The rumor mill
As reported on this site last week, rumors have been 'flying' (pun intended) around town for quite some time about development plans, possibly secret ones, at the Venice Municipal Airport. I took some unfair heat for allegedly starting these rumors when, in fact, I was reporting about the rumors in an attempt to either validate or debunk them.

My attempt to validate or debunk the rumors led to my being barred from city press briefings. After numerous (and sometimes hilarious) e-mails exchanged between myself and City Manager Marty Black, Black has finally and graciously conceded to allow me to attend future press briefings. I commend Black for rethinking this through and for finally accepting web-only publications as part of the general media. Thanks also go out to a few friends and fans of Venice Florida! dot com for intervening on behalf of Venice Florida! dot com.

That said, I still had no definitive response from the city on the airport rumors.

Councilman John Simmonds had also heard the same rumors, quite likely from the same group of people I had heard them from. At the June 27 council meeting, Simmonds, quite forcefully, addressed the rumors head on. In a seven-minute speech, Simmonds addressed most of the rumors that Venice Florida! dot com had reported on and he addressed one that I hadn't heard: that the city was actively trying to sell the airport.

I had reported on rumors of outside interests that were interested in moving the airport, but I had not heard rumors about anyone within the city actively trying to sell the airport and/or possibly moving it to North Port. That was a new one to me when Simmonds spoke.

Simmonds' speech can be seen and heard in its entirety in the video clip at the top of this page.

Several people, including myself, interpreted Simmonds' comments as a slap to this web site for merely reporting the existence of the rumors and for trying to interpret the meaning behind them.

In a phone interview after the council meeting, Simmonds said that was not the case and apologized if I or anyone else had interpreted his comments in that light. "I heard those same rumors from six or eight different people, it wasn't just you," Simmonds told me. "A lot of people had these same questions and I kept hearing it again and again."

Simmonds actually commended me for addressing the issue and for trying to find the truth behind the rumors, this in spite of the fact that I had been unsuccessful in obtaining any meaningful answers.

So, in turn, my thanks go out to Simmonds for having the courage and integrity of talking on-the-record about an incredibly touchy subject that nobody else would address.

John Patten is the head of Web Operations for Creative Pages, and has worked in broadcasting for over 12 years. He can also be incredibly rude at times.