John Walsh on Cirque du Soleil Closing

By John Walsh, HollywoodHighlands.org 

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL closes tonight in Hollywood:Lays $100 Million Egg: The Largest in Show Biz history!

TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT! THE CURTAIN COLLAPSES ON CIRQUE DU SOLEIL IN LOS ANGELES!!!

HOLLYWOOD NEIGHBORHOOD ACTIVISTS' PREDICTION PROVEN ACCURATE!

IRIS is the most costly flop in theatrical history! News reports indicate CIRQUE DU SOLEIL is now laying off 400 employees at Corporate Headquarters in Montreal due to a ripple effect!

Read the LA CURBED story from August 5, 2009 the day after The L.A City Council disastrously approved the deal that sent thirty million Obama Stimulus dollars down the Kodak theater rat hole!

Mayor Villarigosa and currently Mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti were the chief Angels behind that Deal With the Devil costing American Taxpayers $30 MILLION!

THE MAYOR OF L.A. PREDICTED THAT IRIS, THE MEGA SHOW WITH A HUNDRED MILLION DOLLAR PRICE TAG,WOULD RUN FOR TEN YEARS!

POOR "IRIS" DIDN'T EVEN LAST ON HOLLYWOOD BLVD. FOR THREE YEARS!

Mayor Sam's Hotsheet for Tuesday

The teachers union, parents and the Mayor are battling over a new LAUSD high school. The new $106-million Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez Learning Center is designed to relieve crowding at perennial basketcase Roosevelt High School which falls under the Mayor's "Partnership" of controlled schools. The Mayor and his team feel that because Mendez pulls students from Roosevelt, its their. The UTLA as well as parents say hold the phone. Though the Mayor is quietly attempting the takeover it appears it's the next battle in an escalating conflict between Villaraigosa and the Mayor (oops I meant the union but hey maybe there is an epic like battle between Villaraigosa and the Mayor!). Stay tuned.

I don't even think Obama was thinking of this when he devised the spendalus program. Tuesday the Los Angeles City Council will vote to use Federal dollars to make a $30 million loan to bring Cirque du Soleil to the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. Yes we will hear the usual about how great it will be to have the circus come to town and all the jobs/money it will generate. But how many thousands of businesses in Los Angeles do just that without sweetheart deals from the City? No need for this circus; we already have a Clowncil.

With Wendy Greuel having moved up to Controller and her former Council district under the control of a caretaker, some residents of CD2 say the District is going to hell. Reports of homeless squatting, piling up trash, crime and other quality of life issues are piling up with no response from the City. A special election is set for Greuel's successor in September and likely not a moment too soon.

And finally Laurette Healey continues to delight. Apparently angry over our recent post outing her comments about the "complexion" of Sherman Oaks versus Van Nuys, she posted the following on her Facebook page: "Love that the wizards behind the Mayor Sam website have finally outed themselves. Michael Higby - YOU have some splaining to do!" She then links to a post from LAObserved that the bloggers at Mayor Sam have come out from behind the anony-curtain. Of course this story is from 2005 but Laurette's been busy lately.

Mayor Sam's Hot Sheet for Wednesday

Cirque Du Soleil has signed a multi-year agreement to stage a new Hollywood themed show at the Kodak Theater. This agreement makes the exotic Canadian circus troupe the only other tenant at the struggling venue along with the Academy Awards. No event waivers though please. Of course Mayor V showed up at the photo op today; take a look at a weird ass photo of the Mayor and a "friend" from the LA Times via Franklin Avenue.

If you're part of the NIMBY, CAVE and/or BANANA movements this place sounds like utopia for granola loving liberals like you - a blogger lives in some unnamed city where Wal-Mart (mis-spelled Wallmart) is illegal, there's a Trader Joe's where one can sign petitions and developers who would build low-income housing are just not welcome.

If a department store put out a sign that said "No Wetback Documents Allowed" when it came to applying for credit there would be a firestorm. So why is it no one is disturbed by the actions of a furniture store near Washington, D.C. that is advertising "Credito sin papeles de gringo?" Racism is racism and both comments are equally offensive.

If you're thinking of deep frying your turkey, the LAFD suggests you think twice. Not only is it not that healthy, unless you have the right equipment, enough open space and know what you're doing its really dangerous. Every year we hear stories of someone who burns down their garage trying to cook their holiday bird in a vat of boiling oil. By the way, I like the way the LAFD is going about this - warning and educating people rather than the usual nanny state tactic of banning it.