Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Several errors and omissions in The Palm Beach Post yesterday. Was there a correction issued today? Of course not.


In the Post endorsements published yesterday in the print edition, the editor duly noted the major successes here in the City of Lake Worth. That was good to see acknowledged in the Post.

But along with that good news there were several errors and omissions that needed to be corrected and/or clarified in today’s print edition.

But of course, as you all know, the Post rarely publishes “Corrections and Clarifications” especially when it comes to errors published about the City of Lake Worth. See some of latest errors and omissions published in the Post below.

First, the good news.

On the ballot next Tuesday, March 13th.

City of Lake Worth Mayor Pam Triolo
and District 1 Commissioner Scott Maxwell:
The editor wrote, “Long-neglected streets, water and sewer lines have at last begun to be upgraded thanks to a voter-approved $40 million bond issue. A solar farm is producing 2 megawatts of power on a former landfill . . .” and editor went on to note:

“[T]he city had more than 2,200 vacant, foreclosed and abandoned properties. With new codes enacted and enforcement improved, there were fewer than 500 in 2017. Crime rates, fueled by the heroin epidemic, too, have improved. The latest figures for the first six months of last year show a 13 percent drop.”


Now for the ‘bad news’ published by the editor, what should have been corrected in today’s print edition, but wasn’t.

Mayor Pam Triolo wasn’t first elected in 2009. She was first elected in 2011. And there is more:
  • It was falsely stated by the editor that “Incumbent Scott Maxwell, 59, has held this [District 1] seat for nine continuous years, and for two years before that.” November 2009 would be 8 years and 4 months ago; not “nine continuous years”. Maxwell was re-elected to the Lake Worth City Commission a second time in Nov. 2009 (and re-elected twice more).
  • However, after false reporting Mayor Triolo was first elected in 2009, it was accurately stated later by the editor that Mayor Pam Triolo has been mayor for “nearly 6½ years” [Why is that? In 2013, by referendum, elections were moved from November back to March in the City of Lake Worth which explains the nearly “½ years”].
  • Also, in a not-so-clever swipe at the Lake Worth Electric Utility the editor wrote, “the city-owned utility’s notoriously high electric bills are dropping a bit.” However, the Post’s “news partner” at NBC5/WPTV reported on Feb. 6th that, “In a brief press conference at city hall [Mayor Pam] Triolo said under this new agreement electric bills for residents in Lake Worth will be drastically lower.”
  • And also not mentioned in the endorsements — and it should have been reported by the editor — terms for elected officials were increased from two to three years by referendum in March 2017. This is very significant and it is anyone’s guess why this was not noted in the Post, a ‘paper of record’ in Palm Beach County.

And along with the errors and omissions in the endorsements published yesterday there was another error that had nothing to do with politics.

In ‘Local’ news in the ‘B’ section was this news report titled:
“LAKE WORTH — Annual rescue groups kick off adoption event”

This event in Downtown Lake Worth was to highlight, “adoptable dogs, cats, puppies and kittens, as well as ‘Name Your Price’ adoptions special for all approved adopters and giveaways.”

This event in Downtown Lake Worth was held last Saturday, March 3rd which was three (3) days before the ‘news’ was published in the Post.

Oooops.