L.A.'s Tab For Jacko Funeral: $1.4 Million

Over at National Review's The Corner, Reason columnist Veronique de Rugy blogs this LA Times story about Los Angeles's tab for the Michael Jackson funeral:

City Atty. Carmen Trutanich said this week that he was investigating how the city ended up with a $1.4-million bill. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's office conceded that a city effort to solicit online donations to cover the memorial costs yielded only $17,000 before being upended by "frequent and prolonged server crashes."…

The new city controller, Wendy Greuel, seemed…concerned with the $48,826 that the Emergency Management Department spent on 3,500 boxed lunches from Jensen's Finest Foods in Wrightwood, in San Bernardino County. The lunches were intended for emergency personnel at the Jackson memorial, but Greuel thought it seemed excessive, especially after her staff called a nearby Subway and was given an estimate of $17,491 for the same number of lunches.

Whole Times story here.

Comments

[Anonymous]

Billions of dollars are wasted on the dead end of space exploration, and jurnos criticize a measly mil for celebrating the passing of one of our Ubermensch?

[No Name Guy]

That the city paid anything is a waste, no matter what. The guy is (was) a private citizen. The cost of his funeral should be borne by his estate, period, not by the taxpayers.

Besides - they got ripped off on those box lunches. 48k divided by 3500 units is 13.95 a unit. What the hell was in those box lunches? Were they doing a bulk price upper instead of a bulk discount? WTF? The Subway ones, by contrast were a more reasonable 5.00 a unit.

[Gropecunt Lane]

Gropecunt Lane (pronounced /??ro?pk?nt ?le?n/) was a street name found in English towns and cities during the Middle Ages, believed to be a reference to the prostitution centred on those areas; it was normal practice for a medieval street name to reflect the street's function or the economic activity taking place within it. Gropecunt, the earliest known use of which is in about 1230, appears to have been derived as a compound of the words grope and cunt.[1] Streets with that name were often in the busiest parts of medieval towns and cities, and at least one appears to have been an important thoroughfare.

[Warty]

Groping some cunts sounds pretty fun right about now.

[Tulpa]

According to Google maps, the shortest route from Jensen's Finest Foods in Wrightwood, CA to the Staples Center is 42.4 miles. That would seem to explain the high cost -- transporting 3500 lunches that distance aint cheap.

[X]

Groping some cunts sounds pretty fun right about now.

Word.

[Douglas Gray]

It's hard to tell if the City came out on top or not. One L.A Times Blog said that his passing and all the hoopla generated an extra 4 million in revenues for airlines, hotels and restaurants.

Maybe that would be a good way to prop up the City economy, just have some famous Hollywood or Pop icon die every couple of months.

I heard they definitely overdid it on the cops, they were on duty, many getting overtime, and just sitting around having coffee at the taxpayer's expense.

[ClubMedSux]

Were they doing a bulk price upper instead of a bulk discount? WTF?

Actually, that would make sense... When you're buying one lunch, jacking up the price from, say, $5.95 to $10,005.95 is outrageous. But when you're buying 3500, what's the difference between $38k and $48k? Obviously if you're working for the LA EMD the answer is "not much."

[Tulpa]

I screwed that up; it's actually 73.8 miles on local roads, 79.0 miles if you use I-10. The point stands, though.

[Episiarch]

Groping some cunts sounds pretty fun right about now.

That is rape! That is borderline rape!

[X]

That is rape! That is borderline rape!

Yeah, this should definitely lead to Sweet'n'Low threadjacking the fuck out of this thing with links to feministing.

[Hugh Akston]

Maybe that would be a good way to prop up the City economy, just have some famous Hollywood or Pop icon die every couple of months.

Is it going to be decided by online poll or can we submit bids directly to the controller's office?

[Warty]

eones, get back up there with X. What are you doing down here? Get out of here, you look ridiculous.

[Xeones]

You're no fun, Warty.

[Warty]

I'm pretty fun if you're a cunt.

[Enough About Palin]

"Groping some cunts sounds pretty fun right about now."

The Libertarian in me says that if you want to grope Tony, I guess that's your business.

[Xeones]

Is it going to be decided by online poll or can we submit bids directly to the controller's office?

No no, the city has to be able to maintain plausible deniability, which means we have to take things into our own hands. DIBS ON NICHOLAS CAGE

[Tulpa]

Guys, stay on topic. What does groping genitalia have to do with Michael Jackson?

[Warty]

DIBS ON NICHOLAS CAGE

THIS IS MURDER!!!!! MURDER!!!! AND YOU'RE DOING IT FOR NO REASON!!!!!!!!!!

[zero]

So is the owner of Jensen's Finest Foods in Wrightwood the EMD chief's friend, relative, or spouse?

[Tulpa]

You have a point. Nicholas Cage was the weak link in the thrillers The Rock and Con Air. His performance really lets down the far more accomplished Sean Connery and John Malkovich in those fine films.

[Enough About Palin]

Tulpa FTW!

[Enough About Palin]

"You have a point. Nicholas Cage was the weak link in the thrillers The Rock and Con Air. His performance really lets down the far more accomplished Sean Connery and John Malkovich in those fine films."

Killed in "Wild At Heart", though.

[Ska]

I wonder what NYC's bill is for a Yankees or Giants parade?

Don't have to wonder about the costs for the Knicks, Mets or Jets......

[Warty]

NOOOO!!!! NOT THE BEEEEEEES!!!!!

[Episiarch]

I'm pretty fun if you're a cunt.

I took you for more of a sodomite.

THIS IS MURDER!!!!! MURDER!!!! AND YOU'RE DOING IT FOR NO REASON!!!!!!!!!!

HOW'D IT GET BURNED?!?

[Xeones]

Nick Cage, if you had quit after Raising Arizona none of this would be necessary.

[Warty]

You took a sodomite, Epi? How much did he charge?

[ClubMedSux]

NOOOO!!!! NOT THE BEEEEEEES!!!!!

I'm more concerned about the dogs with bees in their mouths, and when they bark they shot bees at you.

[24AheadDotCom]

Reason comes through for "libertarianism" again, just as long as you define "libertarianism" as not being concerned about MassiveSubsidies going to crooked businesses. While Reason is always ready to complain about relatively minor spending like the above or like PorkProjects, they haven't said a word about Antonio Villaraigosa or California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger inviting the world to move to CA by any means necessary, thereby increasing costs and giving more power to the far-left.

P.S. In case anyone replies to this, their responses will almost assuredly be ad homs, thereby conceding my points and showing the childish, anti-intellectual nature of libertarians.

[Warty]

Shut the fuck up, Lonewacko. We're having a serious discussion here.

[Bronwyn]

Wow, LoneWhackoff. Your comments usually come at least tangentially close to the topic at hand.

This contribution, however, was apropos of nothing.

Shut the fuck up, man.

I'm ready to stop hearing about Michael Jackson, oh, 5 days ago. Kthanks.

[Shawn]

Pretty sure that the long-term increase to LA tax revenues as a result of this memorial event will be well over $1M. A lot of people watching this will have gotten the idea (correct) that LA is where it's at, and that they should come visit.

[Xeones]

Warty, your childish, anti-intellectual side is showing again. Quit conceding Chris Kelly's points.

[moman]

The lunch squawk was disembowled on the radio this morning. The part missing here was that they had 12 hrs. notice and went to the only vendor who could meet the deadline. Imagine the mouth-breather at the Subway counter trying to put that order together.

[ClubMedSux]

I'm so sick of reason giving Schwarzenegger a free pass.

[Dagny T.]

Watching Nic suckerpunch women just doesn't stop being funny.

(Whoa, I just felt a chill. Like Feministing walking over my grave or something.)

[Yerbaff]

...it's actually 73.8 miles on local roads, 79.0 miles if you use I-10. The point stands, though.

Not only is Jensen's way far away, it's up in the *mountains*. Wrightwood is the home of one of the LA-area ski resorts.

The part missing here was that they had 12 hrs. notice and went to the only vendor who could meet the deadline.

That was to only vendor in an 80-mile radius of the Staples Center that could do it? There are at least 12 million people living within that radius, along with the related supporting busineeses. I call BS.

[$20ForHeadDontCum]

The true travesty is the LAPD's shutting down of not one but two expressways for transportation of the Jacko corpse. Lost in the fawning media coverage was the fact that the nerve center of Team Lonewacko, our headquarters on Sunset Blvd, was nearly inaccessible during the affair. It's impossible to tell how much HumanTrafficking was abetted by this traitorous action on the part of LA elites.

[Warty]

The part missing here was that they had 12 hrs. notice and went to the only vendor who could meet the deadline.

Telling the EMTs and police to brown-bag it would have been against the union contract, I presume.

Watching Nic suckerpunch women just doesn't stop being funny.

Or erotic, for that matter.

[Xeones]

Ok, the LoneWacko spoof is starting to grow on me.

Initiating vapid legal threats from the real Chris Kelly in 3, 2, 1...

[Episiarch]

You took a sodomite, Epi? How much did he charge?

What does your dad normally charge?

I think LoneBoner is losing it. More then previously, that is. His transformation into Ed Wood is nearly complete.

[Dagny T.]

Or erotic, for that matter.

Listen, Warty, I'm not going to change my mind. Strawberry shortcake isn't happening.

[Warty]

What does your dad normally charge?

You know what I say about fathers: they're all pink on the inside.

[One Of Tony\'s Reason Rubes]

Thanks for providing links, LoneWacko. Perhaps you could mentor Tony?

[Episiarch]

You know what I say about fathers: they're all pink on the inside.

Hey, that's what he said about children! Like father like son, I guess.

[Dagny T.]

they're all pink on the inside.

So, you like your men the same way you like your meat? Hey, I understand liking it raw.

[moman]

Yerbaf
Not that I want to defend a fucking sandwich company or the decision to use them but they provide this service for all the firefighters during the season and cater riots and other emergencies and are reliable on short notice.

Sandwichgate is a diversion from the issue that the cops shouldn't have been there in the first place.

[Warty]

Strawberry shortcake isn't happening.

Even if I promise not to pee in your eyes?

Hey, I understand liking it raw.

I'll bet, you harlot.

[Tulpa]

they provide this service for all the firefighters during the season and cater riots and other emergencies and are reliable on short notice.

The revolution will not be televised. But it WILL be catered.

[Xeones]

We are just learning all kinds of new things about Dagny today!

[Fly on the wall]

FANG: Yeah dude, let's get going, we're gonna bust up the Man's shit on Sepulda.

AXE: Wait a minute man, I gotta eat something, I'm starved.

FANG: No big, man. Swampy got us catering from Jensen's. Hummus subs, dude.

AXE: Sweet! Where's my crowbar?!

[Warren]

The entertainment capital of the world couldn't find a way to turn a profit on the most sought after ticket in town? No wonder California is broke.

You can't expect public employees to eat garbage like Subway ,after all these are not just public employees but heroic First Responders.

[<**>]

It couldn't have happened to a more deserving city.
Suckers!