We Want to Know...

We received this letter on the morning of Feb. 24 and have waited to confirm some details in it before publishing. Part of one paragraph has been withheld until we gain further information. The author is a resident of Chestnut Hill.


This is a thank you note to CHnotebook for offering an alternative to the Local. It is also a plea to the Local to be such a fine paper that such a blog becomes unnecessary. And to please not cut my letter.

So -- dear Blog, thank you for providing another information source on the Hill. Even as a resident who has never been involved in the politics here, I have felt that one of the many benefits of living here has been the give and take of the letters section of the Local, the news stories of the Local and the all around excellence of the Local. To change the Lentz policy, to not publish all the coherent letters submitted, is inexcusable. The pabulum currently offered up as news stories has often been a waste of time. (Freezing bananas? Tips on the dangers of cold weather and snow? Editorials on cats. Stories naming each merchant on the hill and assuring us that they are very nice. Pleeez.)

The Hill is mostly made up of college educated professionals pressed for time. We want a newspaper worth reading, not a tale told by an babbling homemaker. We want to know about local events and what others think about local events. We want to know what is going on. We want to know why Richard Snowden seems to dislike renting out space. We want to know how the Rev. Maxine Dornemann conducted herself (...) while she was living in the St. Paul's Rectory, -- and how that hurt the community of St Paul's. Why do we want to know? Because it's relevant to a half-rented Hill and perhaps the CHCA's current head's leadership style.

This is the 21st century. Dinner party gossip, which, might I add, is far more cruel and even more truthful than what I have said here, -- has 2 places to go for facts: A hard-hitting, news-reporting Local or a Blog like that at http://chnotebook.blogspot.com/ If you don't like the freedom of blogs -- make them unnecessary. News can no longer be restricted; there are too many venues for it. Wealthy individuals nor cheerleaders can control information. Only a newspaper that abides by real journalistic ethics can make sure that gossip doesn't stick. And only if it does its job. Meaning no hands-off policy on the Association or landowners.

I love the Hill. Up till recently I loved the Local. Whether it makes money or not, it is part of what makes the Hill worthwhile. Its one of the reasons to live here, to shop here, to play here. It is one of the things that ups the quality of life here.

So Local, please get back in the saddle and do what you're supposed to do. And thank you Blog for making it obvious what needs to be done. Good night and good luck to both of you, and especially, all of us.

Kay (All I ever needed to know I learned from "Bonanza") Wisniewski
Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pa