Rehash of lawsuit reaction on the radio

OK, here's my post on Jim LaValley and David Tomberlin's interview this morning on WNBZ.

Listen to it at the WNBZ website by clicking on "Monday, March 26th, 2012 - David Tomberlin and Jim LaValley Respond to 'Protect' lawsuit."

A warning for people who only listen to the local radio news occasionally: WNBZ has changed a lot since station owner Ted Morgan took over the news programming. Chris Knight built up a news program that strove for objectivity, and when he left the station to come to the Enterprise, Chris Morris kept that tradition going strong. But since he also left to come to the Enterprise, Ted took over and now he sways back and forth pretty freely from straight news to commentary and opinion.

For instance, during the interview today, Ted says at one point that “It seems as though this kind of a lawsuit just doesn’t have any hope of going forward,” and he "reported" that the only person he thinks will benefit from the lawsuit is John Caffry. While that may be the opinion of some or many, it's still pretty clear that it's an opinion.

I think that's pretty normal in a place that has a lot of radio stations to have commercial radio put a little bit of a commentary spin on their news, but after being used to the objectivity the Chrises employed, it's a big difference.

So, that being said, some highlights from the interview:

Tomberlin says the lawsuit is like "a bunch of spoiled kids that don't like the decision their parents made and so they’re going to throw a temper tantrum.”

They make the point several times that they see the lawsuit as frivolous, and LaValley even goes as far as to say that it's a flaw in the process that groups are legally allowed to challenge the decision when it was a 10-1 decision.

LaValley also mentions that ARISE had hoped for some financial support from ACR investors in running the mountain next year, but the challenge puts that in jeopardy. They say the challenge is going to take most of 2012 and it puts all the fundraising by investors on hold.

After the interview was done, Ted sent out a press release, which he doesn't usually do about other guests on the talk show LaValley and Tomberlin were on.

Here's a copy/paste of the press release:

RESPONSE TO “PROTECT” LAWSUIT ON MONDAY’S K&J SHOW ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tupper Lake Chamber President David Tomberlin and ARISE Chair Jim LaValley respond to “Protect” Lawsuit on WNBZ’s K&J show;

In a live interview on WNBZ this morning, David Tomberlin, who is President of the Tupper Lake Chamber of Commerce referred to the most recent lawsuit by Protect The Adirondacks, the Sierra Club and Three homeowners in Tupper Lake who are neighbors to the Adirondack Club and Resort Project, as an uphill battle;

“We Think it’s a Frivolous Lawsuit, We think it delays what is going to happen but it definitely puts a hold on a lot of peoples plans in Tupper Lake” Mr Tomblin Said during the show “Even [The Adirondack Council] admits it’s a very uphill sell to say some court is not going to give deference to the APA in a 10 to 1 decision.. It seems like this is quite honestly a bunch of spoiled kids that don’t like the decision the parents made and so they’re going to throw a temper tantrum”

“It’s very discouraging for a community that’s worked so hard for this project and where you actually have started to see economic activity starting as a result of it”

ARISE Chariman Jim LaValley said he thought the suit would cause unwanted delays and expense. “Until this process goes through the appellate division, the majority of the investors really, are on hold now through most of 2012” Mr LaValley said, “The Agency Act is clear as to what is allowed on private land and it’s categorized under the Park Agency Act and when groups like Protect argue that it’s overdevelopment and restrictive - they tend to lose sight that this is private land… You’re looking at one private residence for every 42.7 acres. Instead of using the project as a whipping post for the philosophical debate, why don’t they take up the debate with the legislature to create more restrictions on those lands?”

The K&J is named for prior owners Jim and Keela Rogers and through the years has included discussions of politics, local events and fundraisers, and many other topics. Recently, during a transition, the program was incorporated into WNBZ’s morning news programming which airs weekdays from 5am until 9am. The K&J show airs during The Morning News which is simulcast in the Tri-lakes Region on Time Warner Cable Channel 2 and sister station ROCK105.

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