How to "lift" a news story from a local blogger, by the News and Record's Amanda Lehmert and Jeff Gauger

From 4/8/13; So I'm at a budget meeting this past Saturday with Diane Bellamy Small and Denise Turner Roth...

"A gentleman in front of me with a helmet on the seat next to him brought up bicycle safety, and while doing so identified the city's road conditions as problematic relative to the overall number of potholes, cracks etc...

Denise responded by informing us Greensboro's roads were considered in "poor" condition, or rated "poor" or something along the lines of not in good shape. She told us, Alex Jacobson from the Rhino was behind me, that our city's road maintenance was deprioritized in the budget to the benefit of some undefined priorities which received money and/or debt allocated elsewhere.

Where was the money prioritized to, and who suggested and voted to sacrifice the quality of our roadways for what?

If some end up needing alignments because our government didn't do what is supposed to, I believe that the auto bills may be a form of taxation imposed to the benefit of unnecessary "priority"."
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From 4/15/13; City of Greensboro Spring 2011 Resurfacing Contract; Our street conditions appear to be a direct reflection of spending priorities
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From 4/23/13; 2012 Pavement Condition Survey; "The City of Greensboro’s street system is in “poor” condition"

"In 2010, $500,000 was sold and subsequently used for contracted resurfacing. In 2012, another $2 million was sold and will be used for contracted resurfacing this summer.

Thirty-two percent (343 miles) of streets are recommended for resurfacing within the next year.
• Sixty five percent (700 miles) of streets are currently in need of some level of maintenance (crack seal, patching, or resurfacing)
• The percent of streets in “very poor” condition has almost doubled since 2008.
• Present day costs to complete needed repairs exceed $112 million."

Where did the money that should have gone to the roads go?

If the % of very poor streets has doubled since 2008, and we committed to borrowing $8 million and didn't...?

So we're not immediately borrowing $5.5 million for our $112 million problem?
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The News and Record, from 4/29/13;

...city research shows that its repair schedule is not keeping pace with road wear.

The most recent research, completed last year, found that about 700 miles of city streets need some level of repair, and that the overall road quality was worse than when the last survey was done in 2010 — an indication that the roads are deteriorating faster than the city is repairing them.

“Greensboro will be required to spend 6 to 14 times more money in the future for costly reconstruction if immediate action is not taken to maintain the infrastructure,”...

The survey recommended the city immediately resurface 343 miles of roads and repair 72 miles each succeeding year.

Amanda Lehmert, 373-7075, or @alehmert on Twitter.
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So a mayoral candidate for the City of Greensboro who want's taxpayers to stop subsidizing the News and Record by not having to pay for public notices anymore, discovers and reports newsworthy information about what our local government has ignored to spend on discretionary projects, and the news department swipes the story without informing its readers who broke it.

Censorship.

Misleading.

Bias.

A violation of journalism ethics.

Unprofessional.

A perversion of the political process.

A betrayal of Greensboro's voters.

George "Gadfly/Loose Cannon/Provocateur" Hartzman
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Give voice to the voiceless; official and unofficial sources of information can be equally valid.

Never plagiarize.

Identify sources whenever feasible.

The public is entitled to as much information as possible on sources' reliability.

Deliberate distortion is never permissible.

Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived.

Disclose unavoidable conflicts.

The SPJ Code of Ethics