Sunset Junction?

More like an exodus of the west-side's most vacuous cash-givers.

The many years of allegations of embezzlement, questionable charities and whatnot not withstanding, there is no doubt that Michael McKinley's figurative nose (providing he dares to answer, let alone does not leave prematurely from the September "post-mortem" promised by Garcetti1) will make up in length what the rest of the body clearly lacks not just in height, but plausibility.

For the 2006 street fair, Eric Garcetti-shill Josh Kamensky claimed that it was quite fine to prevent taxpayers from ambulating along the very roads without paying yet another form of highway robbery, as long as the one collecting claims to pass along some money to a charity:
“Entrance Fees vs. Donations: the City Attorney's Office ruled that there are no ordinances prohibiting them from charging admission fees to events. The Sunset Junction organizers will charge festival attendees a fee, and proceeds will go to Sunset Junction's community youth programs. Michael McKinley of Sunset Junction can tell you more about their programs; he can be reached at (323) 661-7771.”

This year, the travesty continues. ATM troubles:

ATMtroubles
Video sent by shametrainla

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In the middle of Santa Monica and Sunset Boulevards2, ridiculously long lines:

LongestLine
Video sent by shametrainla

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Loads of trash, an absolute lack of parking (except for the LAPD, who had their own street ) and a total disregard for the thousands of pedestrians.

Donut Drive
Video sent by shametrainla

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LAPDmounties
Video sent by shametrainla

One video of LAPD mounted police idly watching a pick-up truck turn onto Santa Monica BLVD, cutting off a crowd of pedestrians walking toward the fair.

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But there is more, and there are photos as well as videos from Saturday, 18 August 2007, which will prove that there is also less—in a fashion that may well be illegal. 

Council District 13, which is L.A. City Councilmember President Eric Garcetti’s fiefdom, allegedly sent out a notice to select community groups in Silver Lake:

“All entrance gates will have consistent postings that educate the public on year round services provided by the SJNA to the community of Silver Lake.
The SJNA has chosen a mandatory $15.00 entrance fee over the option of a suggested donation for entry in to the festival. Therefore, this will not be declared a special event by the city and the SJNA will pay for all city services out of their proceeds.
The festival hours of operation are: Saturday, August 18, 10:00 a.m. to 11 :00 p.m. Sunday, August 19, 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
The SJNA will place barricades at the following residential streets: Maltman, Lucile, Edgecliffe, Hyperion, Sanborn, Manzanita, Bates, Effie, Griffith Park, and Fountain. "Local access only" will be posted on these barricades in addition to, "Festival parking at LACC" with instructions.”

In the photos and videos I captured of two of the gates, none of such signage was displayed.

StinkinSigns
Video sent by shametrainla

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As such, one cannot help but ask of Michael McKinley: “Where is the money going? To which agency or charity? What is the official status of the charity or charities being benefited? How might one contact the beneficiaries of such funds as were collected?” Surely these questions can be quickly and concisely answered. If not, surely a federal investigation should be suggested.

There is also the poorly worded Sunset Junction Web site 3, one so poorly put-together that were Rex Harrison’s character (Professor Higgins) to have accidentally read it while he were waiting for his “Fair Lady” to stop spraying about the “rain in Spain” and all that philological pain, would have simply drowned in his own vomit.

One wonders nevertheless, why there is no hue and cry from the merchants and unfavourably affected residents. Now that it has become a travesty that, like this one unmarked dead end that may well prove dangerous to residents near Hoover (and elsewhere depending on how the fences are set up), is a money-making monstrosity, well, now what?

DeadEnd
Video sent by shametrainla

by BusTard, 19 August 2007

1 According to a release by Mitch O'Farrell Ryan Carpio, "CD13 will facilitate a follow up meeting between businesses, residents, and the SJNA in September of this year to discuss issues and concerns with the 2007 festival and a plan for the 2008 festival."  http://silverlake.tribe.net/thread/2253eb72-e4a9-46c8-8445-b5e11015a2d6#e425228a-3520-41d7-b2df-625e9a753c0d

2 http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/02/21/eveningnews/main541555.shtml (On whom can the poor fools patronising the machines count that they are not being ripped off in a manner that has become rather common: card readers that collect data for later collection?)

3 http://www.sunsetjunction.org/streetfair_contract.html

Comments

[Brian Pacheco Corleto]

My uncle (who lived in the neighborhood when the fair began, and I believe he may have been among the many neighborhood kids to volunteer to set it up) gave a phone call to Tsunami, and either spoke with Michael McKinley himself or one of his henchmen. Among all the other brilliant criticisms my uncle cited, he said that it is stupid to give only select streets' residents free passes to the fair, since the negatively impacted areas extends beyond the arbitrarily-chosen "streets located within a block of Sunset and Santa Monica Blvd." I'd like to attend the Sunset Junction's "post-mortem," do you know when it is?

[Brian Pacheco Corleto]

Scratch that. I obviously didn't read the entire thing. Got the info...

[Browne]

"vacuous cash-givers" BusTard.

That's a bit harsh Busty. If it weren't for Sunset Junk-tion what would old crusties like yourself have to bitch about :)

I think the attendees of Sunset Junk-tion had a purpose, what it was I'm not sure. It didn't feel very community minded, but I didn't think that reality TV felt very much like entertainment and look how that took off.

I think all of us had fun at Tiki Ti...

air kisses,
Browne