This is a rather long article about a highly-qualified person getting a job that not everyone can do. I don't see why I should be upset that this happened.
If people at the Mercury are feeling betrayed by losing a prominent reporter to the "other side" there are far more tactful ways of expressing that than publicly going after a former colleague.
Nice to see Matt Davis' byline again. I am surprised, however, that the Mercury didn't use former Merc journalist Amy Ruiz for this piece. 'Cause she has the expertise in unqualified alt-weekly journalists getting sweet public jobs that they have no experience in (raise included!).
So... Tara Bowen-Biggs has been "on the Job" working for various County Commissioners since 2005, and a guy fresh to the place makes 13k more a year more than her? Doesn't the county have some sort of equal pay rule? How much did Bowen-Biggs make in the first year at that position?
Dave Austin, Cogen's Communications Director hired Stern, but somehow Stern doesn't work for Cogen? This is really confusing... can you ask who he DOES work for?
"non-department department", is that like NCAA "Double Secret Probation"?
Great to have you back Matt, even if just for one story
Patrick
Is this even news? Everybody knows it's ok if you happen to be an alt-weekly news editor to unflinchingly reprint verbatim whatever press release your future boss/mayoral candidate hands you- all the while acting under the guise of being a "journalist". (For some reason the name Amy J. Ruiz comes to mind.) But some schlub from WW gets a county job and now it's "boo-hoo, we have standards around here"? Hmm. Somebody should get a quote from Scott Moore.
Maybe Hank kin take his lil' buddie Aaron Mesh over thar wi' him as a kind of under-uber-secretary. Or an uber-under-secretary? Give 'em all public relations jobs, let God sort 'em out!!!!!
What "I keep the kid..." said. I totally agree with Matt Davis, here - this smells like some real bullshit. Austin's not some entrepreneur spending his own money to hire a buddy - those are public funds he's throwing around. $13k more than the experienced professional, for someone who's never done the job before and didn't have to interview? That's pure cronyism, and Austin should go to jail for fraud.
This is the kind of stuff that fuels Tea Party rage and discredits progressives... The chair should perhaps pay a little more attention to his under-uberlings...
and just when I was beginning to wonder about this place!
If people at the Mercury are feeling betrayed by losing a prominent reporter to the "other side" there are far more tactful ways of expressing that than publicly going after a former colleague.
Congratulations to Mr Stern.
Dave Austin, Cogen's Communications Director hired Stern, but somehow Stern doesn't work for Cogen? This is really confusing... can you ask who he DOES work for?
"non-department department", is that like NCAA "Double Secret Probation"?
Great to have you back Matt, even if just for one story
Patrick
You can smell the bitter gumbo from here. That's like sour grapes for Brits that move to New Orleans.
I'd like to start some kind of online petition...but I notice there are only 9 other commenters on here...