Today's Times-Dispatch leads with what might be one of the most obvious understatements of the month:
Is Richmond the real loser in Mayor L. Douglas Wilder's failed attempt to evict the school system from its offices in City Hall?
Some prominent city leaders say the long-simmering feud between Wilder and the School Board that boiled over when the mayor tried to boot school employees out of their offices could cause people to form negative opinions about Richmond.
The piece continues with quotes from some of the 26 business leaders who piled on with calls for an appointed School Board last month, none of whom took the opportunity to suggest that perhaps the Mayor should be appointed, not elected. Two of the more ironic statements:
"To me, reasonable people ought to be able to get together and settle their differences without trying to do this through the media."
- James Ukrop, a reasonable man who recently used the media to stir the pot."That's an interesting question, but quite frankly I don't feel close enough [to the situation] to make a judgment."
- Robert Sledd, who felt close enough to make judgments when he signed the School Board letter last month.
