Daily Archives: 03/06/2009

(Community Matters) in the Economist, the Dunbar number, 150.

(Community Matters) Aaron Brown’s The Secret lives of the Inbetweeners at the Vortex Theatre until March 7.

Jonathan Itchon (foreground) and Rudy Ramirez (photo Flicrk)

Michael Mitchell, Robert Torian and I attended tonight’s performance. Left impressed by the breath of Aaron’s work. Aaron’s an old friend with whom I haven’t maintained contact since prior to meeting Steven. He composed and wrote the contemporary, comedy musical – his fifth work produced at the Vortex. Ambitious, complex and concurrently simplistic, The Secret Lives reminded me of RENT’s hipsters and a Mount Olympus farce between step-siblings, as if the son of Kronos and daughter of Prometheus. Aaron kept insisting that the entire work was meant as light fun.

Jonathan Itchon steals the show in his performance as Joe, the nearly lost son of a domineering mother. Fortunately, Prometheus’ daughter wins the bet and the hipsters lives end on an up note. Albeit perhaps a tad complex for its genre, Aaron mostly achieves light and fun. And, he definitely demonstrates an evolving talent in this ambitious work.

(Community Matters) Two or three months ago, a very successful friend told me he’d invest in stocks once the Dow hit 4,000. I thought he was joking. Maybe not.

Yahoo

(Community Matters) Just spoke with Council member Leffingwell. He regrets responding to hypothetical questions and to any interpretation that he would support rescinding economic development contracts. Lee reminded me that he was an active Prop 2 opponent. I knew this, appreciated it and couldn’t reconcile today’s AAS report with that fact. He didn’t rule out (in fact reinforced that he might), however, approaching businesses about voluntary opportunities to amend contracts.

Additionally, he too would ask EMS and police officers to forgo their 2% contracted pay raises if the City’s financial situation deteriorates. He notes that firefighters are not currently under a contract and so will not be receiving any pay raises in the currently proposed budget. Lee notes that police, EMS and firefighters are the highest paid in our state because of a 2% premium contract negotiated in ’03 and ’04. This provision doesn’t exist in current contracts.

I appreciate Council member Leffingwell’s clarification.

(Community Matters) I’ve just received a telephone call from Council member Martinez about the posting below. Mike wanted to clarify that he never suggested rescinding economic development contracts. According to Mike, he was asked if he would make a call to firefighters and police unions asking if they’d forgo their pay raises as part of rescuing the city budget and answered that he would. And, he says he noted that he’d look at other opportunities to renegotiate contracts without identifying any specific contracts, specifically not even referring to those from economic development. I appreciate Mike’s call and clarification.

I have heard nothing from Lee Leffingwell’s campaign refuting his support for exempting police and firefighters (already highest paid in the state) from pay raises in order to avoid further cuts to human services, libraries and parks, nor refuting his support for renegotiating economic development contracts.