LACBC Fundraiser Action Free Pizza Funtime Happyride
Thread started by
alexkenefick at 12.12.07 - 12:22 am
This is posted as a ride, but it is clearly not. How does that make you feel?
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What has LACBC done for me lately? Put another way, why raise money for an org which isn't effective in using it? I know you're one of the good apples, but there are some rotten ones on the board. What is the budget for LACBC in terms of $ per repaired storm grate?
I don't like raising this issue, but it needs to be discussed.
T REX12.12.07 - 12:47 am
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who cares about storm grates? they're in the gutter..
every lane is a bike lane; not every gutter
khaos12.12.07 - 1:53 am
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DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT THEN!
Where is the agi-a-tor? BUELLOR?...
Joe Borfo12.12.07 - 1:59 am
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yeah it's important that the staff gets paid and the rent and electricity stays on. Who cares about all the little stuff.
sexy12.12.07 - 2:00 am
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There are some nice people on the staff. What have they done? I heard their budget is huge - like a 200k last year. Where did that go? Would anyone here argue that the Kitchen has been more effective? No paid staff there.
Huh?
How does an org with twelve board members and three paid staff have so little impact for so long?
Huh?
Accountability folks, let's have some.
T REX12.12.07 - 2:10 am
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200k? do the storm grates open and lead to underground bicycle tunnels now?
khaos12.12.07 - 2:19 am
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bicycle tunnels, LOL!!!!! and don't forget the pot-holes, i don't see the board members filling them! kinda makes me sick!!! pardon me while i send "my diner" in to the toilet, which will make it's way to the government coffers!
http://www.heritage.org/Press/Commentary/ed041204d.cfm
RIGHT????????
eddieboyinla12.12.07 - 2:58 am
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Will somebody please explain to these people that the LACBC isn't a government agency? I'm busy patching a tube.
PC12.12.07 - 3:50 am
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200K is their entire budget? Split between three people, that almost pays their personal rent, and maybe a little left over so they can eat. What does their president make? 60K? I'm surprised that anyone is willing to work there. Lots of whiners here but not too many volunteers I think on this forum.
dave12.12.07 - 7:41 am
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I don't know the full details of how money is used by LACBC, but so far I have a pretty positive impression of them. The LA River ride was a fun event and I'm presuming a lot of the money raised from that goes toward upkeep and extension of the LA river path.
When I was unsure how best to bike commute to LAX and lock up safely I emailed them after unsuccessful trying to get an answer calling LAX administrative offices. Within a day I was given response from LACBC and given contact info to someone at LAX who is actually involved in future plans for bicycle lockers, and someone who has locked up their bike in a secret spot near high security area. I get the impression that any one needing help with an LA biking issue who just asks them would get same treatment.
GarySe7en12.12.07 - 7:46 am
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Hi guys,
All of your comments (positive and negative) have been awesome. Roy told me so himself.
You know, when I ran for the board of the LACBC, I ran on the "What have you done for me lately-if ever" platform.
I have since become a board member, and I am starting to see how the LACBC is valuable, and how it can become more valuable. LACBC shouldn't directly endorse OR discredit any bicycle-related thing (formal or informal). We are in a tricky spot--an umbrella for all things bike in LA County.
We include bicycles that might not always see eye to eye, or might have differing opinions about pretty basic things--like the Sunset Boulevard bike lane? It's before my time, but I've heard wildly different takes on it.
What good are we? We have the closest relationship with the 'establishment': LADOT and MTA. What good is that? We have our foot in the door with the people who make bicycle related land-use and policy decisions for everyone.
Imagine starting a program where we rip up the freeways and plant farms. That's kind of what we need to do here in LA, and it starts with finding out what non-bicycle people have in common with bicycle people... by staying involved and active on the boring bureaucratic levels... by making deals with 'gasp' corporations that can give money.
The other part of the recipe--the part we're trying to strengthen--is our membership. For 10 million residents of LA County, we might conceivably be able to have a membership of 50,000 one day. Well we don't. Not even close. Thus the telethon. The need for more members is dire, we need to prove that bicycles are a force to be reckoned with.
For those of you who called us out in the string, thank you and keep it up. LACBC needs to be many things, including a forum for discussion.
How are the bicycles of LA going to interact with people who allocate the big money to bicycle projects without a strong bicycle coalition?
One thing we do is partner with community-based bicycle orgs--like the bike oven and the bike kitchen. We'd like to get to the point where we can help guide policy makers to protect and enhance the blossoming LA Bike community.
I just worked closely with the Bike Oven on a (regrettably unsucessful) PLACE Grant Application that would have invested planning dollars in the Bike Oven's neighborhood. Bike Kitchen just donated a small sum of money to LACBC.
This is quite disorganized because I'm at work and looking over my shoulder to see if my one-legged boss is coming around the corner. He wore the good prosthetic today, so I can't hear where he is in the office.
You know, having one leg prevents him from hopping on all but the most speciallized bikes--I'm going to think about a way to get him on board with LACBC too...
Let me leave you with this:
Come by and talk to me in person about LACBC tonight at the bike oven. There'll be free beer and Pizza for those who donate their mobile minutes to the telethon.
alexkenefick12.12.07 - 10:19 am
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Otra cosa:
I hope everyone here is on the LACBC e-mail update list. The e-mails are devoid of pleas for money, and they contain lot's of good information about the programs and projects that LACBC does... and insanely, we send these updates out for free.
If you're not on the list, you should get on it.
www.labike.org
alexkenefick12.12.07 - 10:50 am
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Mr Kenefick,
I appreciate you responding in some measure. That shows guts, and reassures me that you are one of the good guys.
But we already knew that.
What the hell does the river ride achieve that MR doesn't achieve for free? Why are Bike Kitchen, Bike Oven, Bikerowave, CICLE, and midnightridazz able to get it done with much less?
I doubt seriously the staff are paid $60k, but if they are that's some kind of non profit pay scale record. That's a lot of money - most people on this board probably live on much less.
Alex - What about the other board members? The ones that talk shit on midnight ridazz and don't do anything themselves. Don't deny it, LACBC has a lot of mindnight hatezz.
You're coming into this not knowing everything that has transpired in the past. LACBC has done very little. You say they are in an ideal position to work with local agencies. True, but then how come so little is done.
I'll tell you what other leaders tell T REX. They tell T REX that LACBC is wasting their money. They say LACBC does not effectively engage it's membership or utilize it's volunteers. They tell T REX that LACBC doesn't support midnight ridazz and that's why they never have tried to get members from them. They tell T REX that LACBC takes young energetic bright eyed noobs and turns them into cynics, and that LACBC blocks other organizations from working with local agencies.
Using us to expand your member base and fundraise won't win my trust. That's just throwing more money into an already dysfunctional org? Hell no says T REX. If you use your volunteer base to do something for us . . . that could make a difference. But just raising more money for yourself using midnight ridazz is a waste when we already know that LACBC isn't functioning.
T REX12.12.07 - 11:43 am
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I am going to to be phoning people up for the LACBC because they are a legitimate means of getting what cyclists need: real rights to use the road, money for bicycle transportation planning and projects, and a culture that sees the bicycle as a valid means of transportation.
Seriously, the LACBC under what's her nuts Maria Kressley sucked up to the MTA for grant money. That director is gone, and the people running the organization are making an honest go at doing what TRex is whining about.
They are trying to actually be a member funded organization. This is a legitimate push to build their contact database and fundraising database to do more of what they are already doing - pushing for as many pro-bicycle policies, laws, and politicians as they can.
I will have Voter Registration forms at the Oven from now on, and believe me when I say that we are going to BIKE THE VOTE in L.A. someday.
Capt. Sharrow's long vacation is about to end.
ubrayj0212.12.07 - 2:43 pm
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alexkenefick wrote:
LACBC shouldn't directly endorse OR discredit any bicycle-related thing (formal or informal).
Come again?
PC12.12.07 - 2:46 pm
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First a quick answer to PC who wanted clarification on my quote: "LACBC shouldn't directly endorse OR discredit any bicycle-related thing (formal or informal)."
Let me try for more detail: LACBC should always advocate for bikes, but it should remain objective so as not to appear to be favoring, say, bike commuters, while disapproving of something like MR. We want to be able to represent 'everything bike in LA county.' We are a special interest group for bicyclists, not for certain types of bicyclists.
Now, the main event: My response to T-Rexxx
I realize this may be a circuitous answer which leads you to scream at the ceiling, but a big difference between the river ride and MR is that the River Ride gets money for LACBC, while MR does not.
The river ride is, of course, a whole different thing, and I'm having trouble comparing the two. Personally, I absolutely love MR especially how it was when the whirly girls were running it when I started going back in April 04.
As for the staff payscale and the breakdown of where our money goes, I feel that is a question that should be fielded in one of our board meetings where some more senior board members and the staff can fill in the gaps of my knowledge. Our board meetings allow for public discussion--not just public comment. We generally have at least one or two members of the public at our board meeting, and you should be one of them at our next meeting on January 30 at 6:00 PM at 634 South Spring Street--no reservations or comment cards required. I promise we'll be as transparent as possible about where our money goes.
One thing I can say is that I'm sure you are familiar with the high cost of health insurance and other employee benefits, including worker's comp... all of these things+ keeping the lights on can often add close to 50% to the annual salary given employees--even at a non-profit. Some of LACBC's annual budget may be 'in-kind' or attached to specific programs like the ladot and mta bike locker program we manage... It is generally not possible to estimate salaries by simply dividing the total budget of a company by the number of employees.
As for some of the board members talking negatively about LACBC (I'm quite new and I don't know of any specific instances, but I believe you), all of our board members are volunteers, and they tie in to many different facets of the LA bicycle community... some of those facets can't support midnight ridazz... I don't know if you've noticed this, but on the right sidebar of this very website, there is a ride being advertised for 12/13 called "Rollin Stoned". It would be hard to get people who don't want to associate with 'smokin weed' as supporters of MR (example: bike cops), and that's what we're all about: a forum for bicycles--not just bicycles that are 'cool'. As a board and as an org, we have connections to lovers of MR, and we have connections to those people who think MR is a bad influence, despite the good that it does as a peaceful demonstration of fun on bikes.
Well, the last two paragraphs of your post didn't have any question marks in them (except for one that looks like it may have been a typo). So I guess I'm done answering your questions.
I will say that I agree with you that there is room for improvement at LACBC, and that the greatest threats to our organization stem from past disinvestment and paralysis from the inside.
We'll see if we can turn LACBC around in the next year or so. Maybe one day we will have a good example of partnership with Bike Oven, CICLE, the Kitchen, Bikerowave, or MR, and you can become a member... but dude, if that happens, you're going to need to get the deluxe membership--the one with the t-shirt.
alexkenefick12.12.07 - 3:31 pm
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I'll raise money for Stephen Box, Alex Kenefick, Monica Howe, Jennifer Klausner, and a few other people working or volunteering at the LACBC because I believe that they are trying to make an honest go of things.
Our culture is coming around to different, non-car, modes of transportation being worth funding and supporting. New York is going big with bicycles now, other cities are doing more.
L.A. needs a tiny group of a few thousand relatively active cyclists, and we can make a huge difference in the quality of the cycling experience in this City and in L.A. County.
The LACBC is the perfect place to bring disparate ends of the cycling realm together, along with other special interest groups and lobbies, to make this place a better environment for cycling.
The past is the past. This is now - and if you really want to push for pro-cycling changes, consider putting a little bit of your time or money into the LACBC.
ubrayj0212.12.07 - 3:50 pm
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This discussion has happened in many places many times and the more it happens the better. When we were planning Bike Summer 05 way back in 2004, the LACBC was not super interested, or at least many of the board members were not. I went to a board meeting and only one had even ridden a bike there! With that said though, we had some board members pull for us and they put up the money for our opening party on the SM pier, which we desperately needed. Some of us were stoked, some felt it was not enough. My opinion is that they are addressing the bicycle issue in a direction that is important (working with the city, establishing an organized presence, etc), but is not the direction I would choose.
It comes down to this: How many car trips have been replaced by bike trips due to the LACBC? How about due to MR? A lot of people's opinions is that many 'ridazz' drive to the start of the big rides, ride around and then drive home. This actually increases car trips then.
What I would like to see is something like NYC: Transportation Alternatives working with the city planners, etc and Time's Up! doing the more grass-roots thing with the actual cyclists. Where is LA's version? The LACBC cannot and should not be everything.
WIth that said I hope that people can come out the LACBC benefit at the bike oven on Thursday night. I'll post about that later.
bike punk12.12.07 - 5:00 pm
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Thanks for your input, Bike Punk
I think the MR definately reduce the numbers of cars on the streets because I am one of the statistics... in 2003, I had lived in LA for 4 years... and though I had a bike when I got here, I was depending on a car... And I was miserable. Then I started going on Ridazz... and one day in the summer of 2004, I was driving down the 101 from the valley, and I was in traffic, and it was hot, and my car was overheating.... and I thought about how much fun I would be having if I was on my bike....
Since then, and more and more every day, I've been choosing my bike. I still own a car, but I move it primarily to avoid tickets on street cleaning days.
If MR hadn't reconciled me with my bicycle, I wouldn't be able to enjoy LA, and I might be gone. Or even worse, I might be one of those people who just can't believe it when you tell them you biked a mile. Bikes and MR saved my life in LA.
That's my experience.
alexkenefick12.12.07 - 5:09 pm
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Has anybody out there ever worked with the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition? It seems to me that they haven't had many qualms about associating with the wackier elements of the bike subculture, and despite this it also seems that they get more done, and have a bigger presence, than the stodgy-assed LACBC. But maybe I'm wrong about this.
PC12.12.07 - 5:18 pm
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Alex,
I'm glad to hear you know about the positive effects of Ridazz firsthand. Please educate your fellow board members.
I feel that it's dangerous to criticize LACBC. With my fingers in so many aspects of West LA biking it could be very hurtful to those causes if I was on the outs with LACBC. That said - I think BikePunk hit the nail on the head in at least one aspect of his post.
LACBC will fail if they try to be everything to everyone. You've expressed this in some ways, but in other ways you seem to be proposing it. A tight focused message is essential, and essentially missing.
What is LACBC's identity? Rather than reaching out to all groups I feel they should first garner major success with just one group. This rebuilding period has gone on too long and it's time for LACBC to have genuinely laudable impact. While working with the city to repair storm grates is important, is it really impressive enough to trumpet as a success? Securing much much more funding for bicycle infrastructure, in the immediate future, would be better.
I'm a member, and I'd like to see the budget of LACBC posted here, as well as made available on the website.
LACBC is definitely a granddaddy of the bike community here, only LACM predates it.
Alex Thompson12.12.07 - 5:20 pm
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Alex Thompson wrote:
I feel that it's dangerous to criticize LACBC.
Au contraire. The only thing that is dangerous in politics and activism is the notion that anything or anyone shouldn't be criticized.
Or, to put it another way: a person, organization, or idea that cannot withstand criticism is probably not worth fighting for.
PC12.12.07 - 5:28 pm
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I feel it is dangerous for me and that which I associate to criticize LACBC. In other words, should I do so, I worry there will be negative consequences. In short, I agree with you, and you with me.
Alex Thompson12.12.07 - 5:29 pm
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Just to throw it out there:
I stopped taking Metro because of a Midnight Ridazz ride I saw and friends who have ridden in MR rides before.
Just a factoid!
markedge12.12.07 - 6:04 pm
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and here is a good reason to support alex kenefick...
if you look into the picture....you will see....
:)
ingipet12.12.07 - 7:24 pm
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Hey I wanted to give you guys a heads up that your site doesn't work with Firefox. I have 2.0.0.7 and what is happening is the column on the left, when you hover over that and get a drop down menu, the drop down menu disappears when you try to select something.
I also went ahead and became a member tonite. I wish you all the best and sorry I couldn't be there tonite to help you. I have responded to Monica's emails though in regards to volunteering and told her I could help, but I never get a response back. :-(
Maybe now that I'm a member things will be better.
User112.12.07 - 9:46 pm
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Ridazz Roulette!
