It was the celebrity story of the year, probably even the cultural story of the year. But politics couldn't help but intrude as well on Michael Jackson's death and memorial, mostly over that all-important political question: who's footing the bill?
Our extremely cash strapped city is looking at nearly $4 million in bills connected with yesterday's Michael Jackson death circus. Our new city attorney Carmen Trutanich thinks that just isn't right. From the L.A. Times:
Trutanich told the City Council he was investigating how the city ended up on the hook for police costs surrounding the memorial. He assured the council that his new management team was going to find out how the city got into the position of providing support for the event and how it could recoup some of the money....
Before the event, L.A. Councilman Dennis Zine said AEG, the entertainment company that produced the memorial and was handling Jackson's comeback, should pay the city for the costs it incurred. Councilwoman Jan Perry suggested the Jackson family make a contribution.
Mayor Villaraigosa's office, meanwhile, is asking Michael's fans to kick in some moolah to help defray the costs.
Ron Kaye's great L.A. news and politics blog has been ginning up Michael memorial expense outrage, here and here. Some quotes:
AEG stands to make millions on this event, had a $17 million insurance policy on Michael Jackson and received millions of dollars in tax breaks from the city....
The most incompetent and irresponsible statement [city councilwoman] Jan Perry made at the press conference on Friday was this: "Perry said the cost of police protection for "extraordinary" events like the memorial is built into the Police Department's budget, but she still solicited help for "incremental costs." Does she not know LA is in a financial crisis? Not one politician has had the courage or leadership to speak out for the taxpayers of LA and say this is not right.
And:
Councilman Dennis Zine told a meeting of San Fernando Valley Republicans Tuesday night that Perry was "kept out of the loop" in the decision-making process that led to the city's decision that providing around-the-clock police security on overtime during the long July 4 weekend and extensive planning for a massive crowd outside Staples for Tuesday's Memorial Service.
He accused AEG, owner of Staples and promoter of Jackson's planned revival tour, of hyping claims that hundreds of thousands of Michael Jackson fans would show up as part of its strategy of profiteering from the King of Pop's death. In fact, the 3,000 cops on hand -- a third of the LAPD force -- outnumbered the fans.
See Trutanich stand up for the L.A. taxpayer before the City Council:
Much, much more KCET coverage of Michael mania and the memorial
(Photo by Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)
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Local Los Angeles Government has messed this up by asking for private donations after the fact. This is appalling, not in the least because the city was placed in a incredibly comparable situation less than a month ago when the the city discussed how to pay for the Lakers' championship parade. There is no doubt private offerings would have supplanted government expenditures prior to the event, but now with the memorial having already occurred, I doubt will we see private donators come forward.
The Lakers Parade, Jackson's memorial... bicker all you want, the bottom line is that people like you and me went along with these two monstrous events - paid mostly by us - without complaining.
Meanwhile, schools and teachers are underpaid, parks are closing and the City is heading to the red.
Shame on us.... and people like Perry who has always, blindly look only after herself.
All of us living in Los Angeles, California, the United State of America are the luckiest people on earth. We are the citizens of the richest city, richest state and richest country on earth. We can’t pay for the celebration when our home team wins a championship, and we can’t even give a proper send off for our King.
It is a shame for all of us; we can’t elect the trustee to take care of our wealth. It is a shame to our elected officials; they are giving always our wealth to the highest bidder and not take care of the citizens they are representing. A shame, a shame, a shame all the way around!!!!