Hindsight, as they say, is 20/20. Who knew that the attempt by Irvine’s Newsong Church to buy the historic Downtown Santa Ana Santora Arts Building was something artists should have supported? At the time the artists flipped out. But now the screws are being put to them by Jack Jakosky, the wealthy Newport Beach resident and businessman who ended up buying the Santora. Jakosky has in just a few weeks whitewashed a mural and now he is beginning to evict the artists.
What about Newsong? Well when I saw that their pastor, Dave Gibbons, really wanted to minister in our city I put him in touch with my minister, Andy Quient, at Santa Ana’s historic First Baptist Church, which was headed for bankruptcy. Newsong ended up buying First Baptist and what a relief that has been! They quickly started remodeling, fixing the landscape and they upgraded the sound system. Good times are back at First Baptist! I think however, in retrospect, that they would have done the same thing at the Santora. And they would not have evicted the artists.
However what is done is done. The upside to Jakosky’s purchase of the Santora is he is apparently fixing up the building. And a commenter at the OC Weekly says that he has had “recent meetings with MOLAA & other local art leaders to bring in high-quality art spaces that reflect Santa Ana’s diverse culture or his upcoming collaborations w GCAC and other art groups.”
Let me translate that for you. That commenter, who goes by the moniker “Pocha Pena” is basically saying that the local artists in DTSA aren’t up to snuff – but we are not to worry as Jakosky is bringing in “high-quality” artists to replace the evicted ones. I have heard this line of reasoning before from others in DTSA so I guess the elitists are driving the Artists Village bus now.
But you have to understand that creating the Santa Ana Artists Village was NEVER about the arts. It was about figuring out a way to increase the values of the DTSA buildings. The reality is that the folks who backed all this really could care less about the arts. For them the arts are a means to an end. Look at what Pena is saying. What they really want is to upscale DTSA. That means only a few will make it. The rest? Adios.
The winners will be guys like Jakosky who will swoop in and buy up the buildings while they are still cheap. Their real goal is to create a business district with art ornamentation.
How do the DTSA’s nightclubs and hipster bars and restaurants fit into this equation? I am not sure. Since the brutal murder of Kim Pham, a couple weeks ago, The Crosby has shut down and the Memphis at the Santora has announced that they are closing down too. I expect more of these closures to continue.
For DTSA to make any progress they need to open restaurants with broader appeal. Look at San Diego’s Gaslamp District or Old Towne Orange. Some of these restaurants should appeal to families. A Spaghetti Factory would be a very nice fit in DTSA, for example.
Making DTSA friendly to families would be great. Newsong would have fit nicely into such an endeavor. Alas that ship has sailed. That worked out well for First Baptist but isn’t working out so well for the local artists who tried to make it at the Santora. I don’t expect the new Santa Ana Arts Commission to do much to help these folks. They bet on the wrong horse…
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OK, folks!
There is only one solution how to liberate the DTSA from the undesirable elements which are milking the Latino entrepreneurs and artists in the DTSA.
As a libertarian, I do opose my concept but time to time the people must set a side their higher moral principles to stand against the devil forces.
Therefore, I am contemplating to establish the "United DTSA Association INC" to combat the devil and to create free market business environment in the DTSA based solely on supply and demand equation rather than favoritism and corruption from the city council.
Since the artists are like little children, socially immature and most liberal business people, I would like to hear their opinion.
Caveat: There is nothing liberal in my proposition but rather benevolent dictatorship and fascism to oppose the devil forces which are the greatest.
Your opinion:
If you are Benevolent Dictator, where does that leave Pulido?
And if Editor is Propaganda Minister then where does that leave me Fiala?
This might require a whole other type of Putsch.
Transparency is second rate tactic compared to Stealthy Campaign of lies and deceit.
Perhaps a secret L.L.C. is going to be required as well.
Limited Liability Corporation to avoid certain damaging law suits?
The only difference between the LLC amd INC is that the LLC does not have the shares. Here the INC is only part of the name.
As you know there is already Downtown Corporation PBID which is own by Jews so it is no beneficial to Latinos and gentiles as Claudia Alvarez correctly established. It is establish only to oppress small businesses.
So the objective is to put all private business under a Liechtenstein Trusts umbrella where there is no personal liability and taxation.
You must play like big boys play if you want to be free spirit artists.
Since the capitalism and in this case the of sore tax heaven capitalism is complicated (but legal) to a liberal artists there will be a learning curve:
"A Liechtenstein Trust is set up by a written agreement (Trust Deed) between the settlor and the trustee(s). The Trust Deed does not have to contain the names of beneficiaries. If the Trust Deed is deposited with the Registrar of Trusts, it will not be publicly available, and later instruments (e.g. naming beneficiaries) will not have to be revealed. If the Trust Deed is not deposited within 12 months, the following details of the trust must be placed on the public register"........ See more http://www.envisage.ch/other-services/company-trust-amp-foundation-formation/liechtenstein-trusts/
There is lot of similar trusts around the world where the big boys put their eggs.
As to Pulido he and others in SA will be first to move their skeletons from the closet to the Liechtenstein Trust.
"Jackosky’s invitation to have Studio del Sotano tenants relocate to the new Art Colony he’s building near the train station."
HOLY SH*T, why don't we just change the whole city into a f*cking Michael's craft store? Really, another Art Colony, get the riff-raff out of DTSA? Maybe offer subsidized rent?
Where is Martinez and Benavides, the darlings of Downtown on all of this?
A "Spagetti Factory" would be better than "The Crosby" or "Memphis"?
Of course it would. Why would anyone want to pay for overpriced hipster food?
There's that broken record again. Take a hike, we win. The changes are still going to continue and the dominant culture will fizzle out.
And there is the racism that lies at the heart of gentrification...