THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 19, 1995 TAG: 9510190013
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
I live in Eastside Norfolk in the Maple Hall subdivision. It's about as far from downtown as you can get without having a Virginia Beach address.
Unlike some of my fellow Norfolk residents, I have never groused about downtown development and never said it was taking away from my neighborhood services.
On the contrary, I realize that if Norfolk had never invested in Waterside, Town Point Park, Harbor Park, the Convention Center and, yes, Nauticus, this city's tax base would be negligible and taxpayers would be shouldering a heavier burden than we are now.
I am dismayed at the editorial vindictiveness that The Virginian-Pilot has leveled at Norfolk. The column ``The trouble with Nauticus: Finances are only the beginning'' by associate editor Beth Barber (Oct. 4) was pompous and poisonous.
Fellow Norfolk citizens, do you realize this is the same writer who in an editorial for The Virginian-Pilot chastised Norfolk for gouging Virginia Beach because our city leaders wouldn't sign a contract to sell water to our sister city at the same level price for 30 years? Ms. Barber's definition of fiscal responsibility is slippery.
Before you start joining in her editorial battle cry, ask yourself these questions:
What if all the attractions in downtown Norfolk disappeared? Would I, as a taxpayer, want to make up the revenue gap their absence would create? What about the gap in my quality of life?
Does Norfolk deserve characterization as ``a local government that only grudgingly seeks public input''? Mayor Paul Fraim has the most organized community outreach of any of Hampton Roads' mayors. He holds individual meetings with citizens in his office, has quarterly civic-league-president meetings and has quarterly citizen workshops.
Some criticism should be leveled at Norfolk's leadership. It was naive and unrealistic to think it could discuss a large capital issue such as Nauticus behind closed doors, put it on the council's agenda and expect the city public- relations forces to bring about consensus in a few weeks. No, this kind of venture takes much longer to nurture.
As a government teacher, I recognize that excessive collaboration can kill a project, but so can close-to-the-vest politics. Norfolk hasn't learned to strike the balance between those two extremes yet. My city has vision but lacks some common sense.
But worse, The Virginian-Pilot editorial page lacks equity. I know that the editorial page's business is opinion. But it has gone beyond that. It has copped an ``attitude.''
JAMES M. O'HARA
Norfolk, Oct. 4, 1995 by CNB