A Reader Asks...

A reader/anonymous commenter asks:

Where do we signup? The only trouble I see ahead is getting the word out. I follow 3 blogs. that mention this Kathysak, Whats Happening Painesville and yours. What kind of reach into the communities do you think these three sites will have? Enough?

This comment was submitted in response to the link we posted to the News-Herald's story about the Lake County Board of Commissioners sending a levy to the May ballot for the Lake County Board of Developmental Disabilities.


To put it succinctly: the blogs you cited reach a targeted audience.  This targeted audience obsessively checks siad blogs.  How do we know?  Easy.  Server logs.


Case in point.  We very methodically covered the Willoughby Hills proposed income tax increase, change, hike...whatever they want to spin it as.  This coverage consisted of posting Willoughby Hills City Council's meeting agendas, minutes, and the use of direct quotations from the aforementioned sources.  Interspersed between the public documents and quotes we offered our views of the proposed legislation.


The result was obsessive checking of this blog by computers at Willoughby Hills City Hall, and the Willoughby Hills Police Department.  More obsessive blog checking was done by private computers using private ISP's and comments from at least two Willoughby Hills City Councilmen.


Finally, the day of the third reading the News-Herald publishes a story in which the Mayor says "...upon mull it over a bit more, ... it wasn't the right time."  Hours after this story Willoughby Hills City Council votes 7-0 to reject putting the proposed income tax increase on the ballot.


The next day the linked story back pedals and describes the punting of the hike.


We can not conclusively say that Willoughby Hills' fumbling of the tax issue was due to our work, but we can assure you that we did enough to upset the apple cart and shed some light on what was going on.


Now, you want to know how you can help?  


Write a letter to the editor!  Better yet, everywhere you go casually bring up the issue the economy and taxes.  Be it at the gym, in the grocery line, or at work...say things to people like "wow, can you believe this economy?  People are struggling, and these guys want to raise our taxes???? "  This has the effect like a pebble cast onto the glass like surface of a pond on a windless day; one small pebble ripples all the way out around it!  Then, bam!  No tax hike!