Save the Montebello Concerts in the Park

Howdy friends and neighbors of the hills!

It's hoedown time!

It's August and that means "party in the park" season here in Montebello!

This week kicks off the first of 3 FREE "Concerts in the Park" to be held in the bandshell at Montebello City Park.  The concerts begin at 6:30 pm and go until about 8:30 pm but I recommend y'all get there early to find a good parking spot because the spaces go fast!  Here is the schedule:

Thursday Nights
August 11, 2011 Chico
August 18, 2011 Wise Guys
August 25, 2011 Cold Duck
6:30 pm

Montebello City Park

1300 W. Whittier Blvd.

Montebello, CA 90640

Map

Now y'all probably know by now that the City of Montebello is tightening it's belt and for awhile there it looked as if the summer concert tradition was in danger of falling by the wayside so at the July 13th Montebello Ciity Council meeting the city put out a call to the community for sponsorships to save the concerts.

The bands were the first to heed the call by donating their talents for free.

About a week later, an announcement was made that the "sound and operations costs" would be sponsored by Cook Hill Properties, LLC.

“It’s events like the concerts in the park series that create a sense of community and bring people together,” said Lod Cook, chief executive officer of Cook Hill Properties, the company that hopes to develop the Montebello Hills. “As a corporate citizen of the city of Montebello, it is very important to us that we can help bring family and friends together for this great Montebello tradition.”

Source: Los Angeles Wave, Developer keeps Montebello concert series alive, By Anne Donofrio-Holter, Special to The Wave, Jul 28, 2011

Well shucks, that sounds downright neighborly!

After reading those words, I reckon this "corporate citizen" won't mind if a few "actual citizens" of the City of Montebello pitch in their widow's mite o' change to help keep alive their own traditions, especially since there are other expenses associated with these concerts that are not covered under "sound and operations costs."

You see folks, contrary to what's been reported in the newspapers, Cook Hill Properties LLC wasn't the only group to step up to the plate to pitch in a few bucks to save the concerts.

I've been informed that the ONLY other monetary donation towards this worthy cause came from the  . . .

SAVE THE MONTEBELLO HILLS TASK FORCE!

It's nice to know that at least one Montebello-based citizen's group heeded the call for help.

Now keep in mind, the members of this Sierra Club sponsored task force are all unpaid volunteers who do their own fund raising on their own time and decided to help out their own hometown during these hard economic trials.

So . . .  move over Cook Hill Properties!  This year the task force will be allowed to sit at a table inside the hallowed grounds of the concert arena and share all that "togetherness" with you!

Their humble table may not be as fancy schmancy as Cook Hill's sponsorship "booth" but at least this year the task force volunteers have a place to sit down!

Hat's off to the Save the Montebello Hills Task Force!

Daisy Mae

SHAMEFUL UPDATE:

(Posted Thursday, August 11, 2:00 am)

Dadgummit!  Well folks, so much for all that phoney baloney talk about "creating a sense of community" and "bringing people together!"

Wednesday night was a regularly scheduled meeting of the Montebello City Council.  I've been informed that members of the Save the Montebello Hills Task Force -Angeles Chapter/Sierra Club who attended this meeting were notified in the lobby that they will not be sitting inside the fence after all!  (The rumor going around is that "somebody" made a ruckus about their participation.)

Instead of being allowed inside the "holy of holies" with corporate sponsor Cook Hill Properties, the task force has been exiled to a table outside the concert fence in an area reserved for "vendors!"

Vendors?!!!  The task force isn't "selling" anything but their FREE SPEECH protected views on saving the Montebello Hills from development!

Adding insult to injury, the task force was given "instructions" on what they can and cannot say while participating in this event?  Was Cook Hill given similar "instructions?"

How did it come to this?  Why is an out of town real estate development division of an oil company (which is currently under investigation for possibly violating state water pollution laws*) being treated like royalty while actual residents of Montebello are being treated like "poor relations" forced to sit at the kiddies table? 

Sorry folks, but this has got me so riled up I can hardly see straight!!!

I hope y'all come out tonight to enjoy the music and support your neighbors in the task force.

A very disappointed,

Daisy Mae


*See previous blog entries on the Montebello Hills oil spill