Los Angeles, June 9, 2006 – Significant funding to purchase the South Central Farm has now been pledged. The Trust for Public Land publicly stated that lines of communication between all parties remain open and everything is moving towards the same goal: the sale of the property on behalf of the farmers.
 
“If there is a chance to mediate the situation the Mayor will do what he can to settle this,” said Larry Frank, Los Angeles Deputy Mayor at a Thursday night farm prayer vigil. “Don’t give up hope, no one can predict how this will end.”
 
Commissioner Paula Daniels, L.A. City Board of Public Works echoed Larry Frank in her statement to the farmers and supporters: “The Mayor cares about you and wants to make this one of the greenest cities in America – that includes the 500 trees that are at the farm.”
 
Friday marks day 18 of the tree sit by Daryl Hannah, John Quigley and Julia “Butterfly” Hill, who is now on day 25 of a water only fast. The encampment is looking for a peaceful resolution with the developer and L.A. city council.

A call place to the Trust for Public Land could not confirm this.

Bob Reid of the Trust would neither confirm nor deny that the trust is in talks with the Horowitz Group. He did state that the Trust for Public Land would still like to see the land persevered as open space.

Looking at the wording of this, one possible outcome would be that the Trust for Public Land has capitualated and is agreeing to turn the Farm into a park. Jan Perry doesn't want a farm, Villaraigosa and Baca want this over, Horrorwitz is looking to make sure the Farmers lose--and that he gets his money.

Never mind that the Farmers are looking at building a community center--if they kept the bulk of the land as a Farm, that wouldn't mean they lost, and everybody on the list above wants them to LOSE. Another public park might back off the lightweight environmentalists, Perry and Horrorwitz could revel in the bulldozing of the Farm and in forcing the Farmers out of their semi-independent lives, and Villaraigosa could claim (as he has tried to do all along) that he did the best that he could. He might even try to tell us its a win-win situation.

So maybe Baca will be evicting the Farmers down the road, this time at the behest of the Trust for Public Land, or maybe the Farmers will give up, once most people buy into the "we did the best we could, a park serves the whole community and a farm doesn't" bs. But the point for all the players except the Farmers and their real supporters is to shut down the Farm, and if they have to put a park at 41st and Alameda instead of a warehouse to do it, they will.

Not that I agree with this point , but from a bureaucratic, governmental perspective, does it make sense to buy 16 million dollars worth of land to give to 350 families? what kind of precedent does that set? Personally , I think this city (as in community of residents) needs more "wild" spaces where people can go about their activities without bureaucratic meddling. Maybe the farmers can give classes in indigenous medicinal plants or alternative farming as a way to placate those who start complaning? I don't know, but I doubt things are going to stay the same at the Farm.

Well....

Dealing with politicos like the Mayor, Perry and Baca _isn't_ a job I'd want, precisely because it means that nothing is as it seems - and that's because such people value image over substance, and have no fundamental integrity. Their word doesn't carry life, as a rule it carries death.

Friend of the Farm above really is a friend of the Farm. These power creeps are old pros, and nothing - and no one - is safe until it's over.

The ONE thing this system is expert at and the ONE thing these kinds of people (including, of course, Horowitz ) are groomed for, is destruction.

I don't imagine they could spiritually _bear_ a life giving result. It would shine a deep light on the depth of their souls and their killing ways.

None of this is the Farm's fault or the fault of anyone at the Farm.

The Farm is an oasis of Life in a spiritual wasteland of death.

That's the only real "power" we have.

It's enough.