Article lacks balance
I guess I'm old-fashioned, but I expect a news article to be more than a rewrite of a government press release.
Today's article ("County overhauls car-fleet policies," Harford Sun, June 8, 2008) on the new Harford County fleet management approach is based upon a premise that repairs to a 10-year-old auto cost more than replacement. This is incorrect.
The total cost of ownership per mile is known to decrease with mileage and time. This is not only my opinion but also an economic fact that can be verified by authoritative sources. Monthly payments on a $20,000 car are an order of magnitude lower than monthly repair costs on any well-maintained vehicle.
The piece does not seem to have been subjected to basic fact-checking but merely accepted the opinions of a government agency. There are other viewpoints, but they were not presented.
The Sun used to check facts, interview more than one source, and try to get to the bottom of a story. If I wanted to read nothing more than a press release, I shouldn't need the newspaper.
A. Brinton Cooper III, Bel Air