rdillingham

Thank you Mike for the compliment on the video. I remember touring the mill when I was still a child and in awe of the vast building. The sounds, smells and sheer magnitude of what went on inside awed me. The historical significance was lost on me at that time, but am glad I was privy to it now. As a fledgling photojournalist some 30 years ago, I documented the waning years of production and later the selling off the vast majority of machinery. (I wish we still had those negatives).
I have lived here all my life and am sad when we tear historic buildings down...like that little church next to CMMC where the parking lot is. However, in this case, I don't see any alternative to tearing down Bates Mill #5.
Kudos for Tom Platz for stepping in and investing millions into the redevelopment of some of the other old mills, although I am not sure about the section 8 housing in the other part of Bates Mill, but that is another story for another time.
Those who think that if somebody sinks millions of dollars into #5 will be able to make a go of it, you only have to listen to the facts quoted by Mr. Nadeau saying that the best spaces locally fetch about $17 per square foot where they are getting over $100 in the big cities who have sunk money into redeveloping their old mills. You can do the math and figure out it won't work for us.
With much reluctance, I say "tear it down." However, I would love to see a plan, like the one that was in place until an eleventh hour reversal a few years back, for saving a small section that houses the power generator and some floor space to house some of the machinery and artifacts that are part of our heritage. Not to power it back up again for production, but preserve it as an attraction and a showpiece for our community to show off. Years from now it could be part of a historic walk that people from all over will come to visit Museum LA along the river and walk along the riverfront and follow the canals to this wonderful piece of our history.
God bless Rachel and all the other community members who champion the cause to preserve our heritage.

I received an email from "a fan" who said she usually likes my photos and video's, but did not think I should have posted this video as it hurts the image of our new immigrants. Here is how I responded.

I really appreciate your feedback and hope you can understand our
reasoning behind publishing this video.
First, in the past two days I have uploaded three video's. One was a
spot news fire on Orange Street that was obviously a news item.
However, the police trying to corral 5 pigs the day before had no real
"news" value, except it was a slice of life and a cute scene.
Yesterday afternoon one of the editors received a call that a big truck
was parked on Chestnut Street and people were "stealing" stuff out of
it. He came over and asked me to walk down and check it out. I did and
found the truck gone and the scene where all the furniture was in the
street and sidewalk. I talked to a woman loading up her car with some
of it and she explained that it was a shipment of merchandise that had
been delivered for a store nearby. I took a photo to show my editor and
then walked over to Simonees to get a hot dog. When I was coming out,
Corporal Roberts pulled up and put on his lights and I began filming.
When I got back to the office, we had a lengthy discussion with several
top editors and photographers. Some thought it should be published and
some thought not. After much discourse, we decided it was a slice of
life that may not have significant news value, but was an event, like
dozens of others we often publish. We felt it was fair and balanced,
highlighting several differing "opinions" from three different people.
Our reasoning behind publishing it, like so many stories we highlight,
good and bad, was that it showed the different opinions of the people
involved. The police were doing their job, and the reaction of the new
immigrant store owners and the different comments of one of the people
helping move the furniture highlighted the misunderstanding and
confusion that is one of the reasons there is tension and cultural bias.
I personally felt that this highlighted the struggle of this hard
working business owner that is trying to make a honest living and become
a good citizen. I had a long conversation with him after, and told him
that he is going through the same thing that the Franco's did several
generations ago when they immigrated here. I did not say it to him, but
I'll bet it was a franco that was the one who stopped and said some
nasty things to him. I feel that it is history repeating, only the
names and faces are different.

After the editors watched the video, the majority felt that it really
highlighted the fact that the new immigrants do not always understand
the laws of this country, and the police are doing their job to make
sure they abide. I had twenty minutes of video, but edited it down to a
couple, but made sure to keep the part that showed how sad it is that
the store owner was harassed, highlighting how he is a real person with
feelings. He is just trying to make a living and "doing the best I can"

We all felt that it was pretty fair and balanced. It showed the
struggles of both police and shop owners on Lisbon Street where parking
and delivery of merchandise is a problem. If nothing else, it gave
people in our community who may never meet one of these new members of
our community who know nothing except many of the urban myths they hear
and have formed an negative opinion. Here was a tax paying, hard
working immigrant trying to be a productive member of our community,
working, not somebody draining our services like many of our longtime
citizens believe.

During the course of the day, we come across a variety of stories that
often are not really "newsworthy", but are an interesting slice of life
that highlights our community. Some are more "important" than others,
but they are all pieces of this community that we highlight. From kids
swinging and sledding to accident and murder scenes. What some of our
readers/viewers feel is inappropriate and should not be covered, others
applaud. We can not cover all the news and often miss important things.
We often publish innocuous items and slices of life that many think
should not be published. However, we try to give our readers/viewers a
variety of subject matter that highlights the good, bad, and beautiful
nature of the communities we cover.