The Telegram reported on Nov. 17 (“Town embroiled in legal dispute”) that “The municipality and Murray’s Pond developer are countersuing each other in Supreme Court.” That is not correct.
The town is not “embroiled” in any legal dispute where it is suing or countersuing anyone. In addition to that error, the article is poorly written and there is no justification for how information is introduced.
On page one, it states that I own property bordering on the subdivision. Why is this relevant? What is it supposed to suggest?
Adjacent land does not make a person in conflict of interest; there has to be some monetary gain or loss to the resident about that adjacent land. There is not. There is no conflict of interest.
Then, on page four, the reporter provides a photo of the land where the stop work order was placed.
A logical question for him to ask was if this land borders my land. It doesn’t. Writers can’t just throw words on paper. They must provide a logical or psychological connection. When they don’t, then readers do, based on their biases.
Reporters must also understand conflict of interest regulations and why and how stop work orders and injunctions are issued.
In his follow-up article there is still confusion. For a councillor to be in conflict of interest, the issue must be discussed or voted on in council or committee. Emails don’t cut it.
The email which the reporter decides to quote was a personal matter and involved several residents who alleged that damage had occurred through blasting and was directed to the blasting company, by way of the developer, as the residents could not find the name of the blasting company.
Municipalities are under a lot of stress these days with limited funding (a topic The Telegram could pursue) and are trying to do their best for their citizens. This is the third time in two weeks we have had a negative article against the town — the first for this council — with incorrect or disconnected information.
We have had over a dozen good news stories in the Town of Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s lately — from state-of-the-art park upgrades to being chosen as the town for the kickoff of Fire Prevention Week, but we never saw The Telegram then. The People’s Paper seems to favour a few disgruntled people connected with our town.
William Fagan
Mayor
Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s
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