Amid Much Hoopla and Larry Agran's Speechifying, Not Much Great Happening With the Great Park

Townsend hears from politicians and their staffs that the funding streams are dead now, but that purse strings will (one hopes) loosen after the November presidential election. When Agran suggested competing for state bond funds now, Townsend agreed—then mentioned how the Great Park failed recently to get a chunk of $300 million in bond funds because “the project is still too new” for decision-makers to wrap their heads around.

Agran, who has staked his legacy to the Great Park, seemed unperturbed. It is not bad economic times that harsh his Great Park mellow, it’s the naysayers.

“In this highly charged political year,” he said, “let’s not be deterred by doubters, defeatists and professional pessimists.”

When the Weekly called Agran’s office later to follow up on exactly who he was talking about, among other things, a spokeswoman responded that Agran said he had no time to answer the Weekly’s questions and that “the speech speaks for itself.”

In other words, pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.

*A correction was made to this story on July 21, 2008.

mcoker@ocweekly.com