The Times’ David DeCamp previously reported that Pinellas Hope (Tent City) was being given a couple hundred thou by the Pinellas Housing Authority. Near the bottom was this little tidbit:
The housing authority is using surplus revenue from rent at its Palm Lake Village complex. Funneling money to help the homeless is part of a shift in priorities…
Someone over at the Times may have read that and thought: “I bet those folks over at Palm Lake Village are really rankled!” 
Perhaps some excited editor told DeCamp – “Go over to Palm Lake Village, tell them that their rent money is going to help the homeless, and get some quotes. Hurry – I’ve already got a headline for it – I’m using ‘rankle’.”
That dreamed-up scenario may (or may not) have been the impetus for this week’s Times follow up: Money for homeless tent city rankles residents paying higher rent.
If you read the whole story, you will find exactly ONE person who was complaining, and my guess is that Betty Hover, 74, did not call the newspaper to alert them of how upset she was. In fact, if you read Betty’s quotes, she is not complaining for herself, but concerned about OTHER people living there…
there are people that live in Palm Lake Village that could really use more help, and they‘re not getting it,” said Hover, a three-year resident there. “And their living conditions could be improved with this money, and they’re not getting it.”
Renters at Palm Lake Village are subsidized by the authority, and rent for Betty recently went up $15 to $435 a month. By going after this poor woman in this manner, the Times makes her sound like an ingrate.
Nonetheless, the Times got their headline, filled up a few inches of newsprint on a non-story, and online readers are having a field day picking on 74-year-old Betty Hover.
It’s your Times…
