Home Depot vs LAUSD
HOLY COW! YET ANOTHER UPDATE (5:30PM), BREAKING NEWS!
HOME DEPOT CANCELS SCHOOL EVENT! DETAILS JUST COMING IN!
UPDATE: BREAKING NEWS! LAUSD REFUSES TO REVOKE PERMIT!
SEE RON KAYE'S STORY HERE.
An announcement is expected today from the LAUSD about a controversial permit the district issued to allow Home Depot to use Mt. Gleason Middle School to promote their proposed store in Sunland-Tujunga.
This permit breaks a long standing policy of only allowing school facilities to be used by non-profit groups, community groups, or organizations like the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, etc.
The permit may also be in conflict with the State Civic Center Act, which does not provide for corporations, like Home Depot, to use schools as a platform for promotion of their business interests.
It goes without saying that the local community is outraged over this effort by Home Depot to utilize a public school for this intent, and the LAUSD has been bombarded with e-mails and phone calls over the last week protesting the permit.
In Home Depot's permit application to use the school, they said their activity would be a "public meeting". However, in the promotional brochure that was mailed out to the community, they billed the event as an "Open House", and a Home Depot representative said it would consist of "stations" that attendees could visit, and there would be no formal presentation. In addition to mislabeling their activity, the brochure they sent out failed to include the required disclaimer that states the event is in no way affiliated with the LAUSD.
Now, I've attended my share of public meetings, but I've never seen one that was sponsored by a private corporation. There are no City officials scheduled to attend. The Home Depot Open House event is not sponsored by, or sanctioned by, the City or any public agency, for that matter.
It's a sales pitch, under the guise of a "public meeting" and it breaks a long standing policy of the LAUSD. Our schools are not convention centers, and community groups like the Boy Scouts, or non-profit organizations, should not have to compete with a billion dollar corporation, like Home Depot, for after school time.
Home Depot can afford a private facility to hold their "Open House". I know of no community groups that have that same luxury.
Ron Kaye has covered this story well over at his blog, and I will post the decision by the LAUSD as soon as the announcement is made.
Labels: home depot, lausd, Ron Kaye, sunland-tujunga
Posted by Unknown @ 6/18/2008 09:00:00 AM
23 Comments:
If HD succeeds in hijacking school facilities for their self-serving purposes, it will be evident someone was paid off & this will certainly open the doors for any other organization. School facilities will be open to the highest bidder to shill their products. Since schools and school properties were ultimately paid for by the taxpayers they are getting a free platform to undermine the citizens of the community. This could set a VERY BAD PRECEDENT.
This is a bitter and stupid posting. Get a life! Why do you care if they use a meeting room at a school?
I agree. Bad precedent all the way around. Has anyone seen the application? Who submitted it? Who okayed it? Clerical error or did someone higher up okay it?
I think this kind of thing has happened before and no one called anyone on it. What about the Canyon Hills development presentation, also at Mt Gleason? Private developers, no public officials (from what I remember).
Insofar as it being important - it sure is if the school district is changing its rules just for this.
One last comment is that Home Depot has, through a few community meetings now, declined to provide any detailed information about the impact of these stores. They repeatly say "the study is currently being done" and "we do not know what the city will approve or will allow us to do". They will not answer any of these questions, but show pretty pictures of new trees and a cute little map showing where all the nice diesel trucks will drive around the parking lot....
Canyon Hills was a city sanctioned event. City officials were present, and survey forms were collected.
9:57 AM is the one that needs to get a life if they cannot look beyond the surface to see underlying motivations at work here. We care if they use a meeting room because it is against State Law. Do some research before you refer to others as stupid. Contribute some intelligence to this forum, not your personal animosity.
It's great to have a Mayor that just won't get involved in this.
Tell me that there ain't no Deputy Mayor who can't do something! One call from AV to Brewer and this thing SHOULD halt immediately.
Instead, he's unpacking from his junket and giving platitudes like "I love you each, I love you all."
What an effing idiot Mayor.
957, are you kidding me?
Maybe companies can have our schools' gymnasiums to store office equipment! How about having LAUSD teachers conduct classes at Home Depot headquarters?
That's the equivalent of what you're saying is okay. Methinks you're close to a stakeholder here.
Okay, Admiral?
The whole experience with Home Depot has reminded me how very little we actually know about the day to day workings of city hall. The majority of us are too busy trying to make a living to have any idea how downtown operates.... who gets to influence what gets done or what gets ignored.
Good for you guys for catching this.
Home Depot refuses to abide by the laws of the City of Los Angeles and now they have talked LAUSD in to doing the same.
Is seems as if they will stop at nothing to have their way (with us!)
Maybe the question of whether or not HD should be allowed to use the old Kmart should just be put on the next election ballot.
That would provide an answer once and for all about how many want or don't want a large home improvement store in Sunland.
As far as I can tell, there are maybe around 200-300 (or more) that are vehemently opposed to the principles of free enterprise in the S-T area. While the population exceeds 40-50,000!
Let's put it to a democratic vote!
These is not the kind of thing that can be addressed on a ballot. City Council is the ultimate decision maker here.
Personally, I find the subject very boring, and I also can't understand why the ST people wouldn't want a place like HD in the area if it cleans up a vacant store and provides hundreds of jobs and makes a generally positive impact on the other stores in the area.
If only HD didn't play scuzzball politics like HIRING people to come to meetings and pay them to say things that they don't know anything about.
But again, I find this subject very boring. Let's move on to anything OTHER THAN a boring, self-serving Valley Doll post. Love YUH. Love YUH!!!!!
We should all have a meeting and discuss this... but let's have it inside a Home Depot while it's open for business. Maybe we can have it in the Customer Service Department and we can set up tables, chairs, stools... they have it all there.
Sounds ridiculous?
Equally ridiculous is having a Dow Jones Industrial corporation, The Home Depot, have an "Open House" meeting in a public school un-approved by the people who live in that community so that Home Depot can try and SELL US ON SOMETHING.
Like the others here have already said, this will set a bad precedent and it makes some of our public representatives look like push-overs.
Teachers walked out for one hour last week to protest cuts...Say that Home Depot maybe will "contribute" some moolah to fund various school projects ? That could be a strong possibility...of course - one must deny, that is done so often and by so many. Look at the conflicts w/the City -- why not now throw in the school system too. Just a thought.
2:47 - Illegal immigrant day laborer sympathizer.
Where is Tamar Galatzan on this one? I hope this isn't how it works:
a) Get on LAUSD School Board.
b) Help get Home Depot approved.
c) Run for CD seat in district with HD/Latham and Watkins backing.
Meanwhile, are you sure this isn't a belated April Fool's joke? ARE YOU TELLING ME THEY ARE USING LAUSD FACILITIES FOR A F*CKING A HOME DEPOT EVENT...NO MATTER WHAT IT IS????
WHERE IS THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT...THIS CITY IS UNDER SIEGE BY A CORE OF CORRUPT RACKETEERING ELECTED OFFICIALS!
Wooo-hooo! Event Canceled!
9:57, do you get it now?? HD has now cancelled their so called event. This was yet another example of unequal access provided to a deep pockets corporation. Other posters gave some very good examples of what could happen if this became a precedent. So, perhaps you are the one that now needs to get a life, rather than sniping at other comments. You must have an underlying motivation to be so upset.
After 4 years, you still don't get it?? Home Depot- GO AWAY!! ALL YOUR TACTICS REEK OF CORRUPTION & UNETHICAL ACCESS. It should reek all the way back to Atlanta by now.
3:00 said Personally, I find the subject very boring, and I also can't understand why the ST people wouldn't want a place like HD in the area if it cleans up a vacant store and provides hundreds of jobs and makes a generally positive impact on the other stores in the area.
Makes a generally positive impact on the other stores in the area? Are you kidding? Have you even been by the site?
It's because of the people of Sunland-Tujunga that this city has any fighting chance of righting itself. If one community can band together to protect itself from the Evil Orange Ones... maybe collectively, we can learn from the example set by the community of S-T, and toss out the garbage currently taking up space inside City Hall, the garbage ruining our city.
Hooray for No Home Depot!
xoxo
Free enterprise is fine when people follow the rules, don't try to circumvent them by changing them, or by buying them out, or by falsely representing themselves. Home Depot has not been willing to do any of those things. If they are able to follow all the rules and set up a store, more power to them in ruining the community. I just don't think that they will be able to follow all the rules in place to protect the residents.
sincerely,
MBA graduate.
As a free market Republi-tarian I don't find Home Depot evil. However I find their management stupid. Just because you have rights doesn't mean you have to be a jerk.
The bottom line is that the site doesn't work well for a normal Home Depot operation. In the long run, locating a store there will cause a problem for Home Depot when their activities lead to lawsuit, bad PR and loss of sales.
Since Home Depot has realized it would have been a mistake to have gone forward with their meeting maybe they can make the next leap to realize opening up their store is not going to be worth it for them. They can very easily recoup their expenses, sell their lease to someone else and make a very graceful exit.
During my search for today, on your blog I got interesting information that I need about Home Depot. Most of the people bought the services and products here for their home improvement needs. And I think this company is the people choice. I have also found while I'm surfing a network that where people share their experiences about the company here – Home Depot
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