"It's a symbol," she said, "for dynamic thinking."
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Speaking of the tower, my escorts all seemed to think it would be a good idea for me to climb the rickety staircase to the top. It made me wonder if Mahony was in on a deal to have them push me down the chute and straight into the tomb he's reserving for me in the cathedral catacombs.
The view's not bad up there and, to be honest, the artist's renderings of the arts high school don't look bad. When the school opens in fall of 2009, whether you love or hate the look of it, you're going to talk about it, especially when night falls and it's lit like a beacon.
I don't dismiss the value of investing in a school as a work of public art -- even if it's just a bathtub short of looking like the board game Mouse Trap.
But given the district's budget problems and the extreme needs of roughly 700,000 students, most of whom are poor enough to qualify for reduced-price lunches, a pricey jewel in the glittering Grand Avenue necklace is a badly timed extravagance.
I think I came up with a solution, though, while standing 140 feet off the ground and doing some dynamic thinking of my own.
Can you hear me out there, Mr. Broad?
Reach for the checkbook, pal. At the very least, I'm asking $49 million for the roller coaster.
Or come up with $230 million and we'll call it Eli High.
steve.lopez@latimes.com
