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August 5th Update and New Action Item
(originally sent 8/5/08)

This just in from Kevin Patterson. Please reply to him with any questions at kevin@savethecowpalace.com

Please note that I had a lot of bouncebacks with the Sunday's Cow Palace missive, due I think to the attachment. So the text is posted below the missive text on this page.


Dear Friends of the Cow Palace,

Today's vote in the Assembly did not go our way.  However, there is progress:  the representative from the Department of General Services, Mike Webb, testified against the bill! This is significant because they are the department that will be doing the work if the bill passes. They are also professionals who see the bill for what it is...a waste of time and a bad deal for California.

The next  - and likely the last committee - who will hear the bill prior to it going  to the floor of the Assembly for a full vote, is Appropriations.

1) Please fax and or email, the attached letter (add your name at the top) to the Chair of the Appropriations Committee (or the whole committee if you have time).

Mark Leno - Chair, Assembly Appropriations Committee
Office (916) 319-2013 FAX: (916) 319-2113
Assemblymember.leno@assembly.ca.gov
(if you live in his district CALL him too)

2) Please call YOUR local Assemblymember to OPPOSE SB1527.  This is very important if it goes to a full vote of the Assembly. The bill requires a 2/3 majority, so we should be able to defeat it!  Here's how to find out:
http://www.legislature.ca.gov/legislators_and_districts/districts/assemblydistricts.html


Deadline: Tomorrow, Wednesday August 6, 2008, (today is MUCH better), for the Appropriations Committee letters, (sometime next week for the full vote of the Assembly if it passes Appropriations).

Thank you,

Kevin

Kevin Patterson
Friends of the Cow Palace


Here are the emails for the whole Assembly Appropriations Committee:

<Assemblymember.leno@assembly.ca.gov>,
<Assemblymember.Lieu@assembly.ca.gov>,
<Assemblymember.Ma@assembly.ca.gov>,
<Assemblymember.nakanishi@assembly.ca.gov>,
<Assemblymember.nava@assembly.ca.gov>,
<Assemblywoman.Runner@assembly.ca.gov>,
<Assemblymember.solorio@assembly.ca.gov>,
<Assemblymember.walters@assembly.ca.gov>,
<Assemblymember.Caballero@assembly.ca.gov>,
<Assemblymember.Davis@assembly.ca.gov>,
<Assemblymember.DeSaulnier@assembly.ca.gov>,
<Assemblymember.emmerson@assembly.ca.gov>,
<Assemblymember.Furutani@assembly.ca.gov>,
<Assemblymember.Huffman@assembly.ca.gov>,
<Assemblymember.Karnette@assembly.ca.gov>,
<Assemblymember.Krekorian@assembly.ca.gov>


Attachment text:

To: Members of the Assembly Appropriations Committee
From:
Date: 8/5/08
Regarding: SB1527 (Yee)

_____________________________________________________________

Dear Assemblymember,

Mike Webb, from the Department of General Services is opposed to this bill because it is unnecessary and is financially unsound.  Here’s the background:

Due to an overwhelming public outcry, and a shared desire to see the Cow Palace continue as a Bay Area icon, SB1527, the "bill to kill" the California Cow Palace, was drastically amended by its authors to exclude the Cow Palace itself and it's key parking lots.

This bill is still moving ahead (narrowly passed today by the Assembly BP Committee), backed by Daly City and it’s developer friends who want to purchase the 13 acres of Cow Palace land remaining in the bill, and pay the State of California as little as possible in this depressed real estate market.  This must not be allowed to happen!

A LEASE of the Cow Palace's 13-acre parcel that remains in the bill is a far better alternative than a SALE. A lease of this acreage for a grocery store and retail center will help fund an important revitalization of the Cow Palace itself and insure an exciting future for this famous facility and the surrounding community. An RFLP process to long-term lease this property was begun by the Cow Palace Board over 2 years ago. The California Construction Authority (CCA) has recently received bids from developers.

SB1527 seeks to force a sale of 13 acres of prime State property, effectively canceling the RFLP process, when a long-term lease is clearly the better choice for California's citizens.

I urge you to stop this bill now and allow the long-term lease of the 13 acres to continue.  By leasing instead of selling, the Taxpayers of California retain a valuable asset, receive lease income to improve the Cow Palace, and provide affordable land for a much-needed community grocery and retail center.  Truly a win-win opportunity!              Thank you.



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