Spinning a Web

In that context, I wondered if he might still sit on the CRT board of directors. Wiedmeyer responded, via phone, that he had no comment. I explained that I wanted only to know if he remained on the board. “I can’t comment on that, you will have to ask the director,” he replied. I again stated that I required only a simple confirmation of membership, at which time Wiedmeyer would only breathe into the phone. I asked if his membership was an official BBA secret, or just something he was ashamed of; still more breathing.

Correspondence and conversations with CRT and BBA members along these lines for the most part merely confirmed what I had suspected about their associations and tactics. There are some old familiar names and faces in this entire endeavor by BARD, Bradley & Associates, and the CRT. Don Erwin of the Barber Companies is frequently seen around town with PowerPoint presentations by which BARD or the Barber Companies can disparage environmental groups and neighborhood associations. It was Erwin who suggested, with a straight face, that residents in Redmont protesting the rezoning of their neighborhood for a Barber condominium were not truly concerned with the neighborhood’s appearance, otherwise they would not have placed on their front lawns banners or placards protesting the rezoning. Perhaps Erwin’s finest hour came during a lawsuit over that Barber development. When asked who his boss was, Erwin replied under oath, “I don’t know.” When asked by a clearly bemused attorney how that was even possible, Erwin claimed that he had never consulted an organizational chart.

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