Halloween in the Castro 2007 - Financial Bust & Stupid Campaign

I'm not sure to say if the "stay at home" campaign really was successful, but there is one thing that I can be clear about this:

• There were far fewer people, but there were still hundreds of people on the sidewalks.
• Now sure, it kept people off the street, but at least nobody not stabbed, shot, or went on live TV to say "Fox news is bullshit!"
  

In one way, it could be a success, but just at what financial cost?

Critics (including myself) say that this was a financial nightmare.

1. 600 police officers in the area alone, at an estimated $50/hr for six hours (6PM to midnight) = an estimated $180,000 in taxpayer money. $210,000 if it was seven hours.
   
2. Additional parking/meter maids to enforce parking policies: Definitely thousands of dollars.
3. City paid portable toilets: Thousands of dollars, and neighbors smelling blue chemical toilet scents.
4. Steel fencing on the sidewalks: Gotta pay the city workers to put those up.
5. Tow trucks: $250 towing fine
6. Closing down BART at 16th street & Mission station: Paying for transit employees to transport riders and ADA passengers by van from 24th st. & Mission.
7. Providing a bus bridge due to closure of Muni Metro stations: Plenty of dollars to pay for diesel gasoline.
8. Hiring Muni drivers to transport 600 cops: Bus driver salary + gasoline cost.
   
9. And of course, my favorite: Hiring David Perry & Associates to make a lame poster campaign and cheap youtube quality videos: $40,000.

Talking about party poopers, here's a list of people who had to ruin the event for everyone:

1. Mayor Gavin Newsom
2. Chief Heather Fong
3. The FBI (what the hell? Was Osama going to pee on the sidewalk?)
4. Supervisor Duffy (hmmm... hiding the fact to the press that porta toilets were coming? Fuck! They were going to find out anyway!)
   
5. David Perry & Associates
6. The SFPD's SWAT Team for putting sharpshooters on the roof (as stated by KTVU).
7. Restaurant and Bar Operators who shut down (if you have two dozen people waiting in line at an open bar, sure as hell, you should have opened-up!)
8. Muni (a.k.a. SFMTA)
   
9. BART
10. The SFPD for arresting a person for j-walking (damn, they usually just give a ticket)

The city is promising for the 2008 Castro Halloween party. Supervisor Duffy said on the news that since 2008's Halloween will be on a Friday, they will organize an appropriate Halloween party. THE ORGANIZING OF NEXT YEAR'S SHOULD START TODAY.

Ok... then why didn't you organize this year's? Since there was "9" shootings, you had since November 1, 2006 to organize something safe, sure seems that they pulled this one off in their butthole at the last minute.

LET'S SEE IF THEY WILL KEEP THIS PROMISE.