I made my monthly appearance on Joe Elliott’s radio show today, where we talked about, well, you guessed it. The Sherman Minton Bridge.
Given that the Bridge isn’t going to be working anytime soon, it’s fascinating that a lot of people are getting comfortable with the idea of paying a toll to cross a bridge. It’s partially the realization that no bridge is going to be built without toll money.
And that ferry idea? It’s got a long way to go, with just 58 people boating it the first morning. The ferry option won’t take off without some serious marketing and promotion, and more transportation options once the boat docks.
We didn’t discuss this on the air, but you ought to hear WHAS Radio’s Mandy Connell in a catfight (you can listen at the link) with River Fields’ president Lee Corey. It’s a doozy. Corey opened by asking if Connell was enjoying bashing River Fields. So it started badly, and then got worse. “Mandy, you need to get your facts straight,” Corey said within the first 60 seconds. Her claim is, basically, that River Fields hasn’t stopped a thing and is being used as a scapegoat for the fact that bridges aren’t being built.
Connell didn’t back down, of course, losing her cool by insisting on blaming the organization for a lack of progress over a 30-year period. And incorrectly blaming River Fields for the decision to spend too much money to preserve the Drummond Estate in eastern Jefferson County as part of the Bridges project. “I don’t think you realize how angry people in this community are,” she said.
“Why do you have a right to your opinion and we don’t,” Corey said.
Then Connell brought the Old Harrods Bridge controversy into the conversation, which was irrelevant.
Connell kept insisting that River Fields obstructed progress on the Harrods’ Creek Bridge, a comparison that’s like equating, well, the Sherman Minton Bridge with a creek crossing in Oldham County.
It devolved into a shouting match in which neither woman would stop talking, or screaming.
Connell eventually muted Corey and cut her off.
Even though Connell supporters rallied around her, and even though River Fields is rightly blamed for slowing down progress, Corey got the best of it. Very simply, she had a better command of the facts. But it sure was entertaining.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
