Story failed to tell funding source

Your coverage of the long-awaited start of the new Dover Bridge seemed somewhat peculiar, in that Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter and other dignitaries apparently ignored completely the actual source of funding for the project.

Not only did no official acknowledge that the entire project is  being paid for by federal stimulus funds, the governor and others seemed to say that this is a triumph of state government’s “long term responsibility to our citizens,” and that the Dover Bridge is “a symbol of that commitment.”

Everyone should realize that the old bridge was a depression-era public works project by the federal government to provide jobs and needed infrastructure. The new bridge is for exactly the same purpose. The only contribution from the state of Idaho has been to plan for this bridge for 30 years and to have a a “shovel-ready” project capable of putting stimulus money to work on short notice.

I am sure that the Bee is not intentionally biased, but this story, with its very significant failure to mention the funding source for this project that will have such a huge economic impact on Bonner County, helps to perpetuate the public misperception that the government’s massive efforts, through deficit spending, are being wasteful, ineffective, and not making a difference. I doubt that the 400 workers, all the suppliers, all the area businesses, schools, and local governments are under many illusions about where all this money is coming from.

DAVID STARR

Sandpoint