Monday, July 18, 2005
Early Reviews and Westside News
Early Reviews and Westside News
Well, after a week, the jury's still out. Some of you who
have visited this site apparently like what you read, because
you've told me so. Other comments have been "guarded" - probably
because they fear being quoted. Others are probably still
seething with rage and have not yet been able to type a
response.
One old friend, though, made what might be a telling Freudian slip when he referred to this site as "A Babbling Cauldron". I can hear the heads nodding in agreement out there as you read that last sentence.
One of the great things about this medium is that you can choose to read this stuff - or not. This site is not a newsletter, per se. I'm not going to send you a weekly reminder to visit the site. You can bookmark it and visit as often as you like - or not. I'm not going to add content on any particular schedule - I might post something new twice a day. Then, again, I might only post something once a week. As I said in the beginning, this is a work in progress...
On another note, on July 16th our local community newspaper, the Daily Pilot, saw fit to print yet another of my commentaries. As usual, the editors did a good job of polishing my original submission. And, as is sometimes the case, they also chose to delete a segment in it's entirety. They, for some reason, chose to delete my last two sentences, which read: "Thuggery is not leadership. This is not a happy time for our city."
I don't plan to point out editing decisions in the future, but thought this particular example might be informative for you.
***
Daily Pilot
Community Commentary
Published July 16, 2005
Westside war path
By Geoff West
Columnist Jim de Boom, and this writer along with him, were wrong. I whole-heartedly agreed when de Boom suggested, in his annual turkey of the year piece 18 months ago, that Eric Bever flew above that mob -- that he was an eagle -- because of his selfless act of citizenship when he stepped aside so Mike Scheafer could be appointed to the City Council, thus avoiding a costly special election. That was then; this is now.
Now on the council, Bever's smug willingness to virtually put a gun to the head of a property owner by threatening to condemn his business makes me very nervous.
Several months ago, Bever -- elected in November by the slimmest of margins -- quick pitched the process by ignoring the recommendations of the Westside Redevelopment Oversight Committee by moving to place a residential overlay zone over virtually the entire redevelopment area.
This should have been a wake-up call for every resident in this city, because he and the other men on the council have subsequently shown a willingness to play fast and loose with the rules.
Sadly, it comes as no surprise to me that Bever, in his writing to the Pilot on Thursday, reaffirmed his willingness to use the sledgehammer of eminent domain with Triangle Square.
I'm afraid this is just an omen of things to come for residents and property owners in the redevelopment area on the Westside.
All industrial property owners in that area should be quaking in their boots right about now.
With the recent Supreme Court ruling on eminent domain as back-up, the council can now begin to purge the Westside of those businesses they find so offensive and proceed to sell off the property to salivating developers -- who, coincidentally, might just become major campaign contributors.
Eminent domain is supposed to be but one of the tools, such as a scalpel, available to local governments to resolve blighted areas. The way it's beginning to look right now, the tools of choice for this council will be a billy club, brass knuckles or baseball bats, as they flog reluctant property owners into submission.
It sure looks like the majority on the council -- rather than negotiate and provide incentives -- plan, figuratively, to simply drag reluctant property owners into an alley and beat the daylights out of them.
I wonder just how many of us will simply stand by and watch the muggings take place without comment.
I wonder if those Westside residents who stood with cocky smirks on their faces a couple months ago when Bever cast the shroud of the residential overlay over them -- figuring it would solve all their problems -- realize that they may be hoisted on their own petard.
I wonder if they realize that if their little bungalow happens to be in the way of future redevelopment plans, they might also be plucked out and cast aside like some unwelcome weed in a garden.
I wonder how many of us realize that we just might be among the next group of property owners to be threatened, pummeled and pitched overboard.
* GEOFF WEST is a Costa Mesa resident.
10:48 am pdt
One old friend, though, made what might be a telling Freudian slip when he referred to this site as "A Babbling Cauldron". I can hear the heads nodding in agreement out there as you read that last sentence.
One of the great things about this medium is that you can choose to read this stuff - or not. This site is not a newsletter, per se. I'm not going to send you a weekly reminder to visit the site. You can bookmark it and visit as often as you like - or not. I'm not going to add content on any particular schedule - I might post something new twice a day. Then, again, I might only post something once a week. As I said in the beginning, this is a work in progress...
On another note, on July 16th our local community newspaper, the Daily Pilot, saw fit to print yet another of my commentaries. As usual, the editors did a good job of polishing my original submission. And, as is sometimes the case, they also chose to delete a segment in it's entirety. They, for some reason, chose to delete my last two sentences, which read: "Thuggery is not leadership. This is not a happy time for our city."
I don't plan to point out editing decisions in the future, but thought this particular example might be informative for you.
***
Daily Pilot
Community Commentary
Published July 16, 2005
Westside war path
By Geoff West
Columnist Jim de Boom, and this writer along with him, were wrong. I whole-heartedly agreed when de Boom suggested, in his annual turkey of the year piece 18 months ago, that Eric Bever flew above that mob -- that he was an eagle -- because of his selfless act of citizenship when he stepped aside so Mike Scheafer could be appointed to the City Council, thus avoiding a costly special election. That was then; this is now.
Now on the council, Bever's smug willingness to virtually put a gun to the head of a property owner by threatening to condemn his business makes me very nervous.
Several months ago, Bever -- elected in November by the slimmest of margins -- quick pitched the process by ignoring the recommendations of the Westside Redevelopment Oversight Committee by moving to place a residential overlay zone over virtually the entire redevelopment area.
This should have been a wake-up call for every resident in this city, because he and the other men on the council have subsequently shown a willingness to play fast and loose with the rules.
Sadly, it comes as no surprise to me that Bever, in his writing to the Pilot on Thursday, reaffirmed his willingness to use the sledgehammer of eminent domain with Triangle Square.
I'm afraid this is just an omen of things to come for residents and property owners in the redevelopment area on the Westside.
All industrial property owners in that area should be quaking in their boots right about now.
With the recent Supreme Court ruling on eminent domain as back-up, the council can now begin to purge the Westside of those businesses they find so offensive and proceed to sell off the property to salivating developers -- who, coincidentally, might just become major campaign contributors.
Eminent domain is supposed to be but one of the tools, such as a scalpel, available to local governments to resolve blighted areas. The way it's beginning to look right now, the tools of choice for this council will be a billy club, brass knuckles or baseball bats, as they flog reluctant property owners into submission.
It sure looks like the majority on the council -- rather than negotiate and provide incentives -- plan, figuratively, to simply drag reluctant property owners into an alley and beat the daylights out of them.
I wonder just how many of us will simply stand by and watch the muggings take place without comment.
I wonder if those Westside residents who stood with cocky smirks on their faces a couple months ago when Bever cast the shroud of the residential overlay over them -- figuring it would solve all their problems -- realize that they may be hoisted on their own petard.
I wonder if they realize that if their little bungalow happens to be in the way of future redevelopment plans, they might also be plucked out and cast aside like some unwelcome weed in a garden.
I wonder how many of us realize that we just might be among the next group of property owners to be threatened, pummeled and pitched overboard.
* GEOFF WEST is a Costa Mesa resident.
No comments:
Post a Comment