Not Appreciated

I did not appreciate the recent opinion piece by Tyler Hayden about the Bellosguardo Foundation and former mayor Helene Schneider. I dug a little deeper beneath what felt like cheap shots and found that the article missed some relevant information: The Historic Landmarks Commission held a conceptual review of the Bellosguardo in 2020 and unanimously approved their application. However, the city’s conditional use permit process takes time to approve the addition of ADA access, restroom facilities, and so on. But, in the meantime, the city allows special events like weddings to raise funds for the historical facility.

I know Helene Schneider to be an honorable woman who has done and continues to do good work. I know she has also taken unfair shots in the past, like when she wanted to raise awareness of global warming and the sea level rising. She got bad press for a proposal that would have painted a blue line on city streets, showing the potential results of sea level rising.

The Independent overall plays an important role in covering our city but as I have found, it does not always tell the full story.