By Jim Stanford on February 23, 2007
In his Council Chronicles column on Feb. 7, Planet Jackson Hole reporter Jake Nichols provided a few bits of keen insight on the Imagine Jackson vote before the city council.
Although the column had some tongue-in-cheek innuendo and the unfortunate title “Melissa Turley’s vote cannot be bought,” the real gem was Nichols’ observation that Meridian Group developer Mike Halpin stood to gain another contract for designing the building Imagine Jackson seeks public money to construct. Halpin is chairman of the group’s board.
It’s that type of insider profiteering, real or perceived, that has so many people in the community grumbling about this whole arrangement, not inaccurate reporting, as has been alleged by some of the parties involved.
But Nichols’ column prompted an angry letter to the Planet from Halpin, and now the paper has a weak Imagine Jackson “fact sheet“, with Nichols’ byline, in this week’s edition that could have been written by former Cheney flack Jennifer Mayfield, Imagine Jackson’s spokeswoman.
It’s too bad Nichols wasn’t turned loose for more aggressive reporting. Instead of a PR sales pitch, the facts the community would like to know are how much public money is going into the pocket or pocketbook of Halpin and Mayfield.
The Planet printing something mildly critical of local government? Gasp!
Nichols took heat for insinuating that Halpin was trying to buy support by having bottles of his Grand Teton water in front of the council at the meeting.
Here’s what Nichols wrote:
With Imagine Jackson chairman Mike Halpin in the audience, eagerly awaiting the outcome of the vote that could secure state funds that would allow his Meridian Group to design the grounds for a second building next to Square One, there was a bottle of his Grand Teton Water at every councilmember’s place … except Turley’s. She drank from a pretty pink Nalgene.
Did Nichols want us to believe that bottled water influenced the vote? Of course not, but it was a pretty sharp observation.
It’s too bad the superiors at the Planet aren’t encouraging more incisive reporting and analysis.
Instead, here’s a sample from the “fact sheet:”
WHO: Imagine Jackson is a nonprofit community development organization, promoting a sustainable community for future generations.
Printing hollow spin like this is doing the community no service.
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I wrote about Imagine Jackson’s request for town help in securing a $1 million state grant on Feb. 5 (”Turley Time”). That story has a lot of background. Also penned a story about the vote that night (“Business as Usual”), when the council approved the loan request, to Halpin’s relief.
In case you didn’t know, Halpin bottles water in Grand Teton park on a private inholding near the JY Ranch. The shrewd businessman concocted a deal to give part of the proceeds to the Grand Teton National Park Foundation, one of many private groups taking over the federal government’s responsibility to fund parks and in return exerting an influence over policy and building gigantic castles for visitor centers.
The water is touted to come from “a spring high on Buck Mountain.”
Posted under Imagine Jackson, business, commentary, media, politics, town government
