There was an asinine column by Nick Coleman over at the Strib last week. He's basically complaining about the ballpark being put next to the waste incinerator on the edge of downtown. A note about this columnist is that he has been adamantly against the new ballpark using public funding, and he's been trying to find a way to complain about it ever since the funding bill passed.
It's been discussed over at Twins Ballpark 2010, and here are my two favorite comments:
I spent lots of time in the HERC neighborhood when my company was located in Ford Centre and I never smelled anything. Nothing. Never. Ever. Not even once. As another commenter put it, it doesn't smell any worse there than it does throughout the rest of downtown.
It's a complete non-issue and that is proven by the number of people who are choosing to live very close to it. They wouldn't do that for long if it stunk.
But my bigger point is this: Whether you agree or disagree with Coleman, his writing is atrocious. By adopting a condescending tone and a "wink, wink, nudge, nudge" style, he somehow manages to lower the level of discourse on just about every subject he touches. Even when I agree with him, I cringe while reading. He belongs on some crappy talk radio station (I can think of one).
His columns are like talk radio for newspaper. That is NOT a good thing.
Between him and Kersten, the Strib B-section is starting to look like the Jerry Springer Show of newspapers: Write whatever you want as long as it provokes a reaction.
If that's your strategy for selling newspapers, you won't be selling them for very much longer...
Posted on July 17, 2008 at 12:24 AM by Rick
before i go: nick coleman points out something from which the ballpark must distance itself: the garbage burner. no matter how much people will go on the record saying there's no smell, the fact that the herc is referred to as "the garbage burner" is a psychological dent in the ballpark. it's kind of like when someone says "don't think about an elephant..." and the first thing that jumps into your mind is an elephant. the herc simply must be moved, decommissioned, or transformed into a wind/solar plant.
Posted on July 17, 2008 at 10:32 AM by yeaklye
These two comments bring up some good points on two unrelated subjects:
1. The first brings up the declining quality of the Strib's columnists. Reading them is like listening to an obnoxious talk radio program. I understand the position the Star Tribune is in, though. Readership and circulation is down, and it has a lot more to do with the changing ways that people now get their news. They keep these writers on staff to have them write columns that will spark arguments and controversy. If they didn't have that, there would be even less readers. But it seriously hurts the integrity and entire reputation of the newspaper.
2. The second comment makes a very level-headed assessment of the situation. No matter what it really smells like down in that area, being next to "the garbage burner" is going to give people a negative perception of the site. I used to park down in the Rapid Park lots a lot when they were open, and I never really smelled anything out of the ordinary. I even toured that plant with a college class and while I was expecting the entire place to reek, the only area that did was the actual warehouse area (I believe it's referred to "the pit" in the article) where the garbage is dumped and stored until it is brought to the incinerator. But any remotely foul smell at this ballpark is going to automatically be linked with the HERC plant. A big sweaty guy sitting next to you while watching the Twins game could fart, and you would automatically think it's the garbage next door. So I do agree with the commenter that they will eventually have to get rid of this plant in order for that neighborhood to continue to develop with new housing, retail, and parks.
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