Wednesday, February 21, 2007
At Home He's A Tourist
"Suburbia vs. Living in the City" (Part 1)
By Jason Pancake
Let’s look at an example in my own hometown of Los Angeles. This past week you might have heard about this massive project called the Grand Avenue Project in Downtown Los Angeles which was approved by both the City and County of Los Angeles. This project will take place in the heart of Downtown near City Hall and bring in huge retail and residential buildings and a new park. Here are a couple of articles from the LA Times and the LA Downtown News . Or do a search for “Los Angeles Grand Avenue Project”
The Grand Avenue ProjectAs described on its website , “the master plan for the Grand Avenue Project centers on a large park connecting landmark cultural and civic buildings with an ambitious multi-use development to create a unique gathering place in the City. The overall plan includes the development of a 16-acre civic park, streetscape improvements along Grand Ave. from 5th St. to Cesar Chavez Ave. and up to 3.8 million square feet of mixed-use development.” The first major part of this project will be a fancy hotel and a 50-story high-rise with 1000 residential condos/apartments, including 200 reserved for low-income tenants. In addition, workers living within five miles of the site will have priority for about 30% of the jobs generated by the project, which is helpful to people in the area.
The 200 initial low-income residences will be a welcome addition considering how expensive housing is getting throughout LA. This will be especially nice for these residents because this development is right in the heart of Downtown and conveniently located to all kinds of transportation. In general, it’s not surprising that cities and developers don’t want low-income housing in nice areas or places that are very convenient. Imagine if a 50-story residential building in the middle of Manhattan had one-fifth of its units reserved for low income residents. Apartment companies won’t provide low-income housing in nice areas out of the goodness of their hearts, so the local government, in our case the City and County, had to spice up the deal with tax breaks. This brings up one of the main conflicts with the Grand Avenue Project. Included in the deal the City and County worked out with developers was a nice hotel tax-break which could be $40 to $66 million dollars spread over 20 years. In exchange for the land used in the project and tax breaks, the developer paid the County $50 million. Opponents of the project say the tax breaks will be a waste of taxpayer dollars. There is sort of a point to this, however, there’s no way this project would happen without the tax breaks. Also, the tax breaks will come from new taxes generated from the project itself. In the meantime, the County has already gotten paid for the land upfront, so even if the project is unsuccessful, it has still gotten paid.
On one hand, I’m somewhat weary about this project because if it is successful, it will probably open the gates for turning LA into what New York City is; a small area dominated by skyscrapers and apartment-living. Unlike NYC though, people out here enjoy their space and drive their cars, so changing people’s mindsets about their lifestyle will be a challenge. On a more selfish level, I would hate to see the new amount of traffic generated by something like this. However, on the other hand, LA does need to start making some kind of shift and redevelopment to keep from losing the middle class and working class who cannot afford to live in the LA area anymore. While new downtown condos definitely aren’t cheap, they are a lot less then you would find for a full house in a decent area. As I’ll expand on in next week’s column, the shift of people to the suburbs of other regions of the country has had a huge effect on politics in the Bush era.
From a financial standpoint, redevelopment like the Grand Ave Project also happens to be profitable not only to developers. The city and county could earn a lot of tax revenue from the new project, especially compared to the vacant space or small parking lots that are there now. To solve other city/county problems, this tax revenue will come in handy. You and I all pay our income taxes (if we don’t want to end up like Wesley Snipes) and sales taxes on stuff we buy, but cities/counties really need the taxes from businesses in order to support services like road work, police, firefighters, education, and other daily things we need.
Getting back to my earlier Wal-Mart/Starbucks point, cities sure don’t mind having a Wal-Mart and Starbucks on every block because those businesses bring in customers and the city earns taxes off of them. Applebees or Home Depot did not just magically appear in the neighborhood because the company simply put it there. The local government had to approve it being there. The city had to have a public hearing that the average citizen probably didn’t even hear about or care to attend. The major chains make a far larger profit compared to what they pay in taxes, but it is still interesting that the services provided by local government that I mentioned above all benefit from greater tax income.
Unfortunately, as you’ve probably heard many times, these large chains destroy their smaller competition and put them out of business, among other things. Wal-Mart Watch is a cool website that discusses some of the drawbacks to “everyday low prices.” Sometimes the community is able to keep a chain out of town by scaring the local politicians into denying the request to build. Politicians know that the people who voted them in can easily vote them out. Or the citizens can do it themselves, like in Inglewood, CA where voters turned down a measure to build a new Wal-Mart in 2004. While this was a victory for the voters, it is easy to see why so many other cities and local governments support opening new Wal-Marts. According to the Mayor of Inglewood, the new Wal-Mart would have generated $3 million to $5 million in sales tax revenues.
Next week’s column will continue with the topic of cities, and how moving to the suburbs has led to places like Florida and Ohio determining our elections.
Ian MacKaye: I'm Not The Most Prolific Person...
Ian MacKaye
Interviewed by Kyle Ryan
February 20th, 2007
Of the members of punk rock's second generation—Bob Mould, Henry Rollins, Jello Biafra, etc.—Ian MacKaye has had the greatest influence on music and commerce: The DIY ethos he and his peers established in early-'80s Washington D.C. affected the genre as profoundly as his music. When his high-school punk band, The Teen Idles, decided to release a single, he and bandmate Jeff Nelson created Dischord Records, which remains one of independent music's most respected labels. Musically, MacKaye made his first big impact in legendary hardcore group Minor Threat, which helped establish D.C. as a punk hub in the early '80s. The Minor Threat song "Straight Edge," about MacKaye's choice to eschew drugs, alcohol, and promiscuous sex, fomented a youth movement that has since warped into a cottage industry. After Minor Threat, MacKaye briefly led Embrace, whose deeply personal style gave birth to emocore—and the bands selling a lot of records today. In the late '80s, MacKaye formed Fugazi, which became one of the most important bands of the era, and easily the most influential post-punk group of its generation, before going on hiatus in 2002. Now in his 40s, MacKaye remains contrary with his latest group, The Evens. The duo—guitarist-vocalist MacKaye and drummer-vocalist Amy Farina—plays understated, quiet songs through their own small PA, which makes virtually anywhere a performance space. This quiet M.O. may be MacKaye's most revolutionary idea yet. Just as The Evens' sophomore album, The Get Evens, came out, MacKaye spoke to The A.V. Club about his new approach, his past, and the porn director who took his name.
To read the full interview visit the A.V. Club site here
It Wasn't Enough Bringing Sexy Back...
In this year full or reunions looks like we're also bringing back the controversial figures of the past. The following is a story originally posted by www.cmj.com
Milli Vanilli Headed For Hollywood
2007-02-20 11:05:56.917,
Story by: Taylor Mason
Looks like Milli Vanilli, the unforgettable and unforgiven pop-duo busted for lip-synching, are headed for Hollywood. Trade paper Hollywood Variety reported on Thursday that Universal Pictures will be heading the production of the Milli Vanilli film, with writer Jeff Nathanson (Catch Me If You Can) slated for writer/director credits. Nathanson has reportedly received cooperation from Fabrice Morvan, one-half of Milli Vanilli, as well as securing the estate of Rob Pilatus, Morvan's colleague who passed away from a drug overdose in 1998.
www.universalpictures.com
So how many of you remember all the words to this video?
Milli Vanilli Headed For Hollywood
2007-02-20 11:05:56.917,
Story by: Taylor Mason
Looks like Milli Vanilli, the unforgettable and unforgiven pop-duo busted for lip-synching, are headed for Hollywood. Trade paper Hollywood Variety reported on Thursday that Universal Pictures will be heading the production of the Milli Vanilli film, with writer Jeff Nathanson (Catch Me If You Can) slated for writer/director credits. Nathanson has reportedly received cooperation from Fabrice Morvan, one-half of Milli Vanilli, as well as securing the estate of Rob Pilatus, Morvan's colleague who passed away from a drug overdose in 1998.
www.universalpictures.com
So how many of you remember all the words to this video?
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
The Music Industry Report
As reported originally by Tess Taylor of NARIP
OZZFEST FOR FREE! As an example of an attempt to “grow the pie,” Sharon Osbourne took a new approach to make Ozzfest free this year when a ticket normally costs about $79. Maybe, said Rapino, whose Live Nation produces the 25-city summer festival, “we can make more with a 20,000-audience with free admission and sponsorship than selling 6000 – 7000 tickets at $79 each.” The festival is expensive to produce, costing $600,000 before doors even open. Kwatinetz called this move “smart.” Other interesting concert trends were discussed in the “Marketing Live Music On The Internet” panel which featured the following speakers:
Marc Geiger (panel moderator). A longtime advocate of new bands and new technology, Marc is head of William Morris Agency’s contemporary music department.
Jack Isquith. While handling the task of executive director for music industry relations for AOL Music, Jack is also executive producer of the AOL Music LIVE! Concert series.
Dave Jaworski is CEO of PassAlong Networks, a company that focuses on building a foundation for the next wave of digital entertainment distribution, consumption and communication.
Steve Rennie, who manages Incubus, has plenty of marketing and digital-world experience with Epic Records doing early Web–programming and marketing, as well as with ArtistDirect and his own REN Management.
Jerry Trainer, Yahoo!’s Director of Product Management for Yahoo! Music is charged with the continued growth and development of Yahoo! Music.
Larry Weintraub. The Fanscape founder has 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry encompassing nearly every field, including A&R, marketing, sales, advertising, merchandising and event management. Geiger moderated, drawing facts and speculation from speakers.
To view the whole article click here
OZZFEST FOR FREE! As an example of an attempt to “grow the pie,” Sharon Osbourne took a new approach to make Ozzfest free this year when a ticket normally costs about $79. Maybe, said Rapino, whose Live Nation produces the 25-city summer festival, “we can make more with a 20,000-audience with free admission and sponsorship than selling 6000 – 7000 tickets at $79 each.” The festival is expensive to produce, costing $600,000 before doors even open. Kwatinetz called this move “smart.” Other interesting concert trends were discussed in the “Marketing Live Music On The Internet” panel which featured the following speakers:
Marc Geiger (panel moderator). A longtime advocate of new bands and new technology, Marc is head of William Morris Agency’s contemporary music department.
Jack Isquith. While handling the task of executive director for music industry relations for AOL Music, Jack is also executive producer of the AOL Music LIVE! Concert series.
Dave Jaworski is CEO of PassAlong Networks, a company that focuses on building a foundation for the next wave of digital entertainment distribution, consumption and communication.
Steve Rennie, who manages Incubus, has plenty of marketing and digital-world experience with Epic Records doing early Web–programming and marketing, as well as with ArtistDirect and his own REN Management.
Jerry Trainer, Yahoo!’s Director of Product Management for Yahoo! Music is charged with the continued growth and development of Yahoo! Music.
Larry Weintraub. The Fanscape founder has 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry encompassing nearly every field, including A&R, marketing, sales, advertising, merchandising and event management. Geiger moderated, drawing facts and speculation from speakers.
To view the whole article click here
At Home He's A Tourist
“Our Lobbyists, Ourselves”
By Jason Pancake
This week’s story comes from Texas where Governor Rick Perry, issued an order making Texas the first state to require that schoolgirls get vaccinated against HPV, the sexually transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer.
This Washington Post article gives a good overview. According to the new Texas order, “beginning in September 2008, girls entering the sixth grade – meaning, generally girls ages 11 and 12 – will have to receive Gardasil, Merck & Co.'s new vaccine against strains of the human papillomavirus, or HPV.” On the surface, this seems like a good idea. After all, this vaccine has the potential to wipe out HPV and prevent this type of cancer. There is a token provision where ultra-religious families can get out of it, if they legally prove the vaccine is against their religion/beliefs and get an affidavit. For the most part, a huge number of girls will have to get the vaccine, and behind California, Texas has by far the most school aged children. Despite the seemingly good intentions, there is something suspicious going on.
When I first heard about this, I found it strange because Texas traditionally isn’t the place you would expect groundbreaking public health advances. According to a comprehensive report on Texas the state ranks pretty low in many things, particularly issues dealing with women. For example, Texas ranks dead last in the U.S. in the percent of non-elderly women with health insurance. In addition, Gov. Perry is a pro-life, hardcore conservative Christian. Why would he create a measure that would piss off his base by acknowledging that *gasp* teenage girls are having sex? (By the way, Texas: 5th highest teenage birth rate) So naturally, some kind of alarm went off that something was up.
Every article on this order mentions that Merck, the pharmaceutical giant that produces this vaccine, has been heavily lobbying to pass state laws across the country mandating that 11-12 year old girls get their vaccine. It’s no coincidence that Merck would gain billions of dollars if Texas and other states require the $360-per-three-shot vaccine, according to a story in The Wall Street Journal. Oh, that’s something about the vaccine that people might miss: While this order sounds like it is just a matter of girls getting a shot, the reality is that Merck will get $360 for EVERY girl entering middle school in the state of Texas that receives the vaccine!! For the most part it will be the parents or guardians of the girls that would have to pay $360. The State would make the vaccine free to girls who are uninsured or whose insurance does not cover vaccines, but for families that don’t qualify, this is yet another financial hardship for a lot of average families who would have to pay up. This is a massive victory for Merck who will currently have the only product on the market.
2+2=4 and the smoking gun: A reoccurring theme of my column is that lobbyists make pretty much everything happen in government, and pharmaceutical companies like Merck are well-oiled machines. Merck’s competitor is working on a similar vaccine, so they needed to get their product out there ASAP. According to the Washington Post article, “[Merck] doubled its lobbying budget in Texas and has funneled money through Women in Government, an advocacy group made up of female state legislators around the country.”
So how does Merck and lobbyists tie into Governor Perry’s executive order (which conveniently bypassed the legislature and voters)? One of Merck’s three lobbyists in Texas is Mike Toomey, who was Perry's former Chief of Staff! Meanwhile, the mother-in-law of Perry’s CURRENT chief of staff is Texas Congresswoman Dianne White Delisi, who also happens to be the state director for Women in Government, the group mentioned above! Keep in mind the role of a Chief of Staff is to be a top advisor and a “gatekeeper” to the governor. If those connections were not blatant enough, it was also revealed that Merck's political action committee contributed $6,000 to Perry and $38,000 to Texas state legislators last year. That may not sound like too much, but money is still money.
I’m not really questioning Perry’s concern about teenage girls, because honestly, Texas does need help with this issue since it is 47th in U.S. in the rate of women who receive Pap Smears and has the fifth highest cervical cancer rate. However, cervical cancer has been on the swift decline in the United States due to preventative care like regular exams. According to the American Cancer Society, only 3,670 American women are expected to die from cervical cancer this year, which is only 1% of the annual number of deaths from all cancers. Compare that to 40,460 women who are expected to die of breast cancer this year. (Rate of mammograms in Texas: 44th out of 50 states.) Even though the preventative health care and general social services systems in Texas are a joke, Governor Perry has created an executive order (that the Legislature has no authority to repeal), and given the drug companies a huge profit for minimal benefit. Who’s messing with Texas now?
Other articles found in the Baltimore Sun and the RCP Blog.
On an unrelated side note: Here’s a funny piece of news from the sports world: Last Sunday the Indianapolis Colts beat the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl. The Bears’ quarterback, Rex Grossman, had a couple of big mistakes in the game and this season has generally been dangerous to Chicagoans with heart conditions. If you follow football, this will be hilarious! If not, it is still ridiculous.
Read thewhole transcript here: http://mediamatters.org/items/200702070012
Update 2-15-07
It turns out Nobel Prize Nominee (not kidding), Rush Limbaugh, was hissy about people calling him a dumbass over his comments so he claims that he was just trying to “tweak the media” and get a response. Of course, he didn’t claim he was tweaking the media until the next day. Alrighty, Rush. This article has some pretty funny actual quotes from Rush who claimed about his Grossman comments that “I'm the last person to see black or white, or sex. It's liberals that do this.” Yes, this is the guy who has said such gems as: “Why should Blacks be heard? They're 12% of the population. Who the hell cares?” or “Sexual harassment at this work station will not be reported. However, it will be graded!” In case you’re wondering why there are people who still blindly support Bush, keep in mind that millions of people listen to Rush Limbaugh’s radio show which is on 650 radio stations across the county.
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