In his interpretation of what happened today when the Autry Museum pulled out of their Griffith Park expansion plans, veteran Daily News editor Ron Kaye cast the move as having "no winner". Griffith Park users should take serious umbrage with this assertion. In the tug of war that started at the June 30th Board of Referred Powers meeting, Griffith Park had absolutely no representation in the discussion. In fact, the man who should have been speaking up for the park and for the taxpayers, Tom LaBonge, didn't even show up for the hearing, choosing instead to send a staffer who intoned monotonously that 'Tom LaBonge supports the full Autry expansion in Griffith Park.' (the end)
Until this afternoon's revelation, it looked like the park land would be given over completely to the terribly inappropriate ballooning of an Autry Museum whose annual attendance barely hits 1% of the total who go to the park to enjoy it as open space each year.
Suddenly the Autry makes their move in the chess match, pulling out of the grossly self-indulgent expansion plan.
Time now for Councilman Jose Huizar and the Friends of the Southwest Museum to force the Autry to make good on their merger promises without Griffith Park in the picture. Go get'em!
