When the Soviet Union collapsed, it didn’t take that long before Leningrad reverted to its historic name of St. Petersburg — we can only hope and pray that someday the failed political machine that has ruined LA will fall and the names of second-rate politicians and the toadies who serve them will be stripped from public facilities.
In the meantime, we must endure driving past the “Dennis P. Zine Community Center” in Canoga Park as if he had done something great in his life as a servant of the public who has has managed to collect a six-figure city pension for this services as a traffic cop while drawing nearly twice that much as a councilman boastful of his sexual prowess..
And this morning, the Parks and Recreation Commission will consider expanding this great tradition by naming public facilities after themselves when it considers honoring its own president with the flattery of naming an athletic field after Barry Sanders — no, not the great Hall of Fame running back Barry Sanders but the Barry Sanders who got rich as a Latham & Watkins lawyer-lobbyist in the world of international deals.
You know the the effete patron of the arts, the dandy in the bow tie, the Barry Sanders who wants to plaster every surface in every park with commercial advertising to poison the minds of children so they become materialistic slobs and greedy acquisitive adults like the people admires and emulates? Gimme a break.
But that’s what the Parks and Recreation Commission has on its agenda Wednesday, naming the athletic field at Anthony C. Beilenson Park at this Barry Sanders, the man who chairs the Parks Foundation with so many rich heavyweight board members, and is president of the very commission considering the department’s recommendation.
And to top off his commitment to public service, Sanders — whose son Peter is the mayor’s press secretary — serves on the Memorial Coliseum Commission which is gifting the historic facility to USC after having run it into the ground and allowed the management to steal millions of dollars.
So where is the park named after former Congressman Beilenson for no more reason than he was a nice enough guy who held public office, you might wonder. It is at Balboa Park, the vast golfing, sports and recreational area north of Burbank Boulevard in Encino.
If there is a saving grace it is that no one among the tens of thousands of users knows it as Beilenson Park or will ever know the athletic field at Sanders Field.
Oh, the vanity, the waste of signage, the insult to the people who pay the taxes and get nothing but contempt from those in high and mighty places who sell out their interests while praising themselves for their nobility.
Here’s what I told a USA Today reporter for a recent article on this kind of nonsense:
“It used to be that it was a distinguished person who had died or at least reached a very old age. It was meant to honor somebody not just because he held office, but because he achieved things that were generally seen as highly significant. That’s what troubles me — that we cheapen honors.”
Just how cheap was put into focus a little over a year ago by SoCal Connected on KCET in a segment produced by Karen Foshay entitled “Show Me the Money: Billboards in the Park,” which included posting online documents showing how Sanders used his dual parks role to push his advertising in the parks scheme, even setting rates on the Parks Foundation website.
It’s shocking to me that Rec and Parks cannot find someone more worthy of this honor than Sanders. SERIOUSLY.
This is beyond INSANE. How can they do this without any community input? And where are all those Neighborhood Councils who are suppose to be representing and speaking out for the people on this issue? I think we should protest when they have their ceremony stating this WAS NOT APPROVED OR DISCUSSED IN PUBLIC. More embarrassment for the Failure of a Mayor who is in Charlotte getting nice pr thanks to those 2 new pr flacks. We all should be calling the Charlotte media to give them the truth.
How about you all call/email DNC and tell them you will vote against every and all democrats on the ticket in November if they won’t replace Villar as the convention chair? I assume you all are democrats in LA so tell your party to listen to you.
Just hilarious.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/zekejmiller/dnc-chairwoman-grilled-over-la-mayor-villaraigosa?s=mobile
Hey if that pillar of moral rectitude Miguel Contreras who died in a whore house while doing meth can have a high school named after him, whats the big wow about putting Barry Sanders name on some city facility.
May I nominate the Barry Sanders Hyperion Effluent Channel to be named after this flatulent prick?
Might as well nominate some other landmarks for our Civic Heroes:
1/ Dennis P. Zine DWP Tarzana Station
2/ Eric Garcetti Failed Vine St. Project Vacant Shithole
3/ Bernard C. Parks Bankrupt-Memorial USC Colliseum
4/ Ed Reyes ChinaTown Walmart Center
5/ Jan Perry Skidrow Drive
6/ Rosendahl-Venice Gang Pier
7/ Koretz Ventura Blvd Developer’s Park
8/ Krookorian Heights (new name for Studio City)
9/ AEG (that will replace the whole name of the City of Los Angeles)
10/ Corruption Citi-Center (City Hall-obviously!)
and we must not forget:
11/ McCourt Estates (to replace DodgerTown in about 10 years.)
Believe me—#11 ACTUALLY HAS A REAL SHOT AT IT!!!
Great goin’, Wayne. You’re on a roll tonight…
Before those of you who have posted uninformed conclusions regarding the civic contributions to the city of Los Angeles by Barry Sanders, please read further:
Barry Sanders served as Chairman of the Southern California Committee for the Olympic Games leading the effort to bid for the 2016 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. He is also President of the Board of Commissioners of the Recreation and Parks Department of the City of Los Angeles and Chairman of the Los Angeles Parks Foundation.
Sanders is an adjunct professor in the Communications Studies Department at UCLA. Sanders is also an attorney. He recently retired from the partnership at the law firm of Latham & Watkins after practicing with the firm for over 35 years. In addition, he was founding president of the Los Angeles Center for International Commercial Arbitration and founding chair of the International Law Section of the California State Bar Association. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Pacific Council on International Policy. In April 2001, he was awarded the Learned Hand Award for outstanding leadership in the legal profession.
As a supporter of amateur sports in Southern California, he represented the Los Angeles Sports Council, the America’s Cup Organizing Committee, the LA84 Foundation, the San Diego (“ARCO”) Olympic Training Center, the Special Olympics and the Los Angeles Olympics Sports Festival. He headed the legal team for the Salt Lake City Organizing Committee in its bribery scandal. He is now a Commissioner of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission and a Director of the Los Angeles Sports Council and of the Los Angeles Sports Council Foundation.
Sanders’ community service career spans many subjects. In early 1992, he served as executive editor and general counsel to the California Council on Competitiveness. From 1979 to 1984, he served as primary outside counsel to the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee. After the riots in Los Angeles in 1992, he was Co-Chair of Rebuild LA, the public- private organization established to deal with the problems of LA’s inner city. He served in that capacity until returning to Latham & Watkins on January 1, 1994. While Co-Chair of RLA, he was Chairman of the Board of the RLA Community Lending Corporation. He served as a Board member and as “Honorary Chair” of that inner city loan fund corporation from 1993 to 2000.
With respect to music and the arts, he received the 1999 Medal of Honor for contributions to the arts from the Thornton School of Music of the University of Southern California. He has been Chairman of the Board and President of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Chairman of the Los Angeles Public Library Foundation. He is presently on the Boards of Directors of the Los Angeles Opera and the Geffen Playhouse and on the Board of Visitors of the UCLA Geffen School of Medicine. He has also served on the Boards of Directors of the Los Angeles Performing Arts Center (formerly “The Music Center”), the Music Center Foundation, and The Walt Disney Concert Hall Corporation, the Joffrey Ballet, the Aman Dance Company, the Otis Art Institute, and the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery.
What have those of you–you who criticize the naming of this park after Mr. Sanders-what have you done???
Regarding your nearly hysterical recitation of Sanders’ CV:
1. No one here was claiming to deserve a park named after themselves.
2. If Sanders had gotten away with plastering City parks with billboards, he would have single-handedly destroyed the last remaining respite from commercialization left in the City.
It doesn’t matter if HRH Sanders could even walk on water prior to this attempt at completing the dehumanization of LA at the hands of his fiscal masters. The man is evil.
I don’t give a rat’s ass what good he’s done. It was all erased with one evil act of selling ads in public parks.
“effete”?
(stifling laugh)
MY FAVORITE BUILDING NAMED AFTER A LIVING L.A. POLITICIAN IS THE EDMUND EDELMAN VD CLINIC IN HOLLYWOOD. (NO JOKE!) MY ADVICE AVOID THE PREMISES UNLESS YOU NEED TO GO WITH THE FLOW. (PUN INTENDED).
JOHN WALSH
suzanne tennenbaum –Gimme a break. Have seen more impresive padded resumes and none of them want buildings named after them. The man is corrupt as documented on this site & elsewhere. Let him fade away from public life. We’ll be better off without leeches like him.
suzanne tennenbaum –”With respect to music and the arts, he received the 1999 Medal of Honor for contributions to the arts from the Thornton School of Music of the University of Southern California”. Is this why he returned the favor by giving our public coliseum to USC behind closed doors? And, by the way, one could get an Ambassordorship to anywhere for a million dollar contributions under the former George Bush. Please don’t impress us by meaningless titles & awards easily procured by men of the same ilk.
Hey Suzanne Tennenbaum, you left out the part that Barry made the trains run on time.
As far as what I have done for this city, I haven’t contributed to the utter decay and corruption since i have not used my position sitting on the many boards handpicked by cronies and insiders to further feather my nest and profit by these connections.
Google Suzanne tennenbaum.
http://losangeles.blockshopper.com/property/4452008014/23318_malibu_colony
She lives in the Malibu colony. She knows a lot about real life in LA. Sure.
Ms. Tennenbaum asked in her defence of the Parasite Mr. Sanders:
What have those of you–you who criticize the naming of this park after Mr. Sanders-what have you done???
OKAY, Here’s my Partial RESUME OF GREAT CIVIC ACHIEVMENTS:
1/ 1981–Mother diagnosed with a small “lump.” Biopsy at Kaiser reveals major Cancer. You see, Ms. Tannen-Fuck, when someone only has Kaiser, you get the type of service that as we will soon see below results in tragedy.
2/1982-1983–two more surgeries—breast removal and almost all the lymphnodes–and the chemotherapy that she couldn’t take anymore.
3/ December 1, 1983—Put up Christmas tree early: Mother can’t eat for two days, rushed to hospital at Kaiser
4/ December 10, 1983–Mother has cardiac arrest and slips into Coma. Terminal Cancer hits Liver.
5/ December 13, 1983–12 days before Christmas, Mother Dies of Cancer!
6/ 1993—Driving from the Valley to Inglewood as I had to twice a fucking day to care for my dad and go to school and juggle a fucking job, I suffered a minor fucking stroke and since I didn’t have your Gold Lined Pockets, I was given basically 2 aspirin and told to call the Doctor (or maybe morgue) in the morning. I lived on…
7/ 1996—2nd Heart Incident–driving from the valley 5 times a week to Downtown for fucking work because I had to work and care for dad. This time tests were done and they were inconclusive. The “care unit” demanded I wear a heart monitor and take these 3 prescriptions. I told them what I thought of that idea (you can fill in the 4 letter words.) Funny thing was I was told “You need to take time off.” GREAT ADVICE BUT I’M NOT LUCKY ENOUGH TO BE A DWP UNION MEMBER.
8/ 1996-2008–Three deaths in the family later, the lone Jew continues to see the City rot before him. Streets crack, Water mains breaking, rotten politicians being reelected and raising taxes, fees, and costs.
9/2008-2012–Watch my DWP rates shoot up 20%, Property taxes skyrocket another 25% due to several school bond measures, and watch Carmen Trutanich lie, lie, lie and shit all over the promises he made to us the voters. Meanwhile, The top 1% of the richest Americans see a Dow go from a low of 6,500 points to a current close near 12,950 as of today!!! Thus I’ve seen the richest DOUBLE their wallets while PILLAGING the wage-earners who held those stocks cut in half. At the Bank just today, they won’t lend me more than $100,000 on equity of 3 times that! That’s because our Big Banks and our wonderful Washington Regulators won’t let folks tap any equity they have—thus the only option to MOVE OUT OF L.A. IS TO SELL AT A 20% LOSS BECAUSE THE BANKS LOVE TO SEE JUST THAT HOBSEN’S CHOICE.
So, Ms. Tennenbaum—Your a PARASITE, A LEECH, A PUTRID EXAMPLE OF WHAT AN ENLIGHTENED HUMAN BEING SHOULD AND MUST BE. You live in Malibu because YOU KNOW L.A. CITY IS A 3RD WORLD SLAVE COLONY-HELLHOLE. You get to go home to a place no one can afford to buy into other than you and your rich fuck-friends. But fear not–you probably live in a COLONY like I do, but it has “Malibu” in front of it. Hopefully Ms. Tennenbaum when the next Stock Bust or whatever Bust hits, you’ll loose your ass and have to come over to L.A. and live with the Slaves. See ya soon!
HERE’S THE BARRY SANDERS/SUZANNE TENNEBAUM CONNECTION:
BARRY SANDERS IS CO-CHAIR OF THE LITTLE PUBLICIZED HOLLYWOOD
BOWL BOARD OF OVERSEERS, A SELF DESCRIBED “ELITE BODY OF DISTINGUISHED LEADERS…IMVITATION ONLY”.
ASK MS. TENNENBAUM WHO SPONSORED HER BOARD OF OVERSEERS MEMBERSHIP.
Both are filthy rich who are so prevalent in LA. Always reside in exclusive areas like Bell Air or Malibu Colony and employ an army of gardeners, maids, and other domestics. They never get caught mixing with the regular people (you know the riff raff) but they always know what is good for you. Like paying more taxes is good for schools and the green energy is good for the environment.
In many instances they got rich not because of their talent and hard work but because they knew the right people, were in the right place at the right time. I don’t begrudge their wealth but want them to shut up and stop giving us lectures. Too bad the OWS didn’t go to Malibu. I guess they didn’t know where the 1% is.
Hey, I used to work for the Department of Recreation and Parks (RAP) I know a little bit about this subject. First I would like to say that from my observations, and contrary to popular belief, most of the RAP employees, (90% or so) are hard working people. Sounds to me like Sanders is getting a bad rap (no pun intended) because people seem to want to hear bad things about public servants and blame them for all their woes in life. It also seems to me that Suzanne Tennenbaum knows a little too much about Sanders for her not to have a bias opinion. So, discounting what ever she has said, let me say this. When I worked at RAP, at my level, I had a little contact with Mr. Sanders, but in my opinion he struck me as an extremely intelligent, dedicated public servant. I think he would be very deserving of this honor. However, it is true that naming a park after some one used to happen only after that person had passed away. I thought that was a very fitting regulation. Unfortunately, that tradition was broken when they named the (stage) at Warner Park, after Joy Picus, just before she left office. Another point of interest that seems to be directed at Sanders is the proposal to allow advertisement bill boards in the parks. No one wants to see that, except maybe those who would profit from it. I doubt that Sanders would want to see that either. But budgets are tight and finding sources of revenue is very limited in City Departments. Further, when budget cuts are made , Recreation and Parks is usually the first and the hardest to get hit. So, if he is indeed supporting this idea, I am sure he means well, and has the best interest of the parks in mind. However, I would hope he would see the light and not allow that tradition to get started. Everyone knows it would distract from the beauty of the parks and once you open those flood gates all hell is likely to break loose. Anyway the bottom line is that I believe Sanders is deserving of this honor, but I think he would gain more respect if he declined this offer and went a step further and promoted the idea of putting back in place the regulation that the naming of parks, after deserving people, would only happen after a nominated person had already passed away, and with public approval from the community where the park is located.
He can pay 20 million for the honor to keep spare Bozos employed.