Monday, May 25, 2009

Do Bob and Irvin read the paper?

We all know that our current mayor won't acknowledge any responsibility if the city's in bad shape in three years. If he comes with a grand vision of the city's future and personally chooses the contractors to start the work, it won't be his fault if his successor can't find the money to finish the job, it won't be Nagin's fault. But, is the rest of the city's leadership every bit as delusional? For example, do Bob Becker
City Park leaders have not secured money for the other primary elements -- a children's splash park near Marconi and an amphitheater planned for a portion of the tract where the tennis courts are now. But officials are hopeful that the flurry of activity will lead to more government and private dollars.

"Donors, as a general rule, give to successful things," said Bob Becker, the park's director. "That's because everyone likes to see progress.

"And when people see lots going on, it gives them confidence that you will use their money in a good way. So, we're hopeful that by moving all these projects along, it will make it easier to raise money from corporations, foundations and government agencies."

and Irvin Mayfield
The $650 million goal for all these initiatives isn't out of reach, said Mayfield, adding that donations have been received from such sources as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation and the Pritzker Foundation.

realize that the economy is still pretty f***ed-up?

Last Fall, some local bloggers rightly blasted Ned Lamont for referring to the financial crisis as our Katrina, however, the "world class" crowd better realize that people who have less money due to "their Katrina" aren't going to fork over money to help us recover from our Katrina. I think might shoot the next civic leader who says "bigger and better."

Comments:
Of course they read the paper. It always says we're "bucking the trend."
 
Actually, I was planning on mentioning that, but I was going to work it into the discussion of greens fees that I was too sleepy to bother including. Thanks for picking up my slack. Seriously though, I believe that Audubon, City Park and Brechtel Park are the only three public courses in the city. I guess there were public courses at Joe Brown and Pontchartrain Park that will reopen eventually. Still, the fact the local press let Bob Becker make it look like the only debate was between the fantasists who wanted green space and the park administration that wanted to revamp the golf course shows how much they hate challenging local officials. Not that I really care if golf in city Park is relatively cheap or expensive, but that should be the real debate. I like walking and riding around the closed course, but I know that can't last forever. For a small market, N.O. has fairly good investigating reporting, but on everything else, they're all consensus historians writing the first draft.

That's a point that I've botched at least twice twice before and was going to attempt to make again tonight, but my internet connection was down. In some ways, it can be more easily illustrated with small stories like City Park upgrades and the Gustav evacuation than with the big controversial stories.
 
Maybe they should incorporate passing the can around at major intersections into their financial plans?
 
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