BIGGER, TALLER HOUSES: DO YOU WANT THEM?

Tuesday April 4 at 730 p.m. the Planning Commission will hear arguments for changes in the zoning law that would allow new houses to be taller and to occupy a larger portion of a lot.

These are significant changes deserving maximum citizen input. Any recommendation from this hearing will go to the City Council, where I will be one of those voting to accept, modify or reject. I have an open mind at this point but also a concern about the effect on neighbors and the community's appearance.

Attend the hearing. Or send the City your comments. Or post your comment here!

A NEW FORM OF JOURNALISM FOR ORCHARD LAKE


When I entered newspaper journalism a half-century ago, the internet did not exist and the word "blog" was meaningless. Today blogs have become a new journalistic form, with their own set of advantages and problems. The main advantages are speed, cost (pretty much none) and immediacy. One of the main problems, from the reader standpoint, is that they are unregulated and can be -- as to content -- inaccurate and unreliable. The "old" journalism, either print or broadcast, typically operates under strict content controls. Blogs do not.


So as The Orchard Lake Chronicle begins publication how can you rely on what you see here?


You will depend largely on the experience and principles I have developed in a lifetime of reporting and editing. I am responsible for presenting the facts to the highest degree of accuracy I can. Unlike a typical newspaper, however, there will not be a strict "wall" between reporting and commentary. On any subject, you may receive a mix between straight reporting and my commentary on the subject.

This blog is not about me; it is about our community. The Chronicle's objective is to deal with issues affecting the citizens of the City of Orchard Lake Village. But you will find the Chronicle wandering into other areas, some of which affect the citizens indirectly and some of which are figments of my own interests. I will always try to play straight with the facts but you will have to put up with my viewpoint and my selection of material.

By their nature blogs are interactive between the host and the reader. Your comments -- and I hope there are many -- will be viewed as "letters to the editor." In a perfect world, this blog will be a roundtable of discussion among our citizens on current issues.