D&C Hopes Fear = Readers (Pt. 2)

Neither Shock Nor Awe

First the editor and publisher of the D&C tried to scare you into reading with the ominous tagline: "A neighborhood in our community is contaminated and homeowners have been unaware of the potential danger."

The Fox News fear approach may have worked for the Gannett publication had the WBP not completely debunked the aforementioned claims in our post on the matter back in March.

As we reported, records regarding the contamination which was the subject of the piece had existed for over a decade in multiple forms available to the public.

But the D&C did not yield and proceeded to report on a "groundwater contamination plume" that supposedly threatened water supplies and homes throughout Victor, NY. The articles prompted public forums where citizens voiced their anger that state and local officials would put them in harm's way. Some residents thought they might have to move. Air and water samples were taken and the D&C braced for the worst and called for more "Watchdog" tips from readers.

What was the result of Rochester's self-proclaimed watchdog's actions? Do we have to wipe out Victor Jericho-style and completely start the cycle of life over?

From the D&C -

State officials say they’ve found only one Victor home in need of ventilation to combat solvent vapors suspected to originate from contaminated groundwater in a western section of the town.

(Key ominous music) >Bum, bum, bum<

D&C Hopes Fear = Readers

Breaking News That Is Not So Breaking

The headline is ominous: "A neighborhood in our community is contaminated and homeowners have been unaware of the potential danger." Oooooooo, freaky . . .

So begins the multimedia slide show when the D&C website link for a Sunday Special Report is clicked. At the center of the story is the former site of Dinaburg Distributing Inc., a laundry chemical seller that closed nearly 15 years ago. The D&C tag line says area residents were shocked to learn of possible groundwater and air contamination at the site. Breaking news shrouded in secrecy finally exposed to the light by the efforts of the great and powerful D&C? Not so much.

The D&C is about six years late to the game on this story. The New York state Department of Environmental Conservation actually held a public meeting regarding remediation at this site in August of 2001:

The New York State DEC and Department of Health invite you to a public meeting to discuss the former Dinaburg Distributing, Inc. property in the City of Rochester.
-snip-

The . . . site . . . has been vacant since 1995 and no dry cleaning chemicals remain in the building. The results of previous environmental investigations revealed soil and groundwater beneath the site are contaminated with trichloroethene (TCE) and tetrachloroethene (PCE) . . .

In April 1999, the basement air in two homes adjacent to the site was sampled by the owner. PCE and TCE were detected in the air . . .

The DEC used Superfund monies to install soil vapor extraction systems in 2000.

According to this information at least two homeowners were aware of the vapors and those homes, according to this report, were the only two residences that were effected.

Additional contamination was discovered in the years that followed but just because no one paid attention does not mean that no one knew. Copies of site reports are available at the regional DEC office and the Rochester Public Library (next to the porn). A Dem & Chron 2006 article even highlighted Dinaburg and its disposal of drycleaning chemicals. The D&C would like you to believe the contrary, however, as they hope that the shock and awe tactics will get you to buy a paper on Sunday.

In fact, there are numerous companies still in operation which continue to contaminate. In addition, thanks to a list from the Environmental Protection Agency, who these businesses are and what toxins they deal in are very public and very available. Where is the D&C outrage over these businesses?

The EPA Envirofacts Warehouse identifies 43 entities as polluters and classifies their type into what they are allowed to release into the environment, for example:

Domine Builders

Permitted Discharges to Water? No
Toxic Releases Reported? Yes
Hazardous Waste Handler? Yes
Active or Archived Superfund Report? No
Air Releases Reported? Yes

To compare, Dinaburg had an affirmative in only one category.

Why did the D&C chose to highlight Dinaburg? Easy - no backlash from executives of a company no longer in operation.

Granted, why it took 17 years for this site to receive full remediation is a valid one, but perhaps more pressing is why this contamination is accepted and allowed.

Democrat & Chronicle Responds to Ethics Complaint

I do not know how the WBP missed this, sorry for slacking.

Michael Kane, Publisher of the Democrat & Chronicle, responded to a letter from leaders of the Rochester Newspaper Guild by claiming that the D&C has not suffered from diminished ethical standards in its changeover to the more digitally focused RochesterInformation Center.

Guild members disagree, however, from a February 13th Editor & Publisher report:

"As newsroom and multimedia employees of the Democrat and Chronicle we are growing increasingly concerned with what seems to be the newspaper's -- and Gannett's -- shifting ethical lines," the letter, which E&P wrote about Monday, said in part. "At a time when we are trying to restructure ourselves within a new media environment, our ethical foundation should be more firmly grounded than ever. To be flexible and nimble as a newspaper and multimedia company should not mean our ethics are also flexible."

The guild members went on to cite two recent incidents that they believed had crossed ethical lines. Among them was the apparent byline of the editorial page editor on a news story. "This could give the impression that favorable opinion can be garnered for government projects or programs by approaching the editorial board with news tips, as happened here," the letter stated.

The other was the paper's political blog offering "no distinction between the opinionated musings of editorial writers and the reporting of news staff."

The 39 members of the Newspaper Guild of Rochester Local 17 represent 85 staffers at the Gannett Co. Inc. What is D&C Editor Karen Magnuson saying? No surprise:

"I don't have any problem with anything we are doing here," she said. "I think our newsroom conducts itself with the highest ethical standards."

We should expect this from Ms. Magnuson. As we highlighted in a story about the D&C Editorial Board and the Greater Rochester Enterprise, the investment in certain organizations by the D&C produces coverage of those entities with a blatant agenda.

Leave the blogging to the professionals, D&C, we'll handle it -

Make Your Nomination

Since meaningless polls that will actually have no impact on anything and are merely meant to drive up site hits are all the rage today, we thought the WBP would join in the fun.

We are taking your nominations for two positions: Monroe County Executive and Editor of the Democrat & Chronicle. You can read more about our reasoning here and here, but it is obvious that the person who currently occupies each post has now engaged in an inappropriate relationship through common investment in a private entity using taxpayer funds.

Ms. Brooks cannot invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in the futile efforts of the GRE only to have Ms. Magnuson turn around and tell the public how great the GRE is in the tone of an unbiased third party reporting agency; when in fact the D&C is a GRE investment partner and it is in their own interest to portray the GRE as successful. The D&C's actions are especially egregious when it prescribes to be one of the few alternatives to an otherwise conservative and right-leaning media market. We don't need the D&C to start telling us how great our local Republicans are, we have Lonsberry for that.

Credit Where Credit Isn't Due

The LoveFest Continues

It started on Friday. A three day Democrat & Chronicle Re-Elect Maggie campaign has culminated in yet another entry on the D&C's Editorial page proclaiming the success and vision of Brooks and Dennis "Rochestarians Just Don't Understand" Mullen of the Greater Rochester Enterprise.

If the D&C wants to pat Maggie and Dennis on the back for doing . . . well, whatever it is they have done up to this point, then go right ahead but do not credit them for achievements in which they had no part.

The editorial states, "Mullen and Brooks . . . provided strong arguments that they are prepared to build on some notable accomplishments in 2006. Attracting a $90 million pasta plant to nearby Livingston County was among them." Of those so-called notable accomplishments this is the only one given in the article.

When Barilla Pasta announced it would build a new facility in Avon, NY there was a long list of politicos jumping on the "yep, I did that!" express. The Lakeville-Avon Railroad announced they were an integral part of the negotiations, even Assemblyman Joe Errigo who hasn't represented Avon since the last redistricting issued a release saying what a fine job he did in convincing Barilla to operate in the town.

There is just one small problem with the aforementioned crowning achievement, for those not familiar with the Genesee Valley geography, Avon is located in Livingston County and neither Brooks nor Mullen had any part in securing the Barilla project.

The first mention of the GRE having major involvement in securing the Barilla deal came in a D&C article on January 21st of this year. Until this article the GRE had simply been mentioned as one of many partners in passing quotes, the release from Barilla does not even note the GRE or any Monroe County official:

Barilla and Jacobson worked closely with local and state elected officials to secure government grants and loans needed to build the facility. Officials included Avon Mayor Tom Vonglis, New York State Senator Dale Volker, and New York State Assemblyman Daniel Burling, as well as Patrick Rountree of the Livingston County Development Group and Jim Jacob from Empire State Development.

What this quote equates to is Barilla saying, "We were going to choose South Carolina but the state finally smartened up and gave us a damn Empire Zone in Livingston County," an Empire Zone that Patrick Rountree has been lobbying state officials for since the program's inception.

Let's make believe with the D&C for a moment, though, and pretend the GRE was responsible for landing Barilla. Avon and Livingston County are not outside the bounds of the GRE, as indicated in the map from their website, it is disheartening that the only real achievement by the organization was outside Monroe County and the economically depressed City despite being headed by the Monroe County Executive, two Rochester natives and businessmen and the support of Monroe County tax dollars. Why is Ms. Brooks even spending time focusing on an area other than Monroe County?

All right, let's come back to reality now. The GRE and this claim by Mr. Mullen is a mirror of the Monroe County economic landscape. Gradually Monroe and Rochester have grown in the eyes of our leaders and business people to include Livingston, Wayne, Ontario, even Seneca county as illustrated by the GRE's own map and the businesses have left the City for the suburbs. Our politicians came up with incentives to reinvigorate the City and Monroe County, programs like the Empire Zone, but the lobbyists and businesses said "we want those incentives where we're moving our businesses" - so the politicians and their re-election campaigns gave in and the incentives spread out to the suburbs as well.

The D&C itself highlighted this trend with a feature article on Henrietta this week. However, it took the D&C's Henrietta blog and Supervisor Jim Breese to show the D&C that the success in Henrietta and Livingston County is not because of Mullen, the GRE, Maggie or anyone else who is interested in being re-elected or having their picture taken:

Several of the points mentioned in the article by Town Supervisor Jim Breese are "low taxes, good public schools and a local university" and that "people want to live near work".

These are exactly the reasons my wife I and pondered when we looked at moving here. In our case, I've mentioned previously that I'm 4 minutes from work even with a couple of stoplights. 4 minutes?!?! You can't beat that with a stick.

Wow, no publicly funded thinktanks, no outsourced studies, no conferences or public hearings or press conferences, just sound political and economical fundamentals involving tax structure, education and employment. You see Karen, it's not the pessimism, stupid; it's the stupid, stupid. (note: The Democrat & Chronicle is listed as a GRE Investment Partner on the rochesterbiz.com website)

Sympathy for the GRE

Pictured L-R (Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks, Dennis M. Mullen, President and CEO of GRE, Wayne LeChase, Chairman of GRE, Theresa Mazzullo, Chairman of COMIDA)

The Democrat & Chronicle ran a series this past week that started in their Editorial blog and ended in their editorial page on February 2nd. Essentially the D&C's message was "Hey guys, don't pick on Maggie and entities like the Greater Rochester Enterprise . . . c'mon ease up." Karen loves Maggie jokes aside, the Water Buffalo Press Oh My God I Can't Believe He Actually Said That, Just Shoot Me in The Face Now Award goes to GRE Chairman Dennis Mullen who was quoted in the D&C editorial as saying "he doesn't really get questions about setbacks like the recent closing of businesses in the High Falls District."

. . . Hold on . . . sorry, I just blacked out a little there. Now Dennis - you're dumbfounded by the existence of questions regarding the closure of a privately owned, publically subsidized entity that was receiving tax dollars to operate an establishment which was shut down by state entities for serving alcohol to minors and then pulled out of its contract with the City the very next day by email? Really? This really surprises you?

You'll have to forgive us, Ms. Magnuson and Mr. Mullen, if we don't have the utmost confidence in the entities charged with invigorating our area's economy. Let's list some of these groups: there's Mr. Mullen's Greater Rochester Enterprise, the Rochester Downtown Development Corporation, the always popular County of Monroe Industrial Development Association, the Monroe County Industrial Development Corporation, apparently the Lakefront Properties branch of the Trillium group, The Entrepeneurs Network and of course the Mayor, County Executive, City Board members and County Legislators; yet they still need to outsource a study to a third party group with little connection to Rochester to figure out what they should do with High Falls.

No one is bashing Rochester, Ms. Magnuson, we're simply trying to defend it and our tax dollars from politicians, lobbyists, misguided government, socialists and lazy media.