Originally Posted By bean "Affordable housing is not for cast members. It would certainly be nice if Disney would build CM housing to help with the underpayment of CMs. But the city of Anaheim is not trying to help CMs." Exactly. Disney had already donated 30 million for low income housing when the resort was being developed. they felt that it would be better if the city took care of the housing development since Disney is not a house developer. Guess what, most of the money was used for other things besides housing. a low income house in that area would average about 640,000. Someone tell me how a cm is going to afford payment on a house of that price. galloway is just using the low income initiative and the CM backing as an excuse. Its funny how she has no problem cashing in the checks that Disney donates to her for the charity she runs.
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 "Though I don't think they're as bad as the Knott's CMs, who take the same bus. Of course, I may be biased. ;-)" LOL, Any rivalry going on between the two groups?
Originally Posted By Darkbeer Ms. Galloway is on the War Path... <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-disney7may07" target="_blank">http://www.latimes.com/news/pr intedition/california/la-me-disney7may07</a>,1,3451967.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california&ctrack=1&cset=true (Selected paragraphs only) >>Fearful that the Chamber of Commerce is becoming a political arm of Disney, Anaheim Councilwoman Lorri Galloway is calling for the city to pull the business group's funding in response to its lead role in helping Disney fight City Hall on a hot-button zoning issue. The chamber is organizing two Disney-backed ballot measures, an initiative and a referendum, aimed at preserving nonresidential zoning in the area surrounding the company's theme parks. "We're giving them up to $200,000 a year to promote and work with Anaheim's businesses, not to do referendums against the city," the councilwoman said. "The chamber is supposed to be promoting businesses, not pitting them against each other. Why should we give them one dime?" The chamber's role in Anaheim's yearlong, high-profile squabble with Disney is not unusual, according to one longtime observer of Orange County politics. "Chambers don't operate on the principles of unanimity," UC Irvine political scientist Mark Petracca said. "They promote business for themselves. There are probably numerous situations where chambers end up pitting one business against another.<<
Originally Posted By gurgitoy2 Well, it seems to me she's going on a "rampage" only because it's not in her favor. If this were the other way around, would we hear a peep out of her? This just smacks of hypocrisy. How is her catering to the developers of this new housing complex any different? She's favoring one business over another, and not really thinking about the real benefit to the resort district...she's thinking about how it will effect her wallet.
Originally Posted By smeeeko ^re: alex and the bus pass.. yes commuter assistance allows you to take the bus TO & from work but that's it.. and you need to remember to swipe your commuter assistance card. they keep track of what you use the 'bus pass' for, so you really can't use it for anything other than getting to work.. as most CMs (at least the dept I used to work in) are scheduled nights, the bus pass MIGHT get you to work but it won't get you home, unless of course you area taking the MTA or metrolink.. OCTA doesn't run local buses past 7 or 8pm most nights beyond the once an hour Harbor bus. One of my worst commuter experience was being scheduled some 4hrs and then having to take a cab home which (along with my early dinner) ate most of any wages I would have made that night. The cabs are like $12-15 and they don't have a cab stand so you have to walk Harbor looking for a hotel that has a nice person to call one for you. Don't expect to find a cab stand outside Grand Californian at 1am. Don't get me wrong, I loved my job when I worked there but Disney really isn't set up to help it's CMs more than absolutely necessary. They seem to expect everyone to have their own car or live on Harbor I guess where they have to sit in a bus shelter for another 45min if they miss the bus. bleh.. that's better than being stranded. =) re: housing I don't think ANYONE can afford to buy a house in SoCal unless you are uber rich or win the Section 8 lottery. The thing I'm looking at is company or corporate apartments.. Sears, Hershey, Kellogg's and other companies that used to be known for their loyalty to factory employees knew that people who had a stake in their own happiness would be on time and give better work performance. Having to commute 2-3hrs each way to a $5-$7hr job is a difficult thing. Plus most of the positions at DLR are Union, so there goes more money out of CMs' paycheck.. While I agree DLR has done a LOT to put Anaheim on the world map, it's done a lot to not make it especially people friendly to the locals.. Anaheim City council has an obligation like any city to the people that put them in office.. the voting public, not a big company. Better housing, wages, etc.. re: lightshow complaints: Everyone who lives in Anaheim knows there's going to be fireworks both at DLR and at the ANAHEIM Angels Stadium.. that's a non-issue to anyone that moves into the area at this point, IMHO.
Originally Posted By alexbook smeeeko: Thanks for the bus clarification. Not being a Disney employee, I've always had to pay for my own pass, so I didn't know how it worked. The lack of late night buses in OC is a particular peeve of mine. I live about 2 miles from the nearest "night owl" bus line. I don't usually mind the walk if the weather's nice, but sometimes it rains. It was worse when I took the MTA to L.A. The 460 stops around midnight, and I spent quite a few nights watching TV in a break room or sleeping on the floor in the bookstore before catching the first bus home in the morning. Ah, good times.
Originally Posted By disneywatcher >> Ms. Galloway is on the War Path... << She is to local land-use and planning issues what Eisner/Pressler/Braverman were to theme-park concepts and development, certainly in Anaheim. Such people's shortsightedness means they're far likelier to make lousy decisions, either by going against zoning rules approved previously or by ignoring principles of good Disney-park planning created through the decades since 1955.
