WILL CRIME REWARDS LEAD TO THE NEXT REALITY TV SHOW?
By Jerome Cleary
In most films and TV shows, Southern California and Hollywood are usually depicted with the icons of our fantastic palm trees and brilliant green foliage. Especially the famous white lettered-Hollywood sign against the rich green Hollywood hills. Unfortunately, here in West Hollywood, the dark side of having great trees in our city has produced criminals who intentionally cut trees down because they block storefront signage and billboards. This year West Hollywood had to come to terms with two important issues: protecting our trees and offering a high-end reward of $25,000 as a deterrent for further damage to our fine tree specimens. What does this all mean? Well, actually, a lot to our sanity and preservation of our trees.In most film westerns, when a bounty was offered as a reward we were shown posters nailed to a tree or building stating “Wanted: Dead or Alive.” The rewards were thousands of dollars for the capture of a thief or murderer. In West Hollywood, we have lost 43 trees since 1999 to these tree bandits. Trees have been cut down to the stump or trimmed in a severe way, not only on Sunset Boulevard but also along Santa Monica and La Cienega boulevards. West Hollywood has leapt into action with our city attorney recommending a $25,000 reward. Most fines and rewards are set up in hopes that they will be a strong deterrent to future similar crimes. But there is always somebody ready to risk committing the crime in hopes of not getting caught.This new tree bandit ordinance encourages residents to participate with cameras or video cams in hand to document the evidence that may capture the suspects. One part of the new reward ordinance states “reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of people responsible for illegal tree cutting.” Now keep in mind that “conviction” is the operative word in this new tree bandit ordinance. The ordinance further states “rewards as provided herein shall not be paid until a criminal case is closed by sentencing of the defendant. The City of West Hollywood shall make reward payments as promptly as possible, but in no event shall payment be made before all direct appeals of the conviction have been exhausted.” There is also a 7-day deadline for residents to fill out an application for this $25,000 reward. So to be in the running as this new type of bounty hunter, you have to be fast and fill out an application within a mere week.As we move further into the future, will West Hollywood become like many cities and states where video cameras are on street corners recording our every move? Will we mind the presence of Big Brother always watching us in order to deter crime? Or like in the proliferation of reality TV today, everybody can be some sort of video star whether you are the witness, the victim or the suspect. Jerome Cleary is a writer, TV talk show host and comic at The World Famous Comedy Store-www.freecomedy-tickets.com and can be reached at: jeromeclearytalk@aol.com
In most films and TV shows, Southern California and Hollywood are usually depicted with the icons of our fantastic palm trees and brilliant green foliage. Especially the famous white lettered-Hollywood sign against the rich green Hollywood hills. Unfortunately, here in West Hollywood, the dark side of having great trees in our city has produced criminals who intentionally cut trees down because they block storefront signage and billboards. This year West Hollywood had to come to terms with two important issues: protecting our trees and offering a high-end reward of $25,000 as a deterrent for further damage to our fine tree specimens. What does this all mean? Well, actually, a lot to our sanity and preservation of our trees.In most film westerns, when a bounty was offered as a reward we were shown posters nailed to a tree or building stating “Wanted: Dead or Alive.” The rewards were thousands of dollars for the capture of a thief or murderer. In West Hollywood, we have lost 43 trees since 1999 to these tree bandits. Trees have been cut down to the stump or trimmed in a severe way, not only on Sunset Boulevard but also along Santa Monica and La Cienega boulevards. West Hollywood has leapt into action with our city attorney recommending a $25,000 reward. Most fines and rewards are set up in hopes that they will be a strong deterrent to future similar crimes. But there is always somebody ready to risk committing the crime in hopes of not getting caught.This new tree bandit ordinance encourages residents to participate with cameras or video cams in hand to document the evidence that may capture the suspects. One part of the new reward ordinance states “reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of people responsible for illegal tree cutting.” Now keep in mind that “conviction” is the operative word in this new tree bandit ordinance. The ordinance further states “rewards as provided herein shall not be paid until a criminal case is closed by sentencing of the defendant. The City of West Hollywood shall make reward payments as promptly as possible, but in no event shall payment be made before all direct appeals of the conviction have been exhausted.” There is also a 7-day deadline for residents to fill out an application for this $25,000 reward. So to be in the running as this new type of bounty hunter, you have to be fast and fill out an application within a mere week.As we move further into the future, will West Hollywood become like many cities and states where video cameras are on street corners recording our every move? Will we mind the presence of Big Brother always watching us in order to deter crime? Or like in the proliferation of reality TV today, everybody can be some sort of video star whether you are the witness, the victim or the suspect. Jerome Cleary is a writer, TV talk show host and comic at The World Famous Comedy Store-www.freecomedy-tickets.com and can be reached at: jeromeclearytalk@aol.com
posted by JeromeCleary @ 4:31 PM
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