Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt There is far too much money on the table for her to keep quiet. All the dirt is about to be spilled now.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder Well, it's interesting to hear about the behind the scenes wrangling over the funeral. The family wanted Neverland, insisted on it, but after the initial crush of people and media there, Santa Barbara County officials were having none of it, even if it didn't cost them a cent. S.B. County never considered him a good neighbor as it was, and keep in mind, the same county lost a trial trying to send him away for child molestation. The city of Los Angeles is broke, just like the rest of the state, and they faced a lot of opposition regarding the staging of the Lakers' parade. AEG, which owns Staples, called in some chips and got some big time donors to cover half the cost while the Lakers paid the other. So now with the Jackson funeral, Staples becomes Plan B. Not only does AEG own Staples, they were the money behind the Jackson tour that will never happen. The family at first didn't expect to be out of pocket for this, and as of now, the city is telling them if it couldn't pay for the Lakers, it certainly isn't covering any costs for a funeral, so the reason plans haven't been finalized yet is that the family and AEG are haggling, with the city as a third party because it will happen in L.A. with their police involved, presumably. AEG figures it's enough they're donating Staples Center. The Jackson family thinks the world owes them. More to the point, the tool that is Joe Jackson thinks the world owes them. It's got to be figured out soon enough, so that the free ticket situation for the public service can be resolved and Staples is still available. And meanwhile, no one has a clue where the body will be buried. None.
Originally Posted By iamsally I am not a WE poster as most of you know. I was never a MJ fan but I watched him grow up. (Yeah, I know the controversy about that.) I was always fascinated that as a teenager, they were playing his music on oldies stations. I was impressed by Thriller and by the Moonwalk (it still intrigues me). I have read all the posts here in order to feel *qualified* to post my OPINION. This is directly in response to those convinced of his guilt. I wonder if any of you have been falsely accused of child abuse. Have you ever heard of VOCAL. It is a support group. Just one of many cases. A man I knew was charged. He said, "Not guilty." He was offered a plea bargain. He said no. The offers got better and better until it was probation (no jail time) and minimal counseling. He said, "NO, I did not do it; let me prove it in court." They dropped the charges. The DA was crying. The police were furious. This man was such a deranged criminal that they were threatening him with 15 years. But were willing to let him go with a slap on the wrist if he would plead guilty. For which they would have gotten a federal kickback, oh excuse me, incentive payment for a conviction.. It is because of cases like this that made me doubt Jackson's guilt and lean toward believing in his innocence. This is the view I have been voicing since the very first accusations. If he was indeed guilty then I wish he would have been jailed and that he burns in Hell. Honestly. But, if he was the victim of our child abuse legislation laws and lies; all I have to say is: Ease on down the road Michael, ease on down the road.
Originally Posted By dlkozy I have never understood the kind of person that thinks the world owes them anything. I will be on CA taxpayer that will be hopping mad if ANY tax dollars go towards paying for this funeral that will end up being a circus. If a loved one of mine passed away=I would be paying the dollars INCLUDING any police escort if need be. Guess the Jacksons have not yet realized that they are not royalty and like the common folk will have bills to pay in regards to this funeral. And if I owned any type of business that the Jacksons would be needing such as flowers, catering, funeral home, etc=I would take CASH ONLY! They have a tendency not to pay their bills!
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder "If a loved one of mine passed away=I would be paying the dollars INCLUDING any police escort if need be." It was announced not too long after I wrote 242 post taxpayers are footing the bill for LAPD overtime. Amazing.
Originally Posted By Sara Tonin Would it be better if there were no police protection? Because no matter when or where a funeral for Michael Jackson takes place there will be a an incalculable mass of humanity gathered. So the public has to pay the cost of public safety...what's new?
Originally Posted By ecdc >>It was announced not too long after I wrote 242 post taxpayers are footing the bill for LAPD overtime. Amazing.<< That's common for any large public event, however. I know California's broke. But if a large public event is taking place, with or without government blessing, they have a responsibility to provide security. Can you imagine the outcry if no police were there and a riot broke out and people were killed? L.A. is damned if they do, damned if they don't over this one.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder "That's common for any large public event, however. I know California's broke. But if a large public event is taking place, with or without government blessing, they have a responsibility to provide security." True enough, but they can also find a way to pull permission for the event, too. Mayor Villaraigosa, Police Chief Bratton and big shot councilman Eric Garcetti are all out of town. Nobody's here to take the heat. If I was an Angeleno I'd be pissed.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt "It was announced not too long after I wrote 242 post taxpayers are footing the bill for LAPD overtime. Amazing." California footed the bill for some freeway ramps to go directly into DLR's parking garage. I haven't heard anyone around here complain about that.
Originally Posted By dlkozy At least the CA taxpayer makes $ from DL-can't say the same in regards to MJ.
Originally Posted By dlkozy It is also not unheard of for police/fire depts to charge back to families the cost for personal events that they had to be at. That is what needs to be done. They need to pony up so that the CA taxpaper does not have to pay for their circus.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder "It is also not unheard of for police/fire depts to charge back to families the cost for personal events that they had to be at. That is what needs to be done. They need to pony up so that the CA taxpaper does not have to pay for their circus." dlkozy, this is one topic where you and I are in complete agreement. While it's true the LAPD does budget for special events, this goes far beyond something like that in my opinion, especially in governmental budgetary times like this. ESPECIALLY if you've heard all the budgetary crap I've heard regarding police and fire budgets not just in the paper but behind the scenes. My wife is heavily involved with police contract negotiations for her city. They're using the same facilitator Los Angeles is suing for their contract negotiations. L.A. is COMPLETELY screwed budget-wise. Villaraigosa (however its' spelled) is absolutely clueless about the process and its impact. He's couldn't be more unfocused. Right now, the SOB is in SOUTH AFRICA, of all places, speaking at a motivational conference. He'll be there ten days. This on the heels of just being sworn in for a second term as mayor and having to announce he won't seek the governorship because the support wasn't there. If he okayed this before he and his TV anchor girlfriend of the month left on this trip, then all this will do is fuel the recall campaign that's already rumbling about.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder "..the same facilitator Los Angeles is suing..." HA! Talk about Freudian slips. "..the same facilitator Los Angeles is USING..."
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder "California footed the bill for some freeway ramps to go directly into DLR's parking garage. I haven't heard anyone around here complain about that." California or Anaheim? Either way, a good argument could be made that helped generate tax revenue. A Jackson funeral is nothing but a drain.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt Caltrans, the agency that operates California's freeways, is funded by taxpayer. It was noted during the DLR expansion announcements that California, as well as the City of Anaheim, would grant certain concessions in order to facilitate Disney's development, including those ramps that lead to the Mickey and Friends parking garage.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder But still, it helps generate tax revenue to this very moment.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>At least the CA taxpayer makes $ from DL-can't say the same in regards to MJ.<< Sure you can. People will (and probably already have) come from all over the world to southern California to celebrate Jackson's life. They'll be staying in hotels, eating at restaurants, and shopping at stores, all of which will collect tax revenue. Now, that probably won't cover the cost of the police overtime, but it's not accurate to say it won't collect anything. I guess I just can't see getting that outraged over this. Like it or not, public events you don't think matter are going to happen, and police are going to have to be there and there's going to be government expense. What about police protection for Gay Pride Parade's? You can bet some people won't be happy their taxes are paying for that.... I had to contact the police to provide security when Martin Luther King III spoke at an event my work organized. Sorry, but Utah taxpayers paid for that, not us. It's just part of the deal
Originally Posted By WilliamK99 Honestly, not sure why they aren't charging admission to his services, they could make a couple million easily.... The city could then use that money to help pay for the extra security....
Originally Posted By dlkozy >>>"dlkozy, this is one topic where you and I are in complete agreement..."<<< I knew that one day we would find a topic that you and I would be in agreement on,SPP.
