Here is my card I received from Bob and the gang yesterday. There have been calls for just throwing it away, but perhaps there could be some use for this card.
As you can see, the card has both mine and my wife's name on it. It I were to send it in with one of our signatures on it, would Bob count us both as becoming supporters? Pehaps he just might.
As you can also see, the address on the card just happens to be the address of Ponte Vista at San Pedro.
The phone number. (888) BEN-ICE1 or "Be nice 1" That doesn't sound like it is coming from a "ranting elitist", does it?
Now look closely who actually signed the card If it isn't none other than
Dabby Duck, the lesser known cousin of his more famous cousin, Daffy.
When some folks get junk mail with postage paid return envelopes and cards, they put whatever they want to in and on the envelope or card and mail it in. Bob and his group won't get charged postage if cards aren't mailed in. I can imagine someone or many, many, many someones mailing thier cards back in with somewhat questionable information on it just to see if they get counted and Bob's organization would get charged for the postage.
I know mailing one card back in that is not completely factual won't cost Bob hardly any money, but what if lots and lots and lots of folks do the same thing? Bob did not send any of us legal documents with this mailing, and I doubt that we are under any legal obligation to provide Mr. Bisno with factual information, unless of course, you includes the words: "mix of singel-family housing, condominiums, and townhomes..."
So I think I will send this card back to Bob. Perhaps you can find your card among the garbage the vast majority of you placed it with.
I'm being nice and I didn't print my phone number as reading "eat poop" did I?
9 comments:
He'd still show them in a stack to show support. Don't send it in. No one can tell if it's signed or not the way he would display them.
Now, of you glue it to a brick, you have a plan. It would be expensive to pay postage on a brick, and if it was glued, he would destroy it when he tried to remove it.
What can I say, the pics of Elvis protesting are great and gave me a good ol' belly laugh.
One thought though. When I first glanced at the protest sign he was holding, it looks like the red slash is going through R-1. In other words, it seems as though the King is against R-1. I'm just thinking that if someone is driving by at 50 mph (ok, probably slower on crowded Western), this sign could be a little confusing.
I think that blunt is better. Something like "Keep R-1" or "No 2300 homes" (red slash through 2300). 2 cents from a supporter.
Give credit where it's due
Among a certain element in San Pedro it has become quite the fashion to bash Bisno Development and Bob Bisno. No matter what they do they are criticized by the lunatic fringe.
Yes, you read that correctly. That is exactly what I wrote and exactly what I mean. The lunatic fringe are people who oppose everything put forth without rational thought, substituting instead emotional, knee-jerk reactions; lashing out at Bisno Development, Bob Bisno personally, and Councilwoman Hahn also. Afterwards, they always offer up half-baked "statistics" which are invariably incomplete and taken out of context. Rather than name individuals who do this it is better to give an example of reasonable opposition. While Steve Marconi is no fan of Ponte Vista or Bob Bisno, and has taken them to task several times; at least he has the good sense to sit down and logically figure out that increased traffic in San Pedro is going to be caused by multiple sources. Mr. Marconi is critical, but at least he is logical. News flash people, Western Avenue is NOT the center of the universe.
But back to the main subject. A couple weeks ago a supporter of Ponte Vista, Linda D'Ambrosi, was severely criticized for saying "Bob Bisno will save San Pedro." at a CAC meeting. Little did she know how right she was. The correctness of her statement was made evident Thursday night when the people from LAUSD came down to San Pedro High School with their dog-and-pony show.
Their new proposal shocked the audience into stupidity. One-by-one they got up to thank Rod Hamilton for listening to the community. Except Councilwoman Hahn who was not taken in by their flim-flam, saying in effect, "nice idea, moving in the right direction, but still not there yet." I guess the rest got amnesia and forgot this is the same LAUSD who has been unresponsive to the community for as long as anyone can remember. Did they really think LAUSD had changed their ways because of "community input"? Not really. If they had listened to the community, there would be NO new high school at all. But now instead of one high school we get TWO. That doesn't sound like responding to community input to me.
The only thing LAUSD understands is a brick up alongside the head. In this case, in the form of Bisno Development taking them to court. The tenacity Bob Bisno displayed in fighting to keep them off his property, and promising to continue the fight all the way through the eminent domain process, set them on their heels and made them reconsider, fall back, and present a new plan. So for all you lunatic fringe in the Northwest district, Bob Bisno saved you from a 2,000 seat high school. Unfortunately, those people in the Coastal district near Angel's Gate are now on their own in fighting SRHS #15.
During the course of the meeting Rod Hamilton was just so matter-of-factly arrogant about the acquisition of the sites for the schools it was maddening. "When the Board votes, we WILL acquire the property." This sounds exactly like what he said a year ago when they were proposing the 2,000 seat school at Ponte Vista. Obviously it is puffed-chest bluster, because they have yet to even set foot on Ponte Vista much less acquire the property. Plainly put, LAUSD cannot be trusted. They do what they want and pay no attention to the community. Just look at the school they want to put up in Long Beach despite Long Beach's strenuous objections.
It is time to realize that Bob Bisno is not the Great Satan. Through his efforts alone he has backed down LAUSD in their plans to force a monster school down our throats. Did any one here support him or contribute money to his legal fight against LAUSD? You don't have to like him, or like Ponte Vista. But we need to get reasonable and apply a bit of logic before we go spouting off with the "no growth" party line.
Howdy Michael,
First, I don't think anyone "attacked" Linda "Bob Bisno is going to save San Pedro" D'Ambrosi because we all, even supporters, were laughing, probably too hard.
Linda "Bob Bisno is going to save San Pedro" D'Ambrosi has every right to say what she wishes, but I don't think you remember that it was the same Linda "Bob Bisno is going to save San Pedro" D'Ambrosi, who leveled personal attacks on two CAC members, me being one of them.
Now I am also sorry you didn't seem to listen to the speaker immediately following Janice Hahn at the Thursday meeting. That fellow complemented LAUSD for "blinking" if you will, and finding some kind of compromise. The speaker also commented that he did not like the idea of any school at Ponte Vista and didn't think the idea of putting a high school at Angel's Gate was a good idea either. This fellow has been following both the Ponte Vista issue and the LAUSD issue and knows a thing or two about both.
Now that LAUSD has proposed an 810-seat school, there is now a perfectly wonderful place to build it. That location is on Sepulveda Blvd., between Normandie and Western at what is now the Mulligan Family Fun Center, or whatever it is correctly called.
The same fellow who spoke right after Janice did, looked on Google Earth and not only found the approximatley 11 acre site, which is 3-5 acres larger than LAUSD will need, but he also Emailed the folks at LAUSD making the strong suggestion to look at Mulligan.
I wish everyone reading this blog and/or www.pontevista.com would write, call, Email, personally visit, or whatever it takes, to get the folks at facilities management to look to Mulligan on Sepulveda and not Ponte Vista at San Pedro, to build a school to ease overcrowding at Narbonne.
The BofE votes in May, so we don't have a lot of time.
Now how do I know so much about the person who spoke right after Janice denounced plans for both schools and called again for 500-seat academys? Oh yea, it was me!
Mr. Meagher, while I would agree that Bob wears no visible horns, probably doesn't have a tail, and I have never seen him with a spear, I do not believe he, or any other person, other than John Olguin, should ever be considered as one who could "save San Pedro".
It is going to take all of us in San Pedro, eastern Rancho Palos Verdes, and surrounding areas to save San Pedro from a developer who continues to require all of us to allow him to build a development that is just too big.
We want OUR community to be what WE make it, and not one dictated to us by an outside developer.
MW
Oh yea and another thing Michael, no school at Ponte Vista means more potential profit for Bob.
I don't believe Bob was being generous to OUR community as he fought the large school. No school, more housing. More housing, more profit.
What he has paid for in fighting the school would me much, much more made up in profit, it he is able to build the Senior Housing section right where he wants it and not on the "preferred site" of any high school at Ponte Vista.
If folks believe Bob did not account for that, then,who is really being "shocked into stupidity"?
MW
Anyone who thinks that what this out of town developer is proposing is good for SP is clearly delusional and/or a shill who will somehow profit from this. Trust me, the more locals learn about this development, the more they are against it.
As the Mothers of Invention once said,"We're only in it for the money." Which is what Bob Bisno will tell you too. He is not a knight of the round table on a holy quest, just a business man on a mission to extract the maximum amount of capital from this project.
As for the people in the communities surrounding this project who support R-1, their interest lies in keeping the size of this project at a level that won't exacerbate traffic congestion or overwhelm the infrastructure as time goes on. Just read the handwriting on the wall in Torrance to see where this could all lead.
And what's with the name calling and character assasination that seems to come with being a supporter of R-1 zoning? It's not a no growth policy, it a smaller growth policy. Hardly lunatic thinking.
ha. meacher you pig. ask yourself, if bisno's vision of ponte vista is so great, why doesn't he commit to living there after its built?!
eh?!
Anonymous 4:25 PM,
Everytime we use foul language or call folks who do not support R1 names, it hurts are cause.
We are better than that.
I know that Bob has called many of us "ranting elitists" and Linda "Bob Bisno is going to save San Pedro" D'Ambrosi, called Doug E. "snide" in written comments, I don't think it helps the process to continue to call names and get folks like Michael.Meagher more riled up.
You are perfectly welcome to call his bluff, criticise his position, doubt his facts, and oppose his position, but I hope in the future you will not resort to what many supporters of Bob's have done and resorted to name-calling.
I have the ability to close down all comments until I review each and everyone of them so I can choose to allow or disallow comments on this blog at my will. I do not wish to do that because that would cause this blog the ability to really debate the issues without folks thinking I am editing anyone out of the loop.
Name calling and foul language may be appropriate on other blogs, but I would appreciate it if everyone would consider that we are all going to have to live here, whether Bob builds anything or not. He has already created much too much divisiveness in OUR community, let's not let him, his supporters, and others who lean towards a large development control the debate.
Thank you all for your consideration.
MW
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