Jim Gibb does a wonderful job of publicity at the lost towns, which are
non-controversial. That's because Jim's program runs counter to the trend I
described. From the git-go, the lost towns project has been intensely
public and the project staff have controlled the media.
 
Unfortunately, too many projects are initiated and executed in a PR vacuum.
Public exposure occurs only after the nutsies attack, when it's too late.
 
The Delaware State House project is a case in point. The bureaucrats in
charge were absolutely opposed to any public relations, even as we took the
roof off the state capitol. We were not allowed to publish any positive
press releases during the project's startup phases. By the time our
department head was forced to make a public statement, the DAR and the SAR
were calling for the Governor's impeachment.
 
A few years later, the New Jersey project at Morven was beset by precisely
the same kind of attacks.  Listening to the catalogue of their troubles was
deja vu all over again.
 
In Delaware, things have changed. The DelDOT project at Hickory Bluff was
executed in a glare of positive publicity. The zealots attacked, but they
were unable to conquer the high ground, which DelDOT had already occupied.
Hickory Bluff was an astounding public relations and education success, and
some very vocal critics were effectively muffled.
 
The success of the PR / education effort at Hickory Bluff should be a
lesson for public agencies who hesitate to publicize their efforts for fear
of adverse criticism.
 
    _____
___(_____)
|Baby the\             A breakfast without grits is like a
|1969 Land\_===__      highway sign without bullet holes.
   ___Rover   ___|o    It lacks credibility.
|_/ . \______/ .  ||
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Ned Heite, Camden, DE  http://home.dmv.com/~eheite/index.html