More thoughts = continued from above --
6) Here is an email dialogue I just had with the reporter from St Pete times --
My initial query --
From: (anobserver2)
To: trigaux@sptimes.com
Date: 07/06/2010 06:51 PM
Subject: query re "Only 1,100 jobs for $1.5 billion? Florida's biotech cluster won't come cheap" By Robert Trigaux
Dear Mr. Trigaux:
Regarding your January 2010 article:
"Only 1,100 jobs for $1.5 billion? Florida's biotech cluster won't come cheap"
By Robert Trigaux, Times Business Columnist
In Print: Thursday, January 28, 2010
and specifically, what you wrote therein:
"If Jeb had not secretly and on his own pitched Scripps Research in California to open a
facility in Florida … And if Jeb did not have $310 million in funds in 2003 to entice Scripps with ..."
My questions to you is this: In light of all the discussion about should tax dollars ever help media companies
(such as newspapers on the brink of financial collapse), what law allows Jeb Bush to give a media newspaper company like Scripps
$310 million in taxpayer money, as you reported? Do you think the reason he "secretly" did this "on his own" is because he knew it
was illegal? I ask you this politely, and the reason I ask is because I lived in a FL town that has a Scripps owned newspaper, and I
can tell you firsthand it will not do any investigative reporting and it constantly violates the state's deceptive acts & practices law.
In short, it is as if Jeb bought himself a newspaper, too.
What do you think?
---------
His response:
----------------
from rtrigaux@sptimes.com
to (anobserver2)
date Tue, Jul 6, 2010 at 6:57 PM
subject Re: query re "Only 1,100 jobs for $1.5 billion? Florida's biotech cluster won't come cheap" By Robert Trigaux
mailed-by sptimes.com
Jul 6 (2 days ago)
Hi. Let me clarify. The "Scripps" in question is the Scripps Research Institute, a California-based biotech research business (came out of Stanford University). Here is the website:
http://www.scripps.edu/e_index.html
It is not related to the E.W. Scripps company that owns newspapers. As to why your newspaper lacks investigative reporting, that's another question but is certainly tied to the recession that has particularly hit newspapers.
Hope that helps.
Robert Trigaux
Business Columnist
St. Petersburg Times
727-893-8405
Venture "Inside Tampa Bay Business" blog
Visit at www.blogs.tampabay.com/venture
-----------
My response to him - 3 emails, most recent first:
from (anobserver2)
to rtrigaux@sptimes.com
date Tue, Jul 6, 2010 at 7:31 PM
subject ALso - Fwd: PS - Fwd: Thanks/ Re: query re "Only 1,100 jobs for $1.5 billion? Florida's biotech cluster won't come cheap" By Robert Trigaux
mailed-by gmail.com
Jul 6 (2 days ago)
Also - if you ever want to see the kind of news the Naples Daily NEws will not report (fake public officials violating the Stolen Valor Act),
and you want to see a pattern of such conduct, in FL and TExas, see my one-page new work of art for 10 minutes here :
http://www.thebushfamilyplaybook.blogspot.com
The above link is currently posted on a texas newspaper forum, the eagle.
---------------
Begin forwarded message:
> From:
> Date: July 6, 2010 7:16:53 PM EDT
> To: rtrigaux@sptimes.com
> Subject: PS - Fwd: Thanks/ Re: query re "Only 1,100 jobs for $1.5 billion? Florida's biotech cluster won't come cheap" By Robert Trigaux
>
>
> PS Maybe Jeb took several million of the $310 million earmarked for "Scripps edu" and instead deliberately wrote a check to EW Scripps, pretending it was for the biotech lab.
> SOmething like that. A check made out to "Scripps" that was earmarked publicly for the biotech lab, but instead Jeb knew he was writing it to "Scripps" meaning EW Scripps - and he
> gave it to EW Scripps. I bet something like that happened. I really do.
------------
> Begin forwarded message:
>
>> From:
>> Date: July 6, 2010 7:12:07 PM EDT
>> To: rtrigaux@sptimes.com
>> Subject: Thanks/ Re: query re "Only 1,100 jobs for $1.5 billion? Florida's biotech cluster won't come cheap" By Robert Trigaux
>>
>> Mr. Trigaux, I appreciate your speedy reply here and your information.
>> But I am still wondering if somehow there is some connection, or maybe there exists a financial connection not apparent because:
>>
>> Just as you mentioned, at a time when the recession hit newspaper hard, the Scripps owned Naples Daily News did the unthinkable:
>> it built an enormous, and I mean enormous, new printing and office complex for itself, costing millions and millions of dollars.
>>
>> Now, the Naples Daily News does not sell that many newspapers to begin with. How in the world it not only avoided the recession that hit every other
>> newspaper AND, on TOP of that, pulled out millions of dollars out of a hat to build this enormous new complex, remains a mystery to me.
>>
>> That's why I still think there is some connection or some other connection not known between Scripps and Jeb.
>>
>> Thanks again.
>>