The story behind the story

According to the Sentinel, former Mayor Mary Whitney is in the hunt for state rep. She has pulled nomination papers, but as of yesterday had yet to open a campaign account. If she's serious, she needs to start raising some money, stat. Whitney says she's not ready to announce yet, so part of us wonders if she'll actually go through it. Either way, she's certainly very interested.

Story behind the story: Stephen DiNatale, who is in the race, says in the story he'll do what he what he always does in campaigns, shaking hands and meeting people. That's nice retail politics, but offers nothing in terms of vision, plans and what he brings to the table. Certainly, there's the possibility the Sentinel left that out of the story, but it's more likely that's the best DiNatale could come up with. We understand that a big part of local politics is being seen, but we'd rather that speak for itself and DiNatale talk about the great things he's going to do in office. There's some talk in the comments section here about DiNatale being a little light in the substance category, and this story doesn't cure those concerns.

The Sentinel also checks in with a story on the problems with the snow budget, and how the city is close to going over the budgeted cost. This doesn't really concern us too much. Communities usually blow through their budgets, and often cover it the next year. It happens, and generally isn't a sign of fiscal mismangement. If anything, we're a little perturbed that our street and those nearby haven't been taken care of better this winter. The 3-4-5 inch snow falls this year have been unplowed usually, creating quite a mess. That said, the city has done an excellent job on the big storms. Perhaps some plowing cost-cutting?

The story behind the story: Jody Joseph blasts Mayor Dan Mylott, saying the mayor is "mortgaging" the city's budget, and "I think we're running into financial disaster." Tough words, and if we didn't know any better, perhaps the words of a guy who has higher office in mind in 2007. Is that nothing but speculation? Absolutely. Something worth watching? Absolutely.

Also, Mylott admits to learning from last year's budget creation, and is optimistic about next year. Interesting that Mylott sort of admits defeat on how the '06 budget was handled. He'll need a good '07 if he wants to solidify his standing for next year.