October 8, 2010 – Daily Brief

Inconceivable! (No seriously)

Jeff is not a good ole boy. Remember he is a young dude with an opinion that is not persuaded by the self proclaimed city leaders. The 51 is a joke and an embarrassment anyway. Jeff is a top 10er to me.

The “Magazine” of Santa Clarita makes great kindling for campfires. Other than that, it’s a massive joke/scam/mailbox stuffer.

I can always count on them to get my Weber charcoal BBQ started.

Yes, indeed. My favorite chimney starter. “Ashes of Flemmings”

“Ashes of Flemings” LOL!!!

I wonder how many votes are cast for each winner. This top 51 business is a joke. The same crowd voting for the same narcissistic people.

LOL! I have never really understood the dislike of the Flemmings? No other couple in the community gives back as much in time and money as they do. Every Charity function I went to they were the big spenders.(Silent Auction, Live auction, wine purchase etc..) Every time they are called and asked to give they say YES without hesitation. Is it just jealousy or a dislike of their self promotion? Seems to be way better targets to go after in Awesometown

Writes off every donation as a business expense. Pockets became almost empty when his car sales slumped. Besides, most donations are in the form of gifts to the wife. It would be intersting to see how a take audit would view these donations/ gift giving. The donations buy influnce within the community and this is clear. I have seem them in action many times.

Sure it is easy to slam giving as a tax write off. But that argument has always seemed childish to me? It would seem everyone has the same opportunity to write items off but can’t seem to find the arm strength to pull it out of their pocket. Can you say Joe Biden? Everyone has cash, Cash

It is not OK to buy your wife a diamond necklace for her birthday at a charity, and then write off the purchase as a donation and business expense. That is the point John Adams. Some of us make cash donations to charity and these are legit. Our local car delears are clever at buying influence and selling cars.

Forgive John. He speaks as though Santa Clarita is as it was in 2004.

I would be willing to bet that if we added up Mike, Jeff and Cash’s charitable community giving and times it by 200 it would not reach the Flemmings. Couldn’t say the same thing about income

John, my point is that you are talking about a different time. They aren’t around nearly as much as they were back in the day — except in the pages of the Mag of SCV.

oh yeah I see what you mean. http://www.the-signal.com/section/46/article/32439/ http://westranchbeacon.com/blog/2010/10/eves-wine-101-what-you-missed-at-the-3rd-annual-art-and-wine-gala/ http://www.insidescv.com/scoop.php?id=596

AMAZING! One legit thing, Bossert’s thing and a thing from 2007.

Do you want me to get more? LOL! The one legit thing was honoring their record of giving. Tell you what give me all the links for you jeff and cash and we will compare

John Adams, seems that these member of the top 51 list have out smarted you too. When I see the big guy make a personal cash donation I’ll be impressed. Winning the bid for a trip to Hawaii and writing it off as a business expense, in the form of a donation to a local foundation, would probably not pass the smell test. Gets good press though!

When the time donated is spent writing checks, throwing parties and posing for pictures, there is some natural resentment generated. Plenty of people give back to their community in quiet ways that are never publicized and for which they receive no tax write off. Many volunteer at homeless shelters, animal rescue organizations, food pantries, hospitals and elementary schools and never receive any sort of recognition. While it is laudible that those who have copious amounts of free time and money are willing to part with some of it, the real test of generosity is not how many dollars you give but whether you are willing to give without any expectation of return.

wonderfully put, ReaderMama

Copious amounts of free time? Oh yeah those rich people got there by having lots of free time. Wonder who puts in more days of work per year, the Fleming’s or a santa clarita educators 184 days? We better not go there

You’re right, John. I’m sure the Flemings are out on the lot right now, selling cars and changing spark plugs. And it’s hard to do while supervising those yappy little dogs! Maybe they need a butler . . . .

You may want to call the store. I bet you will be suprised. They didn’t get where they are in the world working 184 days a year

It is unfortunate the money spent for the Amgen tour was not used to support the charities you mentioned above. If the top 51 would get behind those charities, like they do other charities in this city, things would improve. Unfortunately these charities are not the see and be seen opportunites others offer..

The Magazine of Santa Clarita is simply a monthly phone book, boring….The copy is all paid for and written by the advertisers. Does anyone but the businesses themselves actually read this thing?

While I have not written or called the Signal to complain about their weather forecasting, it is the subject of much derision in our house. Several days in advance of the last heat wave, the weather people on TV were telling us to brace for triple digit temps. The day it all started, the Signal was telling us it was going to be 93 degrees. And that temperature forecast didn’t budge at all during the course of that 3 or 4 day hot spell. There are some mornings when one is in a rush that it would be nice to be able to look at the little weather box in the paper and rely on it for accurate information, but alas that is not to be in Awesometown, by cracky!

People also send in letters complaining on comics and bridge… you know… the essentials of a newspaper.

Bakersfield!!!! Always trying to be something it isn’t!!

With increasing cost, who would bring Amgen Tour of California back to Santa Cruz? Posted on: Thu, 09 Sep 2010 06:06:14 EDT Symbols: AMGN Email to friend Print Add This RSS Feed Font size: A A A SANTA CRUZ, Sep 09, 2010 (Santa Cruz Sentinel – McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) — A top official with the Amgen Tour of California, which has visited Santa Cruz the past two years, said Wednesday that the race can’t lower its financial demands on host cities because the tour itself is still pedaling uphill to break even. Michael Roth, vice president of communications for the Los Angeles-based sports and entertainment firm AEG, said the 5-year-old race is losing between $1 million and $2 million annually as revenues from sponsorships and TV rights fail to cover “logistical and infrastructure” costs associated with the eight-day race. “The last few years have not exactly been the most advantageous time,” Roth said. “It always takes several years to launch events. We believe in it and believe it will ultimately break even.” The increasing cost to cities for hosting a stage finish, estimated by local officials to exceed $200,000 for 2011′s race, was a key reason Santa Cruz pulled out of contention before the application deadline in mid-August. The city of Capitola, which also has struggled to chart a funding and operational plan, also passed on hosting the event last week after tour officials contacted the city shortly after Santa Cruz dropped out. Losing a county connection to the nation’s premier cycling event, which has attracted Lance Armstrong and other world-class riders, has raised a number of questions, including the effect on tour planning. Santa Cruz provided the only coastal finish last year. Roth declined to discuss the bow-outs by Santa Cruz and Capitola, but in general, he said, he was unaware of any decisions by potential host cities jeopardizing route planning. “We always have a wish list of cities, particular cities we hope will apply to be host cities,” Roth said. “Several times in the last five years we have had to adjust our plans because of different factors coming from cities not bidding. I wouldn’t say our route has ever been adversely affected by a particular city declining.” Another unanswered question is, who might organize any future bid to bring the race back if local cities are too cash-strapped to take a gamble on fundraising? The local organizing committee’s former chairman, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk concessionaire Matt Twisselman, said he doesn’t know of any group or organization stepping up. However, he said ,there has been talk of launching a fundraising event next year for a 2012 bid. Twisselman and others have wondered whether the county’s tourism agency, the Conference and Visitors Council, should be the rallying point, much as tourism or sports commissions in other cities have been. In 2009, the visitors council provided staff for support, but reduced its involvement this year to inclusion of the race in its marketing campaigns. The organization turned down Capitola’s request for financial help with a 2011 bid. Director Maggie Ivy said the race, while providing one day of international exposure, isn’t a wise investment because it has twice failed to generate a significant number of overnight stays at local hotels. She said her agency, with six full-time staff members, isn’t equipped to provide operational support. “It was evident that it was a great community event, but room nights did not materialize,” she said. “From the CVC’s perspective, it doesn’t make sense for us to provide financial contributions for operational expenses for the event.” The agency expects to nearly double its marketing budget this year thanks to a new Tourism Marketing District that adds a new fee of $1 to $1.50 to nearly every hotel stay in the county. Ivy said 70 percent of the new funding, estimated at $1.1 million annually, will be used to attract overnight guests largely from the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento and the Central Valley. But Twisselman, a former visitors council board member, said he believes the Tour of California burnishes Santa Cruz’s image as a recreational sporting destination, an identity he believes is important to highlight regardless of whether visitors stay overnight. “The active leisure industry isn’t represented very well,” he said. Somebody needs to take it on. I truly believe it’s not the city of Santa Cruz’s responsibility to host the race. If it’s not the city of Santa Cruz, it would be more appropriate that the CVC takes it on.” Mo McElroy, executive director of the Santa Rosa Convention and Visitors Bureau, sympathizes with Ivy. McElroy, who has been a primary organizer of her city’s participation in the Tour of California for five years, said Santa Rosa hotels grew from 40 to 90 percent occupancy over a two-day period during the race in May. But the bump wasn’t enough to justify spending a quarter of her time organizing the race’s visit, and she has asked other supporters to pick up more responsibilities if Santa Rosa gets the race again. “It has been a definite pressure that comes into my office when it’s about the tour and whether we get it,” she said. “I have actually pulled back because it was so much work.” Meanwhile, Paul Krutko, San Jose’s chief development officer, said Wednesday his city expects to host a stage finish now that Santa Cruz is out of the running. San Jose has hosted a downtown starting line for the last two years, an event that draws far less attention than a finish. “It would be the reason you wouldn’t see the Tour of California come back,” said Krutko, also co-chairman of the race’s local organizing committee. “We deserve the respect” of being awarded a finish. “We’ve earned it.”

I think cash may be on to something here. I love the ATOC (and my apartments get blocked off every time) and am thrilled to see it back in Stanta Clarita, but I think I would like to see what it is actually costing us.

IIRC, last year we had it, the the projected revenues exceeded the costs. Something like we paid $500K and expected over $1MM in revenues. But I could be way off on those figures. I know the year it rained they said that the turnout was bigtime affected by the rain, and as a result, revenues were down… Regardless, I think its a good event to have, and so long as the expenses aren’t out pacing revenues 10:1, I’m pretty ok with it. Remember, long term publicity can’t be instantly recaputred as a dollar figure.

Revenue does not cover taxpayer cost for the event. The tax on the revenue goes to the city coffer. I beleive the state tax rate is 9.75% but the city does not recieve all 9.75%, I think the city recieves about 3% (let’s use that number for the sake of this argument). Do the math, a million dollars in revenue only pays back the city $30K in the form of taxes. If you are suggesting the $1,000,000 is paid to the city in the form of taxes, the event would need to bring in many many millions. This event does nothing more than make a small percent of the community feel good and it helps business feel great at taxpayer expense. Unless of course the business community is kicking in to cover the bid to host the event. Yeah right Cash! Are you off of your meds again?

Two words: Brian Koegle

Because your last column was even more of a flop than usual…

Hahahahahahahaha…..and it’s all gonna change just like that – POOF!