Monday, December 6, 2010

Bits And Pieces 25-Continued

Little Fish Theatre is dark on Mondays through Wednesdays and I am now free to continue to post items back on a regular basis, for the time being.

The first Saturday performance of "And To All A Good Night" was more than a sellout and several folks had to be turned away.

The show runs on Thursdays through Saturdays, for the next two weeks, beginning at 8:00 pm.

This coming Sunday there will be two performances: one at 2:30 pm and one at 7:00 pm.

The show closes on Saturday December 18 with an 8:00 PM performance.

I am no longer associated with The Relevant Stage Theatre Company.
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Abalone Cove

Lower Point Vicente Reservation
Hess Park

Marymount College

San Ramon Canyon

Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy-operated open spaces

Grandview Park

What we seem to have in our city is not a lack of open spaces and park lands, but continuing arguments about how to use the incredible benefits provided to us and other issues that continue to divide us.

We are all not 'NIMBYS" but lately it seems that too many of us are looking like those others tend to oppose.

It also seems to appear that those who have are objecting more to those that want.

The balance also appears to be bending towards the more conservative among us and away from those who progressively want to move forward for the sake of everyone.

I am one of those progressives.

I think there needs to be some beneficial upgrades to features at Abalone Cove Park and Beach along with a good deal of what is being offered by the Annenberg Foundation in the Point Vicente area.

Our city has been gifted with many resources that should be utilized by anyone and everyone and not held hostage by those living closest to any of the locations I listed above.

The student housing issues at Marymount College was not and is not a NIMBY issue as proven by the November 2 vote.

Again to overly repeat, when MORE THAN 50% of the registered voters elect to participate in any election and when those folks voted "No" on Measure P by just over 55%, it cannot be contended that there was anything NIMBY about it and supporters of Measure P need to understand that there has probably never been such a vote anywhere in the local area that needs to be remembered for what it truly was.

I am also concerned about the power some folks representing the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy fancy themselves having.

Those individuals need to learn that the group they are affiliated with must not control what is best for Rancho Palos Verdes and that Rancho Palos Verdes is only one of the communities PVPLC is involved in.

I think opposition to more consideration and progress towards finding the best solutions in the Point Vicente area is wrong and those who are trying to overpower things, while associated with PVPLC should strike out into the other communities that group is involved in.

We the people own the open spaces and PVPLC must not be master or mistress of anyone.

The Annenberg Foundation wants to help provide an educational center that would directly benefit Rancho Palos Verdes in terms of stature, visitation, importance, and tourism. It also wants to help create a beautiful space that really does not take up that much open space in the Point Vicente area.

It is my personal wish that the K-9 education center be placed withing the area of Upper Point Vicente Reservation and that some type of pedestrian route between the lower and upper portions be considered.

We must not close down opportunities that are offered that benefit our community.

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Here is a photo of two of my thumb drives.

One contains files dealing with scenic design and theatre productions I have recently been involved with.

The other contains files dealing with Marymount College, Measure P/The Marymount Plan, and The Marymount College Facilities Expansion Project.

Can you guess which one of the drives carries files dealing with Marymount?

I may take it to the City Council meeting where the subject of Dr. Brophy's promise to pay for the election will continue to be discussed.

Files are held by many individuals which contain Dr. Brophy's letter announcing that the college will pay for the election.

If Dr. Brophy's college gets away with not paying the promised costs, the taxpayers of Rancho Palos Verdes will continue to be stuck with the approximately $78,000 tab for the election.

That is $78,000 worth of funds that Marymount supporters claimed would not be borne by taxpayers of the city of Rancho Palos Verdes, they would have to pay.

I don't care what excuse Dr. Brophy uses and what he claims is the truth, but the facts are facts and here is one that needs to be repeated to Dr. Brophy and the members of the Board of Trustees of Marymount College.

Upon leaving a May, 2010 meeting of the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council, an encounter between Dr. Micheal Brophy, Mr. Don Davis, and myself occurred near the entrance to the Hesse Park Community Center.

During my questioning of both Dr. Brophy and Mr. Davis, I stated that any Special Election carried out on behalf of Marymount College's "Marymount Plan" happen, it would be the city's taxpayers that would have to pay for the election unless other revenue sources were provided.

Dr. Brophy challenged me on my statement but offered absolutely no answer to where election funds would come from, at that time.

Remembering that Dr. Brophy and other representatives of Marymount College stated over and over again that The Marymount Plan would be accomplished at "no taxpayer expense", I again challenged Dr. Brophy on the factual validity of that statement.

Again he had to reputable response to indicate that taxpayers would not have to pay for at least a portion of The Marymount Plan.

The discussion also included the concepts that the traffic mitigation documented in both The Marymount College Facilities Expansion Project and The Marymount Plan would require city taxpayer participation with funding, something that Dr. Brophy could not and did not deny.

Now Dr. Brophy seems to be claiming that the college is not responsible for the promised costs of the election because the city governors did not appear to accept the donation.

Ridiculous! Shameful! Disgusting! Snake-like, in my opinion.

Dr. Brophy promised and he should simply have the business office at Marymount College cut a check to the city for the costs of the election.

I also need to contend that I will hole everyone named in ads as supporters of Measure P at least somewhat responsible for Marymount not paying for the election like the supporters' representative, Dr. Michael Brophy promised.

I also will contend that those named in advertisements, wishing to run for a seat on the City Council will be reminded that their representative did not live up to his word, bond, obligation, and donation offered to all of the taxpayers of Rancho Palos Verdes.

If Dr. Brophy really cares about Rancho Palos Verdes as his college continues to advertise it does, then he needs to find some way to live up to his word for the sake and benefit of the college, the Board of Trustees, and potential candidates for City Council that were also supporters of Measure P, I strongly feel.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Bits and Pieces 24 AND 25

"Dixie Swim Club", Dirty Rotten Scoundrels", "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers", and "To All A Good Night" have kept me so busy, along with a certain Special Election campaign and vote are some pretty poor reasons for not updating this blog in a more timely manner.

I am not getting any younger and I don't have the ability to fight off exhaustion as well as I tried to do when I was 'youthier'.

"To All A Good Night" has opened at Little Fish Theatre and I urge all of you to take in a performance between now and December 18 of this wonderful show.

Now to the fulfillment of another one of my assertions.
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In an article published online on December 3, 2010 and expected to run in Saturday's South Bay Daily Breeze, we all learn more about Dr. Michael Brophy's attempt to recind his committment he made in the letter below:


Please click on image to enlarge.

If you read the second to last paragraph of the letter signed by Marymount's President, Dr. Michael Brophy, you should be able to view the promise he made to the community he and his college claim to support.

In assisting Dr. Brophy's committment to following up on his promise was the letter sent to him, as documented below:

Please click on image to enlarge it.

The article published online states that Dr. Brophy has sent a voicemail stating that he has no record of the City Council accepting his offer.

There goes what little 'good faith' Marymount possesses with Rancho Palos Verdes, I guess.

It has been an assertion of mine that Marymount would never pay the costs of the election because I feel that the only reason Dr. Brophy stated his comment was to avoid further proof that The Marymount Plan would actually cost taxpayers funds, so many supporters claimed over and over again that The Marymount Plan would be done at "no taxpayer expense".

It certainly didn't help Marymount's 'good faith' proposal when over half of the registered voters of the city of Rancho Palos Verdes voted in the Special Election and that Measure P lost by just over 9 points.

I still contend that Marymount won't pay a dime Dr. Brophy promised to pay and that everyone should contact members of Marymount's Board of Trustees and ask them why we should trust any of them and especially Dr. Michael Brophy when it now appears that there never was any real intention of 'supporting' R.P.V. taxpayers and providing 'good faith' to the residents of Rancho Palos Verdes.
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Why is Dr. Brophy still at the helm of Marymount?

This is now his second college he has not been able to secure authorization to build on-campus housing, out of the last two colleges he represented.

Since the other recent article in The Daily Breeze suggested that Dr. Brophy was stating that having his you-know-what handed to him on a 9-sided silver platter could be something positive, there is really no reason to believe anything coming from Dr. Brophy's lips or typing and that of the members of Marymount's Board of Trustees, it seems.

I think somebody should remind Dr. Brophy that voters in Rancho Palos Verdes, by over a nine-point margin of more than 51% of registered voters stated to him and other supporters of Measure P that we should not have our intelligence questioned like Dr. Brophy, Congressman Kuykendall, Dr. Sue Soldoff, and too many others attempted to do.

Saturday's article is yet another shameful piece of evidence that there is something rotten along Palos Verdes Drive East, far from Denmark.
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