When I first saw the Joplin Globe's promotion of its story on corruption, prostitution, and drug trafficking in the Joplin area being promoted on its website, I couldn't wait to read the story. After all, this is what the Globe has been promising for months.
In this latest example of the Globe's smother them with Sunshine Law and Freedom of Information Act requests brand of investigative reporting, nothing was revealed and the only names that were brought up were those of people who have already had charges filed against them long ago.
Except for one.
The Globe then notes, as it should have, that the Tom Loraine investigation cleared Scearce of any involvement in criminal activity.
But the Globe could not leave it at that. In the following sentence, the Globe took advantage of another opportunity to attack one of its favorite targets:
Loraine's investigation cost taxpayers $80,000.
What does that have to do with anything?
The problem, it is becoming more and more apparent with each Globe attack, is that Globe Editor Carol Stark is still unhappy that her friend, former City Manager Mark Rohr, was fired. Let's examine what has taken place over the past few months.
-The Globe has hammered the Loraine investigation over and over again, talking about its cost, about its supposedly getting away from its original charge, and fighting for the release of the entire report.
-When the report was finally released, as a result of yet another Joplin Globe Sunshine Law request and a court battle, the Globe virtually buried it on its website, running only a few stories in the newspaper and then providing less space to the allegations against Mark Rohr than to his defense against those allegations.
-Even after receiving the complete report, the Globe never ran a story about the most damning allegations that were made in the report. Those were not made against Bill Scearce or even Mark Rohr, but against Councilman Mike Woolston and the city's master developer Wallace-Bajjali.
-Even though the information has been available (and was revealed in a series of Turner Report investigations that began two years ago), the Globe has never told its readers about the SEC investigation of Wallace-Bajjali which resulted in $120,000 in fines and the requirement that the firm return $1.2 million to investors, lawsuits accusing Wallace-Bajjali of operating a pyramid scheme, evidence of Wallace-Bajjali abandoning projects and sticking others with the bill, and seven bankruptcies involving Wallace-Bajjali and David Wallace.
-While ignoring allegations against Wallace-Bajjali and Mike Woolston, the Globe ran an "investigative" piece on the Joplin Police stopping Councilman Ben Rosenberg for driving with a dog on his lap. The stop was several months old that the time it was publicized in the area's newspaper of record, but it received the same page one treatment that has been given to Scearce whenever the Globe has a non-story about something he supposedly did wrong.
I don't want to suggest something shocking, but it could be that Bill Scearce, Ben Rosenberg, and the Loraine Report, have been targeted because Carol Stark can't let go of Mark Rohr?
The biggest problem with her newspaper's series of "scoops" on the people who "wronged" Mark Rohr is that it keeps a newspaper that has the resources to dig in and do some actual investigating from doing what should be its primary job at this juncture.
Millions of dollars have come through Joplin since the May 22, 2011, tornado. The Globe should be making sure that the money is being spent properly and it should be on the lookout for those who are taking advantage of the situation.
The Globe has dropped the ball when it comes to the city of Joplin and it has dropped the ball when it comes to the Joplin R-8 School District.
At a time when the city of Joplin and the Joplin R-8 School District need a champion to make sure that money is being spent properly, all we have been receiving is an unhealthy dose of Stark reality.
10 comments:
The $80,000 matters because they wasted it if they aren't paying attention to all the information.
And you're right, the Globe is NOT doing anything it's supposed to do to inform the public about all the shenanigans happening everywhere.
Come on, Globe! Our town is being torn apart on top of what the tornado did and you are contributing to the continued destruction.
The Globe is getting ridiculous continuing the saga of this gambling story that is so old it has mold all over it! WHY won't Stark and Company do their job and report current information that would actually benefit the readers? Do they really think it's a big news story to tell readers about Rosenberg's dog going for TWO rides last year or a story (that we've already heard numerous times) about gambling in Joplin? There was nothing in the article today that was not already known. Where did all that money go that was donated after the tornado? Several groups have doled out amounts to various groups, but those do not add up to the huge amounts we were given. Does ANYONE have a complete ledger of the money donated and dispersed? How about filing a freedom of information request for that info? And, how about asking the city council when they anticipate closing on the sale of the old Coca Cola building. Wasn't that supposed to have happened by now? And what exactly are they going to do with that building when they get it? If it can't be the post office that Rohr wanted, what is
"plan b"?
Is it that she wants to be part of the cool kids, or is she getting a profit for not covering those of very questionable authority and practices? No ethical journalist would let those stories sit. She could use the same Sunshine Law/FOIA requests to get the same documents, and more, that Turner has and turn the district and city inside out. She doesn't do it. Doesn't even try. Why? The only answers would be that she or her boss, or both, have something to lose by publishing the truth.
Pathetic. Don't even bother to buy it for the coupons. What you save in subscription costs more than makes up for the little you'd save in coupons.
Try asking Bright Futures sometime what happened to your tornado donation for the district. They can't tell you, won't tell you, and you can bet in most instances that it didn't go where it was intended. And yet the district was forced to borrow millions of dollars to survive until the new fiscal year begins. Where did the donations, the bond, and the insurance all go? Trips. Excess employees. German furniture. Someone's pocket, for all we know.
We will never know this information if we depend on any of our local new sources. It will take a local person with the ability to get the information without fear of incrimination from the district. Any lawyers or lawmakers out there with some backbone? Now would be the time to show you care about your fellow citizens, before they have to vote again. Show us you care.
Joplin Globe, readers want to know about Wallace Bajjali and if they are living up to what they said they would accomplish. We want to know what is up with the Joplin R-8 school district. The school board's actions and decisions affect all of us either directly or indirectly. Are they buckling under pressure from a self serving egomaniac at the expense of Joplin's future? If you want to do investigative reporting, check out what is currently happening with the schools and what is happening with the Master Developer. There are some BIG unanswered questions. Start asking about what is important to the community's well-being and you won't have to worry about subscriptions. REPORTERS should get out there and ask tough questions and REPORT the unbiased TRUTH!
I find it astonishing that three years have passed since the tornado, and Wallace-Bajjalli have yet to turn a spade of soil anywhere. They have not carried out a single plan yet. But, they've made lots of money off of Joplin without doing a dadburn thing. Why is this allowed to happen? Because so few citizens are aware of the issue, thanks to the local mainstream source of news, The Joplin Globe, failing to do its job. Amazing what the citizens of Joplin will contend with from their city government to their school district.
They should take the $80K out of her meal allowance and donate it to the City.
Did the purchase of the Coca-Cola building close, or is someone still shoveling the lenders-will-be-lenders nonsense?
With Rohr gone, the walls are closing in. Snake oil is slippery--the salesman eventually loses his grip.
But the citizenry would never know it if all it read is the Globe. Attention must be diverted.
Tar, feathers.
Having read the promo leading up to the story, I too ran out this morning and bought a paper to read the story.
I read the story, then started over and read it again, was I the only person who came away not knowing anything new? With the promo and much hyped patting ourselves on the back for years worth of FOIA requests on this investigation, why is it I was left disappointed as if if nothing new was reported? Was there something there that I missed? Please tell me, others who read the story, what did I miss?
I will say this, the Geoff Jones connection to this investigation goes deeper with his connections to other city employees and connections to past city council members and a former mayor.
Tune into the Globe next Sunday for Andra Stefanoni's feature on Mark Rohr's Texas wagon ride with disabled veterans through a beautiful community garden maintained by terminally ill children. It is my understanding that Mark was able to heal all of them with his kind smile and loving embrace.
Anon 4:34, good call. The last thing I would ever do is allow myself to be interviewed by Andra Stefanoni. She misquotes more people. I would like to know where they found her, she needs to go back there.
Funny, I spoke to another Globe employee and the newsroom seems to have a distaste for her also. Something about her having answers for everything, a know it all and have heard the same complaint about misquoting people. I thought she was Stark suck up.
I guess Stark will ride anyone who provides five bylines a day at $8.50 an hour.
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