<EM>LA Times</EM> Article About Landscaper's Labor Woes Draws Skepticism

A Los Angeles Times article that Lawn & Landscape posted last week has received a fervor of attention in the immigration-debate hotbeds of Southern California and the blogosphere.

The article, which ranks as one of the paper’s second “most e-mailed,” details the difficulty that Cyndi Smallwood, owner of Diversified Landscaping in Riverside, Calif., has had difficulty recruiting employees to complete government contract landscape construction work at the wage of $34.00 an hour.

Many skeptics have challenged Smallwood’s claims, from syndicated radio host Laura Ingraham, who had Smallwood on her show, to the Beyond Borders Blog (published by the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and the San Bernardino County Sun) and blogger Michelle Malkin. These parties criticize Smallwood’s recruiting methods, but more importantly expose the poor reporting or hidden agenda of the Los Angeles Times.

The story calls Smallwood “ambivalent on immigration reform.” Is that an appropriate description of a woman affiliated with the California Landscape Contractor’s Association’s Immigration Task Force or one who has traveled to Washington to lobby Congress? Reporter David Streitfeld neglected to mention those details. They were uncovered by the Beyond Borders Blog.