Beck, publisher at the Gargoyle Leader, once again, can’t resist the chance to take a whack at the little guy;
It also is why a small but vocal segment of our community never will accept the Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science as anything other than a tragic waste of taxpayer money. “It would have been a lot more useful as a parking lot,” my old friend, Ralph Murphey, once told me. Murphey died several years ago, but his ideas remain very much alive.
I think a majority of people are not ‘against’ the Pavilion, they are against the money pit it has turned into. It was poorly planned and poorly managed – I think this is pretty obvious. But our city government refuses to do anything about it, this is why people are so scared of the Event Center proposal, they have been burned in the past. But let’s talk about ‘small vocal groups’. Yvonne Hawkins, one of your minions at the Gargoyle, who cooked up the SF Next project, told a friend of mine that only 150 people responded to your series of stories. This website has between 10,000-15,000 readers a day (computer users). I’ll put my numbers up against yours any day. Secondly, I am constantly approached by strangers who have seen me at council meetings that tell me they agree with me 100% when it comes to city government and that I need to keep after them. I hope this silent majority shows up to the voting booths on April 10 and voice their opinions in the form of a vote, so we can tell you to STFU once and for all.
And no surprise that the Ed board defended the arterial street tax increase;
Still, a program to use the combination of development fees and sales tax revenue remains a solid concept.
No concept is solid when it is based on LIES and DECEPTION. If we want developers to pay for 50% of new road costs, it needs to be in writing, signed and dated by the developers, otherwise what is the point? You don’t ask developers to chip in 50% you tell them to.
What’s disappointing, though, is the loopholes that some developers are using to avoid paying the new fees.
Disappointing? More like extortion. But I don’t blame them, if a private business can get a handout, they will take it. I blame city hall and their ineptness to follow through. I also blame the apathetic council that just lets Munson ‘handle things’. The proof is in the pudding when last year the council was against hiring 21 new employees this year and they wanted to review it. Munson said ‘I’ll handle it’ He sure did, he hired the 21 new employees without a peep to the council.
The silent majority has had enough, and I suspect a record voter turnout in April for the city election.
A sizeable, but silent plurality is most likely.
The EC project has only one interest group for it – the CVB – and several groups against it for many reasons.
MOAR JoDee videos!!!
The City Council needs a good wake up call. I see in today’s paper, either the Argus itself or the Chamber News section, Vernon Brown had his ad in it. This is the first one that I have seen. I don’t know if I missed any others. I really don’t think we need him as mayor.
I think Beck talks to the same public the city council and mayor does . . . the fantasy one that lives in their heads.
It’s definitely not a “small but vocal” minority. I deal with a pretty varied collection of people in my day to day life, from like-minded friends to employees that have never heard anything that isn’t overplayed on commercial radio, and a good majority of them have been at the Pavilion less than five times. This is all the fault of those involved with that building – the same people who publicly stated that the Loop “problem” could be solved by having young people attend the symphony. These are the same people who felt that anything remotely resembling rock ‘n’ roll was demeaning to that building. It’s a playground for the Mayor/Council and the city’s wannabe high society folk.
Personally, I’ve been in the building three times in the past five years – Lewis Black, Elvis Costello, and Wilco. I’d certainly be more than willing to go more often, but it’s more important for the same Laurie Line Christmas show than anything I care about. (Granted, my tastes are harder to please than most.)
What amazes me is how can a guy that is so well read, and so witty, be so f’ing ignorant about public sentiment? I guess that is what management does to you.
The Argus would prove itself valuable to the community if they’d not print on the paper. It would be a good toilet paper alternative. I do read it once in awhile but never when they they cut the front page half width. It’s to hard to manage without tumbling apart all over your lap.
Reading propaganda is a good way to focus in on what’s being hidden from the public. For this reason, I hope the Argus remains solvent.
There was an Argus article today about beer at Walgreens. They incorrectly identified Shawn Tornow as city attorney. He’s assistant city attorney and hardly deserves this title. Where’s the real city attorney? Can he not come out of his double dip retirement once in awhile? At least, long enough to install a real assistant to address problem constitutional litigation caused by Tornow.
PG- Careful, you don’t want Bob the Bear coming out of his cage.