Sunday, January 08, 2006

Metro Action Commission Puffs On NewsChannel 5

NewsChannel 5 ran a story on its 10:00 p.m. newscast last night about the work of the Metro Action Commission to provide heating assistance to Nashvillians who need help this winter paying their utility bills. I was curious as to the timing of the "puff piece," given the bad news for MAC that hit the Tennessean late last month about having to return federal funds. I understand that the state has just allocated utility bill assistance to various communities and that MAC will distribute those funds in Nashville. But the timing and pitch of the story came across to me as an attempt to repair the previous public relations damage.

Nonetheless, the positive press does not change the fact that the Fehr School Building does not have the facilities to shelter people lining up for assistance at MAC. Even if MAC is able to avoid the embarrassment this time of returning unused funds, what are they going to do to alleviate the long lines of people--exposed to winter weather conditions--down Salemtown sidewalks?

No comments:

Post a Comment