Zkribbler in the News.

[Zkribbler]

The Los Angeles Daily News asked its readers to submit ideas on on the city could save money. Today, my letter to the editor was published:

The City Council can save L.A. $400 million by voting down the planned tax waiver for the Grand Avenue Project. This money is desperately needed for police, firefighters, hospitals and road repairs.

A tax waiver would also give the Grand Avenue moguls an unfair advantage over the neighboring businesses, which must pay taxes. To grant this unearned bonanza to a handful of billionaires makes no sense.

[BeBMan]

I have no idea what this is all about but yay to ZNN

[Traianvs]

Idem!

[asleepathewheel]

cool

Spoiler:

I now know your real identity and will send out the attack robots to your residence immediately

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by BeBro
I have no idea what this is all about but yay to ZNN

Eli Broad (L.A.'s biggest land developer), an organization called Related Companies, and others were granted the right to construct a project on City land in downtown L.A.: a huge hotel, shopping center, condos, etc. After they designed it, they came back hat-in-hand to the City Council saying they couldn't make a profit on it, so couldn't they please have a 10-year waiver on their city taxes, which are estimated to be $40 million per year. Even though the City is facing a record deficit, it looks like the measure will pass.

[Winston]

They should put J. J. Gittes on that case.

Also, asleepathewheel makes a fair point..

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by Zkribbler


Eli Broad (L.A.'s biggest land developer), an organization called Related Companies, and others were granted the right to construct a project on City land in downtown L.A.: a huge hotel, shopping center, condos, etc. After they designed it, they came back hat-in-hand to the City Council saying they couldn't make a profit on it, so couldn't they please have a 10-year waiver on their city taxes, which are estimated to be $40 million per year. Even though the City is facing a record deficit, it looks like the measure will pass.

The City should have made it a contingent tax exemption.

If the company makes more than $40 million a year then they are big fat liars. Back tax them when they make a profit I say.

[Kidlicious]

Z

Your plans for world domination are being fullfilled.

[Provost Harrison]

Originally posted by Dauphin


The City should have made it a contingent tax exemption.

If the company makes more than $40 million a year then they are big fat liars. Back tax them when they make a profit I say.

Who let the accountant in?

[Nikolai]

@ asleepathewheel.

[Zoid]

Zkribbler sticking it to the man!

[Wiglaf]

Using the word bonanza is always admirable. Inexplicably I was drawn to that one word even before I began reading the OP, and have not been able to read other words in the post since.

[Dinner]

On the up side LA badly needs a new urban park downtown. The Grand Ave project, if done right, would be a nice addition to the city.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Dauphin


The City should have made it a contingent tax exemption.

If the company makes more than $40 million a year then they are big fat liars. Back tax them when they make a profit I say.

LA, like most SoCal cities, are in the pockets of developers. You can't win local office without big campaign contributions and the developers are often the biggest businesses interested in local politics (for obvious reasons). The result is the developers get to write their own deals and politicians rumber stamp them if they want to stay in office. It's corrupt but America's political system is corrupt.

[Dinner]

http://www.siteselection.com/ssinsider/snapshot/sf030929.htm

Basically the proposal is to ripe out a road and the buildings on either side then build a park and a mall around the park. I do agree that the tax breaks are just a massive give away of tax payer money. Such subsidies might be needed in the current market though given how the economy is tanking.

In the early 80's Horton Plaza helped kick start San Diego's downtown redevelopment so maybe this could help LA's downtown. Of course in San Diego the scum developers promised a big downtown park then later changed their mind so hopefully LA doesn't let them do the same thing there.