Barbra Streisand's not happy.
Who could possibly get a nose that big out of joint? None other than the Messiah of the Mountains, Joe Edmiston.
The Grand Poobah of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy (SMMC) and Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA) has a gift for infuriating people. Even supporters like Babs.
In the early 1990s, Streisand decided to unload her fabulous 22-acre Mediterranean-style Malibu Ranch estate. But the fabulous $11million dollar price tag found no takers.
But Joe Edmiston is the ultimate taker.
With a lust for upscale property, Edmiston zeroed in on Babs. Suddenly, the home Streisand couldn't sell for $11million was given to the SMMC in exchange for a $15million tax write-off.
But St. Barbra was told her pad would be converted into an "environmental think tank" and "retreat center" and not just any think tank and retreat center, "The Barbra Streisand Think Tank and Retreat Center."
Sure, she might fly around in a private jet, but imagine all that eco-thinking taking place at the Babs Center? Al Gore himself would be green with envy.
But funny things happen when you get in bed with Joe.
Edmiston liked the view from Bab's bedroom so much he moved himself in, establishing Chateau Streisand as his personal
mountaintop aerie. Joe promptly relocated his office into the multimillion-dollar mansion, with a screening room, pool and spa. Nice work if you can get it.Streisand wasn't amused.
For starters, she had her name taken down and is now publicly siding with her former neighbors who want Edmiston and the constant flow of traffic to and from his office gone.
And it might actually happen.
The man who created Edmiston back in the 1980s ? Dr. Frankenstein himself, Gov. Jerry Brown ? wants to evict Joe so he can sell the property to help close California's budget gap.
Gasp! Take away Joe's multimillion-dollar tree house?
Where are Brown's priorities? He's putting health care for children ahead of Edmiston's swanky playground? The monster!
Of course, Joe has his defenders.
State Budget Assembly Chairman Bob Blumenfield, D-Woodland Hills, says it doesn't make sense to sell the property because a ruling by the California Coastal Commission (CCC) made the property nearly worthless on the open market.
This is classic Edmiston: his buddies at the CCC re-zone Bab's place as open space, making it impractical for a private buyer to own at any price. He then uses the CCC ruling as justification for hanging on to this outrageous taxpayer-funded extravagance.
And you guessed it: Blumenfield is a former SMMC director who also kept an "office" at Streisand's mansion.
Doug McIntyre's column appears in the Los Angeles Daily News on Wednesdays and Sundays. You can reach him at dncolumnist@dailynews.com.
Source: http://www.dailynews.com/columnists/ci_18176925?source=rss
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