A Response To The Anti-Nuclear Crowd

1.    Rain is expected throughout the day, and possibly into the night, according to the National Weather Service. The high is 50, according to the service.

2.    Yesterday, after my article recapping , I received several emails from people opposed to nuclear power criticizing my coverage. They also allege that I, like some of the media, am “in the pocket of Dominion.”

My response: First, Dominion has never bought an advertisement on this site and has not contributed a single dollar to Waterford Patch or Patch at all, so suggesting I (or anybody else at Patch) am “in the pocket” of Dominion is completely baseless. And if Dominion were to advertise on Patch, or any other company for that matter, it will have no effect on my coverage. The editorial side and the advertising side have almost no interaction and in no way would an advertiser affect my coverage.

Secondly, the emails asked why I didn’t give Nancy Burton more coverage, unlike another news source. They asked why I portrayed her in a negative light (being booed away), while other sources made her the principal person in the coverage.

Burton was jeered by the crowd and at one point was booed to the point that she had to sit down. If you were to poll the hundred or so people at that meeting, I would bet 95 were strongly in favor of nuclear power. The coverage of other sources made it seem as if it was an anti-nuclear rally, when the reality was the complete opposite.

Finally, and most importantly, the news Monday night was not that people are against nuclear power. People have always been against nuclear power; that is nothing new. The news is that a Dominion representative said the company would shut down the plant if the new tax were passed and the cost cannot be passed to the customer. That would make a huge impact in all of Connecticut, but especially Waterford.

Some may argue that the closing of the plant would be a good thing. Others who have jobs at stake would probably argue the opposite, but that was the fundamental news. That is also why I made it the lede of my story; and the focus of my coverage.

I would like to thank the people who wrote those emails, because I think that questioning the news is a fair and necessary action by the public. And it is fair to expect an explanation, which I just gave. So thank you for the interest, and if anybody has any issue with my coverage, feel free to send me an email.

3.    All right, after that marathon post, we get back to the news. Tonight at 7, all three elementary schools will get together for one massive concert at Waterford High School.

4.    Today, Waterford Public Library, along with all the libraries across the state, will be taking a “snapshot” of what impact libraries have in a typical day. Last year in Connecticut on “snapshot day,” 80,600 people visited the library, borrowing a total of almost 100,000 books, DVDs and other materials. Today, the Waterford Public Library is having an encampment on the front lawn to honor the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War.   

5.    On this date in 1953, CIA director Allen Dulles launches the mind-control program MK-ULTRA. The program used illegal tactics, such as giving unsuspecting people LSD, to find ways to control the public. In the 1970s, the operation came to light and several were prosecuted for it. Also, after analyzing the tactics, experts concluded that almost nothing was learned or gained from this operation, and the tactics made very little “scientific sense.”

Quote of the Day

“We aim above the mark to hit the mark.”

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Trivia of the Day

What year did Millstone Power Station start producing energy?

Yesterday’s Answer: Tennis star Andy Roddick is married to Brooklyn Decker.