Comments on: End likely for Santa Rosa media center

By: Snarky

Snarky — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 22:36:45 +0000

The fact that politicians are wasting public time debating this issue demonstrates that tax money IS being expended.

We need the roads repaired more than a handful of people need the media center.

Get your priorities straight.

Get the roads fixed without further lame bureaucratic excuses.

4 2

By: Dan Villalva

Dan Villalva — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 00:25:15 +0000

To clarify: THESE ARE NOT YOUR TAXES! Franchise fees are the RENT that multi-billion dollar companies like Comcast and AT&T pay in exchange for stringing their lines and digging up the roads – the city’s right of way. THESE ARE NOT YOUR TAXES! In 1995 the Santa Rosa City Council chose to use a portion of that rent money to build the media infrastructure so that local Government departments, educators and public citizens could have equal access to this powerful media platform. And the Community Media Center was created to make sure it stayed that way. What the city staff is proposing is to keep spending that rent money on media production but to cut out everyone else’s voice so that THE ONLY MESSAGE YOU’LL SEE IS WHAT THE CITY WANTS YOU TO SEE. Goodbye 1st amendment. Hello Big Brother (or sister.)

3 5

By: Mr. Obvious

Mr. Obvious — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 20:44:58 +0000

Let the media center go. And the bicycle bridge too. Instead of a media center I’d rather spend half-a-million on maintaining streets. Instead of a bicycle bridge I’d rather buy a new fire truck, or two.

The problem is we are a long ways from ever having the money we really need for fundamental priorities like streets and fire trucks. So we certainly don’t have money to waste on non-essential fluff like a media center or bicycle bridge.

13 7

By: Follower

Follower — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:39:31 +0000

Of all the stupid things we “fund” why are they cutting off funding for the ONE industry that is clearly too impoverished to support a program like this.

It’s not like the “Movie Industry” is raking in tons of doe!

Obviously they could never afford to fund such programs.

Can’t we just raise taxes on the rich or something?

3 10

By: Nora Gonzales

Nora Gonzales — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 15:12:19 +0000

This is another city welfare program that should have been shut down years ago. The Media Center was a concept that outlived its time a long ago.

However, Santa Rosa certainly doesn’t need a $250,000 bureaucrat to run its own media center.

What are they thinking at city hall?

13 7

By: Dan Villalva

Dan Villalva — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 01:38:15 +0000

The article and the city staff report both give the impression that the CMC and the 2nd bidder are asking for over 3/4 of a million dollars from the city’s general fund to operate the media center. However, if you read the staff report describing these total dollar figures you’ll see the words, “production services.” These are services where the successful bidder would bring in income to support the center. So then, it appears that the numbers really represent an annual budget where the bidder estimates how much is coming from member fees, class fees, grant proceeds etc. How much is coming from franchise fees? We can’t know because these documents are not in the public record. And it’s likely that the council has never seen them either and yet is being asked to make a quick decision blindly.
The City Council needs to take the time to ask hard questions and include the public before making this extreme change that will destroy the community media infrastructure that took so many years to build.

8 4

By: James Bennett

James Bennett — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 22:44:25 +0000

An alternative form of media to engage our community with information they might not get anywhere else.
Or.
A bicycle bridge.

Hmmm…

I was on Jeff Coor’s show a couple times.
I think it was a valuable resource.

I’m not surprized though.

TPTB are about narrow options, little choice and dependency.

Not being independent with lots of choice.

4 2