The point I’m about to make should be obvious … so obvious that it need not be stated aloud in so many words.
On May 7, after an NAC article about future of the Emery Ice Cream building, a comment appeared from a reader identified as “remembercharlemagne.” I warned this reader that the blog follows a reality-based policy and pointed to the text of the policy. The reader responded that he had read the text, disagreed with me and couldn’t guarantee any future compliance. He’d consider whether to play by the rules, though.
Cheeky, but so it goes in the blogosphere.
On May 9, there was an article in NAC about the forthcoming arrival of Wick’s Pizza in downtown New Albany. On the next day, May 10, NAC reported on the New Albany Country’s Club’s bankruptcy and prospective fire sale.
On the 10th, two comments arrived from remembercharlemagne, one about the Wick’s article and one about the Country Club article.
Here is an excerpt from the Wick’s comment, which was allowed to stand, as is my lenient custom:
Then when people from other area’s of southern Indiana have to travel down a grid locketed Spring St. They will turn around and never come back. It will be easier for easterners to go east across the bridge and eat their Wick’s pizza in Louisville or a really nice one-way west bound all the way from Silver St would make it easy and safer for most of old N.A. and the rest of Clark Co to efficiently come to the CBD.
Here is an excerpt from the Country Club comment, which was subsequently deleted after remembercharlemagne again refused to comply with the blog’s policy.
Better yet, take a look at the East Lake Foundation of Atlanta GA. This was a cooperative effort led by private investment, then local government, public parks department, school corp,ymca and neighborhood involvement. The redevelopment is one of the nations greatest successes and when the country club was up for sale I tried to get England’s city planners to take a look at the East Lake Redevelopment Plan. Not surprisingly nothing has ever happened.
Meanwhile, in the pages of the New Albany Tribune …
On May 26, a reader and increasingly frequent letter writer — so frequent that the Tribune staff felt compelled to append an explanation of the newspaper’s policy on such matters — named Jameson Bledsoe had a second submission on the same topic published as a guest column.
The topic? One-way streets versus two-way street conversions. Here is a sample excerpt:
Two-way traffic on Spring Street is not a calming measure for speed but a traffic-reducing measure, because once the commute becomes unbearable, motorists will avoid New Albany’s downtown.
On June 6, another Bledsoe column appeared: BLEDSOE: Can golf revitalize New Albany?, Here is the opening paragraph:
When I was overnighting in Atlanta as an airline pilot, I was fortunate to watch a special on a local station about the revitalization of East Lake Meadows, one of Atlanta’s worst public housing projects located just six miles from downtown.
Coincidence? Follow the links, and you be the judge. I find the whole subterfuge tiresomely childish.
And: Don’t forget to read remembercharlemagne’s comments about housing authorities and one-way streets on this thread at the Voice of the People blog.
You’ll undoubtedly join me in speculating (with due pathos): Why can’t we just be who we are, and get on with it?
