Save the San Diego Old Town Bazaar del Mundo!- Friends of the Bazaar del Mundo - |
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Blue Pencil of... Charles S. Fox, Editor The Presidio Sentinel November 2003 issue “Against a diseased imagination demonstration goes for nothing.” - Mark Twain Every time I pick up a volume of Mark Twain's writings, I find something that could have been written tomorrow. He is still that far ahead of his time. Either that, or the times haven’t been a-changing nearly as much as we thought. Mr. Twain was the consummate social, economic and political commentator of his or any other time. The “diseased imagination” quote that appears at the top of this column is a prime example of his ability to hone in on universal truth. If you take a good, hard look at the political climate lately, whether it is national, state or local, you will see that the modus operandi of most of the political structure (be it Democrat, Republican, Green, Peace and Freedom, Independent, etc.) is the spreading of disease that debilitates the imagination. Truth takes a backseat to these diseases. “Don’t confuse me with facts, my mind is made up” is a popular belief of those who follow blindly those politicians and “spokespersons” for various causes and points of view. Rumors, innuendo and outright lies are the currency of social “debate” today. “Disease” can take many forms. Greed, of course, is one. Take, for example, the sad case of Bazaar del Mundo and Diane Powers. Ms Powers has demonstrated, over the past 32 years, an on-going commitment to the history, culture and spirit of the early days of San Diego. She took a dilapidated, derelict eyesore and turned it into the most visited attraction not only in San Diego, but also in the entire State Park System. Of course that made it the most prosperous concession in the State Park System as well and therein lays the rub. You see the Great State of California is in a bit of a cash crunch ($7 to $30 billion depending on when you listened to ex-Governor Davis and God only knows how much if you listen to Governor Total Recall). Enter the bid process. In this “Fair and Balanced” era, the winning bidders bought (for a mere $250,000 to $300,000 depending on who you believe) the services of one Darius Anderson. Mr. Anderson is one of those ubiquitous “powerful Sacramento lobbyists” you hear so much about. At least he was prior to the recall phenomenon. The reason he was so powerful is that he was ex-Governor Davis’s Chief Fundraiser. Hmmmm... The Robber Barron company that is taking over (Delaware North out of Buffalo, New York) is a conglomerate that owns at least one stadium, a hockey team, and sells sunglasses and T-shirts at Yosemite, the Grand Canyon and many other tourist spots. They say they plan on renovating the restaurants and buildings. Usually that means that the new concessionaire’s bean counters have mandated that the property needs to generate more $$$$ per square foot to make the deal “pencil out”. You see, these guys are really good at taking over something that others have put their blood, sweat and tears into and putting their rubber stamp on it. Bazaar del Mundo is reportedly one of the most successful concessions in the California parks system, earning an estimated $25 million annually. It is also one of the most unique venues in all of the “Old Towns” in California. The panel that made the decision to oust Ms Powers did not have a single San Diegan. To the best of anyone’s knowledge they have never visited Bazaar del Mundo. In announcing the deal, Ruth Coleman, Director of State Parks, is quoted as saying. "This is a home run for the state. Bringing these old towns alive is a long-term goal.” I wonder if HERSELF has ever been to Bazaar del Mundo? A look at the California State Park web site (www.parks.ca.gov) yields the following about Bazaar del Mundo: “A popular labyrinth of 16 specialty boutiques, five international restaurants and year-round cultural activities, the Bazaar has been recognized by the California Department of Tourism, the San Diego Restaurant Association, the American Institute of Architects and others for its outstanding contributions to culture and tourism... Many of the Bazaar’s unique shops contribute to Old Town’s “fiesta” spirit, too – with gourmet hot sauces, Guatemalan jackets, vests and tableware, books en Español and Mexican folk art.” Sounds like a pretty dead place. No wonder they wanted an eastern company to come in and liven things up. I can smell the Buffalo wings already. It would appear on first blush that Delaware North shelled out $500,000 a year more in rent ($2 million/year as opposed to $1.5 million from Powers) and agreed to spend about $280,000 a year more on capital improvements. The reality is that in the most recent Fiscal Year, Bazaar del Mundo paid over $1.9 million in rent under their old contract. They were bidding on a guaranteed minimum rent (if revenues didn’t produce $1.5 million at 7.3% of gross, then the rent would be $1.5 M) So Ms Coleman and her northern conspirators have ransacked the south for somewhere in the neighborhood of $300,000 a year. Considering the deficit is $30,000,000,000 this new contract helps to the tune of 0.001%. Coleman is quoted as saying that the bid from Delaware North is “Money in the bank.” I submit that Bazaar del Mundo has been “Money in the bank” for 32 years. Diane Powers demonstrated the imagination to build something that is not only alive, but also something that tourists and locals can enjoy and be proud of. That demonstration of commitment, vision and ability has run up against the diseased imagination of greed. |
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