The 4th of July holiday was a bit long for me. While our staff worked diligently covering the Commission meeting on Friday and the host of activities around the county, I played hooky. I don’t do that very often, but at my age and still devoting lots of time and energy to these newspapers, I figured I deserved it. I had a great time with family and friends. It was very relaxing.
Before I left the office on Wednesday, I got a news release from the Governor’s office saying he was declaring July 5 as a holiday. Of course, the county has a policy that says if the Governor declares a holiday, they follow his lead for county employees.
While I certainly don’t agree with everything Governor Justice does, I do like most of his polices. Two in particular rub me the wrong way and obviously he could care less. When COVID was in full swing, the Governor held his media briefings virtually. Of course there was a reason at that time. Even though COVID seems under control, or at least is not dictating our lives, the Governor continues to ONLY hold virtual press conferences. The exceptions are the dog and pony shows for the various donations, dedications, or startups around the state.
Why didn’t he go back to the old in person press conferences? Well to me and most of my counterparts around the state, he likes the control the virtual format offers. With his present format, if he doesn’t want to answer a question, he simply doesn’t recognize the reporter asking it. The same applies to follow-up questions. They are few and far between. Unfortunately, I don’t expect it to change.
My second pet peeve is this calling for a holiday at the last minute. Justice has continually waited until the last minute to make the declaration, even when circumstances makes the call obvious. I think waiting until the last minute is an injustice to the citizens. How do we plan? Whether its work or pleasure most of us still have to make preparation of some type to be able to enjoy the time away from the workplace. The Governor’s last-minute announcement makes that nearly impossible.
In addition, how do the taxpayers know when services will be available to them? The County Commission is a good example. Their most recent meeting fell on July 5. They had already released the agenda before the Governor’s announcement. By that time, they did not have adequate time to make notification of a cancellation to reschedule. I commend the Commission for doing the right thing and having the meeting when they scheduled it.
The Governor needs to be more considerate and look at the calendar far enough in advance to give the employees and public adequate notice. The extra time off is great, if its not overshadowed with inconvenience. You can do better Governor!
