{"id":2504,"date":"2011-01-17T13:30:24","date_gmt":"2011-01-17T18:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2011\/01\/it-wouldnt-matter-john-fretti-mayor-of-valdosta.html"},"modified":"2011-01-17T13:30:24","modified_gmt":"2011-01-17T18:30:24","slug":"it-wouldnt-matter-john-fretti-mayor-of-valdosta","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2011\/01\/it-wouldnt-matter-john-fretti-mayor-of-valdosta.html","title":{"rendered":"“it wouldn’t matter” –John Fretti, Mayor of Valdosta"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/a>\nNews Talk 105.9 FM posted this:\n\nExclusive Audio: Mayor Fretti on Biomass<\/a>\n
\n“Kay Harris is absolutely wrong, writing emotionally again.”\n<\/blockquote>\nHe’s apparently referring to\nthe VDT editorial I interpreted here.<\/a>\n

\nHe goes on to say it wouldn’t matter if the city refused to\nsupply water to the biomass plant.\nYet another variant on the popular local favorite:\n“there’s nothing you can do.”\n

\nTechnically, no doubt he’s right: they could just sink a well instead.\nPolitically, it would make a world of difference if the plant’s\nhost city said it wouldn’t supply water.\nNot to mention I suspect the county would have to approve\nsuch a well.\n

\nAt the least, the City of Valdosta could do what\n\nGadsden County, Florida did:<\/a>\n\n\n

\n“The county had suspended consideration of the project for six months\nso residents could further educate themselves about the project.”\n<\/blockquote>\nEducate, as in with VLCIA actually interacting with its critics,\nwith real debate on the same stage.\nIf biomass proponents continued to refuse to do that,\neven after their host city asked them to, that would\nsay quite a bit, wouldn’t it?\n

\nThe mayor also complains that the editor is taking the onus off the county\nand placing it on the city.\nAh, finger-pointing, the sport of local politics!\n

\nIs anyone else disappointed that all our local politicians\nseem to be deferring to hired “experts” or pointing fingers\nat somebody else?\nI kind of like\n\nMatt Flumerfelt’s point about<\/a>\n

\n“political and personal courage”\n<\/blockquote>\nThat would be a good thing.\n

\nThe mayor also said:\n

\n“If they don’t say they’re against it, they’re for it.”\n<\/blockquote>\n

\nSeems to me a lot more biomass critics than supporters have shown up at meetings; at this point I suspect critics have even organized<\/em> more meetings than VLCIA has!\nSo it would make at least as much sense to say if they don’t\nsay they’re for it, they’re against it.\n

\nBut if you don’t like people making “emotional decisions”\n(even after the VDT has actually done extensive and laudable\ninvestigation into this issue), how about we have a real\ndebate (not a hired panel dog-and-pony show)\nwhere the issues actually get discussed?\nMaybe then we’d even see the alleged scientific and other\nstudies VLCIA keeps saying it has.\n

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