Well, today the Times ran yet another gap-filled, info-deficient story on the subject. At least this one said one relevant thing:
The new attention from O’Farrell is not the result of an increase in complaints. In fact, Zarcone said complaints against clubs remain flat.
So that’s what O’Farrell’s attention is NOT a result of. Could the Times be bothered to find out what it IS a result of? No, they could not. What does O’Farrell have to say about this? Something stupid:
“Hollywood must be a neighborhood that is safe, clean and hospitable to its residents,” O’Farrell said.
The residents aren’t complaining. Zarcone himself said so. So who is complaining? It’s the BIDs, ain’t it? And what does Leron Gubler have to say? Something else stupid:
“When nobody was investing in Hollywood, the clubs were here and they were kind of the first phase of revitalizing Hollywood,” said Leron Gubler, president and chief executive of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
“Now that the area is improving, we do have a few clubs that are causing problems,” he added.
See, Leron Gubler, the Hollywood Chamber, the HPOA, they’re the love ’em and leave ’em types, eh? They just want one thing and when they get it, they don’t just lose interest in her, she’s gotta get up and leave. And what’s the time-frame Leron’s talking about here? Seven freaking years! That’s the urban-planning time scale these people operate with. Proof? Listen to Eric Garcetti in 2008:
“People are bullish on Hollywood,” said Los Angeles City Councilman Eric Garcetti, who, when he took office in 2001, got behind plans to transform Hollywood into a thriving entertainment district, pushing to encourage street life, reduce crime and foster new businesses.
“It’s a feather in everyone’s cap to have a place in Hollywood: people in the entertainment industry investing in nightspots, people who run clubs,” said Garcetti, whose district covers much of Hollywood.
In any case, we’d have thought that a world-class paper like the Times might, when they tell us why a politician is not doing something, could also find someone to quote who has a theory on why he is doing it. But we suppose it’s too much to ask. That’s why you all are lucky you have us. You’re welcome!
Image of Mitch O’Farrell is a public record (making it public domain in California) because we kiped it from the councilmember’s official city page here. Image of Leron Gubler and a bunch of famous people is by Sharon Graphics, who has released it under the CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, and we got it via Flickr.
