Article From Local Paper

Finally, one press outlet has published a story about last Saturday's Concert.
As I was putting this post together, I had copied a brief article that appeared online yesterday, and was picking it apart. This one is more thorough, but still leaves unanswered questions, in my opinion. Here is today's article.......


Friday, July 1, 2005

Rumors come with ex-Beatle territory
Laguna still buzzing about no-show of McCartney at landslide benefit. His publicist says there was never a chance.

By SUSAN GILL VARDON
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

LAGUNA BEACH – Andy Alison feels like he has an 800-pound walrus on his back.

And the walrus is Sir Paul McCartney. The former Beatle is the subject of much buzz around town. Did he really agree to appear at last Saturday's benefit concert for the June 1 Laguna landslide victims, which Alison helped organize?

Or was it just a hoax?

Six days later, it's still a mystery.

McCartney never planned to appear, said his publicist, Paul Freundlich. He's in rehearsals for Saturday's Live 8 concert in London, Freundlich said.

Alison is perplexed.

"We had every reason to believe he'd show," said the Laguna Beach real-estate agent, who invited McCartney via a flower basket and note delivered June 23 to Capitol Records in Hollywood.

Sian Poeschl, the city's cultural arts manager, said she got a call the next day from a man saying he worked for Capitol, McCartney's label. The man told Poeschl that McCartney wanted to accept the invitation, and that his requests for the event were a parking space and four chairs.

The man said he had tried to reach Alison but couldn't, Poeschl said.

When city officials tried to call the man back, he was in meetings and never returned the call, said City Manager Ken Frank.

"The number checked back to Capitol," Frank said. "So maybe it was a misunderstanding, or maybe he got sick or changed his mind. Who knows?"

Many of the 2,500 people at the concert at El Morro Elementary School expected McCartney, credited along with John Lennon with writing the Beatles hit "I Am the Walrus," to show. Tickets were $25, or $10 for students.

A group of students spent hours practicing "Bluebird," from the Paul McCartney and Wings "Band on the Run" album.

"It was crazy," said Frank, who responded to a number of supposed McCartney sightings. "There were rumors he was behind every stage, flying in on helicopters and in every bathroom."

Dick Vanderveen, whose Flamingo Road home was red-tagged after the landslide and who helped Alison organize the concert, said it verged on urban myth.

"It kind of made the concert more fun," Vanderveen said. "But I guess the big thing for me that was disappointing was that some people came only because they thought McCartney was coming."

When he wrote the note inviting McCartney to the concert, Alison said, he thought the pop star would receive it.

Alison had heard that McCartney was familiar with the area and that he and his wife had stayed at the Montage Resort & Spa in Laguna.

"You can't have a relief concert without a Beatle," Alison said. "It's sacrilegious."

The concert is expected to raise more than $50,000 for landslide victims.

"I guess the bigger lesson is this: We can't rely on somebody else to fix our problems," Vanderveen said. "We've got to do it ourselves."

End article.....

My observations.....

The City Manager said, "There were rumors he was behind every stage, flying in on helicopters and in every bathroon."
There was ONE stage....Do you suppose he attended this event?

Nothing was said about the fact that an identical situation happened the weekend before, although with a different singer. Coincidence? I think not!

Nothing was mentioned about how much the stage cost to showcase local talent. Money that should have gone in the victim's account.

Nothing was written about the obvious deception, nor is there mention of investigating how this could have happened twice!

The words "ethically challenged" seem to be missing!

Nothing was mentioned about a benefit scheduled for this weekend. In fact it has disappeared from the radar completely. I saw it on the Camber of Commerce website last weekend....Poof..It is gone now.

This concludes my obsessive investigation. LOL

Breaking News: Justice Sandra Day O'Connor announces retirement. Oh boy....