Monday, December 12, 2016

Another stroll down memory lane: Remember when the Post reporter wrote that Herman Robinson is a “developer”?


Remember this from the file, “Could only happen in Lake Worth”?
No. Herman is not a ‘developer’. This is called “spin” or loaded language. Remember when the Lake Worth ordinance to curb drug use in Downtown parks was reported a ‘curfew’? Just one word can spin “the news” in a negative way.

Calling someone a “developer” in Lake Worth can be like waving a blood-drenched flag in front of a bull having a really bad day. But that’s what Post reporter Chris Persaud did to Herman Robinson in August of 2014 leading up to that bond vote to fix our roads. Don’t believe me? Use this link. Herman’s only crime was being Chair of the “YES” PAC formed to promote the bond and get our roads and potholes fixed.

In an ironic twist, Mr. Persaud was later nominated for two prestigious journalism awards for election reporting at the Post and won! Not joking. Read about that using this link. Persaud is forever immortalized now as one of the greats in Palm Beach County journalism. If you recall, that bond vote in 2014 failed by just 25 votes.

The latest news is Herman is running for a seat on the City Commission, the elections to be held in March of 2017. Judging by the attendance at his campaign kick-off event last week many people are very excited.

Anyhow, following is a blog post from August 2014 when Herman was described as a ‘developer’:

I have it from a reliable source that Chris Persaud called Herman Robinson yesterday afternoon to apologize for misrepresenting his profession. In reality, Herman is a contractor, but more in the sense of a Mister-Fix-It, than a Morganti (the contractor that did the work on the casino building). In either case, he would not be classified as a developer.

In typical Herman Robinson style he took the high road I'm told and they talked like two gentlemen for a few minutes. I'll see Herman tonight at the Commission Meeting. Unsure if there was an official apology or if a retraction is coming yet we'll discover that soon enough. [There never was a correction or retraction published.]

Now for the illogical nonsense of The Obtuse Blogger (TOB). She comes to the defense of Persaud and in a twisted process of thought she equates having a “contractors license” to being a “developer.” Using her logic you can call someone with a fishing license a “harvester”; someone with a vending license a “venture capitalist”; or even someone with a hunting license has a “license to kill.” It is almost as illogical as an Atlantis resident forming a PAC to keep our City looking like a “third-world country". [Which actually did happen.]

Now, sit back and be prepared for what TOB wrote on her blog. This, better than anything, illustrates just how illogical this whole issue is.
Hey, this is election time. And . . . the bully blogger is giving the Palm Beach Post reporter hell today and wants to nit-pick everything to death.

Only in Lake Worth: A City where a contractor is an evil developer and the reporter goes on to win a prestigious award for election reporting!