To get a good story, sometimes all a reporter has to do is just stand around. That’s what Voice of San Diego reporter Adrian Florido and photographer Sam Hodgson did:
The private company pumping sand onto Mission Beach has not done what it’s promised to prevent debris like rebar and rubber from being dumped on the beach.
Manson Construction had pledged Wednesday to ensure that any debris pumped onto the beach would be immediately removed after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Mayor’s Office approached them with concerns that hazardous debris was ending up onshore.. . .
Officials with Manson Construction told Voice of San Diego that someone would be on site at the sand pipe, ready to remove any debris. But Florido and Hodgson watched Wednesday night as the sand was pumped in, and didn’t see anyone looking for debris.
Thursday, VOSD called the field supervisor, Larry Hall, who told them a monitor was at the sand pipe around the clock:
I told Hall that we had photographed the discharge pipe flowing Wednesday night and no one was stationed there for almost an hour. Hall replied: “That’s slander. I will sue you. You cannot go around slandering. There’s somebody out there. I will sue you and your newspaper. I guarantee that.”
Then he hung up.
Read the entire Voice of San Diego story. It’s the kind of accountability journalism we need more of.
Comments 1
I really like the Voice, I wish they were a tad bigger and published on weekend. Great story and great reporting.