 
|
|
COMMUNITY GUIDE NEWS CLASSIFIEDS SERVICES RESOURCES
ED CORSON New spin on old words. (9/23/98) CHARLES RICHARDSON Process assassination. (9/22/98) CLINTON SCANDAL Testimony tedious but necessary. (9/22/98) DANA DRATCH Clinton's words not enough. (9/21/98) RON WOODGEARD Is Hyde still fit to judge? (9/20/98) CHARLES RICHARDSON Thoughts on 'Private Ryan'. (9/18/98) R.L. DAY After all, it's your money. (9/17/98) GUEST VIEW: DAN FISCHER Establishing priorities 1st step in road planning. (9/13/98) LEONARD PITTS Trading one chain for another. (9/13/98) CLAUDIA SMITH BRINSON If we don't draw lines, who's to know when they're crossed? ED CORSON Less and less time to wait. (9/09/98) HOME RUN HERO Mighty McGwire takes his place in legend. (9/09/98) HERALDLINK: DAVE BARRY The archive. |
LARRY FENNELLY R.L. DAY   OUR VIEWSPanel should take time needed on inquiryIf President Clinton had been truthful eight months ago, his administration and its Democratic supporters would have credibility in seeking a quick resolution of an impeachment inquiry. But the fact is the president knew that the longer he delayed his day of reckoning, the closer it would come to the election season. That he was willing to gamble the future of Democrats in state and federal elections by stonewalling so long is testimony to his recklessness with the lives of many others. We would hope it's a minority, but clearly some Republicans are interested in dragging out the impeachment review process strictly to impact elections. But just as surely, calls by key Democrats, including House minority leader Dick Gephardt, for a resolution in 30 to 50 days are unrealistic. As it stands, the House Judiciary Committee has yet to sift through some 70,000 pages of potential impeachment evidence. And, stung by widespread criticism that they were releasing too much detail, committee members feel compelled to act more slowly as they wade through reports containing, among other things, sexually explicit material. Judiciary Committee chairman Henry Hyde has said he will call for a vote on Oct. 5 or 6 on a resolution calling for an impeachment inquiry. Hyde added that he would like to bring the matter to a conclusion as soon as possible. In fact, Hyde seems clearly not as interested in a slower, more measured response as favored by House Speaker Newt Gingrich. For his part, Gingrich has raised the prospect of including matters other than the Lewinsky affair. While Hyde says he is willing to consider anything the independent prosecutor brings to his committee, he wants any new material right away. Meanwhile, polls suggest the country wants Clinton to remain where he is. This puts pressure on Republicans to expedite things, but they should not do so at the expense of a botched inquiry. Hyde's sense that the matter can be concluded before the end of the year seems about right. And as to polling, we note that "Profiles in Courage," was not written by a pollster.
The House seems almost certain to send the matter to the Senate since no one appears to favor a plea bargain with the White House for censure. But the public will probably not sit still for a year of this process if nothing more turns up.
- Ron Woodgeard/For the editorial board
Signs indicate billboard holding its ground It didn't help the cause of the anti-billboarders that a national organization called Scenic America pulled out of the fray after declaring the Georgia Department of Transportation hopelessly prejudiced on behalf of the other side. The Garden Club of Georgia Inc., moaned that the pullout would extend "visual pollution," which to garden club types is to the eye what air pollution is to the lungs. Meanwhile, had DOT board members shrugged and said they thought everybody was happy. A billboard supporter indicated Scenic America wouldn't be happy until the billboard industry goes belly up. In truth, most Georgians simply aren't that turned off by roadside signs as long as they don't infiltrate a picturesque mountain road or a rustic lake retreat. Legislators last responded to billboard blight by passing laws allowing tree cutting so that the pesky things wouldn't obscure the signs. (Laws do require the billboard companies to pay the state for the timber.) Since even its chairman seems hazy on the issues, the DOT board might do well to reexamine federal rules on billboard placement and make sure they're being properly heeded and enforced.
Meanwhile, even if Scenic America gets back on the scene, the Garden Club of Georgia Inc., is not likely to see the the state billboard industry go the way of Burma Shave. The signs may not enhance the landscape, but they've become as much a part of it as the Georgia pine.
- R. L. Day/For the editorial board
Pinkston needed on road project board
When local voters overwhelmingly approved a sales tax increase to raise about $120 million for road improvement, only the most naive thought that only meant filling potholes. A majority of citizens who voted for the tax did so fully expecting major road building projects. And that is precisely what engineers have presented. The problems with neighborhood groups arose unnecessarily out of a leadership breakdown. Among the problems was that project engineers conducted public hearings in such a way as to wall off vigorous, open debate. Once this was established in the minds of worried neighborhood groups, then all sorts of other suspicions crept into play. Miscommunication was construed as lies. What was regarded by engineers as the orderly gathering of public comment was seen by the public as the heavy foot of Big Brother. Meanwhile, the key decision-making group, the executive committee for the roads project, was populated with too many non-elected officials. This was mainly a problem of perception, since all the non-elected officials on the executive committee reported directly to the elected officials. But it was a very real indication that the lines of responsibility to the public were blurred. Last week, all non-elected officials were removed from the committee with the exception of Pinkston. We would argue that he is a special case. Pinkston served in the Legislature for 24 years, representing many of the same neighborhoods whose residents are unhappy. They include Ingleside Drive, Vineville, Forest and Ridge avenues. He was appointed to the DOT board in 1992, the same year he stepped down from the Legislature. In 1995, he was unanimously elected to the DOT board by a caucus of nine state senators and 24 representatives of the 8th Congressional District. DOT members are chosen in this manner in part to isolate the board to some extent from the kind of rank politicalization that dominated road building in Georgia until the mid 1960s. There are plenty of other communities within the 8th District that would jump at the chance to get the road funds DOT has promised Macon. At first, by the way, DOT agreed to put up $50 million to match the local funding. It was Pinkston who convinced DOT to increase that amount to $60 million after passage of the sales tax increase. It was Pinkston, who at one of the first public hearings, held on the Forest Hill project, moved to give a microphone to anyone who wished to speak out. He moved to cut the number of lanes from five to three along that route. Pinkston favored a route through the city from I-75 that would have left the intersection of College and Forsyth largely alone by creating pairs of one-way lanes. We do not argue that Pinkston has always been correct, or that he is easy to work with. But we would argue that in 30 of the past 47 years he has lived in this town, he has served it well. Next year, he will become chairman of the DOT board. And he does worry, as we do, that in the past this city has had great difficulty getting its act together before the state and world. This history has included bitter city-county disputes that continue to this day in every area of public service from law enforcement to school construction.
We believe the road improvement project will move forward and be much better as a result of full citizen involvement of groups like CAUTION. But the time for finger-pointing should come to a close.
- Ron Woodgeard/For the editorial board
RELATED STORY  Interview with Frank Pinkston (9/23/98)
BACK TO TOP | BACK TO MTO FRONT PAGE
All content© Copyright 1998 The Macon Telegraph and may not be republished without permission. Contact Us. |
