The Newsroom

The root of the problem is not intervention, its parenting. Intervention occurs in the home through parenting, not in community centers. If parents repeatedly demonstrate an inability to competently parent their children then they should be removed and put in the foster care system. They would be far better off getting competent parenting from a foster parent than incompetent parenting from a biological one.

"What we've come to discover is the city's, and Morris administration's, inability to execute..."

Thanks for noticing. Most of the 'detractors' in the past two years have stated exactly that in various ways.

Anybody who paid attention to City Hall the past couple of years knows that the collapase of Phoenix due to incompetence was not just predictable - it was predicted.

It just didn't get reported in the local newspaper that way.

Mr. Lambert:

As many know, I have been a vocal critic of Operation Phoenix. I have also been very vocal in my criticism of some of your editorial/news coverage decisions.

Although I stated what follows somewhere else, now that this blog is up and running, I thought I would share it here as well.

I believe The Sun's coverage of the Operation Phoenix molestation scandal has been exemplary. I also believe that your editorial coverage has been measured and properly toned.

There is a fundamental difference between supporting a program or initiative and the way that program is managed or led. Or perhaps, even the motivations behind it.

If I may be introspective for a second, I know that in my own personal endeavors, that there are many who supported my viewpoint or my ultimate objectives. However, there were some that criticized the way I went about handling it.

I was "too brash", "too in your face" or bombastic, etc. Others questioned my real motives.

Those are the realities that I have to deal with and accept. I work hard to try to correct those perceptions and while I have made some incremental improvements, it is nevertheless a difficult road at times.

Although I am a critic of Operation Phoenix and think that the program is ineffective, I try to look at matters as objectively as possible. And I can understand why proponents of the program, such as yourself, can be critical of the way the program is being managed, while still holding the program in high esteem.

I truly do not relish the current situation, because I would rather have a debate on the merits of the program. Unfortunately, there are several alleged victims here who have had their lives forever changed.

In closing, I want to applaud you and the paper because I understand how difficult it must be to critique the program that you support, knowing that it is quite possible that those words may lead to its ultimate demise.

Operation Phoenix seems like a nice idea when you look at its surface; however, the fact that there are so many people who could profit from it who run its operations on the town makes wonder about its usefulness to the community. I don't know if Mike did it, but I can say, without a shred of doubt, that the situation should have been handled better. Operation Phoenix has more to it than a few community centers for disadvantaged kids. The mayor is highly involved in it's operations if you'd just look at the Children's Network site's minutes. He's mainly involved in the D.C.F.S. part of it and the charities' sides. It concerns me. Why can't the community centers be ran and managed by separate entities? Why does the mayor's paws have to be all over them? Why would D.C.F.S. and Juvenile Court Judges be discussing "sweeps" on the poorer parts of town together with charities that would be helping with the adoptions of the children swept up in these "sweeps?"

My concern with OP rests with the mayor's office. It's their way or the highway no matter how much they preach collaboration. Penman's no easy guy to work with, but you can't paint him as the enemy then do everything you can to undermine him (including running your own candidates against him). Let's see who Morris & Morris come up with in Neil Derry's ward.