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Published: Friday, July 6, 2007 10:33 AM PDT



Karen Hutchens, the spokeswoman for Sunroad, did follow up with me yesterday saying that she refuses to provide any substantiation for her allegation that the city told Sunroad to stop sending over money to pay for the city's fire helicopter.

She won't say who from the city supposedly communicated to Sunroad that the company's money was no longer welcome at City Hall. She just wants the whole back and forth with the mayor's office to be over.

I told her she's the one who made the initial allegation. Perhaps she's interested in providing proof that it was true.

Thing is, Hutchens is upset.

You'll remember she started this all by telling the news staff here that the city had told Sunroad to stop sending over money as part of a long-term partnership that would help the city pay for its lone fire-rescue helicopter. Hutchens said this:

"We are right here at the beginning of the fire season, and the Mayor's Office has asked Sunroad to stop its fundraising activities," said company spokeswoman Karen Hutchens.

Now, how are we supposed to interpret that quote? She's alleging the mayor is cutting off the funding for a fire-rescue helicopter right before San Diego enters a fire season that everyone says has the potential to be brutal. The implications are that the mayor is choosing to let the city burn, right?

She was mad about how I twisted her quote that way in this post. She didn't actually say that the mayor wanted to let the city burn down, she complained.

And now she said she is so upset with me she "absolutely" refuses to provide any substantiation for her claim that the mayor's staff told Sunroad to stop sending money to pay for the helicopter.

I have to give her a 10 on that excuse.

-- SCOTT LEWIS




5 Comments so far on this story...

Sunroad lied about there interactions on the Centrum building, lied to the FAA, made mistakes and lied about that. Why wouldn't they lie about this as well. I think that they tried to do a quick smear of the Mayor and got caught. Bottom line is that they tried to play the PR game and lost. They take out ads one day saying how great they are and the following day they say the Mayor's office is trying to burn down the city or at least not trying to stop it from burning. Sunroad finally got burned and got burned publicly. Well done Scott.

Posted by jimmydeansausages | reply to this comment
July 6, 2007 1:19 am

So tell us Scott-does this surpise you?????? ??? Coming from Scamroad, a company that tried to put the health, safety and welfare of the Citizens of San Diego at risk for PROFIT? Please-tell Karen if she does not want her nose to grow any longer to just keep her mouth shut...........

Posted by Billy! Bb!! Henry!!! | reply to this comment
July 6, 2007 3:29 am

Scott...Go back and look at Sunroad's full-page ad in the U-T. The company prides itself on its many years in San Diego...yet it could not properly spell the name of our airport (they left off the "h"). How many people at Sunroad read the draft of that ad and didn't catch the error? If Sunroad is seeking credibility, it didn't help itself with the ad. Nor with the way Ms. Hutchens handles public relations. I sent an email to Sunroad via its attorney, but haven't heard back. Guess I shouldn't hold my breath.

Posted by Dave Cohen | reply to this comment
July 6, 2007 4:07 am

I love it... Would you call that taking your bat and ball and going home because you lost the first game?

Posted by Basic Civics | reply to this comment
July 6, 2007 5:06 am

In my opinion: If Sunroad had any any interest in promoting the truth, they'd fire Hutchens for making such a preposterous comment. She should have know when she made it that she'd have to back it up. Either she was grossly negligent or purposefully trying to deceive the public. Each offense warrants termination. The fact that Sunroad keeps her around is proof positive that the truth-telling is missing from the company's set of values. Of course, it's not like we couldn't figure that out from everything else that she and Sunroad's lawyers have been saying.

Posted by Cory Briggs | reply to this comment
July 6, 2007 6:45 am


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Scott Lewis on Politics

The Scott Lewis on Politics blog, abbreviated cleverly as SLOP, is a collection of observations, insights and the occasional scoop on public affairs in San Diego. Please feel free to e-mail Scott at scott.lewis@voiceofsandiego.org.


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