LBPOST.com: A Momentous Night At City Hall

Thursday, September 2, 2010

A Momentous Night At City Hall

by Sander Wolff | Culture Agent | 03.03.10 |

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7:30am | Last night's City Council meeting was indeed momentous for our fair City. The Council unanimously approved 5 important arts-friendly proposals, each targeting a specific aspect of the City's unfolding vision as a cultural and artistic wellspring. You can read my brief summary of the proposals, posted yesterday. A sixth agenda item, relating to TED, was also approved.

You can also watch the video archive of last night's meeting. Please note that, when you click on the link, it will require that you have the Windows Media Player plugin. Also, there's an index below the player and by clicking on any of the items, the video will jump to that spot in the proceedings. I spoke on Agenda Item 18, which is about half way down the list.

I am so pleased and proud to have witnessed and participated in this process, and look forward to seeing the results of these efforts. My kudos and thanks go out to Robert Garcia, Suja Lowenthal, Craig Watson, Justin Hectus, Kamran Assadi, and Antonio Pedro Ruiz for their leadership and vision in advancing these ideas. They, and countless others, helped to bring these ideas forward.

Let us not forget, though, that we've taken a small step in the right direction, but our Council and Mayor need our on-going support and encouragement to see this through, and to make sure that they produce the changes that will ultimately tap into the enthusiasm and energy just waiting to be unleashed.

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Comments

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12 Comments so far.

watson
And here's to your leadership as well Sander. Your tireless work and advocacy for changes to our entertainment permitting helped show the way....

Scott Jones
Thank you to all the Arts Activists that have used their voice with great success and influence. This is truly an exciting day for Long Beach! I look forward to the new life, beauty, and creativity that will arise from our brilliant citizens. Cheers Long Beach!!!

Robert Garcia
The biggest thank you goes to all the artists that make Long Beach a great place to live. Thank you for your creative contributions. This was a big step forward and I am proud to have worked on all these proposals with the arts community. Go Long Beach, Go Arts.

Sander
Thank you for your kind words, Craig. Ultimately, this was a collective effort, and the only way this could have ever been accomplished. Let us make sure that our elected leaders receive the well deserved kudos for giving these initiatives the thumbs up, and the support they need to see the process through to the end.

Romae Lenci
I think Long Beach is doing a fantastic job at bringing the arts back into our community. We need to keep this for our future generations to know that there is an outlet to be creative and share their love of the arts and Long Beach is the town.

DP
WONDERFUL NEWS, and converage, on this important stuff, Mr. Wolff. What's become of live music in this city is criminal. There used to be so many great clubs. Those who have been in charge of all things art in City Hall have consistantly cut off their collective nose to spite both of their faces. It's a simple equation; a guitarist playing in a coffeehouse (or lingerie shop, or gallery, etc.) brings more people in, the coffeehouse makes more money and the tax increment goes up a notch - making the city more money. Our civic leaders are so focused on having the tax payer bleed more money to dig them out of the finacial hole they've dug that they keep tripping over dimes to pick up nickels. Live music makes money for practically everyone involved. Except, of course, the musician. But that's a topic for another day. Carry on, Mr. Wolff. Let's see a series here on Long Beach's club scene, then and now. Oh, I'd like that.

Nancy Schorr
Thanks so much for covering these important issues.

CHARLIE
LOOKS like Hollywood has come to Long Beach - Congratulations!

Wilson
Sander, thank you for covering this event and for speaking at the meeting, I left the meeting very excited about the possibilities these initiatives provide.

Jon
What passed exactly? There's a lot of talk here but no real examples.

forming circles
I am very, very grateful for all those who are working so hard on behalf of the arts in Long Beach. And thank you, Sander, for keeping us all up to date. Thank you all for your commitment, time, effort, and support for the arts this one-of-a-kind city. As a visual artist who's rich in life experience and yet challenged financially, I work very hard to pay rent and keep making my art. I struggle at times and don't always have free time to devote to the advocacy that you all are so nobly and generously doing. It is refreshing to see community members who are considering the big picture and who are concerned about nourishing the vibrancy of this place we call home. I'm humbled and appreciative. And, I am hopeful for our future.

Sander
Thanks for all the great comments! DP: I love the idea of a feature on the Long Beach club scene. Jon: If you look in the story, above, there's a link to the previous story that briefly outlines each of the five proposals. FC: The wonderful thing is that we don't all have to expend our energies in the same way, but it helps if we have consensus within the community about what our values and visions are. Figuring that out is something that requires at least some participation from everyone. It is easy to become cynical or discouraged when, time after time, hopes for change are raised, then dashed again. Although I never stopped advocating for a revision to the City's vision for live music, after 10 years of talking everyone's ears off, I never really thought that I'd see it come before the council, or receive a unanimous vote of support. So, for anyone who wonders if their efforts are wasted in advocating for positive change: Fight on.

Culture Agent

Sander lives with his wife, step-daughter, two dogs, two cats, two fish, and two aquatic frogs. He's an avid nature photographer, and enjoys creating close-up images of flowers and plants.

Sander Roscoe Wolff is a musician, artist, and was co-founder and Executive Director of LongBeachCulture.org, the City's first comprehensive, and free, arts portal.

He has served on the boards of the 2nd City Council Art Gallery + Performance Space and the East Village Arts District, curated a 6 month gallery exhibition in the Long Beach World Trade Center, and produced Songs For Bethune, a CD of original and traditional holiday songs by local artists, to raise funds for the Arts Council's Passport to the Arts program.

His work has been featured in local gallery exhibitions, in SoundWalk, and L.A. Siggraph's Photon Ballet. His current music project is Ain Soph Aur, a systems based improvisational duo.