Long ago in a galaxy far, far away where I worked for a small town newspaper, I was taught that news was less about what happened and more about what it meant to my average reader – who, I was taught has a seventh grade education and the patience of an early adolescent.
   And so I learned that it was not enough to report that City Councilman Paul Yacavona wanted an additional $39,700 for street resurfacing in his district; it was also my task to list each of the pothole-ravaged streets that would be repaired by the city work crews.
   In short, as I was told by my editors, that context and meaning were just as essential as the basic Who,What,Where,Why and How of my newspaper craft.
   But that, as I said, was light years ago when I had all my teeth and I could drive all week on a buck's worth of gas.
   So now we have today.... which, according to my local newspaper … is laden with events too often devoid of meaning or context.
   Take, for example, the alleged crisis in local government funding.
   Which, we're told, has been caused by a huge drop in ad valorem tax revenues
   However..
   What's missing is the legacy of the Brothers Bush administrations in Washington and Tallahassee, which resulted in major cutbacks in state and federal services here in Florida (as shown below in numbers I easily obtained in my dotage from the University of Florida's Statistical Abstract).
   More to the point, the numbers generate numerous questions that might have been raised by our local news media... but not anymore.

Government Employees
…............................1997.............2007.............% change
Total Florida
Population..............14,712,922...18,680,367....27%
Federal...................120,303.........127,960.........6%
State........................203,842........186,973........(9%)
Local.......................595,984..........762,910........28%
Local Property
Tax Collected*.........$12,885.2.....$31,009.
Per Capita...............$876..............$1,660..........89%.
Total Broward
Population...............1,423,729......1,765,707.....24%
Federal.....................6,998..............7,761...........11%
State.........................7,958...............6,233...........22%
Local........................63,506.............89,510..........41%
Local Property
Tax Collected*.........$1,589.3........$3,520.9
Per Capita................$1,116...........$1,994...........79%
Total Miami Dade
Population................2,070,573......2,462,292.......19%
Federal.....................18,086...........19,692.............9%
State..........................17,500...........14,385...........(22%)
Local..........................97,048..........115.588........../19%
Local Property
Tax Collected*.........$2,101.3........$4,774.7
Per Capita................$1,015...........$1,939............91%
Total Palm Beach
Population...............1,003,798......1,295,033.......29%
Federal......................5,735.............6,455.............13%
State..........................8,377..............7,529...........(10%)
Local.........................38,855............51,061...........31%
Local Property
Tax Collected*.........$1,306.6........$3,103.1
Per Capita................$1,302............$2,396..........84%

*Ad valorem taxes in millions rounded to hundred thousands of dollars