COMMENTARY
MARK SCHUMANN
Press Journal and TCPalm.com reporters and columnists regularly join the island weekly in bungling, if not slanting their reporting on Vero Beach’s utility story.
This past week, for example, the Stuart based newspaper, whose publisher is married to a key FPL vise president involved in the company’s attempt to acquire Vero Electric, reported proposed revisions to the City’s wholesale power agreement with the Orlando Utilities Commission will lead to saving of $2.50 per month for the the average residential customers.
There is far more to the story.
If City leaders were playing politics with the OUC deal, they could have negotiated greater savings in the short term, in exchange for less in the out years of the 8-year deal. Preferring instead to pursue what is described as “rate stabilization,” negotiators for the City structured a deal that brings greater saving in the later years of the revised contract.
Rather than explaining to readers that the savings will vary from $2.50 per month in 2016, to $12.70 per month in 2019, Press Journal reporter Colleen Wixon used her alloted space to repeat inaccurate, if not misleading statements made by Councilwoman Pilar Turner. Wixon wrote, “The amended contract stipulates the city’s legal and monetary obligations to Orlando Utilities for any changes in state law and costs incurred if Indian River Shores residents are allowed to leave the city’s electric system, she said. The contract calls for the shutdown of the city’s electric plant, but allows Orlando Utilities to reopen or lease it in the future.”
In truth, if the Shores were to prevail in its legal action again the City, or if the Florida Legislature overrides the Public Service Commission and forces Vero Electric to abandon its out-of-city customers, the City will not be obligated to the OUC for the resulting decline in power demand. Is this too complicated for Wixon to grasp and explain? Possibly, but it seems more likely her failure to report the whole truth is the result of laziness, or is out of a desire to write the story in a way that is more favorable to FPL’s local allies, all of whom seem determined to frustrate the current City Council’s efforts to lower electric rates.
Gannett Co.Inc., which owns the Florida Today newspaper in Brevard County, this week announced plans to acquire the Press Journal’s parent company, the Journal Media Group. When Gannett management gets around to examining conflicts of interest its new publishers may have, then perhaps Press Journal readers will receive less biased reporting on issues affecting FPL.
Indian River Guardian 
Sometimes people will say, do ,or write what makes their boss happy. This seems to be the case over and over at the biased Press Journal. For years readers of the PJ have been subjected to one sided articles designed to promote the sale of Vero Electric to FPL. Every year this propaganda sheet backs candidates that Mr and Mrs Brunjes see this as the way to a sale or at least a vehicle to get their favored candidates elected, this despite the fact that no sale is possible due to unbreakable long term contracts approved by the Supreme Court Was it Mrs Brunjes ,who last year put forth a proposal from her bosses at FPL to effect the sale by haviving the city pay FPL $26,000,000 ? In short the opposition to the present administration need an issue . The sale is that issue, but cannot take place under present circumstances There are too many impediments for the sale to happen.