Oooh, A Really Big Investigation!
The City of LA has spent about $45,000 a year on bottled water, despite the fact that its own water department spends about $500,000 a year promoting the safety and quality of Dept. of Water & Power (DWP) water.
That's the gist of a big LATimes expose this morning. LAT deserves credit for busting DWP of wasting massive amounts of public money on questionable self-promotion, but this story is just silly.
Sure, good PR seems to mandate that every drop of water drunk by city employees should be city water. But for starters, water agencies themselves are required to buy bottled water for their lab tests. That's just a drop in the $45,000-a-year bucket, but it shows how things aren't always as they seem.
Bbottled water is more transportable than tap water. A few bottles of water on a conference room table are a lot more sanitary than a pitcher of water and a bunch of glasses. Plus, it's what society has moved towards and accepts.
I don't want to go on and on about this. I only bring it up because it's an example of what frequently happens in journalism nowdays. A good investigative team digs around and finds a major story -- in this case, the criminal overbilling of DWP's outside PR firm. But like a bull terrier, the team can't let go, until even modest stories like this get dressed up like a scandal.
Next step: Political grandstanding followed by a new city ordinance forbidding bottled water purchases by the city. Then, a lot of thirsty city employees sitting through long meetings, concentrating on how nice a sip of water would be instead of the business at hand.
That's the gist of a big LATimes expose this morning. LAT deserves credit for busting DWP of wasting massive amounts of public money on questionable self-promotion, but this story is just silly.
Sure, good PR seems to mandate that every drop of water drunk by city employees should be city water. But for starters, water agencies themselves are required to buy bottled water for their lab tests. That's just a drop in the $45,000-a-year bucket, but it shows how things aren't always as they seem.
Bbottled water is more transportable than tap water. A few bottles of water on a conference room table are a lot more sanitary than a pitcher of water and a bunch of glasses. Plus, it's what society has moved towards and accepts.
I don't want to go on and on about this. I only bring it up because it's an example of what frequently happens in journalism nowdays. A good investigative team digs around and finds a major story -- in this case, the criminal overbilling of DWP's outside PR firm. But like a bull terrier, the team can't let go, until even modest stories like this get dressed up like a scandal.
Next step: Political grandstanding followed by a new city ordinance forbidding bottled water purchases by the city. Then, a lot of thirsty city employees sitting through long meetings, concentrating on how nice a sip of water would be instead of the business at hand.
posted by Laer at 5:33 AM
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