(Oct. 26, 2007) -- We are pleased that the Press-Telegram didn't consider the personal and unflinching "State of the City" address delivered by Pine Ave. pioneer John Morris to LB Rotary worthy of news coverage...and is scrambling this morning (Oct. 26) to use its editorial page to tell its readers what to think of it.

In the coming hours, LBReport.com will report what Mr. Morris said in extended transcript form. It's a laborious, time consuming process but we believe readers want to know what he said, not just what to think about it.

LB Rotary's leadership deserves credit for its intellectual honesty in letting Mr. Morris say things that deserved saying. No, we didn't agree with everything he said, and no, Mr. Morris wasn't necessarily speaking for LB Rotary where speakers express personal views, not just those of the group's leadership or members.

In our opinion, what Mr. Morris said was newsworthy not just because he's said such things before. It's newsworthy precisely because his words aren't just hindsight. They were foresight when he and others spoke them years ago, when they warned of a march to folly, when they defied the views of those then in power at City Hall.

History has now proven much of what Mr. Morris and others said correct. It has disproven much of what the PT applauded when those they endorsed held power.

The force of history is now grinding away. This Sunday, crowds will see the Jergins subway, a city asset entombed by mindless development and revealed (perhaps for its final time) thanks to the brilliance of Ryan Smolar and Rachel Potucek and their upcoming University by the Sea (Oct. 28).

LB taxpayers will begin to grasp why their ocean is no longer visible from downtown Ocean Blvd...and what some people advocated as a fit replacement.

They will realize who applauded and endorsed those costly decisions and what needs to be done now. They will realize who should be trusted on what to do...and who should not.