The paper appears desperate to create a scandal. ORCCA owes answers to public begins the editorial staff in an opinion piece referencing a series of articles about the community action agency’s dealings with some local food pantries. ORCCA’s board of directors have chosen not to litigate disagreements via the newspaper frustrating the reporter who has interpreted their silence as evidence of guilt. “The situation is becoming scandalous: Six local agencies that feed the poor have voiced their displeasure with how ORCCA handles food distribution and billing.”

According to the editorial ORCCA owes the public an explanation for every disagreement, billing error or distribution reduction raised in these articles because otherwise the “public can’t easily assign blame.” Apparently, there must be someone specific to blame in partner disagreements between the Food Bank and a few of the pantries in its distribution network to justify the all the ink devoted to implying there is something more than just the inevitable problems associated with distributing 2 million pounds of food per year, up more than double from five years ago.

Cutting off food to an agency and its clients is a drastic step. ORCCA seems disturbingly willing to use this devastating weapon against pantries that displease it… ORCCA’s silence invites unkind speculation about the motivation and competence of ORCCA’s leadership.

The only “unkind speculation” going on here is at The World apparently because ORCCA “displeases” the paper by not cooperating with its reporter and choosing not to participate in a non story. Using the search term “ORCCA Coos Bay” in Google turned up six news items regarding the “scandalous” situation, everyone published only by The World. No other news outlet has deemed a story about food pantry disagreements newsworthy.

The World might consider reporting that last year ORCCA began a $10 million investment in this community when it began construction of a new food bank last summer and is soon to be breaking ground on a new campus. According to Pattie Gouveia, just since September ORCCA has assisted 1,150 clients with energy assistance. ORCCA has created twelve new jobs implementing its weatherization program and utilizing a $1.24 million award created another eleven jobs bringing sustainable energy to low income housing. That’s twenty three new jobs! Compare that to the millions of dollars spent by the Port of Coos Bay and see who is the more effective job creator. Compare ORCCA to SCDC and see who is genuinely successful at creating new jobs in Coos County. [more on this to come in a separate post]

The World poked at ORCCA management in its Jeers column. “Jeers to Oregon Coast Community Action leaders, for raising their drawbridge and refusing to talk about a widening controversy. In this case, silence is anything but golden.” Jeers to The World for not saying “Jeers” to the Port for lying to the public last spring. If I were to look for a “widening controversy” I would point my laser beam at the unhealthy relationship between the paper’s publisher and SCDC and the Chamber of Commerce because only then does its assault on ORCCA and its indifference to the agency’s successes begin to make sense.

Is this merely a diversion from the annual multimillion dollar failures of local economic development agencies that the paper provides so much promotion for or its own parent company’s bankruptcy? As I wrote before, in the end the real story will be about The World.

UPDATE Yesterday, The World characterized ORCCA as covering up a widening scandal. Today, the paper characterizes ongoing permit violations by ORC as a “smudge” on their corporate record.