
Comment by Ancientemplar — August 17, 2010 @ 6:33 pm
I’m smart enough to know what’s news and what’s spin.
Back in the 1980s, I interned at a radio station. One of the “reporters” there was as left-wing as they come. He had Marxist posters in his cubicle. No need hiding his true feelings about things. But back then he did report the news and didn’t add his own spin. Today I think they let all the spin out with their “reportin.” That’s fine with me. Historically, news in this country was slanted politically. That’s why papers were called the Waterbury Republican or the Cleveland Democrat. Back in the 1990s I thought that a right-wing tilted press would clean up in this town. I still think that’s true today: People want to read news that has a political slant they agree with.
But I still would accept any paper in this town that looks into and exposes the corruption at City Hall.
Comment by Dan — August 17, 2010 @ 9:54 pm