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20 hours ago, Maximf83 said:

The worse part is that those people are screaming that the city should be using the money for something else, because thats what they are told by nolympicsla, however what they are not told, nor believe in, is that it's not the city's money, it's ticket sales, sponsorships, private donations. And when they are challenged, immediately the screaming turn to cost overruns that will be from the state taxes, however there is 0 proof of cost overruns and using past examples is so wrong.

I agree there's a lot of mis-information from those guys, especially as I scroll through their Twitter account.  And yes, maybe of their followers do believe there's $7 billion out there getting spent on the Olympics that somehow could be used on other projects.  That said.. yes, there is a risk things will cost more than expected and/or revenues will be less than expected.  Remains to be seen who is on the hook in that case.  And that's to say nothing of all the socio-economic issues tied to the Olympics, for better or worse.  If the NOlympicsLA folks were smart, they'd play up that negative aspect from `84 that often gets overlooked.

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1 hour ago, Quaker2001 said:

I agree there's a lot of mis-information from those guys, especially as I scroll through their Twitter account.  And yes, maybe of their followers do believe there's $7 billion out there getting spent on the Olympics that somehow could be used on other projects.  That said.. yes, there is a risk things will cost more than expected and/or revenues will be less than expected.  Remains to be seen who is on the hook in that case.  And that's to say nothing of all the socio-economic issues tied to the Olympics, for better or worse.  If the NOlympicsLA folks were smart, they'd play up that negative aspect from `84 that often gets overlooked.

there is always a risk, but i dont think there is nearly as much risk here because of the lack of new construction, i believe cost overruns tied directly into venue construction

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8 hours ago, Maximf83 said:

there is always a risk, but i dont think there is nearly as much risk here because of the lack of new construction, i believe cost overruns tied directly into venue construction

Venue infrastructure is listed in LA's budget as $1.463 billion.  That's more than 20% of their total budget.  So it's a misnomer to say there's a lack of new construction when it accounts for a pretty big chunk of the budget.

Where LA's efforts may be less risky than other bids is that it's privately backed as opposed to most of the time where it's government backed.  Doesn't mean it's guaranteed to stick to budgets, especially if a scenario comes up where LA's interests need to measured up against the IOC's wishes.  That's where a lot of Olympic host cities tend to run into trouble, so it remains to be seen how they'll handle that in LA.

8 hours ago, Maximf83 said:

Also they are flying to Tokyo to start international resistance together with the people from paris and boston (why are boston people still involved??)

When the Boston anti-Olympic folks started to gain traction, I said I thought it was likely to be a one-time thing and not necessarily something that would pop up elsewhere.  Needless to say, I pegged that one wrong.

There's a ton of animosity against the IOC and for good reason.  It's not necessarily specific to one city (although I've seen the NOlympicsLA folks go after Eric Garcetti on several occasions), so it might be more of a determined effort to oppose the IOC rather than be something specific to one city.

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On 5/10/2019 at 8:44 AM, Quaker2001 said:

Venue infrastructure is listed in LA's budget as $1.463 billion.  That's more than 20% of their total budget.  So it's a misnomer to say there's a lack of new construction when it accounts for a pretty big chunk of the budget.

Where LA's efforts may be less risky than other bids is that it's privately backed as opposed to most of the time where it's government backed.  Doesn't mean it's guaranteed to stick to budgets, especially if a scenario comes up where LA's interests need to measured up against the IOC's wishes.  That's where a lot of Olympic host cities tend to run into trouble, so it remains to be seen how they'll handle that in LA.

When the Boston anti-Olympic folks started to gain traction, I said I thought it was likely to be a one-time thing and not necessarily something that would pop up elsewhere.  Needless to say, I pegged that one wrong.

There's a ton of animosity against the IOC and for good reason.  It's not necessarily specific to one city (although I've seen the NOlympicsLA folks go after Eric Garcetti on several occasions), so it might be more of a determined effort to oppose the IOC rather than be something specific to one city.

I agree with the frustration with how the last few Olympics have been handled. Beijing, Sochi, and Rio De Janeiro were complete atrocities. No one should ever spend that amount of money for a sporting event. So, yes I see why there is criticism. But they are so desperate to stop them that they are overlooking the reforms that have taken place since to ensure a more sustainable games. It is why Paris and LA were the last two cities running.

Personally, I think NOlympics LA should focus more on factual information regarding the negative impacts to LA after the 1984 games. Most notably the militarization of it's local law enforcement, gang round ups, and homeless relocation.

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On 5/18/2019 at 1:43 AM, JesseSaenz said:

I agree with the frustration with how the last few Olympics have been handled. Beijing, Sochi, and Rio De Janeiro were complete atrocities. No one should ever spend that amount of money for a sporting event. So, yes I see why there is criticism. But they are so desperate to stop them that they are overlooking the reforms that have taken place since to ensure a more sustainable games. It is why Paris and LA were the last two cities running.

Good points but in terms of the reforms that have been put into place (Agenda 2020 or the New Norm) is there has yet to be an Olympics that successfully stays within its budget using the aforementioned reforms and until that happens those No Olympics groups are going to continue to keep traction. So it's really a catch-22. The IOC says they've reformed but there needs to be an actual Olympics that has taken place that shows this. Los Angeles appears to fit this the best with Paris a close second. If the IOC selects Stockholm for 2026 then I think they have a good foundation in place. I'd add Pyeongchang to the list over reckless over spending as well (the sliding track has been mothballed, three ice arenas and the alpine course face demolition by the end of the year if no one comes forward to foot the bill for running them). Tokyo's budget has ballooned and while they've made some cost cutting moves they hav not gone far enough and I attribute this to the influence that respective sporting federations still hold (remember when the UCI demanded Rio demolish the newly built Barre Velodrome that had just been built for the Pan Ams?) The UCI was in an uproar when Tokyo changed to the new velodrome outside of Tokyo rather than build a completely new one yet Tokyo bucked to the demands of FIVB when they decided to go ahead and build the Ariake Arena when the Yokohama Arena would have done just fine. So in addition to the IOC's reforms, a host city really needs to come forward and flat out tell the respective sports federations NO when it comes to building expensive venues that do not have a defined purpose after the Olympics. Case in point and this is purely hypothetical, Los Angeles only has one permanent venue to build, the slalom canoe course. I don't know how much use the course would get post-Olympics so could the organizing committee tell the ICF no and insist on using an existing whitewater course already built in the U.S.

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A really cool presentation by Casey Wasserman at his Alma Mater, UCLA, as it celebrates its centennial.

"UCLA and the Olympic and Paralympic Movement"

Starts at around the 4min mark.

I like at min 46 where he emphasizes the need to separate the 2028 Games from all the other development going on in LA that is 100% separate from the Olympic budget.

 

 

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One of LA's big goals is to combat the homelessness crisis.  Thus far, not going so well..

Homelessness has gotten worse in LA county despite huge investment. Some other cities see a decrease

Hopefully this won't continue to rear its ugly head in the lead up to the Olympics, because that may invoke memories of how certain sects of the population were treated in the years leading up to 1984.  Wouldn't necessarily want a repeat of that.

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I wish that cities would stop seeing homelessness as something to be "solved." Many people who are homeless don't want to be put into social housing - especially if that housing comes with sobriety checks. So what do you do? Force them into a program against their will? Maybe cities should start designating some places for tent cities.

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6 hours ago, Nacre said:

I wish that cities would stop seeing homelessness as something to be "solved." Many people who are homeless don't want to be put into social housing - especially if that housing comes with sobriety checks. So what do you do? Force them into a program against their will? Maybe cities should start designating some places for tent cities.

They were interviewing homeless in LA. Two things I noticed that really made me angry.

1. A substantial amount of them are not from Los Angeles. They moved to LA from other parts of the country. Many of them are from the midwest and the south. How is it LA's residents responsibility to care for people who are not even from there!?

2. Many don't want help. They want to live "off the grid" as the one woman put it.

LA needs to figure out how to stop the influx of people descending onto the city with plans from the get go to be sleeping on the streets. Additionally, the city/county of LA needs to start being more aggressive. Many of these people will not voluntarily get helped, they have made it abundantly clear. They have it too easy running their own show there and the city leaders need to start putting an end to that.

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Quote

Anti-Olympic Organizers From Eight Cities Head to Tokyo for "NOlympics Anywhere" Protest

07/02/19

Olympic cities across the globe will come together for an unprecedented week of anti-Olympics actions

LOS ANGELES, CA — On July 24, 2019, one year before the start of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, NOlympics LA will partner with organizations from across the globe for an unprecedented anti-Olympic solidarity action in the Shinjuku neighborhood of Tokyo, Japan. Featuring representatives from eight recent and future Olympic cities, this public protest will be the climax of a week of anti-Olympic meetings and presentations in Tokyo.

WHAT: Anti-Olympic solidarity action in Tokyo, Japan
WHERE: Shinjuku Alta - 3-24-3 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
WHEN: Wednesday, July 24, 2019 at 6 p.m.
WHO: Anti-Olympics organizers from Seoul, Pyeongchang, Rio de Janeiro, New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Tokyo, and Jakarta

Click here to see the full list of events during the week of action in Tokyo.

What makes this event unique in the history of anti-Olympic organizing is the collective recognition that the Olympics represent a systemic danger for any city that would host them. In the past, dozens of individual city have mounted campaigns to reject the Olympics. This global action recognizes that no city should be forced to weather the corruption, displacement, financial stress, and heightened surveillance that inevitably comes with hosting the games. The protest in Tokyo represents the first time a coalition of allies from across the globe will get together and declare, in one voice, that they will not abide the Olympics anywhere.

“It’s not enough to just stop the Olympics from displacing Angelenos and exposing them to hyper-militarized security measures,” NOlympics LA says. “The games exploit athletes and cities everywhere, and we stand with anti-Olympics movements and efforts from across town to across the globe.”

In a moment when Los Angeles is facing crises of homelessness and corruption that are shaking the city’s government, NOlympics LA is not simply attempting to foist the 2028 games off on another city. Instead, the group opposes the International Olympic Committee, elected officials, and other complicit actors that exploit cities and amateur athletes for profit by wielding state power against the most vulnerable.

Hosting the events in Tokyo are the local organizations Hangorin No Kai and Okotowalink, which have been on the frontlines of this struggle since Tokyo was “awarded” the games in 2013. Representatives from South Korea, which hosted the 2018 Winter Olympics and plans to bid for the 2032 Summer Olympics, include members of Listen to the City. From Paris the delegation includes the Association NON aux JO 2024 à Paris and Parisian mayoral candidate Danielle Simonnet, of the La France Insoumise party.

NOlympics LA is a growing coalition of dozens of local organizations opposing the LA 2028 Olympics, born out of the Democratic Socialists of America, Los Angeles.

ATR

 

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I wasn't sure where to post this article, because it's not really LA2028-related, but I thought this was kind of a cool story, from the Los Angeles Times; my apologies if the formatting is all funky:  

It was the Coliseum’s mystery mural, until a teenage detective solved its 50-year puzzle

JUL 12, 2019 | 5:00 AM

It was the Coliseumâs mystery mural, until a teenage detective solved its 50-year puzzle

Thanks to the work of a young sleuth, restoration artists Aneta Zebala, left, Suzanne Morris and Adam Romcio gained important information about the Coliseum's mural. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

 

For decades, the curving mural depicting a golden sun has greeted visitors to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.  Faded by the elements, its once-vibrant blue lost some luster over the years. The gold-leaf paint had chipped away.  Still, the image drew eyes upward.  No one seemed to know who had painted the scene adorning the Coliseum’s main archway — or when. Guides referred to it as a “mystery mural,” the story of its origins as shrouded by time as the artwork itself.  But after taking a tour of the historic stadium a few years ago, one local teenager became engrossed with its history.

A mural beneath the peristyle at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was recently restored with its vibrant blue and gold-leaf paint.

A mural beneath the peristyle at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was recently restored with its vibrant blue and gold-leaf paint. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

 

Dean Gordon estimates he’s been to the Coliseum more than 100 times. But before that day, he’d never given much thought to the mural high above the peristyle entrance. Two golden Olympic torches flanking a flaming sun, its center a depiction of the planet Earth and the 12 signs of the Zodiac.  Solving its mystery soon became his mission. 

Two summers ago, at age 17, Gordon began his quest — poring through library books and searching archives, hoping to find a clue that would lead him to the artist.  “I basically contacted every single person who might have an idea,” he said, “every archivist, historian or professor who might have some connection to the mural,” rumored to have been painted before the Coliseum hosted the 1932 Olympics.

After a series of dead ends, Gordon found a clue in the form of a Los Angeles Central Library notecard that read “H. Rosien Coliseum.”  Further online digging produced nothing — until he came across a single tweet:

“Please don’t touch the mural inside the arch that my FIL Heinz Rosien painted prior to the Olympics!!”

The plea, posted in 2016, was from Mary Lou Rosien in response to the Coliseum’s announcement that parts of the stadium were being overhauled. The mural would be part of renovations, which eventually totaled $315 million, by USC. The university operates and manages the Coliseum.

 

Artist Heinz Rosien works on the mural's design. At right, his son Igor Rosien poses with the mural in 1969.

Artist Heinz Rosien works on the mural's design. At right, his son Igor Rosien poses with the mural in 1969. (Igor Rosien)

 

Years before, during a broadcast of a Trojans football game, the camera had panned under the Coliseum’s archway and focused on the mural.  Watching from his home in upstate New York, Rosien’s husband, Igor, was flooded with emotion.

He and his father, Heinz Rosien, had worked on the mural together.

The Los Angeles Coliseum Commission tasked the elder Rosien with the job in 1969, in hopes of helping the city win a bid for the 1976 Olympics. Heinz Rosien, a German immigrant, was a well-known artist in Alhambra and had painted works at various schools, banks and theaters — including the Ahmanson in downtown L.A.’s Music Center.

The archway of the Coliseum proved to be a precarious canvas.  The underside of the curved portico stood more than 70 feet off the ground. To reach it, father and son scaled scaffolding without the aid of safety belts, which now are commonplace. They painted upside down.

“People talk about Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel,” Igor Rosien said. “My dad was up there battling the elements.”  A teenager at the time, Igor spent the summer, fall and winter of 1969 working on the mural with his father. At the end of their workdays, the two would return home looking like statuettes, their hair and faces covered in gold paint.

Not long after the mural was completed, Rosien entered USC as a student. On occasion, he said, he would visit the stadium and be filled with pride as onlookers gazed up at the work he produced with his dad.

L.A. didn’t end up winning the Olympics bid in the ’70s. But a few years later, at the opening day of the 1984 Summer Games, Rosien beamed as people took pictures of his father’s work inside the Coliseum.  “I wanted to say, ‘That’s my dad’s. He did that.’ ”

By then, Rosien had moved across the country. His father died on Jan. 1, 2007, at age 86.

The origins of the mural were all but lost — until Gordon started his detective work.

A conservation team restored a mural at the Coliseum 50 years after it was painted.

A conservation team restored a mural at the Coliseum 50 years after it was painted. (USC)

 

The teen tracked Rosien shortly after spotting his wife’s tweet, shocked to learn that someone directly connected with the artwork was still alive. 

“The entire time I was trying to figure out who painted it, I thought it was from 1932,” said Gordon, now 19 and a student at Amherst College in Massachusetts. “All my research was in that time period.”

Not that there was a wealth of material for him to work with. A search through the Los Angeles Times archives revealed only one reference to the mural’s painter: a 1982 letter to the editor from the man himself.  In reference to a photo published two years before the 1984 Olympics, Heinz Rosien identified himself as the creator:

“In the article ‘Olympics — An Ongoing Legacy,’ you featured two murals, one painted by students at Central Adult High School. The other described as a delicate painting on the ceiling was painted by me. Heinz L. Rosien.”

The end of Gordon’s search two years ago led to a series of hours-long discussions about the mural — and the start of a friendship between the younger Rosien and the student detective.

“Thankfully, Dean didn’t take ‘mystery mural’ as an answer,” Igor Rosien said.

When it came time this spring to restore the mural, Gordon’s discovery and resulting reporton the mural proved helpful.

Dean Gordon, left, meets with Igor and Mary Lou Rosien.

Dean Gordon, left, meets with Igor and Mary Lou Rosien. (Igor Rosien)

 

Over the course of their work, which was recently completed, the artists reached out to Rosien, asking about the paints and techniques his father had used. A photo of the senior Rosien working on the design of the mural provided insight as well.  Aneta Zebala, Suzanne Morris and Adam Romcio have been in the conservation business for decades, restoring artwork at Griffith Observatory and the Wilshire Temple, under bridges and in libraries around Los Angeles.

But the Coliseum’s mural has been one of their most challenging projects, they said.  It had been damaged by water and, after decades of being battered by the elements (including the wind that races through the archway), the design had nearly disappeared. The lack of historical reference also was not ideal.  “We’re used to having all the information — or a lot of it,” Morris said.  “We’re well-trained conservators,” Zebala added, “so we don’t make up stuff. We go by what’s there to offer original intent to the design.”

Before the mural’s restoration got underway, Gordon and Rosien met outside the Coliseum. There, the artist presented the young detective with one of his dad’s paintings.

Nick Rosien, at right with his uncle Mick Rosien, visits the L.A. Coliseum mural that his father helped to create.

Nick Rosien, at right with his uncle Mick Rosien, visits the L.A. Coliseum mural that his father helped to create. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

 

And on a sunny day in June, Nick Rosien — Igor’s son and Heinz’s grandson — was in town to visit his Uncle Mick. Because the youngest Rosien had never seen the mural, his father suggested they add a trip to the Coliseum to their itinerary.  The scaffolding had just come down from the archway. The tarps were cleared, and the revitalized artwork was ready. The Rosiens were the first to see the mural’s unofficial debut.

Fifty years after it was painted, the vibrant blue and gold had returned. And on either side of the archway, the glittering signature of Heinz Rosien dared anyone to forget him again.

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Is FIBA planning to expand either the men's or women's basketball competition at the Olympics? Rio, Tokyo and Paris have or will host basketball in one venue. If the number of teams isn't expanding, would it not make more sense to hold all the basketball games at the Staples Center and not use the convention center as a secondary venue?

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1 hour ago, stryker said:

Is FIBA planning to expand either the men's or women's basketball competition at the Olympics? Rio, Tokyo and Paris have or will host basketball in one venue. If the number of teams isn't expanding, would it not make more sense to hold all the basketball games at the Staples Center and not use the convention center as a secondary venue?

They changed the format for Tokyo to reduce the number of games (teams will play 3 games in the preliminary round rather than 5), probably in response to the addition of the 3x3 tournaments.  Perhaps LA is proposing to go back to the previous format and decided it would be smarter to hold the women's games in a smaller venue rather than to use the Staples Center for 6 games a day 10 straight days.

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1 hour ago, Quaker2001 said:

They changed the format for Tokyo to reduce the number of games (teams will play 3 games in the preliminary round rather than 5), probably in response to the addition of the 3x3 tournaments.  Perhaps LA is proposing to go back to the previous format and decided it would be smarter to hold the women's games in a smaller venue rather than to use the Staples Center for 6 games a day 10 straight days.

Interesting. I wonder if Paris will follow Tokyo's lead or go back to the original format. IMO it does make sense to have the women's basketball prelims in a smaller venue. I don't know what crowds have looked like for women's basketball prelims in previous Olympics but if it's anything like the WNBA, many teams play in NBA arenas where the arena is maybe half full at the most.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/27245269/dodgers-renovate-stadium-add-koufax-statue

The Dodgers have announced a $100 million renovation to Dodger Stadium in preparation for next year's MLB All-Star Game. While I know it's not a certainty, it would be hard to see Los Angeles not including baseball/softball on the sports program in 2028 especially in the iconic stadium at Chavez Ravine.

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