It's "Barrett-Jackson" Time Again!

THIS IS THE REAL DEAL!
OK, if you read this immediately after I post it you'll only be a couple hours late to the opening of the 2012 version of the Barrett-Jackson experience at the Orange County Fair and Event Center! HERE.

YOU'RE ALREADY TWO HOURS LATE!
That's right, Barrett-Jackson is back for the third year this weekend and the gates opened at 8:00 a.m. this morning and will do so Saturday and Sunday, too.  You can read the entire schedule of events for all three days HERE.

CRUISE ON OVER TO THE FAIRGROUNDS
If you're a car person, this is the place to be this weekend in Costa Mesa.  You don't necessarily have to go bid at the auction on one of those fantastic machines - but wouldn't it be fun?  So, drag yourself off the couch, cruise over to the Fairgrounds sometime this weekend and have a great time.

Barrett-Jackson A Success

AUCTION WEEK A ROUSING SUCCESS
So, from all accounts so far, the Barrett-Jackson event was a rousing success. No, I did not attend - too many other things on my plate over the past few days - but I did sneak a peek at the television coverage of the auction from time to time on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Wow! There were some spectacular cars on the block. If, as has been speculated, the sales generated around $20 million, that could mean a healthy infusion of sales tax dollars for our city at a time when we really need it.

MICKADEIT'S TAKE ON IT
Register columnist Frank Mickadeit wrote an interesting column about the auction, HERE. Unfortunately, the headline writers created a minor stir with their interesting choice of lingo, which was later modified to it's current form. Seems the phrase "B-J" isn't universally recognized as a contraction for "Barrett-Jackson", but rather a contemporary coarse reference... I'll leave it to you to figure it out. It did generate lots of hits on the column, though.

TRACTOR BRINGS $25,000
One of the highlights of the auction was the tractor made available by the folks at Facilities Management West. That old John Deere drew a winning bid of $25,000 from, according to the Daily Pilot article HERE, a gent from Orange Park Acres named Matt Tachdjian. Tachdjian apparently owns a couple of Honda dealerships in southern California. As mentioned in my previous post, the entire proceeds will go to the Centennial Farm Foundation.

ROEDER AS "FARMER JOHN"?
I especially liked this photo of the tractor being driven by Costa Mesa City Manager Allan Roeder... can you envision Roeder in coveralls, plowing the south 40? Nah, neither can I.


FOLKS STILL ANGRY ABOUT THE SALE
The pending sale of the Fairgrounds to the City and subsequent land lease to Facilities Management West have more than a few folks unhappy. Of special interest may be a posting over at the Pacific Progressive blog, HERE.

PROCESS CONTINUES - HOPEFULLY
As I understand it, the City and FMW are still hammering out the final details and the State is proceeding with it's part of this process, including the legislation necessary to actually facilitate the sale. No more recent word from the Latino Caucus in the past couple days. We continue to hope that they will set aside their squabble with our lamebrain mayor, Allan Mansoor, and do what is right for the City, the County of Orange and the State - sign the legislation so the sale can move forward. We'll see...

A Piece Of Our Heritage For Sale

TIME TO CHILL A LITTLE
It's time to throttle back on the rhetoric about the Fairgrounds sale just a little this weekend and enjoy what most of us hope will be the first of many annual visits by the Barrett-Jackson Automobile Auction to the Orange County Fair and Event Center.

AUCTION TIME IN COSTA MESA
Much hoopla has accompanied the launch of this auction week, which will be culminated over the weekend by the car auction.

WHAT A MACHINE!
In the spirit of community harmony and philanthropy, Facilities Management West has donated a pristine 1946 John Deere Tractor - one of only 2840 build during the war years of 1941-1947 - to the auction. According to Steve Davis, president of Barrett-Jackson Auction Company, "...this is one of the most beautifully restored John Deere tractors I've ever seen."

SLOW AND STEADY
This beautiful piece of our agricultural heritage will share the auction block with exotic cars capable of going 0-60 in less than 4 seconds. The tractor has a top speed of 15 miles per hour!

100% OF PROCEEDS TO CENTENNIAL FARM
According to Facilities Management West principal and Costa Mesa resident Richard Dick, 100% of the proceeds of the sale of this tractor will go to the Centennial Farm Foundation at the Orange County Fairgrounds, benefiting the children and programs at Centennial Farm, one of the lynch-pin features of the Fairgrounds.

TERRIFIC GIFT
According to Mack Ramsay, President of the Centennial Farm Foundation, "Centennial Farm and its connection with the people of Orange County is extremely important and dear to our hearts. We're grateful that Facilities Management West is providing this wonderful gift so the work of Centennial Farm can continue and remain a lasting part of our Orange County heritage."

BRING YOUR WALLET
The tractor is Lot # 617.2 and will be auctioned off between 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 27, 2010. For more information on the auction and schedule of events visit the Barrett-Jackson page HERE.