Mayor Blocks Public Fundraising

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigza was spending his vacation in South Africa last week. After returning to his city, he learned that the woman who had been handling his duties during his absence had opened a website to collect public donations to cover the expenses of Michael Jackson’s memorial ceremony. The mayor called the woman, “Genie,” “ridiculous,” and blocked the website. On this website, Michael’s fans were specifically asked to donate money in order to cover the costs of more than $1.4 million for their legendary star’s memorial. Most of this money was to be given to the city police department. In his first public appearance, the mayor said: "This is a global city, and it is our duty to provide fire and police services for the people. That’s it. The idea that we should collect money from families for the costs of a memorial ceremony is nonsense." He also called the fundraising website—set up by his acting deputy—ridiculous. The website had managed to collect $35,000 in donations, but at 1 p.m. on Friday, by the mayor’s order, it stopped operating. Source: eMJey / E! Online