Today’s Erie Times-News carries a follow-up of an on-going
story about the Erie School District’s lawsuit against JP Morgan
Chase which the school district alleges overcharged it more than
$1 million for financial services several years ago.
Today’s article focuses on the school district's efforts to
have the case heard in federal district court here in Erie,
whereas the banking consortium wants it held in federal court
in Manhattan. What this otherwise informative story lacks is
background and context which tells us how the Erie School
District got into the dilemma described in the Times-News article.
For example, not once is the name of the person perhaps most
responsible for its predicament, nor his leading role in it
mentioned,longtime Schools Superintendent James Barker, although
a photo of him accompanies the article.
Following is a piece I posted on my blog "Erie Counter News Media"
more than a year ago, on October 14, 2007 which may provide some
helpful context.
_____________________________________________________
Times-News Reporter Ed Pallatella fell hook, line and sinker
for School Superintendent James Barker's fancy spiel about
how the school district may have paid an unknown but presumably
excessive amount in fees to the broker, J.P. Morgan, which
managed the refinancing of $37 million in bonded indebtedness
for the district back in 2003.
If Barker had couched his tale of woe in memorandum form it
could have been called what is colloquially known as a CYA Memo,
and I don't believe I have to spell that out.
Don't know if Barker ever heard the old saw "The buck stops
here," and "here" is directly on his oversized desk. Yet he
managed by inference to blame everyone but himself for the
school district's loss, whatever it is, although it appears
to be at least $750,000, or half of what the school board
was told its profit would be from the refinancing scheme,
plus whatever excess fees may have been paid to the broker,
if any, plus the $60,000 the district paid to a downstate
financial firm to advise it (badly, it appears) on how to
handle the refinacing.
But I suspect, and I believe Barker knows the loss will be
significant, or he wouldn't have gone to the lengths he
did to concoct his convoluted cover story.
Then, of course, there will also be the huge but unknown
prospective expense the school district's taxpayers will
have to bear to litigate Barker's faux pax, thus compounding
the loss, coupled with the prospect that the outcome of the
litigation may be a big fat zero for the school district.
There's no doubt Barker is the culprit here, but you'd never
know it without reading between the lines of Pallatella's story,
which provides an elaborate if convenient escape route for
the superintendent.
He's presumably the high-priced expert the board pays big bucks
plus perks to guide them through financial morasses like this one.
And it appears all he had to do in 2003 was insist on knowing what
the refinancing fee would be, a no brainer in most business
environments except, apparently, in the superintendent's suite.
But instead, he allowed himself and the school board to be stiffed
by slick New York bankers, assuming pending litigation shows that's
what happened.
A further irony is that it took an enterprising reporter with
Bloomberg News in New York City to uncover this major story in
the Times-News's own backyard
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Think again, Ed
There are some items in Ed Mead's column today which
warrant some comment. Here's how the column headline read:
Legislative pay cut unlikely
Then he wrote: "It is not certain, but there is talk in
Harrisburg that one of the ways to reduce the budget is to
cut back on salaries of state legislators. That might be a
tough law to get passed, since the legislators would be
voting to cut their own salaries."
There's no "talk" I'm aware of pertaining to legislators
voting to cut their own salaries, but there is widespread
discussion over the prospect of disallowing this years 2.8
percent cost of living allowance (COLA)for legislators, judges
and certain other elected and appointed state offices which
goes automatically goes into effect each year, thanks to a
self-serving law the legislature enacted about 20 years ago.
Ed also wrote:
Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, 85, had held that Senate seat
for 40 years, longer than any Republican in history. After
being convicted recently, it was hard to see how he could
expect to keep his seat against his Democratic opponent,
Mark Begich. He lost the seat in a close race.
The reason Ted Stevens lost his reelection bid to
the U.S. Senate is because he was stuck in Washington,
D.C, defending himself against dubious charges during his
trial and unable to campaign for reelection in Alaska,
while his opponent campaigned freely throughout that vast
constitutency. Stevens has appealed his conviction on
grounds of proven prosecutorial and juror misconduct which
should have resulted in a mistrial,if not dismissal of the charges.
Thirdly, Ed wrote:
President-elect Barack Obama is looking ahead and knows that by naming Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state, he will eliminate one possible opponent for a second term in 2012.
Hillary Clinton's appointment as secretary of state does nothing do preclude her presidential candidacy in the 2012 election. Indeed it strenghtens and emboldens her hand by butressing her foreign policy credentials and political stature.
Delete It Cancel
warrant some comment. Here's how the column headline read:
Legislative pay cut unlikely
Then he wrote: "It is not certain, but there is talk in
Harrisburg that one of the ways to reduce the budget is to
cut back on salaries of state legislators. That might be a
tough law to get passed, since the legislators would be
voting to cut their own salaries."
There's no "talk" I'm aware of pertaining to legislators
voting to cut their own salaries, but there is widespread
discussion over the prospect of disallowing this years 2.8
percent cost of living allowance (COLA)for legislators, judges
and certain other elected and appointed state offices which
goes automatically goes into effect each year, thanks to a
self-serving law the legislature enacted about 20 years ago.
Ed also wrote:
Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, 85, had held that Senate seat
for 40 years, longer than any Republican in history. After
being convicted recently, it was hard to see how he could
expect to keep his seat against his Democratic opponent,
Mark Begich. He lost the seat in a close race.
The reason Ted Stevens lost his reelection bid to
the U.S. Senate is because he was stuck in Washington,
D.C, defending himself against dubious charges during his
trial and unable to campaign for reelection in Alaska,
while his opponent campaigned freely throughout that vast
constitutency. Stevens has appealed his conviction on
grounds of proven prosecutorial and juror misconduct which
should have resulted in a mistrial,if not dismissal of the charges.
Thirdly, Ed wrote:
President-elect Barack Obama is looking ahead and knows that by naming Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state, he will eliminate one possible opponent for a second term in 2012.
Hillary Clinton's appointment as secretary of state does nothing do preclude her presidential candidacy in the 2012 election. Indeed it strenghtens and emboldens her hand by butressing her foreign policy credentials and political stature.
Delete It Cancel
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Erie Times-News story misses the main point
According to an article in the Erie Times-News today written by Reporter Kevin Flowers, around 3 am. Thursday, a stainless steel water filter on the sixth floor of the Erie County Court House failed during extensive renovations there.
"The breakdown sent as many as 900 gallons of water cascading downward through the courthouse’s east wing, soaking ceiling tiles, saturating carpets and splashing computers, telephones and other office equipment", Flowers wrote. " It also set off a chain of events that postponed scheduled hearings and shut down business at the courthouse, 140 W. Sixth St., for the entire day.
"Among the areas damaged was the fifth floor, where a $3.9 million renovation project is nearing completion. Although courthouse rumors Thursday put the damage at as much as $1 million, DiVecchio and other county officials said it could take a day or two to determine that," according to Flowers.
Flowers said "Luigi Pasquale, the courthouse’s manager of procurement and the supervisor of county facilities, said insurance is expected to cover most of the loss.
'I think it’s under control now,'’ said DiVecchio, who consulted with President Judge Elizabeth K. Kelly, Sheriff Bob Merski and other county officials before deciding around 8 a.m. Thursday to shut the building down and send roughly 600 courthouse employees home for the day.
According to Flowers,Pasquale said the water filter was installed about four months ago. The county has a $25,000 deductible for such damage, Pasquale said, which means that county dollars would cover the first $25,000 of repair and insurance would cover of the rest."
The above is yet another example of poor, partial and superficial reporting by the Erie Times News.
The article answers the fundamental questions of what, where and when, but neglects the crucial question of "why." Why did the filter fail? Was it factory defective, or was there human error in installing it?
In either case, taxpayers should not have to pay for the damages and repairs, or for the costs of sending home 600 county employees while repairs are effected..
Basic investigation could and should determine where the blame for the failure lies, and the accountable party or parties should be assessed accordingly.
Do your job, Kevin and quit glossing over and covering up the failures of your buddies at the courthouse.
"The breakdown sent as many as 900 gallons of water cascading downward through the courthouse’s east wing, soaking ceiling tiles, saturating carpets and splashing computers, telephones and other office equipment", Flowers wrote. " It also set off a chain of events that postponed scheduled hearings and shut down business at the courthouse, 140 W. Sixth St., for the entire day.
"Among the areas damaged was the fifth floor, where a $3.9 million renovation project is nearing completion. Although courthouse rumors Thursday put the damage at as much as $1 million, DiVecchio and other county officials said it could take a day or two to determine that," according to Flowers.
Flowers said "Luigi Pasquale, the courthouse’s manager of procurement and the supervisor of county facilities, said insurance is expected to cover most of the loss.
'I think it’s under control now,'’ said DiVecchio, who consulted with President Judge Elizabeth K. Kelly, Sheriff Bob Merski and other county officials before deciding around 8 a.m. Thursday to shut the building down and send roughly 600 courthouse employees home for the day.
According to Flowers,Pasquale said the water filter was installed about four months ago. The county has a $25,000 deductible for such damage, Pasquale said, which means that county dollars would cover the first $25,000 of repair and insurance would cover of the rest."
The above is yet another example of poor, partial and superficial reporting by the Erie Times News.
The article answers the fundamental questions of what, where and when, but neglects the crucial question of "why." Why did the filter fail? Was it factory defective, or was there human error in installing it?
In either case, taxpayers should not have to pay for the damages and repairs, or for the costs of sending home 600 county employees while repairs are effected..
Basic investigation could and should determine where the blame for the failure lies, and the accountable party or parties should be assessed accordingly.
Do your job, Kevin and quit glossing over and covering up the failures of your buddies at the courthouse.
Anothe Erie Times-News puff piece
The following article appeared in today's edition of the Erie Times-News.
Robbins re-elected to leadership post
State Sen. Bob Robbins, of Greenville, R-50th Dist., has been re-elected by his Senate GOP colleagues to a leadership position for the 2009-10 legislative session.
Robbins was re-elected Senate majority caucus secretary. As such, he handles all nominations submitted by the governor to the Senate for approval.
Robbins ensures that the Senate receives all background information and coordinates the review of nominations by committees and the full Senate.
As part of Senate leadership, Robbins also plays a role in setting the Senate's agenda."Serving in leadership gives residents of northwest Pennsylvania a stronger voice in state government affairs,'' Robbins said in prepared remarks.
Where did this story come from? Except for the abstract quote at the end, none of it is attributed to anyone. It reads like an unedited press release issued by the Senate Republican caucus or Robbins's office.
Why do state senators need someone in a "leadership" position to ensure "that the Senate receives all background information and coordinates the review of nominations by committees and the full Senate."
The nominations come directly from the governor's office. Can't they or their staffs do it for themselves. Is this just another excuse to reward party loyalty with a position that pays more than rank and file senators are paid and purports to justify additional staff?
The reporter who filed this story and the editor(s) who edited it should be ashamed of themselves for letting this puff piece get through without an iota of critical scrutiny.
Robbins re-elected to leadership post
State Sen. Bob Robbins, of Greenville, R-50th Dist., has been re-elected by his Senate GOP colleagues to a leadership position for the 2009-10 legislative session.
Robbins was re-elected Senate majority caucus secretary. As such, he handles all nominations submitted by the governor to the Senate for approval.
Robbins ensures that the Senate receives all background information and coordinates the review of nominations by committees and the full Senate.
As part of Senate leadership, Robbins also plays a role in setting the Senate's agenda."Serving in leadership gives residents of northwest Pennsylvania a stronger voice in state government affairs,'' Robbins said in prepared remarks.
Where did this story come from? Except for the abstract quote at the end, none of it is attributed to anyone. It reads like an unedited press release issued by the Senate Republican caucus or Robbins's office.
Why do state senators need someone in a "leadership" position to ensure "that the Senate receives all background information and coordinates the review of nominations by committees and the full Senate."
The nominations come directly from the governor's office. Can't they or their staffs do it for themselves. Is this just another excuse to reward party loyalty with a position that pays more than rank and file senators are paid and purports to justify additional staff?
The reporter who filed this story and the editor(s) who edited it should be ashamed of themselves for letting this puff piece get through without an iota of critical scrutiny.
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