How the city works

LINK

First, that link is the project that I just spent two hours listening to people talk about. Oooohh..consumerism pretty.

Two days ago, I got a call from a rep of the Redevelopment PAC that I'm
on. He told me that there was to be a board meeting about the
development on San Vicente and Pico. This is huge as the Sugar Shack is walking
distance. We knew that the property was in full construction mode for a
bus depot, but a large percentage of the land was being fought over
between Target and the LA Unified School District. The meeting was
scheduled for 10am two days from the phone call. A few hours later, I got an
email from a very active Midcity council member that the meeting was
scheduled for 8am.

I was learning the beauty of beaurocracy.

Yesterday, the rep calls to say that the meeting is at 8 but this
particular topic would start about 10. He suggested getting there at 9:30. I get there at 9:22.

They were already in mid-topic. I likely missed a half hour of very
important stuff. No matter. I got enough to piss me off. Which is a surprise to me every single time it happens. I didn't even have an opinion when I walked in
that meeting and within 10 minutes I was offended.

Everyone wants Target there. Why? Because it generates revenue, it
makes jobs, it increases property value, it gives our little community
volunteer committees extra mad money (potentially high 7 figure mad money),
and most importantly, it makes us pretty. Why not a high school
(potentially the largest high school in the city)? Because it will make
teenagers spend time here. Not as pretty.

To be fair (more to the point, to not sound like an agenda toting
pinko), the school will likely be poorly funded, poorly managed and the jobs
it would create would not help the community (unless we have a
surprising amount of unemployed teachers in our neighborhood). With all that,
crime will go up, the drugs and prostitution already in our neighborhood
will get more action, and by more I mean under aged more action. And
forget about gentrification. And for all my liberal ways, I can still
appreciate a little gentrification.

So quite a few people made it. The neighborhood was there, standing room only. And they spoke. They spoke about how they were (we were) dying for a Target and did NOT want a high school.

Anyway, Target is a little stubborn with the wages they're willing to pay. Mind you, they promise to pay a living wage...a wage one can live on. But that's about all they promise and they don't want to promise in writing cuz really, define "living".

"No worries! Move on in!" The community begged. CRA (the suits) were a little less enthusiastic. Either let people get paid poorly or CRA would actually pay the difference so employees got a wage they could really live on. CRA did not like the latter option at all. So now it's poor paid or Target actually does pay well on the honor system or lose Target. The developer did not look amused by any of this. (He DID negotiate prevailing wage for his construction workers, THAT guy isn't dumb)

But the bad guy isn't Target. They're earning a buck.

The bad guy (yet again) is us. The community. Because we are so desperate for some revenue and some city clout that we basically beg large corporations to rape us.

Gentrification.

This is a word that I feel is the same as Lucifer. It means something beautiful and is actually a very ugly, festering thing.

(more later)