Comments on: LETTER: News Reporting Should Be Unbiased

By: Dana Lascu

Dana Lascu — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 03:24:36 +0000

Cathy, what you and Stefanie describe is a community center. Of course I am abstaining from resurrecting that topic.

And so ends what has been a most interesting tête-à-tête. –EDITOR

By: Cathy Buyrn

Cathy Buyrn — Sun, 20 Apr 2014 23:15:17 +0000

Dana, I believe that editorial comment was in reference to the palace of a jail, courthouse, and county offices, I stand by that stance today. I would have much rather seen my tax dollars used to hang onto the Cape Charles Little League field or a nice library at the lower end of the county. When you refer to “your town” do you see yourself as a Cape Charles resident with no broader county concerns or do you have an interest in the bigger picture? For full time county residents the boundries aren’t so cut and dried. I guess the view from Richmond is far more clear than it is to those of us trying to actually live here. As an educator I would think the value of a library would top your list. Again, the library is drawing county consumers into Cape Charles. Perhaps the next time you visit you could join us for some coffee after a library activity to reflect on the broader interests of the town and the county. Those interests are not mutually exclusive. “Your town” needs my out-of-town dollars and I would bet town merchants wouldn’t appreciate any suggestion to the contrary.

By: Dana Lascu

Dana Lascu — Sun, 20 Apr 2014 17:33:58 +0000

Cathy, I read an Eastern Shore News letter to the editor you wrote a while ago, where you state: “As a taxpayer and a mother, you do not have my blessing to spend $672,000 on a project that doesn’t meet the ‘have to have it’ kind of prioritizing necessary in this economy.” I feel the same way about my town, Cape Charles.

By: Cathy Buyrn

Cathy Buyrn — Sun, 20 Apr 2014 03:56:19 +0000

I’m not sure where anyone thinks that unbiased reporting truly exists. The only news reporting outlet that I’ve seen that seems to be the closest to unbiased reporting is the BBC. There is simply no such thing as a “just the facts” approach to journalism that is completely devoid of bias. We all have biases. We tend to be blind to our own biases and can be vicious when someone else’s bias crosses our own.

As a former Cape Charles resident and current resident of Eastville, I try to spare myself much of the Cape Charles noise. With that said I do think Cape Charles got it right on the library. It is a mistake to view library patrons as “taking away parking spaces.” This assumes that library patrons are freeloaders who aren’t spending cash at local businesses when drawn into the town to use the lovely new library. While town property owners may have been irritated when they couldn’t find a parking space they assume was being squatted upon by a library patron, those filled spaces mean that people are in the business district who might not otherwise be there.

As the wonderful library programs gain momentum amongst us out-of-towners we have found ourselves in town for library events when we might have never made the turn before. We will likely continue to patronize the library and may spill out onto the sidewalk later for some Brown Dog Ice Cream, a sandwich at Kelly’s, or some coffee down the street. If the town is to draw dollars from outside of the Cape Charles bubble, it is out-of-towners, like myself, who you need to draw into the town. While we may not spend the night in town, our tax dollars are helping to support $15,000 of the Tall Ships expenses and our disposable income that helps get businesses like Aqua, Rayfield’s, and other local businesses through the slow season.

One should think before discounting the new library as a waste of prime real estate or suggest that library patrons aren’t spending cash while in town. This out-of-towner might avoid the entire town if it weren’t for such amenities. The choice of the town to locate the new library in such a wonderful building was the right thing to do for public service and a savvy business decision. That building would have likely been vacant for an extended period of time if the town hadn’t made the move when they did.

By: Kathy Bonadeo

Kathy Bonadeo — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 20:44:45 +0000

I agree with Stefanie. If you visited our old site, you would realize the space was too small. The computers in the new space help people without home computers to apply for jobs, do homework and glean other information. We now have room for classes, the children and teen areas, a Shore history room as well a bathroom space and ADA access. It would have cost much more to try and renovate the other space for such a space that we have now. And the price was right!

By: Dana Lascu

Dana Lascu — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 18:51:34 +0000

Stefanie, please read carefully and think before you comment: The objection above, among many others, is against the library building – a frivolous purchase – not the library. The library, which we appreciate, use, and have used in the past, on Tazewell, does not have to take away prime real estate in the business district or hamper access to local businesses by taking away parking spaces. The purchase of the bank building by the town was, objectively speaking, a bad business decision. The library does not need to accomplish its far-reaching mission in the prime business district.

You will never have the opportunity to vote for me – please vote for the leadership you deserve.

By: Stefanie Hadden

Stefanie Hadden — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 13:43:05 +0000

I object strongly to the characterization of the new library as “thoughtless and frivolous.” Spoken by those who clearly do not utilize it. It is at the heart of providing enrichment to our town’s children, the true lifeblood of Cape Charles. I applaud the town for having the foresight to purchase the beautiful building and investing in the future this way. The library staff is excellent, friendly and welcoming, and so knowledgeable, and the programs and services the library offers are comparable to big city libraries. Friends of mine who live elsewhere say, “Why doesn’t my library have a Chess Club? A children’s Book Club? Visits from NASA and puppeteers?” I will not vote for anyone who bashes the library and its important and far-reaching mission. It betrays a small-mindedness and mean-spiritedness that is antithetical to our beautiful town.

By: Deborah & Don Bender

Deborah & Don Bender — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 23:00:34 +0000

Well said Dana!

By: Dana Lascu

Dana Lascu — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 16:29:04 +0000

This is not a question of cutting services – these nickel-and-diming questions are simplistic. Rather, it is a question of not engaging in idiotic spending on stuff we don’t need – new library, lots at the entrance to the town, salary study (might as well have just flushed that money into the Poop Palace), and I am sure you can add many more items to this list. The entire Town of Cape Charles (meaning Bay Creek as well) will have to pay for these thoughtless and frivolous expenditures. It’s not that most of us can’t afford the higher taxes and fees; it is that these spending decisions reflect deplorably poor judgment.

By: Nancy Daniel Vest

Nancy Daniel Vest — Fri, 18 Apr 2014 03:25:01 +0000

Debbie – I appreciate your insights. Onancock is a lovely town and your comments prompted me to visit their website. I noticed that their harbor seems much smaller than ours. Also they do not have a beach, a fishing pier, a town Library, or a Recreation Department.
Like most people in town, I would love to have lower taxes and a lower water bill. I do, however, understand the concept of opportunity cost. My heating bills this winter were higher than usual and I really did not want to pay them. Unfortunately, I also did not want to be cold or to deal with frozen pipes. I had to make a choice. The same is true with Town finances. I am sure there is a way to lower our taxes to the level of those in Onancock but at what opportunity cost? Therefore, I have two questions:
• Exactly how much would we save on taxes and utility bills under your plan?
• Which services would be lost or cut in order to lower taxes and utility bills to the level you see as appropriate?