On the South Central Farmers web site, there is a Quicktime video clip of Mayor Antonio "El Alcado de Queso" Villaraigosa on KCAL 9 News. The South Central Farmers website states:

"Mayor Villaraigosa demonstrated leadership by calling out to the citezenery to step-up to the plate and help save the farm at 41st and Alameda."

Here is the "leadership" Mayor McCheese demonstrates. In the interview about the farm, the mayor says:

"If you are sending emails, send some money so we can buy this land for the farmers."



How is it that after the city and its corrupt politicians blew it and "lost" this land, that somehow it's on the citizens to right this wrong? WE have to come up with the money? How about the CITY comes up with the money, since it's the CITY that blew it/sold out on this?

That's a punkass move if I ever saw one. We need to organize and disseminate this information all over the city, starting in East Los. How the mayor not only sold out to wealthy interests and failed to fix a problem corrupt CITY politicians caused, but how he then tried to wiggle out of it and shift the responsibility and blame onto the PEOPLE. Nice one.

Not even a year into it and his true colors are already showing--and they ain't brown.

The "Green" Mayor? Yeah, right. I guess he means like dollar bills.

And the South Central Farmers are rolling right over requesting donations to help support the mayor's "leadership." Whatever. That's bullshit.

Why should the tax payer buy the land? Why dosen't Catholic Charities buy the land?

Whether its 'tax payer' money or 'city money'... its all your money. Ultimately, in the chain of cash flow to the city coffers, all money the city has comes from individuals (taxes, fees, etc...)

If you don't want your money directly involved maybe a charity or some other private concern can pony up.

Grimace has a valid point. The mayor's plan to buy the land is vague. But at least he is going public in stating his support for the farm. And he does claim to be negotiating with the developer. Those fighting to save the farm need to hold him to his word. We have him on record on live TV saying he supports saving the farm let’s hold him to it. The mayor has the power to cut a deal and save the farm. As activists we have the power to pressure him to do the right thing. This is how we find out if he is really on our side.

The people using the land can buy it in common.

Just arrange a very long loan without interest. Just draw it out to 100 years or more. It can be done, and would be a great victory for the people. (And 100 years, as long as it is, is only thrice as long as a 30 year mortgage. Community time is longer than personal time.)

I like John's idea. That's what I'm getting at. Pressure the mayor to find some other way than just relying on private donors and charities. Use his authority to make some kind of deal.

Ideally, greedy bastards like Horowitz should sell the land back to the city at the mil he bought it for; politicians should tax all the filthy rich fuckers who live and make millions and billions in this city exploiting the rest of us; etc. But that's of course not going to happen. But neither should we all embrace the mayor's "leadership" of sending in our money. that's crap. it sets a horrible precedent, and it ignores the work of so many people to make sure this land stays with those who own it through use and work.

no matter what, the people have already been screwed over here. even if they are allowed to buy it over a long term, they will be paying the 300% profit Horowitz is asking. but something along the lines of John's idea might be workable.

As opposed to the weenie line of "send us your money," which the mayor will undoubtedly spin afterwards as a failure on OUR part to save the farm, despite everything he did to save it. That's what people aren't getting here. He's not "supporting" the farm; he's setting up a media spin that will pin the responsibility on the public and make him look like a martyred hero who struggled to do all he could but in the end was thwarted by the citizens' own inability to come through. Wake up. Put pressure on him to reverse the spin--appeal to his politician's ego and survival instinct. He has the opportunity to actually come off looking like the hero here--hell, all the leadership at South Central Farm and a bunch of other people are so eager to make him the "hero" they've bought into his line of "support" already and are pinning everything on him. They don't get that it's just a set-up. Making it clear that if he DOESN'T come up with some alternative solution like John's proposal here, then there will be repercussions--he will NOT escape behind the media spin that he did all he could but tragically, the people of LA failed to come through and help him save the farm.

I just read that the city paid for the cost of the parking lot at the Disney Concert Hall, to the tune of to 0 million.

So, the City seems to be okay paying for part of a project that is largely inaccessible to pretty much every single person living near the SCF... and for all purposes, me too, unless I get some kind of discount seat-filler ticket. Maybe I'll use that garage if I see something for the "affordable" price of at the RED CAT.

It seems really unfair, because the SCF is willing to open itself up as a community resource, that, presumably, will be free to people.

Is LA a city only for rich people?