Solomon McCown &

Peter Blanchard, director of evidence-based practice at the DentaQuest Oral Health Center, our client, authored an op ed for DrBicuspid.com on November 30. In the op ed, Blanchard argues for an increase standardized dental disease management and higher quality standards for better patient care in response to a recent New York Times article on an influx of microcavities being filled for patients who previously had perfect oral health.

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There's no question that watching the saga of Herman Cain and the women he's known has been fascinating - like watching a race car pileup.  So, the latest revelation by a woman who claims to have had a 13-year affair with the man, is just icing on the cake.  But it proves what we in the "crisis communications" business know all too well and what too many powerful folks learn the hard way - you can't hide the truth!  Eventually, in one way or another, all those skeletons you hoped would stay in the closet, find their way into the light of day.  Just ask John Edwards or Anthony Weiner or Bill Clinton or others too numerous to mention.  Your past follows you wherever you go and pretending to yourself that it doesn't matter and it won't come out, does a disservice to your supporters, to the public at large and ultimately to the political process.  If there's anything that the public wants in a politician, it is trust.  They want to be able to know that a politician's word is true.  Without that, a candidate becomes nothing more than a caricature.  That is what Herman Cain has become.   He says he is going to reassess his candidacy in light of this latest revelation.  Here's the sad truth - the electorate has already reassessed his candidacy and declared it all but dead anyway.  If he pulls out of the race, which is still in question, he will have proved the ultimate point - the truth will get out.  Happens every time.

By Michal Regunberg, Senior Vice President, Solomon McCown & Company

Tom Andrews, senior vice president for Alexandria Real Estate Equities, was interviewed in the November 28th edition of Banker & Tradesman's "In Person" column.  Tom discusses Alexandria's 1.73 million-square-foot Alexandria Center at Kendall Square development and how Kendall Square has evolved into a "24/7 neighborhood."

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SM& President and crisis communications expert Ashley McCown was the guest blogger on Mediabistro's PRNewser on November 22.  In the post, Ashley provides the NBA with a much needed three-point plan to rebuild its brand tarnished by the lockout.

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On November 17, I moderated a discussion with some of Boston's best and brightest minds in real estate for a workshop at Build Boston 2011 that offered tips, opinions and best practices for working with communities and the media for development success. The panel featured Aaron Gornstein, executive director of the Citizens' Planning and Housing Association; Tim Love, founding principal of architecture firm Utile; Rebecca A. Lee, real estate partner at Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP; and Paul McMorrow, associate editor at CommonWealth Magazine and Boston Globe contributor.

The focus of the panel was on how architects and developers can work together to engage the community and ensure the success of their projects.  While many designers and developers are inclined not to engage the community or media early for fear of getting hurt, our panelists were universally adamant that early communication is the best.

"If a developer is calling me six months into permitting for the first time, things are probably not going too well," McMorrow said. "If you wait too long to engage the media, you risk losing control of the information that's out there about your project."

Gornstein, who led the successful charge to defeat Ballot Question 2 last year, which would have repealed the state's affordable housing law, encouraged developers and architects to meet with editors of local newspapers in the early planning stages of the process to provide them with information that could help keep stories balanced in their favor.

Love and Lee both said listening and engaging the community early on is key. One of the first things Lee does with a new developer client is to ask them to participate in a "complete 360 reconnaissance" on the local political climate so they can better understand how their project will serve the community and what key figures need to be engaged and at what point in the process. Love cited a recent example of working with developer Merrill Diamond on a project in Marshfield. "He blogged like five times a day," Love said. "It really engaged the community."  Love said that while many developers may fear that opening up to the community too early may change their project, if they set the table with the basic requirements and then work with the community, "we can find out what we don't know yet."  He also urged a fearlessness around transparency.

And, as promised each panelist gave a parting tip:

Tim: Design, Marketing, and Public Relations needs to be driven by a single narrative. The best projects link those things.

Rebecca: Developers need to spend more time listening than talking, and it needs to be respectful listening.

Paul: Get into the media early before the "ask" and be transparent, honest, and available.

Aaron: Developers need to reach key stakeholders early and engage professionals to help them do so.

I also thought these tips were worth mentioning:

• Listen through social media.
• Have a realistic timeline that takes into consideration time to nurture the community and the media.
• Identify the low hanging fruit.

By  Helene Solomon, CEO of Solomon McCown & Co.

Aaron Gornstein, Helene Solomon, Rebecca Lee, Paul McMorrow and Tim Love at Build Boston's Meet the neighbors: Five tips for development success panel.

Rebecca Lee and Tim Love during Build Boston panel on November 17.

Panel discussion on community relations and permitting moderated by Helene Solomon.

SM& President and crisis communications expert, Ashley McCown provides a much needed crisis play book for Penn State to survive the on-going scandal and restore trust in a November 17th CommPro Biz blog post.

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A red carpet event comes but once in a lifetime for most, and no one is more deserving of that honor than Sandy Houghton.  Houghton, founder of the Self-Advocacy Leadership Series (SALS), a program partially sponsored by SM& client, Massachusetts Developmental Disabilities Council, is featured in the Amherst Bulletin in conjunction with the red carpet style premiere held in early November. The documentary and this piece highlight Houghton's life as a leader in the disability community.

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SM& President Ashley McCown provided commentary in a Wall Street Journal story on November 15th regarding the NBA lockout.  McCown, a crisis communications expert, discussed the domino-effect layoffs associated with the lockout.

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It all depends on whom you believe. Will the U.S. Supreme Court decision to review the Affordable Care Act have an impact on health reform?  In case you missed it, the Supreme Court decided to hear five hours of arguments, pro and con, on the ACA and its decision, expected in June, could wreak havoc on what has already been implemented in health reform.  Does the public really want to roll it all back and forget that it ever happened?  If that happens, it would leave an estimated 30 million Americans without the option to get health insurance and could also mean adding to the budget deficit to the tune of $156 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office.  It's as high stakes as you can get!  The truth is, the only way health reform works is to have an individual mandate.  Without it the numbers don't add up. Ironically, it was the Republicans and then Senator Bob Dole, who first proposed the individual mandate, and of course, it was picked up by former Governor Mitt Romney as he crafted the Massachusetts health reform law.

So, fasten your seatbelts…

By Michal Regunberg, Senior Vice President, Solomon McCown & Company

Seriously? What is Jerry #Sandusky thinking? And where is his attorney? In the latest bizarre turn in the Penn State scandal, Jerry Sandusky did a phone interview with NBC's Bob Costas last night. Talk about a major crisis communications mis-step. Sandusky should not be talking to anyone other than his lawyer right now. Listen to the interview and you will see why.

Much of the media is reporting that he denies the allegations. Bob Costas asked Sandusky, "Are you sexually attracted to young boys?"  Sandusky does deny it, but only after twice repeating the question and hesitating. He is hardly convincing. Honestly, it's creepy.  He says no, but then adds he enjoys the company of youngsters and he probably shouldn't have horsed around. Talk about statements that can be taken out of context.

Sandusky has really dealt himself a self-inflicted wound that will certainly be used against him in the court of public opinion and the court of law. It's now on the public record that he horsed around with young boys. Today another accuser has emerged. Sadly, there will undoubtedly be more.

By Ashley McCown, President of Solomon McCown & Company