Tales of Balboa told again

Deepa Bharath

A local Web site that shut down after a debate about its link to

FreeNewport.com is back online.

Webmaster Jim Fournier has declared on his site TalesofBalboa.com

that “TalesOfBalboa Ain’t Going Nowhere.”

Fournier said he had to bow to several readers who said the

decision to shut down the Web site disappointed them.

“It’s hard to say no when so many people say yes,” he said.

Fournier made his decision on Aug. 13 to stop operating the Web

site, a day after some members of the Balboa Business Improvement

District questioned a link on Fournier’s Web site to FreeNewport.com.

Some members said they believed it was inconsistent with the

district’s goal of promoting local business.

The FreeNewport.com Web site has a graphic on the top of its page

of a red hammer and sickle next to the letters “NB” in a red circle

with a line through it.

Fournier said he was not happy with the politics.

“I really shut down the Web site because I was frustrated with all

the politics,” he said. “I spend a lot of time putting everything

together, and I lose money on it every month. And all I get is this

massive amount of flak.”

What changed his mind was the deluge of positive responses,

Fournier said.

“I was shocked,” he said. “It caught me off guard. I expected one

or two, but not so many.”

Business improvement district member Gay Wassall-Kelly, who

attended last week’s meeting, said she is glad that Fournier has

brought his Web site back.

“It’s a real asset to Balboa,” she said. “It keeps us all up on

what’s going on down here.”

As for the politics, Wassall-Kelly said she didn’t know “what the

big deal was.”

“I think it got blown out of proportion,” she said.

Fournier said he is “not going to make any changes on the Web

site” except to introduce a feature called “This Week in Balboa”

featuring some of the happenings at local businesses. The Web site

still has the link to FreeNewport.com.

“The only negative response about that seems to come from City

Hall,” he said. “I see no reason to remove the link.”