I reckon the City figgered that no one would stand up to them.
That no one had the resources to fight them in court. That the local media would just roll over, keep quiet, not ask the wrong questions. That the press would keep repeating the City’s lies without much challenge. That the voters were too apathetic to upset the electoral applecart. That taxpayers would take their licks, and not squeal too loud.
And the City was right, mostly.
But the preservationists somehow mustered up the funds to mount a court challenge. And with that, the scales tipped.
What kind of a place are we where the rich exploit the weakness of the poor? Where bureaucrats pursue an agenda for the benefit of a few real estate speculators at the expense of the rest of the citizens? Where the major print medium comforts the comfortable and afflicts the afflicted?
What kind of people are we? What kind of people do we elect?
City government railroaded us. They bamboozled us. We got hornswoggled.
Right up to the last minute.
I’m looking forward to the court hearing on July 17. Should be fun.
Gorilla image via CC BY-SA 2.5, Link
Residents: better off, getting stipends to move better place and better conditions. This project is good for the residents.
Buildings: sad to seem some historical buildings demolished, but sometimes the old must give way to the new. The buildings of Duranguito are very old, they are not very useful, but most importantly, the arc of this neighborhood is not bright on its own, as it has been on a steady path towards isolation, disintegration and blight. Sorry to the Max G. faction, and although this is a tough call, (provided there is a good project or concept lined up) demolition wins my vote.
Arena the Right Project: Where you, elrichboy, are making a dent on my mind is the wisdom of building an arena. Is this the right investment of public time, effort, and loads of money? I have no clear answer yet, but I am probably strange and unique in that I even think about it all. Clearly, the voters don’t care. The recent election proved the arena was somewhere between total non-issue to being supported by the voters. The pro arena candidates won. Let’s not overlook apathy. I was talking to someone the other day, and she had to go to Duranguito as part of her job. She had no clue about the fight over Duranguito, the battle between the city/investors, on one side, versus the preservationists/advocates, on the other. She didn’t know about the arena. If the voters are in favor of the arena and the public doesn’t care/know, then, regardless of what anyone on this blog may think, the city/investors are going to win the legal case and proceed to finish the project. This deal is baked. And the icing on the cake says “Goodbye Duranguito, Hello Arena.” The focus of the argument, and the thinking public’s effort, should be focused on keeping pressure on the city to make a good deal for the taxpayers when the arena is completed.
I can think of dozen projects that would be a better use of public resources than an area. This Rube Goldberg fustercluck was invented by the Sanders/O’Rourke/PDNG Deathstar over a decade ago BEFORE the crash of 2008. Things have changed since then. But we’re still throwing money at a bad idea.