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Letters to the editor
(Times Herald-Record, August 8, 2004)
Story sensationalized
The Sunday (Aug. 1) cover story on the proposed Kiryas Joel pipeline was the poorest piece of sensationalist journalism that I've seen in a while. Multiply inches times pumping power plus velocity and voilà, you now know exactly how many newcomers are expected in KJ.
While it would make for a great mathematics term paper, putting this misleading explosive headline all across the front page was probably intended as a gift to the circulation dept.
What I find most amazing though, is the lack of comparative figures for the 65 or so other upstate municipalities that draw water from the same source. Where are all diameter vs. population comparison numbers? How many gallons per person have they allocated and planned for? Do the municipalities with a population of 3,500 have a water pipe measuring 0.89 inches in diameter? Why weren't the census takers, engineers, environmental folks, and lawyers consulted on all these 65 or so other projects and the results posted right along your story on the front page? Is it only the Hasids who get such special treatment?
I think it's about time that everyone get together, with the real facts and powwow through this one, so that we can have a whole lot of winners in this situation. Responsible journalism will greatly help us all.
Leon Kraus
Monticello
Webmaster's Response:
Dear Leon:
It’s nice to see that you have not fallen victim to the herd mentality. How about if we forget about the other 75 projects and we concentrate instead on the New York City Aqueduct itself. Based on the Times Herald Record’s method of calculating population growth let’s think back to 1895 when the Catskills Aqueduct was being built. Did any of New York’s papers suggest that you multiply its inches times its pumping stations and add its velocity to figure out the size of New York City’s population wouldn’t he be laughed out of town?
and according to the Times Herald Record you have an accurate count of how many people live New York City . If my calculations are anywhere near accurate New York City must now have a population of 142 million.
Mayor Bloomberg would be advised to try and convince the United States Census Bureau to adapt the Times Herald Record method here.
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