'Overelaborate and Rather Stupid' 

Editor:

So, now we learn that Arkley, I mean "AMG", has decided he doesn't want to buy the Jacobs middle school property for $2 million over market after all. Who could have seen that coming, eh, since AMG (does that stand for "Arkley Most Glorious?") always seemed so sincerely interested in developing affordable housing there.

But seriously, AMG's plan must have been to keep the fake deal going until the election, right? Then, once Measure F was safely passed, he'd back out of the deal and flip the district the bird. That was a neat, if overelaborate and rather stupid, plan. But now, AMG is out whatever he paid his spokespeople to issue phony statements saying he wasn't involved in the deal, plus the cost of any parting gifts to retiring district employees, but doesn't get whatever benefit he hoped to derive from tricking the voters into thinking there was actually affordable housing being built.

So, what's the deal, why did AMG back down?  Was there too much publicity; did the NCJ finally scare AMG into behaving like a decent citizen?  Or did AMG just lose interest in tormenting his old hometown now that he's hit the big time, and is subcontracting to fly needy U.S. Supreme Court justices around to R and R sessions sponsored by Harlan Crowe? I think we all await developments.

Bill Hassler McKinleyville