NorthSide Project in the National Spotlight

A recent AP story on Paul McKee's proposed NorthSide development received a lot of attention. At a quick glance the story was published by the major newspapers in San Jose, Seattle, Boston, New Orleans and Cleveland. Of course there were undoubtedly many others. So how was the proposal framed by the AP?

One opposing voice is cited and then dismissed. Quoted is North St. Louis resident Sheila Rendon, who, according to the AP story has a "This Home Is Not for Sale" sign in her window. "He starts to buy property; he lets it deteriorate; people feel hopeless; they sell," said Rendon. The story recognizes the skepticism and then rely's on McKee's pledge to not use eminent domain as well as Barb Geisman, the city's Executive Director for Development, to invalidate the concern.

As you may expect, the mainstream story has a mainstream message: a big, exciting proposal has been offered, the developer means well, not all big proposals have worked in the past, someone objects, others trump the objection. You can read the AP story here. Does the AP story provide a fair representation of the issue?

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