”
I’m wondering who’s cooking the books with the Garlic Festival?
$275,000 to the charities, but how about the gross? I thought they
grossed like $5 million. Where are the numbers? Where are the
books? How come the Garlic Festival never reveals the true total
intake, the cost breakdown? Let’s see the numbers. C’mon.
”
“I’m wondering who’s cooking the books with the Garlic Festival? $275,000 to the charities, but how about the gross? I thought they grossed like $5 million. Where are the numbers? Where are the books? How come the Garlic Festival never reveals the true total intake, the cost breakdown? Let’s see the numbers. C’mon.”
Dear Show Me the Money, Red Phone contacted Brian Bowe, the executive director of the Gilroy Garlic Festival. He assured us that the only cooking is done at the festival.
“Our financial records are subject to an annual California Non-Profit Integrity Act Audit which we regularly pass with flying colors.” he said. “While the festival grossed just over $2.2 million in 2008, our expenses were up as well, running to nearly $2 million. The best news is that we were still able to give back $275,000 to the community.
“Some of our biggest expenses include foods and beverages (12 percent), administration (12 percent), emergency services (9 percent), equipment rental (6 percent), marketing (6 percent), grounds preparation (5 percent), souvenirs (4 percent), liability insurance (4 percent), transportation (3.4 percent) and entertainment (2.4 percent). We are significantly below the 20 to 30 percent national average for festival administration costs.”
Finally, Bowe said readers are welcome to visit his office to review the financial statements.
Call 842-1625 to make an appointment.
And remember, the Gilroy Garlic Festival will be back again July 24 through 26, 2009 for the 31st celebration of the stinkin’ rose.
Police officers given unfair treatment?
“Maybe one reason the GPD does not ticket those who drive while talking on a cell is because THEY TOO are talking on their cell while driving!”
Dear Concerned, Red Phone contacted Jim Gillio, Gilroy police spokesman, to clarify this clear problem. Gillio said that on-duty police officers in emergency equipped vehicles are exempt from the hands-free law. A major challenge faced by the department is that officers use an earpiece for the police radio already so if they were to put a Bluetooth in the other ear, this would cause a distraction to other things going on. Gillio reassured us that the police officers are asked to limit their cell phone use as much as possible.
To reinforce the rule for us ‘average citizens,’ it is unlawful to drive while talking on a wireless device unless the phone is being used hands-free. The first violation to this rule will be cited with a $20 fine and all subsequent violations will be fined $50, police say.
Now, please be careful, dear reader. Red Phone knows from personal experience that the fines are much more expensive than $20 when fees are added in. Talking on the phone for a few minutes to avoid traffic boredom could be fun, but it is also dangerous and now expensive.
Web polls account for community
“Web polls are entertaining, but they only gauge the opinions of those who are passionate enough about an issue to write in about it. They should not be taken as a ‘community pulse’ or, more scientifically speaking, a statistic estimating the population claiming to be studied.”
Dear Accuracy-driven, true, our Web polls are meant to take the pulse of the community.
It’s not a science but we do try our best to get a general idea of the community’s opinion.
Maybe to better represent this goal, you could tell your friends, and they could tell their friends, to vote on our Web polls. The Dispatch has a new Web poll question every Monday and Thursday afternoon for news questions, as well as sports questions.
Another take on the Web polls are our Community Polls that are displayed in every Friday’s paper. This is where we ask 12 involved community members their opinions on this past week’s question to get a look at how the community feels.
