$10 million Bay Bridge contract included book deal, video
State officials overseeing construction of the newSan Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge agreed this year to pay a public relations company nearly $10 million for services the Brown administration says it knew nothing about, including hundreds of thousands of dollars to conduct tours and to produce a video and commemorative book.
The administration said Wednesday that it has ordered the contract's cancellation, after theCalifornia Department of Transportationprovided records of the contract to The Bee at the newspaper's request.
The public relations company, San Francisco-based Words Pictures Ideas LLC, had performed similar work for the state under a separate contract long before the most recent contract was awarded.
"When we found out about it, we cancelled it," said Jim Evans, a spokesman for the state Business, Transportation & Housing Agency, which oversees Caltrans.
-----
Bullshit. You got caught by the SacBee doling out goodies and went into full on CYA mode.
13 comments:
I'm looking at a lease payment that currently sits at 3 times the current rate. It has 8 years left to run.
It was signed in late 2005 at the very top of the market.
That single fact takes half the profit and pretty much kills the sale for me.
Oh well...time to look a little more.
As an FYI,the building the business is currently located in was bought in 04 for 2.6M. The county currently values the building at 750K.
Nice.
Chris
Cobra: "Uhhh Mr Landlord? I'm kinda thinkin' maybe we should recast the lease."
LLord: "Whyinthehell would I do that? You are screwed. Live with it."
Cobra: "Well because if I stop paying now with a few legal complaints you could have me out in 8-10 months. Maybe. And if you pay extra to the backlogged courts. Then the bay sits empty for years and even back rent won't come close to legal costs. Then you can rent it out for a fraction of what I am paying. Maybe."
LLord: "My friend, of course we an talk. Here, let me buy you dinner and we can discuss."
The landlord has already run off two other businesses from what I could gather.
I wouldn't be surprised if the place sits empty in a few more years.
FYI,the lease was 36.00/ft.
Sandy said she could have people lined up for me at 8/ft. Heck,with what he was paying on a lease,I can go a quarter of a mile and buy a building outright. Worse was the equipment. While not in bad shape,he is delusional at what used equipment,with some of it broken,is actually worth.
BTW,I just got off the phone with Sandy and I'll say this much...the stupid money is back in RE. A commercial lot that sold for 7K in 09 supposedly has an offer of 65K. We'll see if it closes. I guess the people with cash are chasing returns again.
Chris
California leads US in pay giveaway.
There's money available for Real Estate again and some of it is bound to be stupid money.The first $1MM plus spec house I have seen in 5 years recently went on the market here.
Way too much free OPM buying SFRs. Stupid or not it is distorting the markets.
My Mom lives in a really nice old neighborhood in South Pasadena. She told me today that four homes in the neighborhood have recently been fenced off and stripped to the studs and totally redone. She knows that at least one of these homes was bought 4 years ago at the peak and never occupied. Now they are being rented out. I can't help thinking this is private equity money at work.
For those who don't know, this is an area where homes would typically sell today for close to a million. It is maybe 10 miles from downtown LA and South Pasadena is a very nice little enclave filled with mostly Asian immigrants any more. Plus they have a nice parade once a year.
Tom:
Inventory of homes on market in Sonoma County drops to 12 year low
South Pasadena is one of the worst polluters in the entire air basin. Their obstinate objection to completing the 710 pumps of unnecessary pollutants into the air daily.
South Pasadena?
Cripes. I used to run around with a guy who lived on Oakland Ave.
His Mom and Dad still own the place. I talked with him a couple of months ago and he said they finally got a lot of the major rennovations completed on the house. Nothing with the exterior but a lot of interior refurb.
Back in the early 90's, the house was wired with a half dozen fuses using ragwire. There was also knob and tube still in the attic.
A couple of days after the Marcos masion caught fire in 1988,the cleanup crews were emptying the koi ponds. I helped my friend haul 500? koi back to his parents place. We used a whellbarrow and 5 gallon buckets...LOL...the days of wasted youth!
Chris
w said... My Mom lives in a really nice old neighborhood in South Pasadena.
@Cinco-X: Yes, my mother is living the 60's dream. No T-Bird though.
@Cobradriver: Small world, huh! Could those koi have been the forfathers of those at 410 Avocado Place? Did your bucket say Mayflower on it?
Koi! I had forgotten about that. Thanks for the laugh.
Post a Comment