The track has been under attack by the media since it has opened, we have 250 rider members that use the facilty.

We absolutly get upset with any sort of media report portrays the track as a negitive with no disregard for the youth that rely on this sport and facility as a positive outlet.

Do you expect all the riders and families to just sit an watch without any expression or concern.

BMX Racing is now an Olympic Sport. We are respectful and mindful of our neighbors, we are consitantly the target of abuse and the scapegoat for all noise and traffic that comes from the sports complex area.

The adjustments being made to please the neighbors have actually been hindered now! By stopping the funding for final upgrades to move the registration office and the bathroom location away from Buena Vista the nighbors wil have to put up with operational noise even longer.

Marjorie, I invite you for a site visit to our facitly on any track day, learn about our sport our people & our families from the inside out. Bring real value to what you write for the public. Stop the negative media machine you personally are affecting 250 riders with what you are writting. Most of our riders are youth and fall into the at risk age group. When your child grows up I hope that he or she have a chance to interact with the BMX racing community as we welcome everyone even you.

________________________________

Something to consider, and I think Benton’s resolution may be the result of this, is that not all residents sued over this project. But regardless, its notable to me that the city councilor for the district is now bringing it up. This must be because he thinks there needs to be something done for the neighborhood. I’m sure he’ll explain his reasoning through the city council process.

But there’s obviously much interest in this issue if this comment thread is any indication. It’s surprising to me that you think I shouldn’t have written what is really a quite straightforward piece about Benton’s resolution.

One thing I’ve consistently noticed is how upset those who use the bicycle racing complex get when the issue of the neighborhood comes up. It really shouldn’t be an either/or proposition, and I actually think they can be natural allies with the neighbors. I don’t see this as a question of whether or not the users of the facility are good people, enjoy the sport, or have done the neighbors wrong–at all. And I think its good that the city has expressed a commitment to having such a facility.

But the issue isn’t about them, its about the city itself and how it planned vis a vis this neighborhood. It’s an entirely structural question thats worthy of being examined. Personally, I’m very aware of the EPC–it’s function is an important one.

As to me writing about this in the first place, I have to do my own calculus about whether or not I can treat a subject fairly. I ask myself that question all the time. In this case, I think I can and that I have–its a straight report about a city council resolution that is going to be heard whether I point it out or not. I’m very interested in the structure of city government, as that comment you quoted from two and a half years ago attests to, and this case is tailor made to examine that. I had forgotten about that thread–it’s interesting and I encourage folks to go read it instead of just the one short bit that you selectively presented.

If you are urging a thorough examination of the background of this case, I think I could do that fairly also. I’ve written about a lot of things that in the past I’ve expressed opinions about. It would be hard not to for someone whose had a personal blog for going on five years. Plus, life is fluid–actions, processes, and resulting opinions change over time. This notion that reporters don’t have opinions is inaccurate, the question is whether or not they’ll be fair. And when this issue is heard at the City Council, if I’m able to cover it, I will be fair.

Something to consider, and I think Benton's resolution may be the result of this, is that not all residents sued over this project. But regardless, its notable to me that the city councilor for the district is now bringing it up. This must be because he thinks there needs to be something done for the neighborhood. I'm sure he'll explain his reasoning through the city council process.

But there's obviously much interest in this issue if this comment thread is any indication. It's surprising to me that you think I shouldn't have written what is really a quite straightforward report about Benton's resolution.

One thing I've consistently noticed is how upset those who use the bicycle racing complex get when the issue of the neighborhood comes up. It really shouldn't be an either/or proposition, and I actually think they can be natural allies with the neighbors. I don't see this as a question of whether or not the users of the facility are good people, enjoy the sport, or have done the neighbors wrong–at all. And I think its good that the city has expressed a commitment to having such a facility.

But the issue isn't about them, its about the city itself and how it planned vis a vis this neighborhood. It's an entirely structural question thats worthy of being examined. Personally, I'm very aware of the EPC–it's function is an important one.

As to me writing about this in the first place, I have to do my own calculus about whether or not I can treat a subject fairly. In this case, I think I have. I'm very interested in the structure of city government, and this case is tailor made to examine that. As that comment you quoted from two and a half years ago attests to.

If you are urging a thorough examination of the background of this case, I think I could do that fairly also. I've written about a lot of things for NMI that in the past I've expressed opinions about. It would be hard not to for someone whose had a personal blog for going on five years. This notion that reporters don't have opinions is inaccurate, the question is whether or not they'll be fair. And when this issue is heard at the City Council, if I'm able to cover it, I will be fair.

The track has been under attack by the media since it has opened, we have 250 rider members that use the facilty.

We absolutly get upset with any sort of media report portrays the track as a negitive with no disregard for the youth that rely on this sport and facility as a positive outlet.

Do you expect all the riders and families to just sit an watch without any expression or concern.

BMX Racing is now an Olympic Sport. We are respectful and mindful of our neighbors, we are consitantly the target of abuse and the scapegoat for all noise and traffic that comes from the sports complex area.

The adjustments being made to please the neighbors have actually been hindered now! By stopping the funding for final upgrades to move the registration office and the bathroom location away from Buena Vista the nighbors wil have to put up with operational noise even longer.

Marjorie, I invite you for a site visit to our facitly on any track day, learn about our sport our people & our families from the inside out. Bring real value to what you write for the public. Stop the negative media machine you personally are affecting 250 riders with what you are writting. Most of our riders are youth and fall into the at risk age group. When your child grows up I hope that he or she have a chance to interact with the BMX racing community as we welcome everyone even you.

________________________________

Something to consider, and I think Benton's resolution may be the result of this, is that not all residents sued over this project. But regardless, its notable to me that the city councilor for the district is now bringing it up. This must be because he thinks there needs to be something done for the neighborhood. I'm sure he'll explain his reasoning through the city council process.

But there's obviously much interest in this issue if this comment thread is any indication. It's surprising to me that you think I shouldn't have written what is really a quite straightforward report about Benton's resolution.

One thing I've consistently noticed is how upset those who use the bicycle racing complex get when the issue of the neighborhood comes up. It really shouldn't be an either/or proposition, and I actually think they can be natural allies with the neighbors. I don't see this as a question of whether or not the users of the facility are good people, enjoy the sport, or have done the neighbors wrong–at all. And I think its good that the city has expressed a commitment to having such a facility.

But the issue isn't about them, its about the city itself and how it planned vis a vis this neighborhood. It's an entirely structural question thats worthy of being examined. Personally, I'm very aware of the EPC–it's function is an important one.

As to me writing about this in the first place, I have to do my own calculus about whether or not I can treat a subject fairly. In this case, I think I have. I'm very interested in the structure of city government, and this case is tailor made to examine that. As that comment you quoted from two and a half years ago attests to.

If you are urging a thorough examination of the background of this case, I think I could do that fairly also. I've written about a lot of things for NMI that in the past I've expressed opinions about. It would be hard not to for someone whose had a personal blog for going on five years. This notion that reporters don't have opinions is inaccurate, the question is whether or not they'll be fair. And when this issue is heard at the City Council, if I'm able to cover it, I will be fair.

The track has been under attack by the media since it has opened, we have 250 rider members that use the facilty.

We absolutly get upset with any sort of media report portrays the track as a negitive with no disregard for the youth that rely on this sport and facility as a positive outlet.

Do you expect all the riders and families to just sit an watch without any expression or concern.

BMX Racing is now an Olympic Sport. We are respectful and mindful of our neighbors, we are consitantly the target of abuse and the scapegoat for all noise and traffic that comes from the sports complex area.

The adjustments being made to please the neighbors have actually been hindered now! By stopping the funding for final upgrades to move the registration office and the bathroom location away from Buena Vista the nighbors wil have to put up with operational noise even longer.

Marjorie, I invite you for a site visit to our facitly on any track day, learn about our sport our people & our families from the inside out. Bring real value to what you write for the public. Stop the negative media machine you personally are affecting 250 riders with what you are writting. Most of our riders are youth and fall into the at risk age group. When your child grows up I hope that he or she have a chance to interact with the BMX racing community as we welcome everyone even you.

________________________________

“Ultimately, this development shows that the city planning department doesn't care about the residents of Buena Vista. They just don't care, or it never would have been built like this in the first place. The question is, I guess, should city planners care about the neighbors? I kind of think thats a given, but maybe I'm naive.
marjorie | 04.27.07 – 9:28 am | # “

Located here: http://www.haloscan.com/comments/magmae/5294197...

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If anyone would like to see an overview of the entire Professional Journalists Code of Ethics it can be found here found here: http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp

The following is a segment of the code that may apply….

Act Independently
Journalists should be free of obligation to any interest other than the public's right to know.

Journalists should:

—Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived.
— Remain free of associations and activities that may compromise integrity or damage credibility.
— Refuse gifts, favors, fees, free travel and special treatment, and shun secondary employment, political involvement, public office and service in community organizations if they compromise journalistic integrity.
— Disclose unavoidable conflicts.
— Be vigilant and courageous about holding those with power accountable.
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