WHY Must I Continually Be The Conscience Of A Supposedly Free Press? Dear Editor, Don Thomasons otherwise excellent article today about Hot Springs legal filing in answer to the Degray Water Project ballot lawsuit, drafted and filed by me on behalf of County and City water users, contains a HUGE error, the effect of which is to mislead, deceive, and conceal vital information from the public. Some might deem the error and omission, either or both, insignificant and view my pointing it out as nitpicking. However, providing accurate information to the citizenry is the precious role, and duty, of the free press in our society. Omitting such information, in fact making repeated incorrect attributions, adds to the perception, held by some, that the Sentinel-Record slavishly echoes the Citys propaganda. Unless I misread the article, the glaring error is this: The City Attorney, Brian Albright, did NOT file the Citys legal pleadings or brief on behalf of City Clerk Lance Spicer as falsely stated several times in the article. A high rise Little Rock law firm, Friday, Eldredge & Clark, one of Arkansas most prestigious (and expensive) law firms, did so and will represent the City at trial and on appeal before the Arkansas Supreme Court. Im sure the attribution of this filing to the City Attorney was inadvertent, but dont you think the public ought to be accurately informed how its tax dollars are being spent? Or that the City feels compelled to bring in the biggest and fastest legal gunslingers in Arkansas at God (or FOIA) only knows what expense to defend the City against a small-town, hick lawyer like me? Such speaks volumes! I would appreciate your printing a prominent front-page correction in Sundays paper. I do not think that the papers simply printing my paltry words here as a letter to the editor would suffice to correct this glaring error and omission, although your doing both would speak loudly and clearly to your fairness and good faith. On second thought, I am requesting that you do both. Neither is sufficient alone to make good this egregious error and omission. Thank you very much! Cliff Jackson Attorney for County and City Water Users
Posted on: Sat, 13 Sep 2014 14:52:21 +0000
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