Manny to Dodgers
ESPN and SI.com are both reporting that Manny Ramirez has been traded to the Dodgers. Will be interesting to watch, anyway.
July 31, 2008
Operation Phoenix and the release of emails
Regarding Operation Phoenix, one of the more provocative talking points in this blog and elsewhere has been the propriety of the city attorney releasing email exchanges between some top city administrators, following a Freedom of Information Request Act on our part. Wrote Pat Morris last week: "A more professional and legally prudent action would have been to confidentially refer the matter to the District Attorney so the police investigation and District Attorney finding could have been made without publicly besmirching the careers of city professionals."
Here's my view on that, as a newspaper editor and someone whose DNA is embedded with the belief that the public's right to know is critical to our way of life.
I don't believe, as some have suggested, that the mayor is dissing the First Amendment or the Freedom of Information Act. I think his interest, first and foremost, is in protecting the city from legal liability and any further image hits.
At the same time, we're talking about a pressing public safety issue here. That some administrators were aware of misconduct - including the possibility at least of sexual misconduct - at a city facility and failed to report it to police or the mayor's office is something that any parent in this community needs to know. It raises serious questions about the level of order, control and security at community centers and other city facilities where, on a given day, thousands of children may be present.
Again, as a parent, as a taxpayer, I would want to know that as soon as that information became available, and would expect the newspaper to be my eyes and ears. It's why we're vigilant about pursuing information, and will use FOIA when need be.
As for those who have questioned Jim Penman's motives in releasing the information to us, let me put it this way ... it pleases me to no end when government leaders see things the way we do when it comes to your right to know. In their case, too, FOIA is not optional; it's the law.
IE Million Fathers March
In a previous posting, I mentioned Mynisha's Circle and the possibility, moving forward, of putting our focus on fathering - specifically, the need for fathers in our community to take responsibility for the upbringing and well being of their children. Along those lines, an interesting event is being planned for San Bernardino on Saturday, Aug. 9. It's called the IE Million Fathers March, part of a nationwide campaign to create "a partnership between fathers and their children's education in communities across America." That, according to local organizer Terry Boykins, founder of 4Positive Knowledge. He's working with the San Bernardino City Unified School District in putting on the event, which will include presentations and activities throughout the day at the Carousel Mall. The line up for the march itself begins at 9:30 a.m. at the mall's parking lot.
July 30, 2008
In tomorrow's Sun
Read all about it:
Fred Wilson goes to Huntington Beach, Adam Aleman pleads not guilty, and how the Western Region Little League tournament means big money for the local hospitality industry.
Also, recycled fashion and why the county is still mad over the new naming rights for the old Glen Helen Pavillion.
Live from the Carousel Mall
If you care to tune in, I'm scheduled to appear on Dennis Baxter's radio show Friday morning, on KCAA 1050 AM, sometime during the 8 o'clock hour.
Coffee at Coco's: Make sure the waiter's not taking notes
The Kiwanis Club invited me to speak today at the San Bernardino Golf Club, and a temperature check showed about a 50-50 split between supporters and skeptics/critics of Operation Phoenix.
One particularly interesting question centered around the posting on our sbnow blog of a breakfast meeting yesterday between Mayor Pat Morris, Chief of Staff Jim Morris and former Phoenix chief Glenn Baude, now on administrative leave. The questioner wanted to know why that was news. Shouldn't a supervisor, he reasoned, be able to meet with an employee without the eyes of the world on them?
On a certain level, I get his point, and yet, this is different, given the extraordinary nature of the Phoenix story, as well as the community/taxpayer expectation that public officials be held to the highest level of accountability. Maybe the real answer is, if you're going to have a meeting like this, don't do it at Coco's.
JetBlue, Part 2
Just a hunch, but I've got to wonder if landing fees at ONT convinced JetBlue to stop service there. As we wrote in today's newspaper, those fees are going up - by my calculations, to roughly the equivalent of 10 one-way fares. As a frequent JetBlue flier, I can tell you those midnight flights to JFK were awfully full. Oh, and if you think those remaining airlines will simply absorb the added costs, I've got some now-unusable JetBlue points I can sell you.
Opening our doors
A print version of this blog made its debut in The Sun this morning. Loved the headline: "Opening the doors to a paper's inner sanctum." The truth is we tend to take for granted what we do and assume that the community feels comfortable coming to us at any point. In fact, as we're reminded on occasion, there is a pervasive sense of mystery surrounding the newspaper and decisions we make regarding news coverage and, in particular, our editorial positions. It's what I love about this blog and our ability to interact with you on a whole new level.
Here's an anecdote from recently to illustrate my point. About two weeks ago, Mayor Pat Morris and some members of his team came by for an editorial board meeting, and started off by saying they wish they'd had the opportunity to talk to us before our most recent editorial had taken them to task regarding their handling of Operation Phoenix. In our mind, they had that opportunity all along, and yet, clearly, they felt we should have reached out to them.
The hope is that as a community and a newspaper, we can break through those kinds of barriers - real or perceived. If you've got a story to tell, tell us. If you would like to schedule an editorial board meeting, we'd love to hear from you. My email is: steve.lambert@inlandnewspapers.com. Editorial board meetings are arranged by our assistant editorial page editor, Jessica Keating (jessica.keating@inlandnewspapers.com).
Insiders say Hawkins a keeper
I've already caught some early buzz regarding Robert Rogers' and Andrew Edwards' piece in this morning's Sun about San Bernardino parks chief Kevin Hawkins. Insiders say it would be a huge loss for the city if Hawkins left as a result of the Operation Phoenix controversy. Hawkins is one of those rare administrators whose support crosses all political lines.
We're still standing ...
... though you couldn't have guessed it from the frantic national TV news coverage of the Chino earthquake. Don't let Anderson Cooper's tears fool you; CNN loves a Katrina-type disaster, and what could be a better story than the Big One pushing Southern California into the ocean?
Me, I didn't even feel it. No joke. I was going to lunch in my lean, mean fighting machine - aka, my '06 Prius - and had no idea that the earth had moved under my feet until arriving at the restaurant. My car gets great gas mileage, its yellow carpool-lane stickers are worth their weight in gold, and now I've got one more reason to love it - quake-proof shocks.
July 29, 2008
Technical problems
Because of technical issues I'm not smart enough to understand, some postings from earlier today have vanished. We'll see if they come back up.
You read it here first
In the spirit of good ideas don't get old, just better, here's a link to The Sun's ground-breaking 2004 series on fire and flood dangers, Unnatural Disasters. The national media is picking up on just how big a problem this is, as wildfire season shifts to a year-round worry.
July 28, 2008
The story behind the Ontario Arena
For a great look at the players behind the new Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, check out our cover story in the latest edition of Inland Living Magazine. ILM is produced by our Custom Publishing Group. The August edition is our sixth since launching publication last November. You can subscribe here.
Dems, hosts and stud muffins, in tomorrow's Sun
Reporter Lauren McSherry reports on how local Democrats are gaining ground on Republicans in San Bernardino County.
John Murphy writes about local families who serve as hosts for the Little League Western Regional tournament. For some, this is the highlight of the year, which is why they do it over and over again.
Robert Rogers and Andrew Edwards report on the latest in the Operation Phoenix investigation, including the decision to place former Phoenix chief Glenn Baude on administrative leave.
Also, Diana Sholley on ... stud muffins???
Check it out, in tomorrow's Sun.
Covering their back sides, or covering up?
If you haven't read George Watson's column in Sunday's Sun, check it out. He hit the nail on the head with regard to those who sat by and did nothing while county Assessor, and former supervisors' Chairman, Bill Postmus self-destructed. As with the deepening mess at Operation Phoenix (we learned today that former Phoenix director Glenn Baude is now on administrative leave), the tendency of elected leaders to protect their own reputations at all costs never ceases to amaze.
Belo's losses
The latest sign of the times in our business comes from the A.H. Belo Corp., owners of the Riverside Press Enterprise among others. Today, Belo reported that it would cut 14 percent of its work force after reporting a loss of $3.2 million, or 16 cents a share, during the quarter ending June 30. It was Dallas-based Belo's second quarterly loss in a row. Newspapers nationwide, including ours, have struggled to reinvent their business model in the face of declining revenues and a readership shift toward online.
I'm asked all the time if this means newspapers are dying. Absolutely not. In fact, the demand for information - especially on a local level - has never been greater. As with many industries, we face a daunting economic challenge, one that's not helped by the recession we're in. It's forcing us to do some things much differently than we have in the past, but there's an amazing level of talent, commitment and will at this newspaper and throughout our industry.
In simplest terms, we believe that what we do is worth fighting for, and we don't plan on stopping.
Tomorrow's editorial today
Here's a snippet from tomorrow's editorial in The Sun, in which we take issue with the mayor's response to Friday's district attorney decision not to file criminal charges against some top city leaders in the Operation Phoenix case:
"It is so telling that the mayor's Friday missive centered around the release of the emails and his wish that the city attorney had kept the matter under the radar screen. "A more professional and legally prudent action," (Pat) Morris wrote, "would have been to confidentially refer the matter to the district attorney so the police investigation and district attorney finding could have been made without publicly besmirching the careers of city professionals."
"In other words, you voters who elected Morris, who supported Operation Phoenix, who approved a new sales tax to pay for it, are on a need-to-know basis when it comes to the program's administrative failures, with the mayor's office determining what you need to know."
July 27, 2008
The difference between what we know and what we can write
One of the common misconceptions of a free press is that we can or will publish any piece of information we get. The fact is, we hold ourselves to extremely high standards when it comes to truth and fairness. There's also the little matter of libel laws. Knowing something - or thinking we know something - isn't enough to go with it. We do need to verify it, and as I wrote in an earlier posting about confidential sources, the process can be very complicated and time consuming.
Do we know more about Operation Phoenix and the Bill Postmus story than we've been able to verify and write? Absolutely. Is it tempting to just want to go with it? Sure, we're newshounds. But we want, and need, to do the right thing, and are working feverishly to get you the whole story.
A chat with Hardy Brown
I dropped by the other day to pay a visit to my friend Hardy Brown, and walked away with another of those lessons in life Hardy always seems to lay on me.
For those who don't know, Hardy is co-publisher - along with his wife Cheryl - of the Black Voice News and himself possesses one of the most reasoned voices in our community. Though the words have been slowed by illness - Hardy suffers from a lesser form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's Disease - the passion and meaning behind them is as strong as ever.
Which brings me to his story - of his childhood and a big pipe on the ceiling of the basement, where Hardy slept. He was afraid it was going to fall on him, but his dad convinced him it wouldn't -- that he'd hung countless pipes like that, and he could tell it was plenty sturdy. Long story short, years later, his dad told Hardy's wife he was afraid of that pipe too.
Hardy's take - that's what father's do. They provide a sense of security and fearlessness, despite how they truly feel.
As we talked more - about the economy, the presidential election, the problems of Operation Phoenix - I kept coming back to that story and how we handle our fears today. In the case of Hardy, here's a man who is quite ill and yet does all he can to keep it to himself. He shows up for work every day and continues to provide a strong leadership voice through his columns and editorials.
I'm sure he is afraid of that figurative pipe hanging over his head these days, but he doesn't show it.
July 26, 2008
Mynisha's Circle: An update
Completely coincidental to the daily headlines regarding Operation Phoenix, some "members" of Mynisha's Circle gathered this past week at The Sun's offices to talk about ways we continue to shine a light on crime and the need to better protect children in our community.
I put "members" in quotes because Mynisha's Circle has never been for formal organization, but a movement of engaged people in our community concerned about our kids' well being. Mynisha was 11 when she died in a gang shooting on Nov. 13, 2005, and over the past two years, we've memorialized her passing with a candlelight vigil on the steps of City Hall.
We've talked about trying to do something more substantive, perhaps focusing on a particular topic or issue, such as the need for fathers to step up and understand their responsibility as providers and role models.
We're not sure where exactly that's taking us, but are certainly open to ideas and suggestions.
In the meantime, it's been interesting for me - as a founding partner of Mynisha's Circle - to look back on what's happened in light of the Operation Phoenix scandal. It's arguable that Phoenix never would have happened if not for the groundswell of community concern and community involvement that sprung from the circle and, quite candidly, The Sun's coverage of this topic. Pat Morris acknowledged as much in his campaign for mayor.
One of the things we learned early on was to play to our strengths. Again, the circle wasn't a formal organization, and to behave like one would have been folly. In our own way, we're all evangelists for a better community, and the best thing we can do is continue to shine a light on problems and solutions.
It may be a lesson for Phoenix and its supporters. If it's to succeed, it needs people with strength in the areas that it has shown to be vulnerable -- organization, management and accountability.
July 25, 2008
Frank talk (or pining for Pine)
Some of you might have noticed an earlier but now missing picture of Frank Pine as one of this blog's authors. Where'd he go? West, young man, west.
Frank is now senior editor of our San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group, which includes the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, the Pasadena Star-News, and the Whittier Daily News. It's complicated, but I'll try to explain, since it speaks to one of the big trends in our industry -- clustering.
The three San Gabriel papers, along with The Sun, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and the Redlands Daily Facts, make up the new Inland Division of the Los Angeles Newspaper Group. The other LANG papers are the (Los Angeles) Daily News, the Long Beach Press-Telegram and the Daily Breeze in Torrance.
The Inland Division was formed to bring together best practices of our six newspapers in all departments (including news), create operating efficiencies and provide a bigger combined audience for advertisers who are looking for that kind of reach.
Within our organization, I wear three or four hats - as vice president of news for LANG and for the Inland Division, and as editor of The Sun and Daily Bulletin.
As senior editor for the San Gabe group, Frank manages day-to-day operations from its West Covina headquarters. Mike Brossart holds a similar position at the Daily Bulletin, while Jennifer Dobbs does likewise at the Daily Facts.
As we've flattened our management structure, gone are the days when we've had editors and managing editors in each of our newsrooms. But with the kind of local leadership that Frank, Mike and Jennifer are providing, our aim is to make our papers more local, more in tune with our readers and more relevant to the communities we serve.
Sorry for the delay ...
... in posting comments. I'm still getting used to this stuff.
'400 Words' - Hard decisions for Morris
Here's a little taste of my column for Sunday's newspaper, looking back on the history of Operation Phoenix and the challenge facing Pat Morris moving ahead:
"We've all got blind spots. In Morris' case, it was putting too much faith in people he shouldn't have, ignoring the checks and balances any organization needs.
"It's also evident he's gotten bad advice, from floating a city attorney candidate that would only widen the rift between him and Penman to his refusal to own the problems that have engulfed his project.
"Make no mistake, Operation Phoenix is his project - one many of us believed in.
"Restoring confidence will require decisions that Morris the mayor, politician, and organizational leader has to make, however reluctantly."
Sunday's editorial today
... sort of. Here's a piece of it, which asks an all-too-obvious question about the Operation Phoenix scandal.
"What's it say about us that we can't protect (our kids) more than we have?
"We all know the answer, and yet, some of the smartest people in our community seem more interested in protecting themselves than the people who need them the most.
"They've got plenty of answers, but they've forgotten the question:
"What if it were my daughter?"
How the editorial board works
In an earlier posting, commenter Joseph Turner asks about the editorial-board process - specifically, how we decide which position we will take on an issue and how dissenting voices are treated. Good question.
Over the years, the process has evolved - here and at a lot of papers - from something closely held to one that's far more collaborative.
A few years back at The Sun, we opened up our board to a couple of community members, who had participated in another outreach program of ours, the Reader Advisory Board. A year ago, we wanted to expand that effort and put a call out for volunteers. Out of that, we added two community members (giving us four altogether) plus a non-newsroom member of our staff.
Those five, along with Publisher Fred Hamilton, Assistant Editorial Page Editor Jessica Keating and myself make up the editorial board. Mike Brossart, who serves a dual role as senior editor of the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and editorial page editor of The Sun and Bulletin, participates too, though his focus is on topics on the west end of the county.
The Sun's board meets every other week, during which the community members are asked to suggest ideas for editorials. The ensuing discussions can be spirited, ending with a vote. Typically, the majority rules here, which means, yes, we do publish editorials that I, as editor, or Fred, as publisher, might personally disagree with.
At the same time, we're very aware that an editorial is the voice of the newspaper and must reflect that. Part of my job is to make sure we don't forget it, that we recognize our leadership role in the community and that we don't let a flavor, or mood, of the day get in the way of making the most sound, reasoned argument on behalf of the paper.
There are also any number of times in the two-week gap between meetings in which we will write editorials that don't involve consultation with the board. This is often dictated by breaking news.
In any event, dissenting voices are very import to the process. At the end of the day, there are no right or wrong answers to the many of the issues we're weighing in on. Ours is an opinion, and in order to make the best argument possible, we need to weigh all sides and be prepared to answer the concerns of those who disagree.
As Mr. Turner points out, our view of Operation Phoenix has evolved during the past two years. As a board, we're near unanimous in believing the program's foundation - prevention, intervention, suppression - is a solid one. What we've come to see, however, is a huge failure in execution. Most board members still want to see the program succeed, but the skepticism is growing. If, at some point, we see the program's downside as too difficult to overcome, we will say so, regardless of our support in the past.
Big interest in Little Leagues
A story in this morning's Sun talked about the prep work at Al Houghton Stadium as the Western Regional Little League Tournament approaches. Louis Amestoy, our senior content editor and online guru, has his game face on as well. Louis is a local sports zealot, and, evident in our pull-out-all-stops coverage of the Western Regionals last year, knows the Little League scene inside and out.
He reports that traffic to sbsun.com and dailybulletin.com's local Little League tournament coverage is up 42 percent this year from last - roughly 1,500 page views since June 28. Our Little League blog has doubled in traffic - 1,200 page views. The REALLY big numbers are in our photo galleries - a combined 120,000.
Singin' the JetBlues
It feels a little strange getting all melancholy over an airline, but I'm seriously bummed over JetBlue's decision to stop service out of ONT. JB had the only nonstop from Ontario to New York, where my son lives. The night my first daughter was born, Max flew in on a JetBlue flight. When he graduated high school this summer, my two girls and I flew JetBlue to be part of it. They had TV screens on every seat, lots of leg room and a midnight flight that was great for traveling with kids. c'est la vie.
Our editorials: Phoenix's fall from grace
I'm asked increasingly these days if The Sun has turned anti-Operation Phoenix after being perceived as a blind supporter of the program in the past. Neither is true. While our editorial pages have generally supported Mayor Pat Morris' anti-crime program, it was in the belief that Phoenix's three-pronged approach of prevention, intervention and suppression could provide short- and long-term relief to San Bernardino's crime problem.
It's still the right idea. What we've come to discover is the city's, and Morris administration's, inability to execute - witness the organizational chaos that surfaced following the arrest of Phoenix center director Mike Miller on molestation charges.
Maintaining balance - and the perception of balance - is always difficult when the subject matter is as highly polarized as Phoenix has become.
The assessor and confidential sources
Wednesday night's posting on sbsun.com and dailybulletin.com, and the followup story in the this morning's newspapers, on county Assessor Bill Postmus' reported trips to rehabilitation raises questions about the use of confidential sources. Our approach mirrors standard industry practice - use them only when you've exhausted all other means to tell the story and require independent corroboration from multiple sources.
In the case of Postmus, we'd been pursuing reports of rehab stays for nearly two years, to the point where we'd sued to get access to his calendar from around the time of a major 2006 wildfire. Multiple sources verified that the former chairman of the Board of Supervisor had twice entered rehab, and when he announced this week he was taking a 10-week medical leave for an undisclosed illness, it came time to put the pieces together.
At the center of all of this is the public's right to know. The use of confidential sources has long been a staple of investigative reporting, and reporters have gone to jail to shield the identities of those who otherwise would not come forward. The most celebrated recent example of this - the Balco steroid case - has helped build the case for the "Free Flow of Information Act," which is working its way through the U.S. Senate.
The bill, which has strong bipartisan support and the backing of both presumptive presidential candidates, establishes "qualified privilege" the use of confidential sources and thoughtful ground rules for when reporters can be forced to testify. A companion measure was overwhelmingly approved by the House.
As we've long argued, this kind of protection is less for our benefit than for the communities we serve and who rely on a free and open press to stay informed.
Our world, and welcome to it
In our business, we seek transparency in government. This blog is designed to create a little transparency of our own, by humbly offering you a sneak peek into my world as a newspaper editor. I'll write about stories we've written, decisions we've made and the community we serve. Here in Greater San Bernardino, there's no shortage of material. Hope you enjoy ... and become part of the discussion. So, ladies and gentlemen, start your blogging.