We were all children once, and if there's one childhood experience in California we'd like to remember fondly, it's going to Disneyland. After a day in that park, anyone would be justified in thinking that the people who put this place together truly care about all of us.
Sadly, we've learned more recently what the Disney Corporation really cares about: tax cuts. So much so, actually, that they've put in a million dollars to try and preserve tax giveaways that can be repealed by Proposition 24 in November. These tax breaks, if they aren't repealed, are going to cost California $1.3 billion dollars annually, money that will be taken away from schools, social services and public safety. So you would think that Disney would have a very good reason to want to keep the tax cuts.
Unfortunately, when you look at the facts, it all just comes down to cash. Disney is not struggling to make ends meet- their net income in FY 2009 was $3.3 billion. They've found the money to pay their CEO well over $20 million in total compensation last year.
All reports indicate that when the ABC News Democratic Party Debate airs in the Pacific Time zone at 8 PM that you are better off doing pretty much anything other than watching it. There are reviews are already in and there seems to be a clear consensus on Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos and ABC News and the parent company Disney.
"Looking around other sites, I guess I'm not the only one that thought this debate was unmitigated travesty," Josh Marshall noted. "Maybe the embargo on debate rebroadcast was a pro-human rights stand."
Oh my! Here's some interesting news on the fight over affordable housing in Anaheim. The Register has a story on last night's Anaheim City Council meeting, and of their latest decision to give Disney, Suncal, and the affordable housing advocates three weeks to work out a compromise.
Obviously, this leaves one HUGE question in my head. Can the two sides reach a compromise? Is there middle ground between affordable housing near Disneyland and giving Disney free reign to do as it pleases in the "resort district"?
Cynthia Carranco, 16, must do her homework on the seats of dining room chairs because there is no other place to write in the three-bedroom house shared by nine people.
She knows her situation is not unique: A friend sleeps in a walk-in closet, and others also live in crowded conditions.
"Sometimes it's hard being a teenager and not having any privacy," said Carranco, an Anaheim High School student.
Cynthia Carranco was one of the speakers at last night's forum on affordable housing in Anaheim. She and the other speakers spoke of their dire need for affordable housing. Yes, there's the controversial push for affordable housing in the "Anaheim Resort" district. You know, the one where Disney is putting up an initiative to "save the resort district". However, there are other battles being fought here as well. Of the 8,700 new homes going up in Anaheim's Platinum Triangle "luxury urban high-rise" development, NONE of them will be available for the lower-income workers who already have jobs in the area. There's a dire need for affordable housing, but that need is just being ignored.
But you know what? It's not just Anaheim. It's the entire Southern California region that's facing this crisis of affordable housing. And what are they doing about it? Follow me after the flip for more...
Once upon a time, a "Magic Kingdom" opened among orange groves and walnut trees in a rural, bucolic community in North Orange County. Over the years, as this "Magic Kingdom" has grown, the rural area transformed into suburban sprawl, and then into urban sprawl.
And during all this time, the two seemed to be growing together pretty well...
Putting itself on a collision course with the city's largest and most famous employer, the Anaheim City Council voted 3 to 2 Tuesday night to reopen debate on whether to allow housing in the resort district - a proposal Disney has fiercely opposed.
The vote is the latest escalation in the debate between city leaders and Disney officials on what belongs in a neighborhood dominated by Disneyland and California Adventure.
So what does this mean for Mickey Mouse, the poor folks who work for him, and the all the neighbors who have to live near him? I'll tell you about it after the flip...
- Anaheim's Disney Dilemma... Now in Court! The Plaintiff: Disney, who insists that housing in the resort district would not fit in with the hotels and tourist venues planned for the area. The Defendant: The City of Anaheim, who insists that the city has the right to determine what fits in the resort district... And now, residential developer SunCal wants to help pay Anaheim's legal fees. Stay tuned as the Disney Dilemma erupts in court!
- No Longer Lost in Translation. The City of Santa Ana is finally giving its 45% of primarily Spanish-speaking residents a chance to better participate in city council meetings by offering simultaneous translation of its City Council meetings in Spanish. Es muy bien, porque mas personas en Santa Ana pueden participar en los negocios de su ciudad. : )
And finally...
- Curt. It's been said that a picture is worth a thousand words... So I guess it shouldn't surprise me that Mike Lawson's one picture at The Liberal OC says more about the wild and crazy special election fallout than all of my updates combined. Way to go, Mike, you artistic genius. ; )
The Spocko Scandal was featured in a long story on Page A2 of today's San Francisco Chronicle and I predict this new video will end up being one of the most viewed on Youtube (cubical safe, no sound):
Anyone expect this to calm down anytime soon? Already, this clip has 25,000+ views and in additional to the phone calls to all KSFO advertisers, people write letters.
Tomorrow it will be five years ago that I was in Brussels, celebrating my 23rd birthday and my first day as an intern in the European Parliament (with my local conservative member, I have learned since ;)). Only one day later my birthday would forever be the day before 9/11.
Tomorrow I will turn 28 and not only has the pope just arrived in Germany to tell me why I live in sin and should not be allowed to marry. No, now ABC and Disney have to ruin my birthday as well. Thank you, but no thank you! Disney, I don't like my birthday present. Yank the film already!
Right after 9/11 I have witnessed days, weeks and months of unprecedented solidarity with the United States only to watch it all being destroyed by the scandalous behaviour of the Bush administration. This is why I, a former exchange student from Germany to the US, want to see Democrats win in November. This is why I write here and why I started my blog Turn Tahoe Blue because it's the only way I can help change the status quo.
