The Big Joke: The Common Ground (no 's') Church "Story"

"So, all they have to do is go through the conditional land use process to make sure the impacts have been assessed...if they're a small church, it shouldn't be a big deal."
--Lake Worth City Manager Michael Bornstein, 2/20/15, in the very last paragraph of another ridiculous 'news' story by Margaret Menge.

Ms. Menge wrote a story about the Common Ground (no 's') Church in Lake Worth and there was no apparent reason for it. It's a non-story. But, it ended up being a story totaling 34 paragraphs and a Case Narrative of 18 paragraphs. A total of 52 paragraphs. Then add to that three color pictures (2 of which were very large) and THEN an editorial on the same subject. This is not the most important story of our times.

Margaret's World?

Consider this, if the Common Ground Church story began with the quote by City Manager Michael Bornstein, there would be no need for the other 51 paragraphs. But you have to get to the last paragraph, the quote by City Manager Bornstein, to discover that. How many readers managed to get that far?

[Which is nothing new. We were treated to the same thing in the Tribune's very first edition. Remember the "art ship" at Bryant Park? You can read about that long non-story here.]

Here is the entire 'Common Ground Church' story summed up in three sentences (18 words): Pastor Mike Olive, like every other responsible downtown establishment, has to follow the rules. Period. End of story.

Meanwhile, on Monday (2/16/15) of this week, the Parrot Cove Neighborhood Association held one of the most well-attended candidate forums in Lake Worth in a very long time. Margaret Menge was there. She didn't write a single word about it in her 'newspaper', though. However, she puts hours and hours in an effort that was not even necessary, as City Manager Michael Bornstein explained in the opening quote above.

Here is a picture of the front page with the long, pointless story:

Note the subtitle: "Is the City of Lake Worth cracking down on Christianity?" This appears on the front page, above the fold. A little hysterical, are we?

Here is a picture of page 4 of her paper:

Note the pull-quote from Pastor Mike Olive of the Common Ground Church: "The thing Lake Worth needs is common ground, and that's the thing they're trying to destroy." Pastor Olive, is that the proper tone for a pastor seeking the "common ground"?

Now for the News in Lake Worth this week

So, to find out what happened at the last Candidate Forum you need to get The Lake Worth Herald or read this blog. Here are three stories I posted about the Forum—here and here and here.   

People can speculate why the Tribune chose to not inform its readers about the Parrot Cove Candidate Forum. She was there and taking notes (a page and a half). Is there something Ms. Menge is trying to hide from her readers? Like maybe a candidate lying about his past experience on a "City board"?

The lesson here is this: If you are a citizen in Lake Worth and news, including the upcoming election on March 10th, is important to you then Ms. Menge's paper is worthless (redundant; it's free anyhow). You need to pay attention to the Lake Worth Herald or this blog. This is a sad commentary on 'journalism' in the little City of Lake Worth.