As today’s Times reports, the Florida International Museum received yet another bailout from the St. Petersburg City Council yesterday, this time to the tune of $260,000. The Mayor praised the unanimous vote and, once again, the Times editorial staff was on the winning side.
But if you look deeper into the coverage of this seemingly benign agenda item, something is amiss.
On Wednesday, a Times editorial supporting the forgiveness of a $260,000 city loan to the museum stated: “The relationship between the city and museum is complex and goes back a ways.”
You don’t know the half of it.
Back in 2001, Creative Loafing’s John F. Sugg reported on the “complex” relationship between the museum, the Times and Mayor Baker. He detailed the Times cheerleading of the museum’s opening. He uncovered Baker’s connections to the museum, in which he served as lawyer, board member and chairman. And Baker’s push for a $5.4 million bailout in the mid-90s.
Read Sugg’s story here, then re-read the Times coverage this week and tell me something isn’t amiss.
This article appears in Dec 19-25, 2007.
