Great Park's Ball Drops

It's February 29th, the fifth Friday in February, and the Register has failed us again.

Journalism is supposed to be objective, but that doesn't mean it can't be good. Our daily rag doesn't seem to get that. Case in point: in yesterday's story regarding the FAA's grounding of the Great Park Balloon, here's what the Reg deemed quote-worthy:

“I think we are pretty confident that we operate a safe attraction out there but as with everything there’s always room for improvement. So we hope to take care of any outstanding issues so we can get back to normal operations as soon as possible,” Burgess said.

The visitor's center will remain open and the public is free to come tour the balloon and surrounding areas, [Great Park operations manager Rod] Cooper said.

“We are going to get it up and running as soon as we can,” said Great Park Interim CEO Sharon Landers. “We are definitely being very cautious.”

Yawn. Dull. BORING! Especially when the actual language of the complaint involved is absolutely bitchen. Balloon co-pilot Jonathan Bradford claimed the balloon operators displayed a "cavalier attitude" towards FAA regulations, cultivating a "culture of unsafe behavior." Chief Pilot Gary Stevens called Bradford an "inexperienced trainee" whose accusations were "ridiculous and unprovable."

Bad news, Gary. You ain't the judge of what's provable. Read on for more actual information on the complaint.