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HURRICANE SEASON JUNE 1 - NOVEMBER 30

NEWS

JANUARY 2010       

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AUGUST 2010

SEPTEMBER 2010

WHY NO COVERAGE OF DOCLEFINO

1.25.10

THIS IS A KSHN RADIO COMMENTARY . ….IN RECENT DAYS HERE AT KSHN RADIO WE HAVE BEEN ASKED, ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS, WHY WE HAVE NOT BEEN REPORTING ON THE CHANNEL 13 UNDERCOVER REPORTS OF ALLEGED MISDOINGS IN CHAMBERS COUNTY BY ELECTED OFFICIALS THERE. OVER THREE NIGHTS LAST WEEK EMMEE AWARD WINNING UNDERCOVER REPORTER WAYNE DOLCEFINO OF CHANNEL 13,-HOUSTON AIRED INVESTIGATIVE REPORTS ALLEGING MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN FRAUD ON HOW DEBRIS CLEAN UP HAS BEEN DONE FOLLOWING HURRICANE IKE. MOST OF THE ACCUSATIONS HAS BEEN POINTED AT COUNTY JUDGE JIMMY SYLVIA, ACCUSED OF GETTING JOBS FOR FAMILY MEMBERS AND CONTRACTS FOR POLITICAL SUPPORTERS. DOLCEFINO SAID IN HIS SERIES OF REPORTS THAT TAX PAYERS HAVE BEEN ROBBED BY CHAMBERS COUNTY PUBLIC OFFICIALS. BACK WHEN DOLCEFINO WAS SPENDING HIS TIME IN LIBERTY COUNTY AND MAKING SIMILAR ACCUSATIONS AGAINST PUBLIC OFFICIALS HERE SOME OF THOSE REPORTS HAD INFORMATION WE KNEW WAS EITHER EXAGGERATED OR FALSE. WE BEGAN AN IN DEPTH ASSESSMENT OF CLAIMS IN THE DOLCEFINO REPORTS ABOUT THE CONDUCT OF LIBERTY COUNTY OFFICIALS.. WE WERE ABLE TO PROVE TO OUR SATISFACTION THAT MOST OF THE ACCUSATIONS AGAINST LOCAL OFFICIALS WERE WRONG OR GROSSLY EXAGGERATED. HERE AT KSHN RADIO WE KNEW THAT WE COULD NOT UNDUE ALL OF THE DAMAGE DONE BY ONE OF THE BIGGEST AND BEST FUNDED TV STATIONS IN AMERICA BUT WE DID REPORT ACCURATE INFORMATION COMPARED TO WHAT THE DOLCEFINO REPORTS HAD. AT THAT TIME WE HOPED ACCURATE INFORMATION REACHED THE LIBERTY COUNTY FOLKS. THE CHANNEL 13 MIC IS A OBVIOUSLY BIGGER THAN OURS BUT AT LEAST WE GAVE OUR LISTENERS, WHO WANTED THE TRUTH, A FAIR SHOT. WITH THAT THOUGHT IN MIND WE HAVE NOT DONE SIMILAR EVALUATIONS OF DOLCEFINO’S REPORTS REGARDING CHAMBERS COUNTY BECAUSE WE SIMPLY DO NOT HAVE ACCESS NOR THE CONSIDERABLE RESOURCES NEEDED FOR THE SAME LEVEL OF ASSESSMENT IN CHAMBERS COUNTY THAT WE WERE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH IN LIBERTY COUNTY. THAT MAY NOT BE A GOOD EXCUSE BUT HOPEFULLY IT WILL, AT LEAST, EXPLAIN WHY WE HAVE NOT REPORTED ON THE ABC 13 INVESTIGATIONS IN CHAMBERS COUNTY AS WE DID WHEN HE DID SIMILAR REPORTS HERE. WE ARE NOT SAYING HE INTENTIONALLY FALSIFIED THE LIBERTY COUNTY REPORTS BUT CERTAINLY THERE WERE SOME VERY THIN RESEARCH DONE AND THE CHANNEL 13 REPORTS ON LIBERTY COUNTY OFFICIALS FELL SHORT ON SEVERAL LEVELS. THAT IS NOT TO SAY DOLCEFINO DID NOT GET THE FACTS RIGHT IN CHAMBERS COUNTY. WE SIMPLY DO NOT KNOW SO WE HAVE CHOSEN TO REMAIN OUTSIDE -LOOKING IN – REGARDING HIS ATTACKS ON THE ELECTED OFFICIALS OF CHAMBERS COUNTY. . WHILE DOING OUR REPORTS PROVING THE ABC 13 REPORTS WERE MOSTLY WRONG ON LIBERTY COUNTY WE DID LEARN THAT IT SEEMS LIBERTY TAXPAYERS GOT AT LEAST A FAIR DEAL ON DEBRIS CLEAN UP AND, AS BEST WE CAN TELL, NO LAWS WERE BROKEN IN THE PROCESS DESPITE DOLCEFINO’S CLAIMS TO THE CONTRARY. OUR REPORT INDICATES THAT CHAMBERS COUNTY REMOVED 1.3 MILLION CUBIC YARDS OF DEBRIS AFTER HURRICANE IKE COSTING $40.26 MILLION AT THE TIME OF OUR REPORT, MOSTLY SUPPLIED BY FEMA. THAT WAS AN AVERAGE OF $30.97 PER CUBIC YARD. GALVESTON COUNTY, A MUCH LARGER COUNTY PAID $22.40 PER CUBIC YARD WITH MORE VOLUME TO BE CLEANED UP /. LIBERTY COUNTY PAID SLIGHTLY MORE PER CUBIC YARD FOR DEBRIS REMOVAL THAN GALVESTON COUNTY AT $23.75.. OVER IN HARRIS COUNTY THEY PAID THE LOWEST WITH $15.78 PER CUBIC YARD BUT BENEFITED FROM HAVING A DEBRIS REMOVAL CONTRACT ALREADY IN PLACE BEFORE THE HURRICANE STRUCK. DOLCEFINO ASKED SOME GOOD QUESTIONS AS FAR AS HE WENT BUT WE LEARNED IT IS HARD TO COMPARE BECAUSE CONTRACTS WERE AWARDED WITH VERY DIFFERENT SPECIFICATIONS AND THOSE SEEKING THE WORK DID THEIR PRICING IN VERY DIFFERENT WAYS. FAIR COMPARISONS WERE NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE AND MOST WERE QUITE CLOSE TO EACH OTHER. WAYNE DOLCEFINO OF CHANNEL 13 MADE NOT HESITATION TO MAKE HIS ACCUSATIONS CLEARLY BUT MOSTLY WITH LITTLE OR NOT PROOF. WE CAN TELL YOU THAT HARRIS COUNTY WAS LOWEST WITH THE GREATEST VOLUME, CHAMBERS COUNTY WAS HIGHEST AND LIBERTY COUNTY FELL SOMEWHERE NEAR THE MIDDLE OF THOSE WE COMPARED AT THE TIME WE DID OUR REPORT IN OCTOBER OF 0-9.. IT IS DIFFICULT MAKING COMPARISONS BUT DOLCEFINO WOULD HAVE YOU BELIEVE THERE IS SOME CLEAR CUT DIFFERENCE WHILE ACCUSING LIBERTY AND CHAMBERS COUNTY LEADERS OF THEFT FROM THE PUBLIC TROUGH.. – WITH ALL THE BENEFIT OF HINDSIGHT THE BIG CITY REPORTER LEFT OUT A LOT OF IMPORTANT INFORMATION WHILE ARRIVING AT HIS OWN CONCLUSIONS. WE ARE NOT SAYING HE IS WRONG IN CHAMBERS COUNTY BUT HIS ACCUSATIONS WERE MOSTLY WRONG IN LIBERTY COUNTY. THIS HAS BEEN A KSHN RADIO NEWS COMMENTARY, BILL BUCHANAN REPORTING