The government corruption case in the town of Bell, Calif., has rightly triggered nationwide outrage (see story on the front page). The Los Angeles County suburb of 40,000 people has become a poster child for wasteful spending and fraud. But
The government corruption case in the town of Bell, Calif., has rightly triggered nationwide outrage (see story on the front page). The Los Angeles County suburb of 40,000 people has become a poster child for wasteful spending and fraud.
But few would have known about this brazen act — which involves a city manager making nearly $800,000 annually and city officials mishandling more than $50 million in bond money — if it weren’t for two reporters from the Los Angeles Times who broke the story in July.
The local newspaper, the Industrial Post, should have been the one to break this news to the community it serves. Holding government officials accountable — serving as the Fourth Estate — is arguably the most critical mission of any real newspaper.
This story didn’t require a crack investigative team or months of research; it required asking some tough questions and demanding answers.
Fortunately, this news did come to light and it spread throughout the country like wildfire. Stories like this create real change.
We applaud The Times’ work and look to it as a continued inspiration to keep doing what we’re doing here on Kaua‘i. The Garden Island won’t be reduced to a cheerleader for government or business or any other perceived powerful group. We can partner with each as appropriate, but will never forget our first and foremost responsibility is to the community we serve.
Even in these challenging economic times that have affected most industries including newspapers worldwide — chasing the elusive online business model and keeping the print product polished — our primary duty must not waver.
We will continue to utilize our resources to the best of our ability in our ongoing effort to hold our elected officials and other powerful players accountable.
This means we’ll again provide video coverage of the Kaua‘i County Council budget hearings if the county again irresponsibly chooses to coincidentally keep readers in the dark during the most important public sessions of the year. Government transparency is critical. How our leaders spend millions of taxpayer dollars needs all the sunshine it can get.
This also means reporting on cases of major public importance, such as how the return of a Kekaha shrimp farm will impact the environment around it and what role a Kalaheo coffee farm had in the biggest human-trafficking case in U.S. history.
We recognize the wide-ranging role the local newspaper plays in the community and we consider this responsibility of utmost importance.
