Did you ever wonder why some environmental news stories never show up in your local newspaper? Here's a few clues that you won't find on the pages of the newspaper.

ONLY NATIONAL WIRE STORIES

Did you notice the complete lack of coverage in the Monterey Herald of the "Logging without Laws - Timber Salvage Rider". The reason is the Herald will not print a national news story if it doesn't come from a news wire like Associated Press. Your local Sierra Club asked many times to get them to run a story on the bill the Timber Industry sneaked through Congress - the outrageous "Logging without Laws" which suspended all laws in our National Forests to allow logging, but the Herald was adamant. They essentially said - If a National story doesn't come across our news wires - we won't write about it.

When your Sierra Club Ventana Chapter wrote a Soapbox - the Herald cut out the key paragraph that explained how "Logging without Laws" would affect 30,000 acres of OUR backyard Los Padres National Forest.

If the Herald subscribed to Green-Wire they would have had daily updates on the tremendous battle between the Timber Industry, President Clinton, Congress and the Forest protection groups. They would have learned that President Clinton got more contacts telling him to veto "Logging without Laws" than he got about the Oklahoma City Bombing (more than 60,000 calls, email, faxes, visits and letters).

This is astounding considering the tiny amount of national coverage of the "Logging without Laws" issue. By comparison the Oklahoma City Bombing had 29 full pages in a single issue of Time magazine.

The Herald doesn't yet subscribe to Green-Wire - the Environmental, Health and Safety news wire. Maybe a phone call to the Herald's Editor and President Susan Miller (646 4342) might persuade her that better environmental coverage is demanded by subscribers.

By the way - its just a coincidence that Alexander Cockburn's "environmental insider" column was dropped - isn't it?

NO NATIONAL EDITORIALS WRITTEN HERE

Ever wonder why Herald editorials aren't signed? The Monterey Herald does not publish locally written editorials on national news issues. They only publish editorials on National news issues sent to them by headquarters back east. What an easy excuse to keep from writing about serious urgent issues happening in Washington.

The Herald requires letters to the editor be signed. Yet they don't feel compelled to play by the same rules. Tell Herald Editor Susan Miller you want Herald editorials signed.

When Colonel Allan Griffin ran the paper and wrote editorials - he took the heat. Since the Herald doesn't write national editorials anymore, they can claim innocence as in "we didn't write that editorial."

Well then - tell us who did.

HERALD REFUSES MEETINGS

Ahh... for the good old days when the Herald was locally owned. Colonel Allan Griffin didn't always support environmental points of view, but he lived here and gave a darn about our community and everybody in it.

When Colonel Griffin ran the paper he met with everybody whether they agreed with him or not. The Herald's current Editor and President Susan Miller has cleverly failed to meet with certain people and groups. "Its Budget time." "Call me in a month" - over and over again.

I wonder which local people could pool enough money to buy the Herald and make it a home town paper again?

P.S. July 24 Update:

The Rescissions Bill passed the Senate and the Herald has yet to print a single sentence about it.

Sept 6 Update:

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