NOT SELL OFF, SELL OUT
Well, isn’t that handy. This is the third time I have been able to use that headline. I pray there is not a fourth. But…
We would have to be rid of the four City Council members who don’t seem to want our famous venue brought back to performing life, who notoriously voted one month ago to end negotiations with a group with five star credentials and decades of experience in the concert promotion business, because, the Council members explained afterwards, “the numbers didn’t add up.” But that’s silly talk. The RPG Group promised it would not cost the city or its residents a penny, and they would write that promise into the contract. After the years of it sitting empry (although our school district did magnanimously offer to take it off our hands, to turn it into the gym they needed and beglected to build, with our $1.6B in school bonds), new state rules on earthquake retrofitting being prohibitivly costly (but the solidly built Civic has nicely survived earthquakes with no damage) and the $59M in state funds that we had been counting suddenly disappearing, it looked hopeless.
So when a group of top professionals came in and studied the project and said, we are willing to put our time and money into this because it is our experienced opinion that we can make money, and money for the city as well, it seemed like a miracle. A miracle those four Council members turned their backs on, for no good reasons.
THERE REMAINS NO PROSPECT
For a better, or even sane, offer by a reputable group. Not even close. When something just doesn’t make sense, I always look for the hidden agenda. The truth that someone doesn’t want spoken.
Without making any accusations or trying to read minds or hearts, let’s look at it this way. That land is worth tens of millions more, to developers, without that pesky old building on it. You know, demolished, tossed on the trash heap. Like the historic East Wing of our White House. That was obscene, and no one voted for that. No one in Santa Monica voted to trade a functioning, income-generating Civic for developers’ cash when there was a solid plan to revitalize. What do you think Parisians could get for the land they could develop if that pesky tower wasn’t there? Rome’s Colosseum takes up a lot of prime real estate.
I’m not, of course, equating our Civic with such world-famous edifices, but it is more important than a lot of people realize. Musicians know. The late Brian Wilson, the genius behind The Beach Boys, whose vision and songs created the California ethos of sun, surfing, bikinis, and hot rods, was eagerly bought into by the whole planet, and the rest is history. Wilson was the first musician to give his enthusiastic endorsement, to using his name as a supporter of Saving the Civic, before the RPG Group came forward, and Doors drummer John Densmore was right behind. Dozens of other big names, some of who had performed there, were lined up, but not needed once RPG Group came forward. If they give it the okay, that’s it, we figured. No brainer. We figured wrong.
Here in Santa Monica, developers could make millions by putting housing, retail, and a hotel where our Civic Auditorium stands. The four who voted down that great offer –
CAROLINE TOROSIS
NATALYA ZERNITSKAYA
JESSE ZWICK
DAN HALL
– all have ties to developers, and have voiced their philosophies that they love dense housing and feel it will solve all our big problems here, from homelessness to affordability. Which anyone not driven by ideology knows is a load of hooey. I have spent lots of ink over the years detailing why this is hooey. “Supply and demand” for housing affordability is nonsense when applied to valuable coastal real estate like Santa Monica. New market-rate units raise the prices of all existing stock. Ask a local real estate agent. Or go take a look at the newly-opened $385M development on Broadway, where the old Vons and its parking lot once stood. There are 84 “affordable” units, if you qualify. If you don’t, bring four grand for a studio apartment, $5,555 for a one-bedroom, $8,400 for a two-bedroom, and for your families who can manage in three bedrooms, $12,450. If you want a three-bedroom on the top two floors, those start at $24,000/month. Run, tell all the street people. See if this makes any sense to them. The top-priced units do include a dog park and other necessities, but no psychological or addiction counseling, job training, or suicide prevention.
SO WHEN AM I GOING TO LAY OFF
These four Council members? There are two dates I have in mind: when they change their minds, their philosophies, and their votes (not betting on it), or when we can get rid of them. A difficult thing to do. But we’ve got to try. A recall is a tough proposition, so don’t even talk about that unless you have a ton of time and $$ to throw at it. Unless we can accumulate even more evidence of corruption, and that is a possibility. God bless emails. But there is an election coming up next year, and if we can change out two of them, we may have a chance, considering Mayor Lana Negrete has become an outstanding, courageous representative of the residents and their concerns. But finding two sterling candidates is a challenge.
I have occasionally, over the years, pointed out that the godawful representation we see in DC is very similar to here. I didn’t say it often because I usually got odd stares or remarks. Now I think it is pretty obvious. We have people in power who believe their election gave a mandate for their philosophy of governing – it didn’t, it gave them a constituency to serve. We desperately need a new breed of politicians, and we need them now, across the board, R and D, and in SM. Who’s gonna run, y’all? Time for everyday heroes, and heroines, for sure.
DON’T MISS
Ken Burns’ six-part documentary “THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION,” 10 years in the making, will air for six successive nights on PBS starting this Sunday. He is a documentarian without political leaning in his work. The timing on this is pretty important. I think even the history buffs among us will find something to learn.
It’s good to be back with CURIOUS CITY, 14+ years old, and now in The Mirror. Thank you, publisher TJ, and Editor Dolores, fine folks to work with. And to former Santa Monica Mayor Phil Brock for believing in me and laying the groundwork. The best way to see it every other Friday, along with my weekly NOTEWORTHY music and arts calendar column, is to subscribe, free, no strings, to my substack MUSIC, POLITICS, LIFE, at –
Charles Andrews has lived in Santa Monica for 39 years and wouldn’t live anywhere else in the world. Really. Send love and/or rebuke to him at therealmrmusic@gmail.com
