Since it's election time, you hear people griping about everything from The Carson Center being only for the elite and a drain on the local economy to how a particular local elected postion (that should really be called "wanted to be a cop but couldn't pass the physical - or spelling test") is eventually going to lead to some poor sap getting shot for scratching his junk.

Many of the rumors floating around that are really bugging me are about the new propsed riverfront development - which is reportedly going to cost around $50 million dollars. I've heard some weird clam lives in the proposed area, the very last of its kind, and will be extinct if they develop. I've heard that the Paducah Riverfront Development Authority (PRDA) and Paducah Renissance Allaince (PRA) have a ton of sneaky "behind closed doors" stuff going on and are dirtier than Boss Tweed. And one of the most prevalent rumors is that this $50 million dollar marina will only be for boats larger than 50 ft.

Now, the first one, about the clams, I should care about -  but I don't. Pick some up and put them in an aquarium. Throw one in a Bloody Mary for me.

The second - well, dude - the machinations of Paducah are so dirty we've actually won a little notority as one of the most corrupt cities in America. Okay - allegedly. This is an urban legend. I've always heard the stories about like 60 Minutes doing a report on Paducah corruption and the local stations refusing to air it, and even a story about McCracken county being in the top ten of most corrupt counties by like USA Today or somebody. I have yet to see proof of these allegations, but don't doubt there is some durtyness going on.

The third and final thing, that the marina is being built only for the rich, was something I wanted to check on. It didn't make any sense. I mean, if a space is built to accomodate large boats, it should be able to accomodate smaller ones, right? Unless the rates for docking there were going to be so high that only rich people could afford it. THAT would piss me off.

The government websites didn't say, and I called City Planning and they didn't know, so they sent me to my favorite whipping boy, Steve Doolittle. If you aren't familiar with him, he  heads up Paducah Renissance Alliance and handles a lot of the develoment in the downtown area. And catches hell from everyone, including me. Mayor Paxton loves him, if that says anything.

He called me back this morning and was like, "What kind of craziness are you hearing now?"  I told him the rumor, and he said no, everyone was misinformed.

He said the marina hadn't even been designed yet, but that it would probably have about 100 slips, give or take 20. The marina will be a combination of a public holding run by a private small business for day to day operation.

"Have you ever been to the marina in Golconda?" he asked. "That's what I'm envisioning for this place. Most marinas in Southern Illinios, Western Tennessee, and Southeast Missouri tend to be very mixed - everything from jon boats to half million dollar yachts. It's like driving down the highway - there are cars that cost a thousand and cars that cost a hundred thousand."

He explained that the riverfront is going to be open to the public, but that of course things like gas and docking fees are not free but will be average rates. The first phase is going to be a transient boat dock near Schultz Park - the area of the river between Jefferson St and the Executive Inn. It's basically a floating dock for pleasure craft where they can fuel up and get to shore.

"If you're a boater, and I am, there's pretty much no place to fuel up between Golconda and ...I don't know, a long way. People say that there's not much traffic other than the occasional jon boat or bass boat at the riverfront, but that's because they don't have the services. In many cases, they can't even get from their boat to shore. They stay at the lake because that's where the services are. And we're not trying to capture the lake market. We did an independent marketing study and found that we only have to have 1 to 1.5% of the local (boating) market to support the facility. Now, the docks will be able to hold boats up to 85ft, and maybe that's where the rumor came from."

Many think that in this economy that we don't need to be spending money on recreational facilities of any kind, but need to focus on job creation. But one of Paducah's biggest overall money makers is the tourist trade. I'm all for developing cooler attractions here (that big hotel with an indoor waterpark sounds pretty badass) but at the same time, I don't want to see money wasted or a bunch of kickbacks and people lining their own pockets.

However - those are bigger issues. I just wanted to know the real deal on who the marina was being built for. Turns out it's for everybody. Of course, everyone's going to be paying for it, too. ;) I've been in a jon boat on the river and gone exploring up Clarks River and it's just a blast. 'Course I don't know if shooting at all those beer cans was quite legal.

I thanked Doolittle for talking to me, and he said, "Bring me your rumors, your falsehoods, your rampant gossip..." lol

So if anyone has any questions, I would say post them. But what I would really love is to start doing some letter to the editor stuff. You guys send me SOOO many story ideas and secret tips that I can't possibly research them all. So if you have an opinion to share or a question to ask, write it up in 250 words or less (if it's a big story you can verify, talk to me and maybe we can do more) and send it to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with the subject headline Letter to the Editor - and we'll see what kind of hornet's nest we can pee on. :)